Is the Hello Kitty Pipstick Subscription worth it?

We personally have the Hello Kitty and Friends subscription from Pipsticks for about two months now and we think we can share our experience so far as a consumer. Although we stock Pipstickers in our small shop, we have paid full retail to get the subscription every month. Currently, we're unable to purchase Hello Kitty Stickers outside the subscription - so this is a little different from other licensed collections they've done in the past. We're hoping to see more items become available for individual purchase - like the washi tapes and stationary they did for the Care Bears collection.

For us Canadians, the cost of the subscription is closer to $37 with shipping and currency conversion. So you're spending a pretty dollar for some cute stickers. The pack comes with 15 sheets of stickers - so approximately you're getting more than $60 worth of stickers. 

One thing to note is that many retailers will boast claims of more than XX hundred stickers - but in reality they are also counting those tiny "filler" stickers too. We recommend trying to take a look at any sneak peeks or spoilers from previous months to gauge how much you're actually getting. 

So far we like the variety of finishes the stickers come in - from paper to PVC - sparkly and matte. We really enjoy the puffy stickers and the scratch and sniff. It brings back many positive nostalgic memories. 

One thing that really stands out is that we're always pleasantly surprised with how much we like a sticker sheet once we see it up close and personal AND once we actually use them. When you see the sheets (or any sheets from Pipsticks) in person, there are details and finishes that are not apparent when looking at stock images online. Sometimes there are sheets we don't truly appreciate until we actually start to use them. We noticed this especially when we were playing around with the "rejected" sheets from the Kid's subscription we got J.  

We enjoy the themes that Pipsticks come up with each month, but based on when they ship out and arrive, the themes are kind of over/late. i.e. Back to School was received here in Toronto on Sept 28th. 

Shipping takes LONG and it is untracked - so far it takes closer to 2 weeks from the moment we get the shipping notification. To be honest, it feels long because we're billed 1 month before subscriptions go out. 

So do you need this? If this is something that is within your "fun money" budget and it brings you joy, we say go for it and try it out. Overall the commitment is low since you can cancel anytime. 

For us the main reason we got the subscription is because we were looking for everyday feel good items that reconnects us to more happier childhood memories. Also it just feels good to get something in the mail that's not a bill or flyer (and that's why we have our $1 shipping collection)

To summarize....

The Good:

• Super Cute
• Great variety 
• Exclusive designs

The Not So Good: 

• Very Hello Kitty heavy - would like to see more friends feels like 80/20 and would like to see it more balance like 50/50
• Shipping
• Themes arriving "late"

Is there a Pipsticks product you'd like to see in stock? Please leave a comment below, and we'll work on adding it to our next restock!