How do your subscriptions work?

Welcome! We are so happy to have you subscribed to us! 

We currently offer a number of genres across two kinds of subscription plans: monthly and quarterly. 

What happens when I subscribe?

Your subscription begins when you purchase a subscription from ourselves, and you will have paid for your first theme at point of purchase. You will be able to see your order history, and subscription details, in your online account. 

If you have purchased a monthly subscription on a monthly payment plan, then you will be automatically charged for that subscription every month, unless you skip a theme or cancel it outright.

If you have purchased a monthly subscription on a 3-month or 6-month prepaid payment plan, then you will be charged for all the months/themes upfront. You will then receive three or six books within the term of your payment plan. This will then automatically renew for a further 3 or 6 months, and so on.

If you have purchased a quarterly subscription, then you are automatically charged for that subscription every quarter (once every three months) and you will receive one book per quarter, unless you choose to skip or cancel outright. 

You can read more about payment plans and renewal dates here.

Which will be my first box?

Which box you receive as your first theme will depend upon when you first purchased your subscription. 

If you took out your subscription within our renewals periods then your first delivery will be that same  period's theme. 

• For example: If you purchased a monthly Illumicrate Fantasy subscription on 5th March, then your first box will be the March theme. 

If you took out your subscription outside of our renewals periods, then your first delivery will be for the next theme. 

• For example: If you purchased a quarterly Evernight Horror subscription on 23rd September, then your first box will be for the October theme.

Please note that you are unable to skip your first box in a new subscription.

You can read more about receiving your first box here.

When will my subscription ship?

Our subscription orders usually ship towards the mid-end of each month/quarter, but this can vary according to the type of subscription you have. Please click here for more information.

• Our UK orders ship via Royal Mail, and generally takes approximately two to five working days. 
• International orders which ship from our UK warehouse ship, in batches, over several days via our international shipping company. Delivery times vary according to your country.
  
• Orders that ship from our US warehouse ship via USPS (in the United States) and APC (for Canadian orders). Delivery times vary according to your country.

Tracking information is emailed out to you by our fulfilment centre the day after orders ship, and you can also find this within your online account.  

What happens when my subscription is up for renewal?

All of our subscriptions are auto-renewal, so you will be charged for/receive every theme in the subscription, unless you skip a theme. You do not need to sign up for each box, as they are renewed automatically for you.

Please note: Your renewal will be charged in line with our renewals periods, not the date that you signed up on. For example: 

• You purchased a monthly Illumicrate Fantasy subscription on 5th March. Therefore, your next renewal date will therefore be 1st April. 
• You purchased a quarterly Evernight Horror subscription on 23rd September. Therefore, your next renewal date will be 3rd January. 

You can read more about our renewals periods here. 

How do I know what the next theme will be?

We announce all our themes approximately a month in advance, on both our website and our social media channels, so that you have time to decide whether you wish to receive or skip the book. We will include a brief summary of the book along with any content warnings and representation. 

What if I don't want a particular theme? 

If a theme does not interest you, you can request to skip it -- either via your online account, or by contacting Support, before the 1st of the month you wish to skip. 

You can read more about skipping here, and our Skip Limit Policy can be found here.

Can I have more than one subscription?

Yes! You can have any combination of genres across our subscription offerings, so, for example, you could choose to have an Illumicrate Fantasy subscription and an Evernight Horror subscription. 

However, please note that you cannot have both an Illumicrate Fantasy book-only subscription and an Illumicrate Fantasy full box subscription. You also cannot have an Illumicrate + Afterlight Book Combo subscription alongside separate Illumicrate Fantasy and/or Afterlight Romance subscriptions. 

What if I want to change the genre of my subscription, or switch from the Illumicrate Fantasy book-only to full box (or vice versa)? 

If you wish to switch between genres, you will need to join the waitlist for the genre you're interested in and subscribe when you receive an invitation via email. 

If you would like to switch between the Illumicrate Fantasy book-only and full box subscriptions (or vice versa), or to the Illumicrate + Afterlight Book Combo subscription, please contact Support. 

Click here for more information about switching your subscription. 

What if I need to cancel my subscription?

If you need to cancel your subscription, please click here. 

What if I have a question that isn't answered here?

Please check out our FAQs to see if we have already covered your query. If not, please contact Support.

Please contact us if you have any issues, or you can also email us directly at support@illumicrate.com!