We’ve got another My Geek Box, and this one has a really odd variety of items, featuring Five Nights at Freddy’s, Batman and Superman, Ghostbusters, Breaking Bad, and a t-shirt inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.
We’ve also got a discount code for you guys! If you’re interested in checking out My Geek Box for yourself, click right here ►https://www.mygeekbox.co.uk and use coupon code TBASE10 at checkout to get £10 off your first box!
Okay, seriously…The Collector’s Case knocked it out of the park with this box. They’re getting better and better guys! If you want to check them out, please click on this link when you sign up to help support the channel! —> https://thecollectorscase.com/?wpam_id=6
The Collectors Case sent me another box! And I totally wasn’t expecting it! Let’s see what they’ve sent me this month. ^_^
Let it be known that I am not a one-trick pony. I’m definitely completely obsessed with Funko Pop figures, but there are lots of other (Funko and non-Funko) collectibles that I enjoy as well. Some of those are the Funko Dorbz line. I’m not a die-hard fan of them, and I’ve seen lots of them that I thought were totally unnecessary, but there are definitely some that I think are absolutely awesome and I simply must have them for my collection. That’s why I come to you guys today with a slightly different mini-haul.
I recently picked up four of the a-Dorbz-able little figures, and since I just happen to have the Funko Pops for these characters as well, I did a little bit of a comparison too. Hope you guys enjoy it!
This week I have a series of late unboxing videos, owing to the fact that precisely nothing came before I left for out West last month. Starting out of the gates we have the Nerd Block for July 2015, for which the theme was “Humanity’s Last Hope”. Check out the unboxing video:
Right off the bat I’ll go ahead and admit that this was actually a half-decent Nerd Block, as compared to previous boxes. I was not disappointed, is what I’m saying. So let’s go ahead and look at the breakdown:
“Sweep the Leg” t-shirt:
So, I totally didn’t get this, but this shirt is supposed to be a G.I. Joe/Karate Kid mash-up. I figured that it was Cobra Commander, but I really wouldn’t have guessed that it was also supposed to be a Karate Kid reference as well. It’s not really very clever at all, honestly. That said, it’s not a terrible shirt, and I will wear it. One thumb up and one thumb down for this one, and a standard shirt value of $15.
Transformers dangler:
As I said in the video, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these things, and honestly I’m not a big fan of them. I already have a couple from previous boxes and I’ve never used them because, a) my phone doesn’t have a spot to dangle anything from, and b) even if it did I’m pretty sure a dangler would just end up scratching my screen since I keep my phone in my pocket most of the time. These go for about $5.
Iron Man Pocket Pop keychain:
Okay, I’m definitely happy with this particular item. I love Pops, and though I do think that some of their expanded line of products are a little silly, I do like the keychains and will be happy to use this one. It’s Mark 43 Iron Man! I love him! He’s so cute! Okay, okay, hold it together Tracey. It’s all good. These Pocket Pops are a little overpriced, in my opinion; on average they seem to go for about $10 wherever I’ve found them.
Ghostbusters TYVEK wallet:
This item is very deceptive; it honestly feels like you could easily rip it into a million pieces with your bare hands, but it is, in fact, made of TYVEK, which is supposed to be practically indestructible. This is a pretty neat thing to have, although it’s not exactly huge, so you couldn’t fit all too much in it. My husband gave me the idea of using this wallet specifically for nerdy cards and the like (such as our EB Games discount card, for instance), so I’ll definitely consider that. This wallet is a Nerd Block exclusive, but I’ve found similar wallets going for $15.
“Spike” Titan vinyl figure:
Here’s another one that I can definitely say I love. You guys know that I prefer Pops to Titans, but some of the Titans are pretty cool, and the Buffy line falls amongst those. I also love how this little Spike figure comes with Giles’ mug filled with blood; that’s a cute little addition that makes him even more recognizable. Two thumbs up for this one! Similarly to Pops, these Titan figures go for an average of about $12, depending on where you get them.
