Novel Crate Ebook Box, the world’s first ebook box subscription, is closing up shop. The business released a statement on Monday (Apr. 7) via Instagram and Threads in which the company’s owner, Elsie, explained the situation.
“Now that I’ve had a good cry about it, it’s time to tell y’all,” Elsie began. “I don’t have the words to tell you how much I love this business. So this decision was not easy to make. But I just can’t keep offering boxes right now. The shop will stay open for you to grab any of our extras from past boxes while supplies last.”
Elsie told her social media followers that, while she preferred to keep politics out of her bookish space, the demise of her brand was directly related to policies enacted by President Trump.
“This is a direct result of the policies Donald Trump has put in place over the last two & a half months,” the Novel Crate Ebook Box owner said. “Our sales dropped 75% from the drop before election day to the first drop after it,” Elsie shared.
“As he came back into the White House and actually started working, the economic instability has only gotten drastically worse,” she continued. “Now with the new tariffs raising costs for goodies by as much as 50%, I would have to raise my prices by a good bit or I’d be losing money on everything,” Elsie revealed.
Novel Crate Ebook Box is a unique concept in that subscribers get all of the goodies that many subscription boxes come with minus a physical copy of the book featured in the box. All books in Novel Crate boxes are delivered electronically.
On the company’s website, Novel Crate claims to be “the world’s first ebook box” that offers “themed bookish swag” without “a special edition” of the book. Instead, “you get an ebook copy.”
Dozens of supporters expressed sadness over the news of Novel Crate Ebook box subscriptions ending. “So sorry to hear this,” one Instagram follower said. “I know how excited you were about this project and it was such a great addition to the book community!” Another supporter wrote, “Breaks my heart! This is such a great book box idea and I hope someday when things are doing better you can come back to it.”
Elsie expressed optimism at the thought of returning to her concept of ebook box subscriptions sometime in the future. “This is not permanent, or at least I hope it won’t be,” she shared. “I still believe in the goals I had about supporting marginalized authors. I still believe this business has the potential to give me a life that better supports my disabilities. I still love the community that I found here.”