Loot Crate Unboxing and Review for April 2015

What? A Loot Crate that’s a month behind? Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with that either. Unfortunately Loot Crate has been showing up a little later every month for the past few months, until finally last month it hadn’t come by the time I was leaving for out West. I hate when that happens, you really have no idea. But I can still do an unboxing and review anyway, because that’s just the way it’s gonna be.

Check out the video!

So, starting out I was a bit concerned about the tiny stature of the box, but it wasn’t all bad. Let’s take a look at the breakdown:

“Dungeons and Dragons” shirt: Now, on the one hand, a shirt like this can be a little disappointing because I have never once in my life even thought about playing Dungeons and Dragons. But on the other hand, it’s actually not a bad shirt, and since there’s no words on it, as far as I’m concerned it’s just a dragon shirt, so I’ll definitely still wear it. My ignorance may annoy real D&D geeks, but ya’ll can kiss my butt, ’cause I’m still gonna wear it. Standard t-shirt value: $15

“The Princess Bride” playing cards: This is one of those items that I have mixed feelings about because it’s a cute idea, but it’s also something that’s probably going to end up at the bottom of a drawer in my house. We don’t play card-based games often enough to get much use out of these, and a deck of cards can’t really be displayed on a “nerd shelf”, so there you have it. Regardless, this deck is part of a larger set of decks created through Kickstarter, and this one particular deck retails for almost $10.

“Dungeons and Dragons” bow tie from Black Tie Geek: This is another one of those weird items. It’s kinda cute, and I appreciate what Black Tie Geek are trying to bring to the table, but it’s not something that will ever get any use in our household. The previous tie we got was the standard style, and that at least has a chance of someday being worn somewhere, but no one in this house is going to wear a bow tie, least of all one covered in little dragons and dice. But nice try. Since Black Tie Geek’s website still isn’t properly set up, I have no way of knowing what this tie is worth, but based on similar items I’m going to go with about $15.

Inflatable Crown: At the risk of sounding grumpy, this item actually bothers me. Call me boring if you want, but little, cheap, junky things like this in my subscription boxes makes me want to scream a little. I’m paying for geeky stuff and collectibles, not for cheap children’s toys that can be found at the Dollar Store. And that’s the value I’m assigning this crown: $1.

“Harry Potter” 9-3/4 Bag Tag: Now this is more like it. It might not be as cool as a collectible that can be displayed on our shelves, but I can appreciate this item. I love Harry Potter, and I do a lot of traveling, so this item will actually get some good use. A thumbs up on this one, and believe it or not this bag tag retails at $15.

“Game of Thrones” House Sigils magnet set: While I don’t want there to be magnets in all of my subscription boxes all the time, I can appreciate the occasional good ones, and these ones are definitely acceptable. I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones, and these sigil magnets will absolutely have a place of honor on my fridge. The full set straight from HBO actually comes with 7 magnets for $12, so after doing a little bit of math we’ll say that this set of 4 is worth almost $7.

Direwolf Head 4GB USB drive: The best for last, in my opinion. I love this little USB drive designed for a direwolf head, also from Game of Thrones. Maybe I’m a bit of a loser, but for some reason I love USB drives, just like I love stationary and pens. Maybe it’s a writer thing, I dunno. Either way, I’m loving this item. I believe it’s a Loot Crate exclusive, but based on similar items and accounting for the size of the drive, I’m estimating a value of about $10.

Approximate total value of box: $73
Total cost to me: $37

So right off the bat, we have to address the fact that this was the highest value Loot Crate I’ve ever gotten, which is surprising considering that my initial impression was of a tiny box that probably didn’t have much in it. However, we also have to address the fact that many of these items retail for prices much higher than what I would pay. The deck of cards, for example, is cute, but I would never pay more than $5 for it. The bag tag is another example; I really like it, but I figure it’s worth $7 or $8 maximum. And the bow tie is another thing…it adds (at my guess) about $15 to the value of the box, but it’s something that no one in my house will ever use, making it’s value kinda negligible. That said, even when taking into consideration the pricing of everything, if you add up what I feel everything is worth, you’re still looking at about $50, which isn’t bad.