Mad Max: Fury Road comic:
My brain totally turned off when I came around to this item. As my husband so kindly pointed out, I really could have talked about the movie a bit when this comic came out of the box, but it was like a switch turned off in my brain and I was just done. Anyway, we watched Fury Road not that long ago and I really enjoyed it a lot. It’s definitely over-the-top and pretty silly, but it was tons of fun, so go watch it right now! As far as the comic is concerned, it’s another one to add to the collection, but I don’t have much more to say than that. I’ll give this one a standard comic issue value of about $5.
Total approximate value of box: $62
Total cost to me: $41
So there you go… Honestly this box was pretty good, especially compared to other recent boxes. The big problem with Nerd Block is that the cost is way too much considering that you’re not likely to be happy with every single item, and the reason the cost is too much is because of the shipping. The base price of $20 for a Nerd Block is completely acceptable, but you end up doubling that price by the time the shipping is added. Comparatively, Loot Crate is a base $30, with the shipping automatically worked in there, so it ends up being cheaper than Nerd Block by a few dollars and is consistently more enjoyable.
So that’s the main reason why I’ve decided to finally cancel Nerd Block. Perhaps I might consider resubscribing in the future, but I don’t think it’s very likely any time soon, unless the Canadian dollar comes back up considerably.
What did you think of Nerd Block for July 2015? Did you receive one? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? What do you think of the cost issue? Please share!
You all know that I love subscription boxes, especially the nerdy ones. And if you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know that my favorite things to receive in these boxes are Funko Pops. With those tidbits of knowledge in mind, you are probably going to be unsurprised that I took a chance on something called Vinylpalooza.
Vinylpalooza is a one-time box purchase event that is occasionally put on by Nerd Block. Basically it is a $20 box with four vinyl collectible figures in it, and this most recent event also had 50 random “Golden Ticket” boxes, for which the purchasers received four Funko Pops. Obviously, for a vinyl figure collector, this box sounds pretty awesome. With a little gentle prodding from my husband I decided to give it a try and see what I got; after all, it’s only a one-time purchase, not an entire subscription. So was I happy with it? Well, here’s the unboxing video:
So if you didn’t watch the video, here’s the thing: this box is not for someone who is already a subscriber to Nerd Block. I suspected ahead of time that this would be the case, but the box is basically an excuse for Nerd Block to get rid of overstocked items from previous boxes. As such, if you’ve been subscribing to Nerd Block itself for at least a little while, the chances that you’re going to get all double items is pretty damn good. Let’s take a quick look at the breakdown of what I got in my box.
Ecto-1 Ghostbusters vehicle from Titan Merchandise:
As explained in the video, this is an item that was included in both Nerd Block and Horror Block only a couple of months ago. For subscribers of both services they gave the option to trade out the Horror Block figure for a Funko instead. As a result they clearly wound up with tons of leftover Ecto-1’s, because this figure seems to have been in every Vinylpalooza box. It’s a cute little figure, but I traded out my Horror Block one for a Funko a couple of months ago and now I’ve ended up with two of them anyway. The value of this item is approximately $15
Saul Goodman figure from Titan Merchandise:
I originally got this Titan figure several months ago in a Nerd Block. At the time I didn’t care much for it because I hadn’t watched Breaking Bad yet, and it’s still not a huge deal to me because I’ve only managed to watch the first season so far. My husband is a big fan, so that’s okay, but of course we don’t need two of the identical figure. This item also seems to be in every single Vinylpalooza box, as far as I can tell from the unboxing videos, and it’s worth about $10
10th Doctor 4.5” figure from Titan Merchandise:
This was probably the item that annoyed me the most because I literally just got this in last month’s Nerd Block. So even if you’ve only been a subscriber for one month before deciding to try the Vinylpalooza box, you’d have a double here. I was doubly frustrated because according to the card from last month’s Nerd Block you could have gotten any of three different versions of this figure with the Doctor wearing different clothes, but I got the identical one that I already had. That’s just my luck, I guess. Believe it or not, this figure also seems to be in every Vinylpalooza box, meaning that not only is everyone winding up with tons of doubles, but the box is significantly less random than the advertisements would have led you to believe. This one is worth about $15
Dr Raymond Stantz figure from Funko Pop:
This is the only item I got that wasn’t a double for me, and as mentioned in the video it’s still kind of a double because I have the marshmallow-fluffed Comic Con versions of the four Ghostbusters. However, of the options I’ve seen, I’m glad I ended up getting this figure because there only seems to have been a handful of Funko Pop options, and the other ones would have been exact doubles for me. At the very least this one gives me the opportunity to check another dude off my Funko Pop list. He’s worth about $12.
