I'm going to mention before I really get into this post that I hesitated a LOT to do this post. I hate controversy/drama, I just want everyone to love everyone and be nice and respectful to each other, etc. Brad has only ever been amazing and lovely to me personally, he is a fantastic person and this is nothing against Brad himself.
Ultimately, I'm making this post because I have two rather glowing reviews of Brad's boxes already uploaded on my channel, and despite those reviews being accurate of my own experiences, other people's experiences have made me wary and I feel like I need to give a bigger picture/more information to my readers so they can make an educated and informed decision before they decide to spend their money on one of these boxes.
Let's get into it.
BEFORE Brad's K Beauty Box:
I first heard of Brad a few weeks into joining this group called "Memebox Addicts Australia." Memebox was an international company based in USA that shipped out amazing Korean/Asianbeauty products with jaw-dropping value. I'm talking like you pay $30 for $200 of products and then you get points and other benefits for your next purchase. It was insane, everyone loved Memebox, and a lot of people used this facebook page to swap their Memebox items they didn't want (called "destashing").
Brad made these destash boxes that everybody loved - they were advertised and sold via the page, and were usually something like $40 for 6 mysterious Korean beauty items. They sold out almost instantly each time - I managed to snatch one and I did an unboxing here.
Girls seriously went crazy over these, and it was a pretty tightknit community. Of course, everyone also encouraged Brad to make his own box so people wouldn't miss out.
THE BEGINNING...
FEBRUARY - The first ever beginning of Brad's .K. Beauty Box was "Brad's Must Haves Box" (which is currently on his website with the shipping date as the August 17 2015, but we'll get back to that later). Payments were made for this box by a lot of people in the group in February, but the post has since been deleted and I can't screenshot and show you. To clarify, many people paid for a $40 box in February, that has had its shipping date changed repeatedly, and has not shipped out yet, despite the website saying August 17 as the shipping date.
(I won this box by helping him name a box in a competition, and he has told me he still wants to honour that,)
Here's the second box Brad released shortly after, since the first one was so popular.
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But for two months, no one receives anything...
May 26, a large uproar was finally caused because people were beginning to express they were fed up.
The post has since been deleted, but amongst the comments were people that wanted refunds or were feeling like they had been cheated.
In the aftermath, Brad makes his own group to separate from this group to post updates.
May 31 - Him giving a timeframe of 15-26th June in shipping out the same box in his own group. He also offers refund for those who wanted one.
June 20 -Him saying it will ship out on June 22 in the original Memebox Addicts group.
June 26th - Me as well as a few other members receive the "My Cute Box" that was released through his website. You can see the unboxing here. Funnily enough, despite the long wait for boxes, everyone's "My Cute Box" arrives in a bag. Some of these people had also ordered a Cleanse Tone Mask box, but didn't get one with their My Cute Box. Still no sign of the Cleanse Tone Mask Box.
June 29 - Brad claiming that some people have already received the CTM box, yet there are no unboxings whatsoever.
Some people point this out, and are removed from the group.
July 31 - The first unboxing of the Cleanse Tone Mask Box appears. It doesn't contain the spoiler item, but everyone overlooks it.
August 21 - People still complaining they hadn't received a Cleanse Tone Mask Box. Or a refund.
CURRENT DAY - SEPTEMBER 3
This brings me to current day. I ordered "Mask Only With Brad" on July 6. It can be seen on the website here with the shipping date as 13th July, 2015. It is September 3, and no sign of any tracking or package or any message from Brad.
Other boxes who have seen no mention of shipping, tracking or unboxing despite shipping dates having past:
Fruit and Veg (13 July)
Brad's Candy Shop (27 July)
Brad's Honey Box (27 July)
Brad's OMG Really Box (27 July)
Around the World (17 August)
Brad's Happy Spring Box (17 August)
Brad's White Knight (1 September)
Brad's Spa and Retreat does not even have a predicted shipping date listed. here
The most worrying thing throughout all of this is lack of communication. Rather than giving any real reason to why there have been delays, he either doesn't say anything, pushes the shipping date back, and even removes and blocks those who don't talk glowingly of his company.
I do believe Brad is a great person, but judging from the events I have seen surrounding Brad's company, I am hesitant to give him any more money for any more of his boxes. Someone can be a good person, but not a good businessman or have a good grasp of the responsibilities it may take to run a business.
It's with a really heavy heart that I post this, because I do really like Brad. But I do think that everyone also deserves to know what has been happening, and I owe it to you guys since I do have good experiences posted up via unboxings - here are the bad ones.