All in all, there wasn’t much in the box that WOWED me, but there were a few items I rather like, and the value was there. Long story short, I give a “not bad” and a thumb up to this box, and I’m looking forward to the next one (which will hopefully come on time!).

What did you think? Did you receive a Loot Crate for April 2015? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? Did you like the theme? Are you excited for May’s box? Please share!

Loot Crate Unboxing and Review for January 2015

We’re well into 2015 now, and it’s time for the first unboxings of the year to start rolling in! First up we have a Loot Crate with the theme “Rewind”. Be a doll and check out the video:

So there’s the first Loot Crate of the year, and my feelings are mixed about it. Let’s go to the breakdown:

“Voltron” Blueprint t-shirt: As I said in the video, this is by far my favorite item in the box. I’m not a fan of super “busy” shirts, but for some reason these blueprint ones appeal to me, and though I was never huge into Voltron as I kid, I cannot deny the pop culture relevance. Since this t-shirt is a Loot Crate exclusive, I’m assigning it my default t-shirt value of $15.
“8-Bit” sunglasses: I know I’ve seen these in a box before, but I’m not sure if it was a Loot Crate from before I started getting Loot Crate, or if it was a Nerd Block. Either way, these are cute, though I doubt I’ll wear them very often. Believe it or not, these glasses are worth about $8, mainly because they actually do have 100% UV protection.
“Asteroids” tie from Black Tie Geek: I have to say it’s interesting to see something very different like this in my Loot Crate, and it actually is a pretty snazzy tie. Unfortunately I don’t expect it to get worn any time soon, but it’s still a bit of a unique addition to the box. Also, apparently, this is Black Tie Geek’s first product, and their website isn’t completely set up yet, so I can’t find a value for this item, therefore I’m assigning it the average price of a similar tie, which is about $15.
“So Analog” Game Cartridge Figure: With a theme like “Rewind”, you had to expect some kind of super-retro game reference, and this is a funny way to do it. This little cartridge dude with his blaster gun is pretty humorous, I have to admit. There are a bunch of these little dudes, but on the website I can only find 7″ tall ones at a price of $35. Since the one I got in my box is about 3″ I’m going to estimate and say it’s a value of about $15, although I personally think that would be super over-priced for what it is.
Comic Note Book: I can definitely see this being a cute addition to the box for some people, and Loot Crate is also hosting a comic where you can win a year’s subscription by submitting your hand-drawn comic, but it’s not a big deal to me. If anything, I might scribble some notes in it, but I definitely won’t be using it to draw my own comic. These little notebooks go for $3 each.
“Star Wars” #001 Variant Cover comic: I’m a big Star Wars fan, so little things like this are amusing, even if I don’t open them, and I appreciate the fact that Loot Crate regularly gets variant cover comics for their boxes. As usual, since it is a variant cover, I’ll round the price of the comic up to about $5.

Total approximate value of box: $61
Total cost to me: $33

So this is something I’ve experienced before; the value of the box is technically there, but some of that value is meaningless to me. In particular I’m talking about the 8-bit glasses, the Asteroids tie, and the little cartridge dude. All three things are cute, but considering that I probably won’t get any use out of the tie it’s value doesn’t really mean anything, and I feel that the glasses and the cartridge dude are overpriced for what they are.

That said, I love the t-shirt, and comics are always cool, but those two things alone don’t make up the cost of the box so it’s a bit of a wash that way. So you can see where my mixed feelings are coming from…it doesn’t look like a half-bad box, but when considering my personal feelings about each item the value just doesn’t seem to work out. So for the first Loot Crate of 2015 I’ve kinda got one thumb up and one thumb down, and I’m hoping that next month’s box ups the ante a little.

What do you think of the Loot Crate box for January 2015? Do you receive Loot Crate and were you happy with this box? Please share!