No it isn't. It is 17 items for 35 USD/month if you pay per month. It is 31.50 USD/month if you follow their 12 month prepay plan (aka sub for a year and pay in advance).
We also shouldn't put too much stress on the amount of items. It isn't descriptive of what's in the box. Tokyotreat is specific with what's in the box.
These services also seem to have more lightweight, cheaper deals:
* Japancrate's Mini is 5 items for 12 USD/month, original is 25 USD/month with 10 items (1 DIY kit), and the Premium is 30 USD/month with 15 items (1 DIY kit, 1 drink, and 1 bonus item so its 16).
* Sushicandy has a set of 20 for 16 USD, a set of 30 for 20 USD, and a set of 40 for 27 USD. With also, like Japancrate, the option to sub for 3 or 6 months.
* Wowbox has a 15% coupon right now, and has a "try it out" button on the landing page. That invites me to give it a whirl. They also have different themes, and allow me to select different size of packages.
* Kawaiibox specialises in the kawaii candy theme (I suppose? I'm very newbie to this whole theme stuff or Japanese candy but I am curious). Its 19.90 USD for 8-10 items with discount options available if you subscribe for longer. The discounts are modest: 18.90 USD for 18.20 USD for 6 or 12 months respectively.
* Tokyotreat I discussed above as it all started my post, but since GP mentioned 5 companies I want 5 bullets in list. Its more expensive than Candy Japan, but you also get more items.
Even though you had that detail wrong you are right that all of these are indeed cheaper than Candy Japan. I feel like Candy Japan is a very small business compared to these (which isn't going to volume, but then again the question is, is it going for quality then?) and no offence, but a 10% coupon on Candy Japan isn't going to cut it compared to the competition.
All seem to provide free shipping world-wide. Payment options vary. The ones I checked accepted credit card, some accepted PayPal as well but not all.
As a final note, again no offence but you're basically exporting some stuff you buy in bulk from some local stores. In my language we call companies that sell technology equipment with low margin "dozenschuiver" (box mover, aka Sokoban). 50 USD/hour isn't a bad wage at all in that field. Larger Asian stores (called toko here) might even sell Japanese candy. You can't compete with that, so you want it to remain a special niche.
I agree that items/box is a bad metric. A regular-size butterfinger amounts to 4 kid-size. I'm not sure what a better metric might be.
> the question is, is it going for quality then?
I wouldn't say so. The candy in CandyJapan boxes seems about average. I've actually seen some of their candy brands in local grociers' foreign food isles quite cheaply. This leads me to believe the CandyJapan stuff is nothing particularly special. Some of the DIY candy kits they include lately are gross too—they're usually some variant of slime + sugar/flavor.
As a side note I actually ordered a Tokyotreat box. They have decent item count and they include a drink as well. I've really enjoyed some of the random Japanese drinks I've tried and I'm looking forward to receiving some!
No it isn't. It is 17 items for 35 USD/month if you pay per month. It is 31.50 USD/month if you follow their 12 month prepay plan (aka sub for a year and pay in advance).
We also shouldn't put too much stress on the amount of items. It isn't descriptive of what's in the box. Tokyotreat is specific with what's in the box.
These services also seem to have more lightweight, cheaper deals:
* Japancrate's Mini is 5 items for 12 USD/month, original is 25 USD/month with 10 items (1 DIY kit), and the Premium is 30 USD/month with 15 items (1 DIY kit, 1 drink, and 1 bonus item so its 16).
* Sushicandy has a set of 20 for 16 USD, a set of 30 for 20 USD, and a set of 40 for 27 USD. With also, like Japancrate, the option to sub for 3 or 6 months.
* Wowbox has a 15% coupon right now, and has a "try it out" button on the landing page. That invites me to give it a whirl. They also have different themes, and allow me to select different size of packages.
* Kawaiibox specialises in the kawaii candy theme (I suppose? I'm very newbie to this whole theme stuff or Japanese candy but I am curious). Its 19.90 USD for 8-10 items with discount options available if you subscribe for longer. The discounts are modest: 18.90 USD for 18.20 USD for 6 or 12 months respectively.
* Tokyotreat I discussed above as it all started my post, but since GP mentioned 5 companies I want 5 bullets in list. Its more expensive than Candy Japan, but you also get more items.
Even though you had that detail wrong you are right that all of these are indeed cheaper than Candy Japan. I feel like Candy Japan is a very small business compared to these (which isn't going to volume, but then again the question is, is it going for quality then?) and no offence, but a 10% coupon on Candy Japan isn't going to cut it compared to the competition.
All seem to provide free shipping world-wide. Payment options vary. The ones I checked accepted credit card, some accepted PayPal as well but not all.
As a final note, again no offence but you're basically exporting some stuff you buy in bulk from some local stores. In my language we call companies that sell technology equipment with low margin "dozenschuiver" (box mover, aka Sokoban). 50 USD/hour isn't a bad wage at all in that field. Larger Asian stores (called toko here) might even sell Japanese candy. You can't compete with that, so you want it to remain a special niche.