Total approximate value of box: $52
Total cost to me: $36
So, as you can see, the long and short of it is that this purchase was pretty much a bust for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to either sell or trade the three doubles, but as it stands I effectively paid $36 to gain a $12 Pop. If you weren’t already a subscriber to Nerd Block, this single-shot purchase had the opportunity to be a pretty awesome deal, but here’s the thing: if you weren’t already a subscriber to Nerd Block, you probably would never have heard about this box, because you get ads for things like Vinylpalooza by being a subscriber (or doing business with their affiliate, Shirt Punch). In this way, I’m betting that the overwhelming majority of people who bought this box were Nerd Block subscribers and thus ended up with a bunch of doubles in their collection like I did.
Long story short, I did not feel that picking up this box was worth it. I wanted to give it a try just in case (and on the off-chance that I might have wound up getting a “Golden Ticket” box), but I now know for the future that if I’ve been receiving Nerd Blocks for a while, I probably won’t want the next Vinylpalooza box.
What did you think? Did you purchase a Vinylpalooza box? Were your items almost identical to mine? Did you get anything different? Please share!
I do so love doing these super-late unboxing-and-review posts, but until I can convince all of the subscription box companies to ship around my work schedule, this is what we’ve got to deal with.
Today it’s the Horror Block for April 2015, and it wasn’t half bad if I do say so myself. Why not check out the unboxing video?
Not too shabby, right? Let’s go to the breakdown:
I <<Whatever>> Evil shirt: As I’ve mentioned, the hubby and I haven’t been terribly impressed with lots of the Horror Block t-shirts, but this one isn’t too bad. Evil Dead is one of my hubby’s favorite horror movie series, so you can’t really go wrong. Assigning this shirt my standard value of $15.
“Dr Peter Venkman” Funko Pop: Ya’ll know I loves me my Funko Pops, and though I do already have a Venkman Pop, I will happily accept this one as part of my Horror Block since it’s technically different from the one I have. The price of Funkos can be pretty random depending on where you’re getting them and how rare they are, but as this is a common Pops I’m going to assign it the value that it usually costs me to buy Pops when they show up at the local shops: approximately $13
“Killer Shots” Skeleton shot glasses: These are actually super-cute, and it’s always nice to get something in these boxes that is useful. That’s not to say that I use shot glasses on a day-to-day basis, but it’ll be fun to make some bright white shots in these glasses when we have friends around. Two thumbs up, Horror Block. You can get a four-pack of these little guys for about $14, so I’m calling to the 2-pack worth $7.
“Bates Motel” mug: Sometimes getting mugs in these boxes is cool, but I’m not terribly impressed with this one. It’s pretty plain, and actually kinda looks like something someone would make on CafePress using a stock image. Couple that with the fact that we just have so many mugs already, and I’m not horribly happy with this item. I half-heartedly allow it a standard mug value of about $10.
“Overlook Motel” coasters: I’ll admit it…these are kinda funny. It would be interesting to just throw them down during a party and see if anyone realizes what the pattern is that’s holding their beer. But they’re not exactly a game-changing addition to the box. Just a junky little thing that’s kind of amusing. I can’t find these online, so I’m estimating based on the fact that they’re paper coasters, and come in cheap plastic packaging. Let’s say…$3.
