Since its inception, Trunk Club has been among the premiere subscription services. These businesses regularly send their customers packages with clothing, accessories, grooming products and other lifestyle goods, although Trunk Club focuses on primarily on clothes.
In short, Trunk Club’s subscribers attain high-quality, fashionable items without having to go shopping. This arrangement saves time, of course, and it’s just plain fun to open each box when it arrives every month. As an added bonus, the clothes they send are made by distinguished brands such as AG Jeans, Eton and Ferragamo.
Even with its benefits, though, you might wonder if the Trunk Club cost is worth it. To help you decide, consider the service’s prices and advantages in more detail.
The Basics
Before you can really think about the Trunk Club cost, you need to understand how it works.
Each month, a trunk of clothing gets delivered to your home and you can try everything on at your leisure. In fact, you have five days to think about those products and figure out which items to keep. With stellar customer service and your own personal stylist, you can feel at ease with Trunk Club.
Trunk Club also offers in-person shopping with your very own stylist in Boston, Charleston, New York, Highland Park, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago and Dallas. The Trunk Club retail spots are set up like high-end department stores, so you can enjoy a martini or a beer while you shop.
When you shop on your own, you may find it hard at times to find clothes that match what you’re looking for. Many men will give up after a while and just grab whatever article of clothing is on the rack in front of them. Luckily, the stylists are there to assist you.
Lawyers always say that people shouldn’t act as their own attorneys. Similarly, when some people act as their own stylists, it can lead to fashion meltdowns.
Customized Service
Unlike some trunk club subscription-based shopping services, Trunk Club’s offerings will always be personalized for you. You will be assigned your own personal professional stylist who will have your sizes on hand and will discuss with you the colors, looks and fits that you like. Consequently, most of what he or she sends you should suit your unique tastes. It’s hard to put a price on this aspect of Trunk Club.
With this sort of customization, you should find five days to be plenty of time for reviewing your trunk. For sure, it’s easier than going into a store dressing room and making a decision on the spot. If you tend to change your mind about clothing or if you like to be deliberate about your purchases, having a personal stylist make your fashion decisions may make the cost worth it for you.
The Styling Fee
Part of the monthly Trunk Club cost is a non-refundable $25 “styling fee.” If you choose to keep merchandise that’s worth more than $25, you don’t pay this fee. But, if the items you keep are worth less than $25 ― socks, for example ― you have to pay the difference. If you decide to ship everything back, you’ll be required to pay the entire $25 sum.
Luckily for you, savvy consumer, Trunk Club pays for all of the shipping related to your clothing. There are no fees for getting trunks shipped to your home or for shipping unwanted products back.They send your box for free and they even include a return label.
Product Prices
Trunk Club clothes are relatively expensive. The brand does not release lists of specific prices. Instead, customers must discuss those costs with their stylists. However, the company does put out some price ranges. For instance, you can expect to pay about $170 to $250 for a pair of jeans, $100 to $300 for a sweater and $100 to $200 for a casual shirt.
Meantime, starting prices for custom-made Trunk Club clothes include $190 for a shirt, $295 for a pair of pants and $950 for a suit.
Some internet reviewers have posted the prices of products that they’ve received from Trunk Club. For example, in 2011, a Huffington Post blogger expressed surprise at the high prices, singling out a basic cotton sweatshirt with a hood that cost $230.
In 2013, a Time Magazine writer posted descriptions of the contents of a Trunk Club package as well as their prices, which included a $175 plaid shirt and a $345 pair of trousers.
Another blogger has described a Trunk Club trunk that he received in early 2014, one that contained 10 items of apparel and cost a total of $1,765. Among the inventory were a $179 pair of slim jeans from Fidelity and a $98 sweater from Life After Denim.
Keep in mind that the retailer Nordstrom now owns Trunk Club. As a result, Trunk Club will sell you goods at the lowest Nordstrom prices you can find. Therefore, if you become a member, keep an eye out for sales and discounts at Nordstrom so you can request those lower prices.
What’s the Minimum Order?
Almost every guy evaluating the Trunk Club cost thinks about how much he’s going to have to spend as a bare minimum to keep the service going. Luckily, there is no minimum order with Trunk Club. You keep what you want and return the rest. If you don’t like anything, you don’t keep anything.
Trunk Club banks on the fact that they have excellent stylists who will pick things you’ll want to keep. That’s their business model, plain and simple.
Is Trunk Club Worth It?
So, does the overall Trunk Club cost represent a good value? In the end, it comes down to a personal judgment call. If you feel you have the disposable income to afford the company’s prices and love the idea of the convenience and pampering this brand could provide you, by all means, sign up as soon as you get a chance. If, though, you lack the funds or believe you already do a fine job of shopping for yourself, then Trunk Club is not the right service to sign up with.
