Has anyone used Oddbox?

[Kanta]

Hi all,

I've ordered my first Oddbox using a fellow mumnetter's code so only paid 99p for it.

I was wondering if anyone has tried it before? You don't get to select what fruits / veggies are sent to you. What have you usually had?

Also sharing my code if anyone else would like £10 off.

mention-me.com/m/ol/nl3xu-3d6eab17e2

Thanks

I had it for a while. Didn’t get on with it. The quantities were really strange. I’d get two oranges but eight apples. I didn’t think the quality was very good either, quite often I’d get stuff that seemed like it was on the turn. They were good at issuing credit off the next box, but not knowing whether I’d get one aubergine (ie a side dish) or two (a main) meant it was really hard to plan around it, and then it all felt like it had to be used very quickly! You can put three items on a ‘do not send’ list so they’ll swap it out.

I've opted for the veggie because I wasn't sure on how long the fruit would last. Thanks for your help explaining. Let's see how the first box goes. 😊

I've been tempted by oddbox a few times but the delivery puts me off. Do they deliver overnight? I live on a really busy road and am convinced someone will either steal it or urinate on it 😂

We've been getting it for a while and it is fine. They do deliver late at night - something like 1am Monday morning.

There are sometimes huge gluts of complicated vegetables so we end up with fairly constant soup on the go to use them up. Fruit seems okay, but a lot of grapefruit which we can't eat and you can only say you don't want 3 things so it is whether uneaten grapefruit is more of a waste than 12 uneaten beetroot....

You can update your dislike list all the time - I used to wait til I got the ‘next weeks boxes’ email and then update my list if there was anything on there I didn’t want!

We tried it for a while. We stopped because some of the fruit was really poor quality and it was expensive for what it was.

Thanks @dizzyupthegirl86 ... that is a lot more organised than I have been!

I loved oddbox - seem to remember veg were generally better quality than fruit though. I stopped as it got stolen a few times - they were always really great at refunding when it did, but once several boxes locally were being stolen, and it happened regularly, it didn't make sense to keep going. Deliveries were typically after 11pm and I couldn't wait up that late!
Now I get streetbox (I'm in London) and I love it - you can either order a mostly veg or mostly fruit box, or you can choose exactly what you want each week/fortnight. And they give boxes away to those in need. Delivery is less predictable - possibly helps to avoid people knowing when to steal - I've not had a box stolen yet.
I also bought a big plant pot (heavy!) to hide deliveries behind.

I had it in lockdown and I did like it.

The products are supermarket surplus and aren't all amazing quality, but they are fine - and it's not riverford prices. I had Hugh FW's veg book as well as their recipe cards so always figured out a way to use stuff, and you don't get as many unusual veg as you do with organic boxes anyway.

I stopped just because I went back to the office, and I don't cook in the week anymore because long commute.

They used to put my box around the side of my building, the only time it got nicked was when a delivery driver didn't read the instructions and left it out front, and they refunded it straight away.

If you like cooking then give it a go.

Could someone explain how the add-ons work please? You have to sign up to view them and I just wondered a) how much they were and b) what sort of thing they offered. Also, does anyone have any experience of how much fruit / veg you get in each box - they only list the types, not how many pieces / portions. Thank you!

Haven’t had one for a while, but I’ve just checked (my sister and I would compare so I have pictures.

started to write a list but thought easier to just upload pictures! Looking at these, I feel like I may have been a bit mean in saying the quantities were weird. Sometimes there was an absolute glut of things (looking at you, broad beans). I usually had potatoes on my ‘do not send’ list because I just don’t use them much. I’m a meal planner, so I found it tricky to plan meals when I didn’t know how much of something I was going to get.

some more pics!

@dizzyupthegirl86 thank you so much - what size of box is this?

Pretty sure it was the small mixed, it was about 12 quid I think!

@dizzyupthegirl86 - wow, with the discount code that is a huge bargain. Can I asked, about the dislikes, do you name them in general or just to do with what is included in your box? So sorry for all the questions!

I found it expensive for what you got and not great quality. Obviously the whole point is that they're a bit wonky/small/flawed so no issue with that but we had potatoes that were all soft on arrival, yellowing cabbage etc.

I had it a few times but didn't find it great value for money. I only ordered the small veg box though. These are the add ons for this week. They sometimes have things like Avocado or occasionally some canned drinks and things.

I agree with @DockOTheBay - wonky fruit and veg isn’t an issue to me, but veg that was on the turn, or mouldy oranges definitely wasn’t acceptable to me.

you can have up to three things on your dislike list, you update it in your profile. You get an email a few days before despatch saying what’s coming up in your box, and if you’re quick you can update your dislike list to swap out anything you don’t like in your upcoming box.

fair play to them, they did always send out something else so I can’t criticise them for that.

We found we received far too many potato and onions, sometimes literally half the box. Even when they went on our “not wanted” list we’d end up with loads of some kind of substitute allium most weeks.

I found the quality was ok but it wasn’t a “complete” fruit and veg shop; to use up the box in meals you needed to buy in more fruit & veg.