Beauty Calculators
Beauty box real value.
Boxes advertise a retail value for everything inside. Enter the box price and shipping, the value it claims, and how much of it you would actually use. See what the box really costs per product you use, and whether it saves you money. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.
Your box
Box value
Fill the form and press Calculate.
Worked example
A box costs $25 with free shipping and claims $80 of retail value across 5 products. You would use 50% of it, and you normally pay 20% under full price. Value you would use = 80 x 0.50 x (1 - 0.20) = $32.00. Net = 32 - 25 = $7.00 saved per box, $84.00 over 12 months. The box claims 3.2x its cost. The box price spread over the 2.5 products you would use is $10.00 each. Break-even: 25 / (80 x 0.80) = 39.1% of the box.
How it works
value you would use = claimed value x share used x (1 - discount). Net per box = that - (price + shipping). Break-even share = cost / (claimed value x (1 - discount)).
Claimed retail value is a number the box maker reports, and it is normally full price. The part of the box you would never use is worth nothing to you, which is why this tool counts only the share you would use. Samples and deluxe minis hold less product, so be strict with the share.
This is the subscriber view. If you run a box, see the seller-side margin calculator.
Every figure is arithmetic on numbers you type. No prices, sizes or amounts are assumed, and nothing is sent or stored.
Sources: none needed. Claimed value, share used and discount are your own inputs.
FAQ
How do I know if a beauty subscription box is worth it?
Compare the price plus shipping with the value of only the products you would use or buy anyway. If that value is higher than the cost, the box saves you money.
Why not just trust the retail value on the box?
It counts every product at full price, including ones you would never buy. Only the part you use is worth anything to you.
What does the break-even share mean?
It is the share of the box you must use to cover its cost. At $25 for $80 of claimed value and a 20% usual discount, it is about 39.1%.
Does the tool count samples differently?
No. If a box is mostly samples, lower the retail value or the share you would use to reflect it.
Can the saving be negative?
Yes. A negative number means you would pay more than the useful products are worth to you.