Today our June Loot Pets box from Loot Crate arrived...and I intend to send it right back to them. Apparently they've abandoned the entire concept of a geeky dog subscription box, because this month's theme is 'dogs'. It's full of dog stuff that dogs like....just like every other dog subscription box out there.
I was hoping they'd at least attempt to make up for last month's fail crate. Nope. We received: A pair of matching shirts that say "Dogtopia" and have pictures of dogs on them, some dog treats, a stuffed hot dog toy, and a charm shaped like a fire hydrant. That's right, not one remotely geeky item in the entire box. I emailed them to ask WTF. This is the response I received:
"As with all of our crates we announce themes for the month. This month the theme was DOGTOPIA. There were no extra franchises advertized on this month, stating it was going to be centered around the dogs themselves. Apologies if you didn't connect with the crate this month."
Apparently we were all supposed to catch on that "Dogtopia" meant "regular ordinary dog stuff". Their Facebook post described it as "A dog's favorite franchises". I guess they consider fire hydrants and hot dogs to be franchises? "Dogtopia" is a word they invented specifically for this box, so making a shirt about it is weird and self-referential. Like, if I wear it and someone asks about it, there's no explanation I can give because it means nothing at all. I suppose I could try to explain about Loot Crate and how this was their theme for June, but I will never find someone who will see my shirt and go "I get that reference!"
Our first few Loot Pets boxes were amazing and wonderful. Last month's was a major disappointment, and this one is just insulting. Would they do a regular Loot Crate full of NFL merchandise because it's "America's favorite franchise"? I wouldn't have thought so before, but now I'm not actually sure. I liked Loot Crate because they were relentlessly geeky. I don't understand why they decided to change their entire premise and do regular dog boxes instead of geeky dog boxes, but after 'Dogtopia' I am no longer a subscriber.
Showing posts with label geek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label geek. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
LootPets January: Invasion!
We got our second Loot Pets box by Loot Crate, and the theme this month is Invasion! There is so much awesome packed into these subscription boxes, it's difficult to convey. It's clear how much thought has gone into each and every item in the box, and there's something to love about everything. Even stuff Brisbane can't have is wonderful in one way or another.
There is an exclusive X-Files t-shirt designed for Threadless. Yes, those are UFOs abducting people. Ru is going to look smashing in this shirt as soon as it gets warm enough for him to stop wearing sweaters and enormously fluffy coats.
That 6' Space Invaders leash is by A Crowded Coop, a company I was previously unaware of. It turns out they make practically all of the cool geek and pop culture stuff out there, like Ru's Star Trek Collar, the Original Series communicator poo bag dispenser that lives on my purse, and a ton of the awesome stuff found at ThinkGeek.com.
Our last box had some awesome stuff by Quantum Mechanix, and this month we got a Battlestar Galactica disc that's just the right size for Sisci. We've been working on our disc skills, and this is a nice one to toss without worrying about it bonking into something.
The Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps are by Loving Pets, they're definitely more like puffed chips and less like dried root vegetables. Normally I would be grumbling about getting sweet potato treats now that I know Brisbane is also allergic to sweet potatoes, but Loot Crate is forgiven because of the illustration on the bag. It features flying alien sweet potato crisps frying people with their laser eyestalks. The crisps themselves are wavy and unlike anything I've seen before. Sisci is willing to eat them, so hopefully they won't go to waste.
The last thing in the box is a silver flying saucer Loot Pets collar charm. These things are wonderfully collectible. Actually the boxes themselves are pretty darned collectible, too. The inside is printed in a matching theme, it's almost like finding a handwritten note from my mom in my lunchbox (Note: My mother never actually wrote me lunchbox notes, and I packed all my own lunches anyway, so this is pure speculation). The boxes are just the right size for storing various odds and ends. Thank you, all you passionate geeks who invented the Loot Crate concept, for these small but significant details that make your subscription boxes extra-special.
There is an exclusive X-Files t-shirt designed for Threadless. Yes, those are UFOs abducting people. Ru is going to look smashing in this shirt as soon as it gets warm enough for him to stop wearing sweaters and enormously fluffy coats.
That 6' Space Invaders leash is by A Crowded Coop, a company I was previously unaware of. It turns out they make practically all of the cool geek and pop culture stuff out there, like Ru's Star Trek Collar, the Original Series communicator poo bag dispenser that lives on my purse, and a ton of the awesome stuff found at ThinkGeek.com.
Our last box had some awesome stuff by Quantum Mechanix, and this month we got a Battlestar Galactica disc that's just the right size for Sisci. We've been working on our disc skills, and this is a nice one to toss without worrying about it bonking into something.
The Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps are by Loving Pets, they're definitely more like puffed chips and less like dried root vegetables. Normally I would be grumbling about getting sweet potato treats now that I know Brisbane is also allergic to sweet potatoes, but Loot Crate is forgiven because of the illustration on the bag. It features flying alien sweet potato crisps frying people with their laser eyestalks. The crisps themselves are wavy and unlike anything I've seen before. Sisci is willing to eat them, so hopefully they won't go to waste.
The last thing in the box is a silver flying saucer Loot Pets collar charm. These things are wonderfully collectible. Actually the boxes themselves are pretty darned collectible, too. The inside is printed in a matching theme, it's almost like finding a handwritten note from my mom in my lunchbox (Note: My mother never actually wrote me lunchbox notes, and I packed all my own lunches anyway, so this is pure speculation). The boxes are just the right size for storing various odds and ends. Thank you, all you passionate geeks who invented the Loot Crate concept, for these small but significant details that make your subscription boxes extra-special.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
LootPets: We Got a New Subscription Box
I had decided we were done with subscription boxes for a while, but then I heard about the Loot Pets box by Loot Crate and lost my mind. I mean look how cool this is! Loot Crate does subscription boxes for geeks and gamers, with fandom-related goodies. For those unaware, I am so geeky that I've read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft, seen every episode of every iteration of Star Trek, and own the original three Star Wars films on laserdisc. That's right, laserdisc. Clearly the Loot Pets box was made just for us.
The theme this month is Galaxy! We got:
A Hypergalactic T-shirt by Loot Crate Labs, with planets and satellites and snowflakes and a lovely blending of space and winter. I had some trouble picking out the shirt size because Ru is so long and slinky. I love the length of this shirt on him, but it is very wide. I may dust off my sewing machine and sew a dart down the belly to improve the fit.
We also got a Founding Member Collar Charm, for subscribing to the first-ever Loot Crate for pets. It's a gold rocket ship, so much more awesome than the usual bones and hearts.
There's a collar branded Weyland-Yutani, the scary corporation from the Alien films. Instead of the company logo, "Building Better Worlds", the collar says "Building Better Dogs". It's by Quantum Mechanix. This collar will fit both Sisci and Brisbane. This is definitely one of the coolest things in this box, it's so awesome I can't even stand it. I adore subtle fandom fun, this is why I have a Miskatonic University parking pass sticker on my car.
The Firefly Troublemaker Dog Dish is the other super awesome item in our box. It has a non-skid ring on the bottom and is dishwasher, microwave, and oven-safe. It's a nice size, small enough for a big Ru bowl but big enough for Brisbane's dinner most nights. This one's also by Quantum Mechanix, makers of accurate, awesome, and sometimes delightfully subtle film and tv series goodies.
The last thing in here is a bag of Galactic Snaps Dog Treats by Loot Crate Labs. They are made from freeze-dried beef liver and nothing else, so Brisbane gets to have some!
Overall this is basically the best subscription box ever. I guess it's more for me than for them this time, given that there was only one bag of treats and no toys in there, but I'm sure they'll be something squeakable or throwable or chewable in there next month.
What's your favorite geek fandom?
The theme this month is Galaxy! We got:
A Hypergalactic T-shirt by Loot Crate Labs, with planets and satellites and snowflakes and a lovely blending of space and winter. I had some trouble picking out the shirt size because Ru is so long and slinky. I love the length of this shirt on him, but it is very wide. I may dust off my sewing machine and sew a dart down the belly to improve the fit.
We also got a Founding Member Collar Charm, for subscribing to the first-ever Loot Crate for pets. It's a gold rocket ship, so much more awesome than the usual bones and hearts.
There's a collar branded Weyland-Yutani, the scary corporation from the Alien films. Instead of the company logo, "Building Better Worlds", the collar says "Building Better Dogs". It's by Quantum Mechanix. This collar will fit both Sisci and Brisbane. This is definitely one of the coolest things in this box, it's so awesome I can't even stand it. I adore subtle fandom fun, this is why I have a Miskatonic University parking pass sticker on my car.
The Firefly Troublemaker Dog Dish is the other super awesome item in our box. It has a non-skid ring on the bottom and is dishwasher, microwave, and oven-safe. It's a nice size, small enough for a big Ru bowl but big enough for Brisbane's dinner most nights. This one's also by Quantum Mechanix, makers of accurate, awesome, and sometimes delightfully subtle film and tv series goodies.
The last thing in here is a bag of Galactic Snaps Dog Treats by Loot Crate Labs. They are made from freeze-dried beef liver and nothing else, so Brisbane gets to have some!
Overall this is basically the best subscription box ever. I guess it's more for me than for them this time, given that there was only one bag of treats and no toys in there, but I'm sure they'll be something squeakable or throwable or chewable in there next month.
What's your favorite geek fandom?
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