Rue Morgue magazine: Finally, as always, the magazine that I never read. Maybe someday when I’m bored I’ll actually take a look through some of these magazines, but for now I personally see them as an item that could be something a lot cooler for the same value. These go for $10 a piece.
Total approximate value of box: $58
Total cost to me: $38
So a couple of things… One, the value wasn’t too shabby. There have been a couple on the low end the past few months, so it’s nice to see that number work its way back up a bit. Second, though I technically don’t much care for the last three items in the box, the first three make up for it. Every box with a Funko is an almost instant win for me, and the shot glasses might not be a high value but they’re still pretty awesome. Couple that with a t-shirt that might actually get worn around here, and I’m happy.
Unfortunately, when you take those three items that I like and combine their values, you’re hardly getting what I paid for the box, which is a big downer and the main reason that I’m going to be cancelling Horror Block. I’ll be getting the box for May (probably sometime after I’ve gone out West), but that will be the last one because I just can’t justify the amount of money I’m spending for the number of cool items I actually end up getting.
Impress me in May, Horror Block. It’s your last shot.
What did you think? Did you receive a Horror Block for April 2015? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? Do you feel the cost is worth it? Please share!
Now that we’ve gotten the outrageously late Horror Block out of the way, it’s time to move on to the only a little bit ridiculously late Nerd Block. I had actually cancelled Nerd Block before April, but when my husband and I saw what the theme for April was we decided to resubscribe for at least one more month.
Check out the unboxing video!
Awesomesauce, right? To the breakdown!
“88 Miles Per Hour” t-shirt: I have to be honest, I’m a little amazed that I got two nice shirts from the Nerd Block family in one month. This shirt, which features the DeLorean from “Back to the Future” and just screams the 80’s, is pretty rad, I have to say. To it I assign my usual t-shirt value of $15.
Exclusive “Ecto-1” vinyl collectible from Titan: When I heard that there was going to be a Ghostbusters vinyl collectible in the April Nerd Block, I assumed it would probably be a Funko, but I’m definitely not disappointed. This little vinyl Ecto-1 is awesome, and will make a welcome addition to our nerd shelves. Since it’s an exclusive item for Nerd Block, it’s difficult to put a value on it, but based on the cost of similarly-sized Titan collectibles, I’m assigning it a value of $15.
Pac-Man heat-change mug: Who doesn’t love a cool heat-changing mug, and who doesn’t love Pac-Man? Honestly, the last thing in the world that my house needs more of is mugs, but I can’t complain about this one. When empty it looks like a blank Pac-Man stage, but when filled with hot liquid Pac-Man, the ghosts, and the dots and fruit magically appear. Too cute, and you can pick up your own online for about $10.
“Tough Sh*t” by Kevin Smith: Continuing on with their new habit of including books in their blocks, this month Nerd Block gives us Kevin Smith’s autobiography. I can’t say that I’m necessarily on board with the book-in-the-block thing, but if they had to give me one, this was a good one to pick. Knowing Kevin Smith, I’m sure it’ll be a humorous read. This book goes for $7.
Nerd Play trading cards: UGH. Nerd Block, why did you do it? You had an excellent box going, and you had to muck it up with more of these silly trading cards. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Nerd Play people are awesome at what they do, but trading cards of cosplayers. Arg. Anyway, I can’t remember what I valued these at last time, but based on other packs of trading cards, mixed with the fact that I’m sure these will never be worth anything at all, let’s say…$2.
Total approximate value of box: $49
Total cost to me: $37
Okay, so this box is proof that overall value does not necessarily equate to enjoyment. This is one of the lowest value boxes I’ve gotten from Nerd Block, but I’m actually not upset about it. It was a good box. The Ecto-1 collectible is awesome, the shirt is actually a decent one, and the Pac-Man mug is very cute (and useful). The book isn’t something I would have necessarily pickd up on my own, but it’s still not a bad item, meaning that the Nerd Play cards are the only thing I don’t enjoy from April’s box. I’d say that’s pretty decent overall.
