Frequently Asked Questions
YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
Q: HOW MUCH IS A SUBSCRIPTION?
A: Rainbow Crate Month-to-Month subscription is $45.00 USD plus shipping & handling. A 3-month prepay subscription is $131.63 USD plus shipping & handling. A 6-month subscription is $256.50 USD plus shipping & handling.
R.A.D. quarterly subscription is $60 USD plus shipping & handling. The yearly 4-box prepaid option is $235 plus shipping & handling.
Q: WHEN DO SUBSCRIPTIONS RENEW?
A: Rainbow Crate subscriptions renew on the 1st of every month. You will receive an email 4 days before renewal as a reminder. If for some reason you need this date changed for personal reasons please email support@rainbowcratebookbox.com.
R.A.D. subscriptions renew on the 15th of the previous month. The schedule is as below:
February box: January 15th
May box: April 15th
August box: July 15th
November box: October 15th
Q: WHEN ARE THEMES ANNOUNCED?
A: Rainbow Crate themes are announced on the first of each month.
R.A.D. themes are announced on the schedule below:
February box: December 15th
May box: March 15th
August box: June 15th
November box: September 15th
Q: WILL THERE BE A SINGLE PURCHASE OFFER?
A: There will be a limited number of single purchase boxes available each month if subscriptions don’t use up our entire quota. We recommend signing up for a subscription and skipping months that you are not interested in receiving.
Q: CAN WE GET OUR CRATE SHIPPED IN A PLAIN BOX?
A: Boxes come shipped with our rainbow logo on them, however we can place the box in a white mailer bag for discretion! Please let us know through email at support@rainbowcratebookbox.com.
Q: CAN I SKIP A BOX?
A: Yes, you can skip any box except your first one. If you are month to month you can log into your account and skip at any time before the 1st of the month you want to skip. If you have a multi-month subscription and want to skip a month please email support@rainbowcratebookbox.com with the name on your account, your email, and the month you’d like to skip.
Q: CAN WE RESTART A CANCELED SUBSCRIPTION?
A: Absolutely! You can do this from your account preferences after you log in. Note that if you re-start a canceled subscription after we are already sold out for a specific month, your subscription will be moved to the next month. If you’re not sure whether this has happened, send us an email at support@rainbowcratebookbox.com. If you want to restart a sub for a specific box, you can email us ahead of time, or you can do it as soon as a new box goes on sale.
We recommend that, instead of canceling a subscription, you just skip boxes you’re not interested in or unable to afford the charge for. This can be done any time from your account. While this does mean you have to remember to skip every month if you can’t receive boxes for a long time, it does always save a box for you, and you’ll automatically get boxes that you don’t manually skip. There’s no chance of missing out on any particular box if your situation changes.
Q: JUST CURIOUS FOR CLARIFICATION, IS THIS SUBSCRIPTION US CURRENCY?
A: Yes, the price is in US currency.
SHIPPING
Here are our shipping & handling rates as of December 2024 (in USD):
FedEx 2-Day
USA:
Month-to-month $14
3 month $42
6 month $84
UPS MSI
Month-to-month $21
3 month $63
6 month $126
Brazil, China, France, Hong Kong SAR, Mexico, San Marino, South Korea:
Month-to-month $24
3 month $72
6 month $144
Australia, Croatia, Greece, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand:
Month-to-month $27
3 month $81
6 month $162
Czechia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal:
Month-to-month $30
3 month $90
6 month $180
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Romania:
Month-to-month $33
3 month $99
6 month $198
New Zealand:
Month-to-month $36
3 month $108
6 month $216
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brunei, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Vatican City, Indonesia, Iraq, Kiribati, Laos, Lebanon, Macao SAR, Maldives, Montserrat, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vietnam, British Virgin Islands, Wallis & Futuna:
Month-to-month $39
3 month $117
6 month $234
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Congo - Brazzaville, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Latvia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, North Macedonia, Panama, Peru, St. Lucia, St. Pierre & Miquelon, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Suriname, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe:
Month-to-month $42
3 month $126
6 month $252
Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Congo - Kinshasa, Cyprus, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Cameroon, Rwanda, St. Helena, Samoa, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu:
Month-to-month $45
3 month $135
6 month $270
Åland Islands, Ascension Island, Bolivia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Caribbean Netherlands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Falkland Islands, French Southern Territories, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mayotte, Monaco, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palestinian Territories, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, Saint Marten, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Tokelau, Tristan da Cunha, U.S. Outlying Islands, Western Sahara, Yemen:
Month-to-month $47
3 month $141
6 month $282
Q: WILL THERE BE CUSTOMS CHARGES AND/OR DUTIES?
A: We can’t say for sure, and this is up to the laws of the country you live in. Customers are responsible for paying any duties or customs fees for their packages. If you are unsure, please check with your country’s policies on assessing duties or fees. While we desperately wish that the world was one big country as far as shipping is concerned, sadly we don’t have any control over the policies set by governments. We are but two people doing our best to help everyone love queer books a little more. Your boxes will be shipped from the US. If your package is returned to us for unpaid customs or duties fees, it is not our responsibility and we cannot issue refunds for that. We can reship the package to you, however it will be at your own expense. We thank you for your understanding.
Q: WHEN DO BOXES SHIP?
A: Rainbow Crate boxes ship by the end of each month.