Unsent boxes, little communication, and a lot of excuses.
Dear Brad,
If you are reading this, it is not too late to get your act together. Please understand I am not writing this post out of anything other than wish for you to improve and for you and your brand to grow and learn from feedback. A business cannot exist without the faith of their paying and loyal customers, and I do think the good faith and trust that everyone has put in you has been gradually and definitely wearing thin. I understand that managing and owning a business must be a difficult job, but please communicate honestly with us. You can definitely still fix this, but without seeing any effort or communication from you, and being continuously shown excuses makes it very difficult for us to want to support you and your business.
I hope this post was informative and please do leave comments because this is my first time doing a post like this. I tried to approach the matter delicately and professionally, but am definitely keen to hear all your feedback on posts like this. I really just want my blog to spread love and good stuff, but as well as information.
Also, if you want to find an alternative to Brad's K Beauty Box that is doing really well and reliable, check out K Beauty by K! She's amazing and ships out really fast, I've never had a problem with her and there are plenty of glowing reviews about her.
K Beauty by K Store: here
K Beauty by K Instagram here
A mini-haul I did on K Beauty By K before: here
--SEPTEMBER 7 UPDATE--
The website has gone DOWN and Brad had blocked me and other loyal supporters of his brand.
If you've made a purchase with him, I highly recommend going to your bank and requesting a chargeback.
Also, EMAIL HIM AT bradskbeautybox@gmail.com. But I would still recommend going for that chargeback as soon as possible.
If you need any assistance doing this, please feel free to message me and I'll do my best to help you.
-- SEPTEMBER 8 UPDATE --
I submitted my chargeback yesterday, and upon emailing him, he told me I would receive a refund within 10 business days.
I did quite a bit of snooping around, and discovered that if he does not refund before this chargeback is successful, then he loses the refund money AND must pay an additional fee of $15. So if you submit a chargeback, it is in his best interest to cut his losses and refund you, or he will lose more money and you will still get your money back. So please chargeback and email him. Stripe instantly notifies him when a chargeback is submitted, so it will rush him to refund you.
This morning, I receive an official email from Stripe saying that the process for a refund for one of my boxes ($30) has been started.
(The email address ended in @stripe.com, important to check this in case you suspect it's a fake email!)
However, I have another box that he hasn't submitted a refund for. He claims he can only submit one refund at a time. I have emailed Stripe customer service (they don't have a phone number) to verify whether this is true.
Several other people I know who have submitted chargebacks have also received similarly emails,but only for one box out of many.
If you have submitted a chargeback and not received an email like this within 24 hours, please do update us, we need all the information we can get in a situation like this!
-- SEPTEMBER 9 UPDATE --
After asking around, some people did receive multiple refunds a time, so he was caught out on the lie. After I emailed him again mentioning this, I got another email from Stripe soon after about the start of my refund for the other box I had purchased.
Be assertive in your emails and don't just take his word on it - make sure you receive an email from STRIPE and if you don't or if Brad refuses, GO TO YOUR BANK AND MAKE A CHARGEBACK.
I cannot emphasise the importance of charging back enough.
I don't know how chargeback works in countries out of Australia, but generally calling your bank and telling them your situation (making it clear you used your bank account to pay, having the date and amount of transaction) should allow you to start a chargeback, or at least your bank CS can provide you with more options.
-- SEPTEMBER 10 UPDATE --
BRAD IS SENDING FAKE WESTPAC EMAILS.
I REPEAT - BRAD IS SENDING FAKE WESTPAC 'REFUND CONFIRMATION' EMAILS.
I did not personally receive one, but two people have received them and made phone calls to Westpac to verify their legitimacy - THEY ARE FAKE. DON'T FALL FOR THIS STUFF.
Always double check and triple check the sender of an email address and use google to search up and verify the address is legit! For example, @hotmail.com is a hotmail email, @web9.hotmail.com is no longer a hotmail domain email. If there's any extras after the @ sign, it's NOT a legitimate email. Make sure it's in the field where the legitimate email sendee is, not just written there. This differs from email provider to email provider - I can't make a comprehensive guide at the moment, but please do your research on this and BE VIGILANT AND MINDFUL.
If you are even the tiniest bit in doubt, CALL UP YOUR BANK.
-- September 12 Update--
I got my refund funds in my bank today =)
Just because I got my refunds, doesn't mean you will necessarily get yours or Brad won't try to scam you/send you fake refund emails. So be vigilant. My message is the same - chargeback and send emails until you see funds in your account!
xx pynkbunny