The only thing, which I have to mention, is of course that the cost of the block is still a frustrating. Compared to other boxes, which are both cheaper and consistently more enjoyable, it’s hard to justify spending the money on Nerd Block, especially when so much of the cost is a ridiculously huge shipping fee. If it weren’t for that, I would never complain, because the boxes are definitely worth the base cost.
That said, I was planning to cancel again immediately after this box, buttttt….(yeah, you knew the ‘but’ was coming, didn’t you) then we found out that the theme for May is ‘Anime’ and that there’s going to be a Funko in it. So yeah. Stop judging me. Rawr. ^_^
What do you think? Did you recieve Nerd Block for the month of April? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? Were you able to fully enjoy the theme as a child of the 80s? Please share!
In 2014 I signed up for several different subscription box services, and of all the “geek and gamer” boxes I tested out, Loot Crate is definitely my favorite. The December “Anniversary” box continued that trend, so why not take a look at the unboxing video:
As mentioned in the video I do feel that Loot Crate over-hyped the “biggest box ever” thing (honestly, the box could have been smaller because it was half empty), but if it hadn’t been for the expectations surrounding said hype, this still would have ranked up there with some of the best boxes. Check out the breakdown:
“Joker Batman” Funko Pop figure: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Funko Pop figs always make a box worth it for me. I just love them that much. This one is a bit weird and confusing (was there a storyline where Batman went nuts and started dressing up like Joker?) but it’s still pretty neat and an exclusive at that. It’s difficult to put a value on an exclusive, so I’ll just assign it the value of the average Funko, rounded up a bit to an even $15.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Groot socks: This is the second pair of socks I’ve received from Loot Crate and both pairs were pretty awesome, to be honest with you (as awesome as socks can be, anyway). I think these might be an exclusive as well, since I can’t find them anywhere online, so I’m going to assign them the same value as another pair of GotG socks I found, which is about $6.
“Captain America” shield air freshener: Surprisingly, I found this air freshener (or something almost identical) on the Walmart website. It goes for about $2, which sounds about right to me.
Mini Candy Cane: I’m not even going to put a value on this. Come on; you can get about fifty of these at the dollar store for a buck.
Collector Pin: As always, these pins are probably worth $1 max.
“The Simpsons” paper wallet: Well, it feels like paper, but apparently it is, in fact, plastic. And believe it or not, it goes for $15. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a lot to you, but if you held the thing you’d probably raise your eyebrows. It feels like one walk in the rain would completely destroy it.
Tetris Sticker Set: These are so cute, and I’m going nuts trying to figure out what I’m going to do with them, because I absolutely have to do something cool with them. These also go for $15, and while that seems like a lot for stickers you also get a ton of them, so that’s pretty cool.
Ghostbusters door hanger: While kinda cute, this is literally just a piece of bristol board with pictures on either side, so I’m not even going to look it up, I’m just assigning it $1.
“Batman: Endgame” comic: Again, it’s difficult to assign a value to something that’s exclusive. Normally this comic would be worth about $5, so I’ll bump it up to about $7 for the exclusive cover.
Crunchyroll 30 day trial: Similar to Netflix, but for Anime, this online service costs $7 per month, so $7 is what the trial is worth.
Total approximate value of box: $69
Total cost to me: $33
So here’s the thing…the value is definitely there, but as usual value is in the eye of the beholder. My biggest miff with this box is the Simpsons wallet because a. I definitely won’t use it and, b. I absolutely cannot see it being worth $15. That said, everything else in the box is actually pretty cool. A Funko is always welcome, and the Tetris sitckers are cute, and those two items cover the cost of the box right there, Plus the air freshener and the socks, while they seem like lame items, are actually pretty amusing to me, so I guess all in all it was a pretty decent Loot Crate. Hopefully they will continue to please me in 2015.