R.A.D. ships the end of February, May, August, and November.
Shipping delays will be communicated as they occur.
Q: MY BOX GOT RETURNED TO SENDER, CAN YOU RESEND IT?
A: That depends on the reason it was returned to sender. If it was an error on our end (we mistyped the address, forgot the apt number etc) we will reship the box to you at no cost.
If it was returned to sender because you forgot to update your address or input your address wrong you will need to pay for the shipping in order for it to be sent again.
Q: WILL THERE BE SHIPPING DELAYS AND HOW WILL THESE BE HANDLED?
A: Sometimes there are delays from vendors, publishers, etc that might cause us to ship late. In the case of a delay we will always communicate via email.
Q: WHEN IS THE TRACKING SENT OUT VS WHEN THEY ACTUALLY SHIP?
A: Labels are generally pulled the same day we ship, but please allow 3-5 business day for the 1st update on tracking.
Q: MY TRACKING HASN’T UPDATED IN X AMOUNT OF TIME. WHAT IS WRONG?
A: There are a few reasons tracking might not have been updated. Sometimes the postal service doesn't scan the label at every stop.
International packages can go long periods of time without being scanned. This is usually due to customs taking longer than normal. Sometimes the company handling the delivery in your country isn’t required to scan the package once they receive it.
Occasionally a package will not be scanned until delivery. If you feel you package might be lost you can email us at support@rainbowcratebookbox.com and we will try and figure out the problem.
Q: I THINK MY PACKAGE GOT LOST IN THE MAIL, CAN YOU SEND ME ANOTHER?
A: If we have extras we will gladly send a replacement. If we do not we will issue a refund. Please give a reasonable amount of time before emailing us about lost packages.
DAMAGES TO ITEMS AND BOOKS, REFUNDS, ETC.
Q: CAN I GET A REFUND IF…?
A: All Sales are Final. We do not process refunds if you accidentally purchase a box, decide you do not want a box after purchasing, or forget to skip or cancel your subscription on time, or the box is returned to sender.
You have a month between when we announce the theme and renewals process for each box, and we also send reminder emails a few days before renewals process.
Q: MY BOOK ARRIVED DAMAGED, CAN I GET A REPLACEMENT?
A: If you receive a product that is damaged please contact us at support@rainbowcratebookbox.com with a detailed description of the damage and photo(s) of the damage.
If a book has slight damage, such scuffs, slight bending of the edges/corners, slightly crinkled dust jackets or anything that can be considered normal wear and tear, the book will not be refunded or exchanged.
However, if a book or item arrives damaged to a degree that we deem truly damaged we will send you a new copy/item free of shipping charges. Rainbow Crate is still not liable for any fees accumulated due to customs, duties, or VAT, etc.
BOOKS IN THE BOX
Q: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE BOOKS?
A: We have a small team of employees and volunteers who help read through several books each month. We discuss the options as a team and pick books we feel are a good fit for the box.
Q: HOW DO I SUBMIT MY BOOK TO BE CONSIDER FOR INCLUSION IN THE BOX?
A: We have a submission form you can fill out here. Please fill out one form per book. This makes it easier for us to look through options.
Q: HOW DO WE PREVENT GETTING DOUBLE COPIES OF A BOOK WE ALREADY HAVE?
A: We always announce our book(s) along with our theme reveal, so you’ll know which book you are getting! However, if you somehow do end up with a second copy, queer books make great gifts! Your money directly supports authors writing inclusive queer books, and a small business run by queer people, so it’s still a win-win!
Q: WILL YOU ANNOUNCE WHAT THE BOOK’S REPRESENTATION IS BEFOREHAND?
A: Yes! We are also including content warnings, if applicable, for most common objectionable content. We want you to know what you’re getting into so that you can decide for yourself whether this book might be something you would want to read. If you have further questions, ask us! We have read all of the books in our box, including the fandoms as well, so we can answer any questions you have.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOX
Q: WILL THERE BE A PHOTO CHALLENGE FOR EVERY BOX?
A: Yes! There will be a photo challenge for every box. It will be included in the box and on social media!
Q: I AM AN ARTIST, HOW DO I GET CONSIDERED TO WORK ON ART FOR THE BOX?
A: We have a form you can fill out here.
Q: DO YOU SUPPORT PROBLEMATIC AUTHORS? / WILL YOU MAKE ITEMS INSPIRED BY THEIR BOOKS?
A: We do our best to stay aware of what is going on in the book community, and want Rainbow Crate to remain a safe space. We plan our boxes up to six months ahead of time, so there may be times when something happens too late for us to cancel a book, but we absolutely do our very very best to keep abreast in a fast-changing climate.
We believe in learning and allowing room for growth when authors make mistakes, but there are some authors we have come to the conclusion Rainbow Crate will never support. That list, as of April 2024 includes: Freydis Moon, JK Rowling, Cassandra Clare, André Aciman, Meredith Russo, Jay Kristoff, Emily Duncan, Rory Powers, Christine Lynn Herman, Claire Wenze, and Bridget Collins.
If you are worried about a particular author because of something that has happened please feel free to send us the information at hello@rainbowcratebookbox.com and we will review and make a decision.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR STANCE ON GENERATIVE AI?
A: We do not support generative AI and our contract for artists and authors states that we do not allow generative AI to be used in any way. We also check with every author, before selecting their books, their stance on generative AI.