What’s inside the Cheapskate Mystery Box? There’s only one way to find out.
CNET
Let’s do some good. Starting today, you have the chance to purchase the Cheapskate Mystery Box 2019 Edition, a bundle of tech goodies from a variety of great companies. When you buy one, 100% of net proceeds* will be donated to three great charities: ConnectSafely, The Hunger Project and TAPS.
Cool, right? When we did this last year, we put together 250 boxes — and they sold out in minutes. The result was that you helped donate a whopping $12,500 to The Hunger Project, which was incredible. But lots of people were bummed they didn’t get to buy a box, so this year we’re doing things a bit differently.
For starters, we have one thousand boxes to sell. Price: Just $75 shipped. This wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support of the following companies and their amazingly generous donations:
Donors
| Ace Teah | Anker | Aukey | BlitzWolf | CBS All Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfyer | Elechomes | Eufy | iClever | Jarv |
| Kobra Products | Meh | Mint Mobile | Newegg | Nixplay |
| Nebula | Origem | Phone Loops | Roav | Soundcore |
| Sunvalleytek | Tile | Tribit | Vantrue | Visible Mobile |
| Walmart |
And we definitely couldn’t do this without Daily Steals, the company that’s once again handling all the packaging, shipping and order fulfillment. They’re the MVPs of this fundraiser, donating considerable time and resources to the effort.
Our other amazing partner: Mediocre (best known as the company behind Meh.com, but also the owners of the hilariously named Mediocritee), which generously donated 1,000 custom Cheapskate T-shirts. Finally, thanks to my CNET colleague Jon Chaikin, who helped wrangle donations and has been a Mystery Box cheerleader since day one.
What’s inside?
Here’s one of the great Cheapskate Mystery Box shirt designs.
Mediocritee
Within each box you’ll find… don’t be silly, it’s a mystery box. Half the fun is not knowing what you’re going to get!
Here’s what I can tell you: Different boxes will have different stuff inside. That’s because we rarely received 1,000 of the same item; rather, companies donated a few dozen of this or a few hundred of that. Your box might show up with just a few items, or it might show up with a dozen. But the value will be well beyond your $75, that much is guaranteed.
And I’ll say this: It’s an incredible mix. Your box could include a freakin’ HD projector. It might include a phone. A digital photo frame. A dash-cam. A gift card. Wireless earphones. A blender (no, really). To be clear, it won’t have all those items, but those are examples of the kinds of donations we’ve received.
Everyone who purchases a box will also receive a custom Cheapskate T-shirt — and everyone else will have the opportunity to buy one (see below).
How to buy a box
As noted, we’re doing things differently this year. So that everyone has an equal chance to get a Mystery Box, we’ve set up a randomized entry system. Just head to the Mystery Box sign-up page (which is hosted by Daily Steals) and enter your name and email address. You’ve got until midnight ET, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, to do that.
On Thursday, Aug. 15, we’ll randomly select 1,000 people and send them an email with a link to purchase a box. That link will work only if your name is on the approved list (so no sneaky sharing the link with friends) and will limit you to just one box.
If you haven’t completed your purchase within 48 hours, we’ll assume you’ve changed your mind and move on to the next person.
Note: Emails collected on the sign-up page will be used only for this promotion. They will not be shared or sold. This promotion is available only to residents of the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Everyone can get a Cheapskate T-shirt!
…and here’s the other design. You can choose which one you want!
Mediocritee
Last year, we included a custom Cheapskate T-shirt in each box. That proved to be problematic in terms of making sure we had enough of the right sizes.
This year, we’ve partnered with Mediocritee, which will handle shirt fulfillment independently of box fulfillment. That means you’ll receive a separate link with instructions on obtaining your shirt, and it will arrive separately as well.
What’s more, if you’re not selected to purchase a box or you just don’t want one, you still have the opportunity to buy a shirt all by itself — and support our charities in the process.
Speaking of that, if you just want to make a donation, here are the links for doing so:
And that’s it! Be sure to check follow me on Facebook and Twitter (#CheapskateMysteryBox) for late-breaking updates. And if you have questions, leave a comment — I’ll do my best to answer them quickly. Thank you!
*After shipping costs, $60 per box sold will be donated evenly among the three charities.
Watch this:
Get ready for the Cheapskate Mystery Box, 2019 edition
1:35
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