This is it, ladies and gents: my first ever review for Nerd Block and Nerd Block Jr (for Girls). In case you don’t know, Nerd Block is a subscription box service aimed at nerds. For a monthly fee you receive a mystery box full of geeky goodies to satiate your nerd lust. This particular box service has four options: the original Nerd Block and the new Horror Block are aimed at adults, always include a shirt in your chosen size, and cost $19.99 plus shipping and handling. The two Nerd Block Jr. options (one for girls, one for boys, aimed at ages 6 to 11) include all toys/collectibles at a cost of $13.99 plus shipping and handling. Once you subscribe your credit card will be charged every month just before the boxes are shipped, but you can cancel your subscription at any time simply by emailing the Nerd Block crew at any time before the current box is shipped (once it’s shipped, it’s yours).
This is the first subscription box service that I decided to try, seeing as my husband, my daughter, and I are all enormous nerds. I ordered an original Nerd Block (my husband and I enjoy different nerdy things, so I figure we can share what’s in the box according to our likes), as well as a Nerd Block Jr (for Girls) for my daughter. Now you all know that I’m not a fan of dictating what kind of toys a kid can play with, but I’ve noticed that the boy version of Nerd Block Jr tends to include a lot of video game-related products, which my daughter is as-yet too young for, so I decided to go with the girls version since it tends to include items from things she enjoys, such as My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, and Disney stuff.
Now, before I get into the review, I want to explain how I’m going to do things. I’ve seen lots of reviewers talk about the “value” of the box, and I think that’s an important part of a review. To those ends, I’m going to talk about “value” as it relates to my neck of the woods, Nova Scotia, Canada. It tends to cost a lot more to ship to Nova Scotia than other parts of Canada, which is why my Nerd Block subscriptions are a little more expensive than others may find. Additionally, many of the items in these boxes may be things that I can’t get in Nova Scotia. Thus, when breaking down the cost analysis of the items, I will be basing the information on what it would cost me, personally, to get these items to myself in Nova Scotia. If an item can be purchased at the local Walmart, I’ll give you the price plus tax that I would have to pay. If an item is something that I would have to order online I will give you the price plus shipping and handling that it would cost me to get it to myself in Nova Scotia. Clear enough? Alright then, let’s get on with it!
Say hello to two members of the Nerd Block family. When Nerd Block first began the subscription service was a bit cheaper, but so too were their shipping methods. I’ve watched plenty of review videos from some of the original boxes, and I just wanted to mention that I’m very glad that they upped their boxing quality. The original boxes were very flimsy and something that could easily be taken apart (and stolen from) during shipping. I don’t know if this ever happened to anyone, but it definitely seemed very possible. The new boxes are very sturdy, and much more professional-looking. Just thought I’d mention that. 🙂
I opened the original Nerd Block first, with my husband in tow. We were both pretty excited, but I have to admit right off the bat that said excitement waned pretty quickly. I’ll explain as I go on. The total cost of the original Nerd Block plus shipping and handling to Nova Scotia was $33.05.
The first item in the box was a classic Ghostbusters t-shirt. I will concede that it is a decent shirt. Unfortunately, while I love the movie, Ghostbusters isn’t the kind of thing that I would care to wear on a shirt, and my husband isn’t a fan of block-picture shirts like this one. He’ll probably wear it as a back-up shirt, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling start for either of us.
I couldn’t locate this particular item online (other than a few people selling it on Ebay), and I believe that it is a Nerd Block exclusive, so I can’t actually give you a good cost analysis on this one. Thus I’m going to take a stab at guessing the approximate value. I’ve ordered plenty of shirts online, and with the terrible shipping costs that I tend to incur, the average cost tends to be anywhere from $15 to $30. Since this shirt doesn’t hold a great deal of value to my husband or I in particular, I’m going to assign it a value of $15.
June 2014 was a special “double shirt” month with Nerd Block, so our second item was another shirt, this one emblazoned with an image of “The Iron Sentinel”. This shirt definitely appealed to me more than the first one did, although I have to admit that the “Iron Sentinel” is a little obscure for me. I would have preferred a shirt with just Wolverine on it.
