GildedBox — Local services in Buffalo Grove

Like so many other reviews, at first, this company seemed reputable and reliable. Our initial discussions and design process went very smoothly. So we placed the order, and we paid them thousands of dollars, andddd that was the end of our positive experience.

The order was originally supposed to arrive during the holidays. Since then, we have received delay after delay after delay. I just received an update today (it’s Jan. 11) that our order won’t even SHIP until Jan. 30. And, given how things have progressed, it would be utterly naive believe that there aren’t more delays to come.

Worse yet, even though it would quite literally be 3x faster for us to cancel this order and place a new one through someone else, GildedBox will not allow us to cancel as they refuse to provide refunds for customized products. A reasonable enough policy under normal circumstances. But this is of zero consolation considering our products won’t even be customized until nearly February. If GildedBox really wants to “make things right”, then policy or not, they should do so. This is unacceptable and not at all what we paid for.

So, if we’re lucky, our business’s “holiday” gifts with their nice New Year messages will arrive sometime in February. At best, this is absolutely embarrassing and completely unprofessional. At worst, it is negatively affecting our business’s most valuable relationships. Many of our partners already sent us thoughtful gifts, and will probably think ours was just a hasty after thought. Actually, scratch “hasty”.

This has become a serious problem. Although the right thing to do would be to give us our money back so we could at least salvage things, GildedBox refuses. By doing so, they are actively damaging these relationships further. It’s completely unacceptable and simply wrong.

My next review will be to Google, I’d really like to know why there isn’t an option...

Overall, the products are good quality. We got custom Yetis along with custom packaging. We were quite pleased with the initial consultation, design process, and revisions of the products. Specifically related to the packaging.

The cost is quite high from what I can tell. Ordering 5 custom engraved Yetis directly from Yeti was about the cost of 2 yetis through GildedBox.

Unfortunately, where things fall apart here is the shipping/processing times. We placed two orders and in both cases there was a large delay. We were in no rush the first time, so it did not really matter to us. When questioned about this, we were told that they received a huge rush around Christmas which backed them up. That made sense to us and we didn't really question it.

I was informed that future orders would not have any issues. I then placed another two orders which were more time sensitive. We use these as gifts for our clients. I placed an order on 1/15/24, after being informed that there would be no delays, and the estimated shipping date was 1/29/24.

As of me writing this review (2/20/24) the orders have still not shipped. A week ago, I inquired further about this and was told by an employee that these would be ready to ship on 2/19 or 2/20, both days have come, and they still have not shipped.

I tried to like this service, as it really was easy to initially work with them. We require time sensitive marketing and to be able to have these gifts delivered when we are still relevant after talking with clients, not a month later.

Long story short, as many reviews have mentioned, they are too backed up, likely overwhelmed with orders, and simply don't follow...

I have ordered from this company twice, and will never do so again. The first time, our organization ordered holiday gifts. I placed and approved the order by November 12, but we did not receive the gifts until well after New Year's. The worst part was that I never received any updates- even as each promised delivery date came and went and I explained how important it was for us to have an ETA in order to coordinate distribution.

When the gifts FINALLY arrived, some of the boxes were broken, all of the cards were marked up because of the boxes being broken, and we had to request replacements. They also FAILED TO INCLUDE the cards that they offered to give me explaining that the delay was their fault and not mine.

The replacements were also damaged (and did not match my list explaining the damage that had occurred). I finally just gave up.

The second order was placed to use the credit that Gilded Box gave us for the first.

That order was placed on January 16 (as soon as I found the credit on their site, because I figure they won't last long with a business model like this one).

It is now March 14, and I have nothing in hand. The website has no updated information.

I reach out every week or so for an update. The person who was originally handling the account (Alyssa) simply does not answer. A different person (Art) does, but never provides any real information.

DO NOT USE...