Article · Mystery boxes

How do I sell a mystery box subscription on Shopify without spoiling the surprise?

By Super Simple Co · Updated 2026-10-30

Make the option a Subscription box in Supr and set Customers see the box to Only when it arrives (mystery box). The contents then never appear in the customer portal or in the app's emails before the box ships. You still choose every box in advance, and subscribers can skip a month. One thing to check yourself: Shopify's own order confirmation lists an order's products once it is placed.

Who this is for: For shops selling a surprise box that want the contents to stay secret until the box arrives, and need to know what still shows.

The example used here

A snack shop sells "The Monthly Mystery": a $29 box, a new selection every month, nobody told what is in it. Members are billed and shipped each month and the shop picks the contents up to six months ahead. The price is only an illustration.

The box setup itself (monthly or weekly boxes, the fixed ship day, the portal) is covered in How to run a monthly art supplies club on Shopify. This article is about hiding what is in the box.

Set it up

In Shopify, open Supr Bundle & Subscription App > Offers, click Create offer, choose Subscription, then Subscription box.
In the option's Subscription box settings, choose New box every: Week or Month.
Under Customers see the box, choose Only when it arrives (mystery box).
Click Set up boxes. The page lists this month and the next five. Click Add a later month to plan further ahead.
For each box, click Add products, pick the products and variants and set a quantity for each. Copy the previous box starts a box from the one before.
Click Save.

The product members subscribe to is the box itself, at the price you set. Each box's products are added to their subscription at no charge ahead of the next order, so the order lists the box and its products ready to pack, and the products come out of your inventory like any other sale.

What stays hidden, and what does not

The last row is the one that spoils surprises. The box's products are added to the order ahead of billing, so test what your Shopify order confirmation email shows for a renewal before you promise a true mystery. The first order, placed at checkout, contains only the box product, and the app adds that box's contents to the order as a note named Box, [month] so you know what to pack.

Where	What a member sees
Customer portal	A Your next box card with a short note that a mystery box is on its way, not the products
Supr emails	No Subscription box revealed email is sent for a mystery box
Shopify order confirmation	Check this one: Shopify's confirmation lists the products of an order once it is placed

Run a test before launch

Create a test subscription following the help article on test orders, and let it renew once.
Open the confirmation email Shopify sent for the renewal and read the product lines.
Open the customer portal as that customer and check the Your next box card.
If the contents show anywhere you do not want them to, change what that email prints before you launch, or sell the box as a revealed one instead.

What subscribers can still do

If members will be unhappy with a product they cannot pick, say so on the product page. You can reword the card texts under Settings > Customer portal > Labels, in the Subscription box group, and translate them under Settings > Translations.

Skip a month in the portal. The skipped order is not shipped, and the next order gets the box of the month it is billed in. Moving an order to another date moves its box too.
Not swap or change the products. Customers cannot swap, remove or change a box's products, and the portal's skip a product setting is not offered for subscription boxes. A box is the same for everyone on the option, apart from sizes if the box product has variants.
Cancel or pause, as your portal settings and cancellation flow allow.

What to check each month

Is the current and next box set? An order billed in a month with no box ships the box product alone. The option's settings warn you when the current or next box is not set yet, and Set up boxes marks a box that has orders due and no products.
Did you change a box already set? Subscriptions due in it are updated within a few minutes. Orders already billed are not changed.
Variants in the box product? Each product in a box can go to Every size or to one size only.

Questions

Can customers see a mystery box's products before it ships?

Not in the customer portal or in the app's emails. Shopify's own order confirmation lists an order's products once it is placed, so check what it shows for renewals.

Do mystery box members get the Subscription box revealed email?

No. A mystery box sends none. The email is for revealed boxes whose Show to customers from date arrives.

Can I switch a box from mystery to revealed later?

Customers see the box is a setting on the option, so you can change it there. Check how the portal and emails then behave on a test subscription.

Can subscribers choose what goes in their box?

No. A box is chosen by you and is the same for everyone on the option. Subscribers can skip a month.

Every setting is covered in the help center: Subscription boxes.

Choosing an app for a craft or hobby club? See the best Shopify subscription app for a craft or hobby club.

Install on Shopify