Since I have a YouTube channel where we review a lot of tasty junk foods, I get asked often if I do box swaps. A box swap is exactly what it sounds like. Someone will send me a box of goodies from their area (typically oversees), and I will send them a box of goodies from Kentucky. It sounds like a lot of fun and it is, if you feel like you are getting an equal amount in your box as what you sent. The one thing that takes a lot away from a box swap is the shipping. Shipping costs are outrageous although it does seem cheaper to mail things to America from other countries.

The reason I am writing about this is because, #1, I would never discuss this on YouTube and #2, I feel like I was taken advantage of twice. One of these was more recent and you may see it differently, so I am writing to get your opinions and maybe ease my mind a bit.

The first time I felt taken advantage of was back in 2015. A man in Australia contacted me and asked if I would like to do a box swap. He told me that he was a well-known actor in Australia and that he would love to try Reese’s cups. I believe it was around Easter, so I not only sent him all different types of Reese’s, but I also sent him Peeps which he had never tried. It was a small, shoe-sized box, but I made sure to keep it small because it is even more expensive to ship to Australia. Just the shipping (not including anything inside) was about $45.

When I am doing a box swap, I am very quick on my end. I immediately go out and buy everything, box it up and get it in the mail. So, his box was in the mail in no time. I waited and waited to receive a box from him. Weeks went by with nothing. He sent me pictures of himself and his family enjoying the snacks that I had mailed to him (which I still have). After another week had gone by, I sent him a message asking him about my package from him and he informed me, “It got lost in the mail. I had mailed sweatshirts, but when I checked on the package, they (the post office) couldn’t find it.”

If that happened to one of my packages, I would have felt so terrible that I would have bought everything for a second time and shipped another box. I think that’s what any honest person would do. He didn’t offer to do anything for me even though it wasn’t my fault that the post office had lost his package.

I have never believed that he sent any package though. I think he made the entire “box swap” up so that he could get free treats from me. He knew that there was nothing that I could do about it and being the decent person that I (think) I am, I never mentioned it to anyone on my channel.

So that was the first incident. This second incident was very recent and the lines are blurred for me. You can tell me what you think.

Someone contacted me right before Christmas (2019) and asked if I would make her Christmas dreams come true by sending her a box of newly released cereal that we had found. No one else had it at the time, but for some reason, we had it in our Walmart.

This was really bad timing for me because it was right before Christmas and it’s not like we are wealthy people. I knew it would be expensive even if I just shipped that one box of cereal, but I thought about it and agreed. I thought it might help me increase the subscription count on my YouTube channel if she mentioned me on her social media.

Once I agreed to do the swap, she requested other items. I sent her things that she requested and things that she didn’t request. I sent her things that I knew she had never tried before. I was really excited and couldn’t wait for her to review these things and let me know what she thought of them.

She asked me what I would like in my box from her and I responded with a candy bar that is made in her area. She let me know that she had never tried one of these candy bars herself, but that she had just reached out to that company. She made it sound as if she asked them to donate some of their candy bars to her so that she could promote them on her social media account.

See, I don’t do that. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with asking, but I let companies contact me. That’s probably why we don’t get a lot of free foods like so many people on Instagram. But, I feel like it would be a conflict of interest. We are always 100% honest with our reviews, so if a company contacts me and sends me something, they know that they are going to get an honest review.

Back to the story.

So, in other words, she wasn’t going to pay for one of these candy bars to mail to me. Yes, they are pricey, but what I was mailing her wasn’t cheap. I sent her two family-sized boxes of cereal, and many, many other things. It was a large box and cost me $100 (at Christmas) to mail oversees. She was very appreciative of everything and did mention me on her social media.

When I received my box from her, I was very appreciative, but also a little let down. The one item that I had specifically requested was not included. There were several items that I was very excited to try, but I did notice that she didn’t even have to pay for the majority of what she sent me.

Most of the items I received, were sent to her free from someone else. That’s absolutely okay, but I thought she should have spent more of her own money on additional items. After all, I probably spend $50 on what was in her box. I bet she only spent $8 (maybe) of her own money on me. That being said, that’s not why I feel taken advantage of.

The reason I feel taken advantage of is because I saw on her social media where she was having a “Giveaway” of lots of food items including things that I had sent. My feelings were actually hurt to see so many of the items that I had sent her in that giveaway.

Why? After I spent all that money, took time to go to the store and shop and get it boxed and mailed. Maybe I shouldn’t feel taken advantage of. Maybe just hurt is a better word.

Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I misunderstood her social media page. I see her reviewing foods every day, so I just assumed she would review the things I had sent. Maybe her goal is just to show pictures and gain followers.

At the end of the day, I should follow my own advice, which is, when you give a gift, they can do anything they want with it. If they want to throw it away, return it, or even give it away, they can do that because it is theirs.

I don’t see box swaps in my future though, unless it is someone that I know and trust.