Illumicrate Avis 181

Way to hard to get access to the list, 24 hours is too short, people's lives don't revolve around waiting for this link. I was on the list for nearly 6 weeks and the day I couldn't access my email I got the link which I missed and I was then told by the unhelpful support staff if you missed the link to basically resign up, so here goes another 6 weeks of waiting....

I’ve been subscribed to Illumicrate for over a year and a half now, and I have no complaints.

Their customer service is fantastic and very friendly - I’ve had to contact them a couple of times for damaged items, and they’ve always been helpful and polite. They’re very good at communicating any issues they have with their website, sales or renewals using social media so that their subscribers know what’s going on.

Their special editions are beautiful, and in my opinion, keep getting better. I get a full box subscription, and I find myself using a lot of their items on a regular basis, they’re very well made and largely useful. I enjoy the books that they choose and have every intention of staying subscribed for a long time.

I switched from the “full box” to the “book only” option a while back, because I’d never received an item I liked in the boxes, but the customised books were always really good. However, I have definitely noticed a decline in the quality of the books recently. They used to have the best customisations of any subscription service, but now they’re nowhere near as good. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary low point, and they’ll go back to the standard they were at before. Also, you used to get a pin every month but they stopped that this year which is a shame

I've subscribed to Illumicrate for a little over two years now and they're by far my favorite box! I find their book selections to be the most varied among the boxes and the quality of their items (though they may not always be to my specific taste, which is true for every book box) is always high.

In two years I have had to contact customer service only twice regarding one book with a printing error (not their fault, it was bound upside down), and a book pot that arrived broken. Both times the items were replaced and the customer service people I spoke were fast and friendly!

The thing I like most about Illumicrate over other boxes is their variety in books. They choose both adult and YA titles and while most fall into the SFF category, they also choose some that are not and that I would not have read otherwise! I also love that they have been doing more romance special editions lately because it's not something we see enough of!

Another thing I always appreciate about this company is their transparency with their customers. They are always honest and up-front if something goes wrong or needs correcting and I wish more businesses would be transparent like this.

I live in the US so Illuimicrate is currently the most expensive box I get, but that is also not their fault as they don't control international shipping prices or currency conversion rates. In my opinion it is worth every penny!

I had an issue with my subscription not going through and I emailed in on Tuesday evening. Today, Romie was emailing me from the morning until 7pm and was able to help me get my subscription back and get the May box.

She was brilliant and very friendly and helpful!

The boxes themselves are always great, I've enjoyed every book that I have received and the extra items.

All round a great service and subscription box.

Customer service is atrocious. I reached out due to the website change taking away my subscription. I had put my account on hold (financial reasons) after waiting for a year on the waitlist. When I went to reactive it, my account showed no history.

The customer service rep Caitlin told me I had canceled my account and would have to go back on the waitlist. I messaged back saying that I had not canceled. She sent back a message “It was definitely canceled Im afraid” with a screen shot of a drop down menu that says cancelled. I replied back with a screen shot of all my emails with Illumicrate Nowhere stating that I had ever cancelled my account.

No response from Caitlin. Sent another email stating it makes no sense that I would have canceled after waiting so long. 3 days later still no response. Pretty sure Caitlin is ghosting me. Top notch customer service…

HORRIBLE customer service, very rude and confrontational. Resorts to verbal personal attacks when you the customer are worried and agitated about different matters. Very cheap items, a LOT of plastic.

I will cancel my subscription because of the extreme rudeness of one of the support staff members. My bad rating is also due mainly to this person who should NOT work in customer service. How the HELL did this person get a job in customer service?

Amazing staff, thoughtfully curated boxes and items, and clear emails. What more do you need?

I’ve been a subscriber to Illumicrate for a while (with a little break purely due to personal circumstances), I think my first box was in 2018 and honestly the quality of the boxes has just got better and better throughout the years.

In terms of customer service, I can’t fault any member of the team. I’ve had dealings with Chloe, Bec and Lauren over a couple of things over the last year (two damaged books that weren’t Illumicrate’s fault, both replaced in good time, waitlist requests and an accidental order that was cancelled before it made any affect on my bank account), each conversation has been a friendly one and I always feel better after they’ve responded to a request.

In essence, can’t fault the company. Amazing special editions, great items and lovely staff.

I've been a subscriber to Illumicrate on and off for years and I would like to say how incredible their team is, from design and execution of products right down to the kind and helpful customer service team.

PRODUCTS
Illumicrate products are high quality and stunningly designed. Any errors or reasonable faults are simply replaced within the confines of their policy. I've personally never had any issues with replacements and the rare occasion when product quality was not met, the item was recreated and replaced for all purchasers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM
The team, while incredibly busy, always get back to you within a few days with helpful insights. I've skipped boxes, requested last minute cancellations (my own fault), and had items replaced when damaged in delivery and every time, the team have been incredibly kind and helpful. I have spoken to many members of the team including Caitlin, Lauren, Bec and Yas, all of whom have been exceedingly generous and supportive with anything I needed assistance on.