This shirt also appears to be a Nerd Block exclusive, from what I can find, so I’ll have to assign an arbitrary cost to this one as well. Since I’ll probably wear this one much more often than my husband will wear the Ghostbusters one, I’ll give it a value of $20.
Item number three was a little collectible die-cast Mario Kart figure, and of the available options we got Mario. It’s a cute little thing, if not incredibly tiny, and will likely wind up on a shelf with other video game swag if my husband and I ever manage to get the basement set up the way we want it.
It took a bit of searching and a lot of incredulity, but apparently this tiny little figure goes for about $13 in nearby stores. For the purpose of my cost analysis I will use this number, but I just want to state here and now that I would never pay more than a couple of bucks for this tiny thing. It fits in the palm of my three-year-old’s hand, for crying out loud.
***Edit July 9th***
While out shopping we found this little guy on clearance for $2.50. Since I don’t think it’s worth much to begin with, I’m reassigning it that value and have adjusted the box total value accordingly.
Moving along, we have a Minecraft sticker of a Creeper face. Kinda cute, but not exactly thrilling. Neither my husband and I have played Minecraft, so this will probably wind up in one of my daughter’s sticker books.
I had a bit of a time nailing down a cost for this one, since they evidently normally come in packs, but the average seems to be about $2 (which, by the way, I think is ridiculous for one sticker).
Item number five is a Doctor Who collectible vinyl figure from Titans. Upon ripping the box open I found that I had received the Third Doctor. The Titans figures are pretty cute, but I have to fess up again: I was a bit disappointed in this. My reasoning is that leading up to the shipping of June’s Nerd Blocks I was continually reminded about how this month’s block included “one exclusive Doctor Who item”, and with all that hype I was expecting something a little bit more exciting than a tiny blind box figurine. It’s cute, and I can honestly say that I’d love to have them all, but blind boxes aren’t exactly a thrilling “exclusive item” in my eyes.
The approximate price for these blind box figures seems to be about $10, and to that I have to ask: who are you people who are paying $10-a-pop for an item that you can’t see until you rip it open? I mean, they’re adorable, but they’re only about an inch-and-a-half tall and you could easily spend a couple hundred dollars trying to collect them all!
Finally, we have a “nerd-approved” item, a desk pin-art toy. You probably had one of these when you were a kid, or else you always played with them whenever you found one in a store. Kinda cute, kinda funny, but not something I would ever have purchased for myself. We will probably just give this to the little missy and let her have at it. She might find it amusing for a while.
You can get these toys pretty much anywhere, and since it’s only a small version I’m going to assign it the value that I’ve found them many times for at our local Dollarama: $2.
All in all, based on the numbers I came up with, we’re looking at approximately $51 worth of items for a cost to me of $33.05. It sounds good, and can’t say that the value isn’t there, but my husband and I were disappointed none-the-less. For one thing, the store value of some of the items is far more than we would ever consider spending on them ourselves, which tends to make it feel like they’re worth less than they really are. For instance, I would never have paid more than, say, $3 for that Doctor Who blind box. The fact that it actually costs about $10 doesn’t change the fact that I feel it is only worth about $3. Add in the fact that not a single one of the items is something that my husband or I would have bought for ourselves under normal circumstances, and we can’t help but feel disappointed with our first ever Nerd Block. We’re going to give the subscription a couple of months grace to see how things go, but my husband has all but lost interest at this point. I have high hopes that next month might be better (it’s supposed to include Star Wars items, and I’m a huge SW geek), but it’s a cautious kind of optimism. Prove yourself to me, Nerd Block. I want so badly to love you.
When I chose the girl’s version of Nerd Block Jr for my daughter, it was mostly because every block unboxing that I had seen so far had included at least one My Little Pony item, which I know my daughter would love. Unfortunately (and I should have seen this coming), our first Nerd Block Jr did not include any Pony items. Boo. Unfortunately, I was disappointed already.
