Body butter subscription: what to check before you sign up

Before you subscribe to a body butter, check four things: how you cancel, what day you are charged, whether the price changes after the first order, and how often it ships. If a seller makes any of those hard to find, that is your answer. Ours is optional and off unless you choose it.

What should you check before you subscribe?

Run this list before you click anything. Most of it is findable at checkout, in the order confirmation email or on a terms page.

1. Is it opt-in? A pre-ticked "subscribe and save" box is a subscription you did not choose. Look at the checkout page carefully before you pay, and untick anything you did not want.
2. How do you cancel? Find out whether you can do it online, by email or only by phone, and whether there is a cutoff before each shipment. Know how you cancel before you sign up.
3. What is the renewal date? Know the day of the first charge and the day of the next. Put it in your calendar, and ask whether you get a reminder before a renewal.
4. Does the price change after the first order? Some subscriptions discount the first box and charge full price afterwards. Find the renewal price as well as the opening one.
5. How often does it ship? Work out how long a jar lasts you before you accept a default. If the default is a jar every month, ask yourself whether you will use that much.
6. Can you skip or pause? A subscription that lets you skip a month is a very different thing from one that does not.
7. Can you change the scent? Scent is personal. Check whether you can switch before the next shipment.
8. What about shipping costs and refunds? Check whether shipping is added to each renewal, and whether the refund policy covers subscription orders in the same way as one-time orders.

What does a fair subscription look like?

It is something you choose on purpose, with a clear price, a visible renewal date and a cancel button as easy to find as the buy button. It tells you what it will charge before it charges, and it lets you skip a delivery without a phone call. Read the terms of any seller the same way before you subscribe, ours included. The guarantee page covers how our returns work.

If you cannot find an answer to one of these, email the seller and ask. A clear reply in a day or two is a good sign. A vague one, or none, is a reason to buy a single jar instead.

What if you are already in a subscription you do not want?

Start with the order confirmation email, which usually says how to cancel. Then check your card statement to see what you have been charged and when. If a seller does not respond, your card issuer can explain what options you have. This is general advice, not legal advice.

The most useful thing you can do is cancel before the next cutoff, so check the date first. If you are close to it, do not wait for a reply: use whichever route the terms give you and keep a record of the date and time.

Is a subscription worth it for a body butter?

It depends on how fast you go through a jar. Work it out from your own habits: how much you put on, how often, and how long the last jar lasted. Choose a longer gap between shipments than you think you need, because it is easier to order sooner than to cancel a box you did not want.

A subscription makes sense if you wear the same scent every day and are certain you will not tire of it. If you like variety, or you are still working out which scent you like, single jars give you the freedom to switch.

If you are shopping around Black Friday, a discount tied to a subscription deserves a second read of the terms. Our guide to Black Friday fragrance deals covers what to check about sellers and return policies, which applies here too.

Quick answers

How do I cancel a body butter subscription? It depends on the seller. Start with the order confirmation email and the account page. If neither tells you, contact the seller by the method in the terms, and keep a record of when you did.

Should I subscribe to a body butter? Only if you know how fast you use a jar and you are sure of the scent. Otherwise buy one jar first.

What is a good subscription discount? Judge it by the renewal price, the cancel route and whether you can skip, not by the discount.

Is Bale's subscription optional? Yes. It is optional and off unless you choose it.

Want to see the scents before you decide anything? Browse all six.