HIGH DEMAND
Illumicrate is obviously an organisation whose subscriptions are in high demand. They have very specific rules about duplicate orders for pre-ordering (partially to stop people bulk buying and selling on for high prices when they sell out, which is completely reasonable) and they have been trying to get a new website set up from what I've read online to help orders go through more smoothly. As a relatively small business that is in high demand, they work incredibly hard and well to keep customers happy.

Overall, I think the work Illumicrate do is exceptional and while trying to place orders can be frustrating, this is due to high demand and not their fault. Well done Illumicrate for a being brilliant business to buy from and a joy!

I placed an order a few days ago and because the website kept crashing, I had to place 5 separate orders. Illumicrate canceled and refunded the orders without even consulting me. I emailed them that it was intentional and this Customer Service "Manager", Caitlin, kept on sending me one-liners, just saying "we will not reinstate these orders". I got upset, of course, because we stayed awake until 1AM our time just to wait for the sale, and it was such a struggle ordering because the website kept crashing, and they canceled my orders and won't reinstate.

Now they are refusing service because I wasn't "nice" to them and canceled the one remaining order that I have. Caitlin said "I’m not really sure why you think that would help your case here?" because I was upset in our emails. Who wouldn't be?! She is really rude and i'm not sure how she's the Customer Service Manager of this company.

I probably will not do business with them anymore.

I’ve been subscribed to Illumicrate for about 9 months now, and so far it’s great!

Their special editions are also good, and sales usually go without crashes and issues.

Positives:
- Books are a mix of YA and Adult, sometimes less well-known picks
- Shipping is 48 Hour Royal Mail
- Nice book customisations
- Always good communication about delays etc.
- There’s a book only option

Negatives:
- Sometimes they won’t replace items that are damaged (like if you have minor dents in the hardback, or if your dust jacket has a hole in it).
- Items are hit or miss, but luckily they have a book only option; and
they said they will reduce the number of items this year and put less, but higher quality things in the boxes, so we shall see.

Amazing customer service - excellent quality and value for money

I've been subscribed to Illumicrate for over a year now, and I've had a really positive experience. They pick highly anticipated books for their monthly boxes, and they highlight fan favorites for their one-off boxes. They also offer a book-only subscription option (most of their competitors don't), and they don't seem to have as many growing pains as some of their competitors. Some of their books do come damaged, but that's the case with any book subscription box. And like other companies, Illumicrate keeps a reserve so they can offer replacements for heavily damaged books. I've tried a few book subscription boxes, and Illumicrate is the only one I've never unsubscribed from.

Bought a special edition box and received instead a damaged ordinary box, with its content also took some damage due to poor packaging and handling. I have paid a hefty flat rate for shipping and was ready to be patient for any delays due to covid or shipment processing. The box itself was pricier because its a special edition. But after receiving the package, my heart sank upon seeing its condition. The contents as well as the box itself was not protected and was simply put together ‘as-is’ in a small ordinary brown box. No bubble wrapping, no paper padding to prevent creasing, nor was the box itself put into a protective box. As a result, the book paper cover has many scratches and torn edges as well as the poster. have written to their support team about my experience but never received any response. Given that they advertise the product as a book box experience and so much hype put into these book boxes, the product itself and the service did not match the expectations set.

The book itself was lovely, however my copy arrived pretty battered and ruined. For a special edition of a book it is kind of worthless, I cant even put it on my book shelf without seeing the significant inward dents to the top and bottom of spine. I had seen that most people receive their books in a tough case, but mine came in a cloth bag, probably causing the damage. I received some cute stuff like pins and prints, but I also received a jigsaw puzzle of a really poor illustration. I'm not a child, that is not something I would ever want. Point is it was fun to try it out but once I have been let down like this by a company whose whole thing is special editions of books, I will not trust them again. I have a beautiful book that arrived in a very ugly state. Would not recommend, find special editions somewhere else.

I was super excited to try out this subscription box. I had seen some of the beautiful books that came from Illumicrate and as book lover I was greatly looking forward to adding some to my shelves. I joined the waiting list and then immediately joined the subscription plan when my invite was sent. I waited patiently (okay impatiently lets be real) for over a month for the box to be sent. No big deal, I know Covid has delayed shipping times. I met the mailman at the mailbox the day that my Illumicrate arrived and dashed back inside to finally open it....only to find an ugly book and 3 pins. To say I was underwhelmed would be an understatement. With all of the hype surrounding Illumicrate, the waiting list, and the price tag of this box, I was expecting a lot more. Especially when compared to the other (cheaper) subscription box (Owlcrate) I had received that same month. I cancelled my plan, though unfortunately by the time my box arrived Illumicrate had already billed me for the next month. My advice, if you want a pretty book without the let down of the box, join their newsletter instead. They do sets outside of their subscription plan and it gives you a better idea of what you're getting for your money.

Bought the witcher exclusive edition, they give you a ten day notice to ensure your address is correct then ship the book out pretty fast, book came in a lovely little yellow illumicrate bag, I've bought a lot of fancy books but never got such a personal touch added which was nice. The book Came in perfect condition, I hope they do the whole series as exclusive editions.