The first item in the box was a “How to Train Your Dragon” collectible toy. We got “Night Fury” Toothless. He’s a cute little dragon, though my daughter hasn’t seen either of the movies in this series yet, so it won’t mean much to her. Perhaps I can get her to sit down and watch it sometime soon. She likes dragons, so she might like this little toy.
This is a very common toy that can be found at Walmart. With the tax it’s cost is approximately $6.
Item number two is a small Barbie Mega Bloks toy. It comes with a little Barbie figure and a bunch of tiny accessories. Cute, but I’ll probably end up taking out the accessories because they’re so tiny that they’re pretty much guaranteed to be lost within minutes. The little Barbie doll will probably wind up in one of my daughter’s castle play sets, and she’ll probably play with it, but Barbie isn’t a character she knows (she has Disney princess dolls), so this isn’t a huge deal either.
I couldn’t find this precise item online, but almost-identical items can be found at Walmart and Toys R Us for about $6.
The third item is a blind bag (Nerd Block seems to have a thing for blind bags/boxes) of a little Smurfs Mega Bloks figure. I haven’t opened it yet so I’m not sure who we got, but I can tell you that my daughter hasn’t watched anything related to the Smurfs, so again, this item isn’t that exciting.
These particular blind bags go for an average of about $5.
Finally, something that my daughter will actually genuinely enjoy. This item is a pack of mini-coloring pages (8.8 cm x 12.7 cm) featuring Minnie Mouse, along with 6 mini-markers. Not exactly the most thrilling of items, but my daughter enjoys coloring and recently got into Mickey shows, so this is at least something that will interest her.
I couldn’t find this exact item, but similar items with different characters on the coloring pages go for about $6.
Last (and, if I’m honest, definitely least) is a “Rainbow Magic” book called “Belle the Birthday Fairy”. I have a couple of complaints about this particular item that I feel I have to voice. First off, the book came with a sale sticker still on it. Since this is a mystery box for which the whole point is supposed to be value, I find it a little disconcerting that an item was shipped with a sticker that clearly shows that the item is worth less than it might otherwise have been. I have no misconception that Nerd Block pays full price for the items that they ship out, but shipping an item with a sale sticker right on the front of it is pretty lame. Second issue: this is a paperback novella with no pictures and a “big kid” language level. I can’t say a whole lot since I ordered a “for ages 6-11” box for my three-and-a-half-year-old, but even if my daughter was 6 I would be highly disappointed in this item. It would be lovely for an 11-year-old, but in no way would the average 6-year-old be able to enjoy this book. I could read it to my daughter, I suppose, but I feel that defeats the purpose of the Nerd Block being a “just for kids!” kind of deal.
This book can be found for about $8 at book stores, but since there was a sale sticker emblazoned right on the cover that stated $3, that’s all I’m going to assign to it.
In the end my daughter’s first Nerd Block Jr has a value of approximately $26. Since I paid $22.99 for the block and at least one of the items is something that my daughter will not get any enjoyment out of at all (the book), I was not impressed in the slightest. I’m really hoping that next month’s Jr Block will be better, because if I’m paying basically cost for items that my daughter might not even enjoy, I will definitely not be continuing the subscription.
So there you have it. My first round of Nerd Block boxes was a bit of a bust. Somehow, amazingly, neither of the boxes really included anything that I, my husband, or my daughter are interested in. I liked my little Doctor Who figure, and my daughter will color the hell out of those mini Minnie Mouse pages, but those two items alone were definitely not worth the combined $56 cost of the boxes.
In the end, my husband is completely unimpressed, my daughter is probably not going to show much interest at all, and personally, I’m just disappointed. I really want to like Nerd Block, and from the reviews that I’d seen for previous months I really thought that I would like it. Unfortunately it seems that for my first month Nerd Block chose to pick all items that mean nothing to me and my family.
I’m going to give you one more month for both blocks, Nerd Block. Please impress me.
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