An e-mail sent on August 17, 2018 to Sephora Flash subscribers expressed Sephora’s intention to increase the Sephora Flash membership fee from $10 to $15 for a year. This change takes effect next month on September 26, 2018.
Recap – What is Sephora Flash?
The easiest way to think of Flash is to compare it to Amazon Prime. Granted, Prime comes with a whole host of other perks, but if you focus just on shipping, this is that. An annual membership fee gets you discounted shipping. You can read more about it from when I wrote about it at launch nearly three-and-a-half years ago; and if you’re interested in signing up, you can check that out here.
Chatter about the Sephora Flash Price Increase
Remarkably enough, I did not see much hubbub about this. Even if consumers aren’t upset, price increases still tend to generate noise. It’s still close to the e-mail, though, and I haven’t yet found details on Sephora’s site mentioning this as well.
The message reads:
Thanks so much for being a FLASH subscriber. We wanted to share a quick update: starting September 26, 2018, the annual membership fee for FLASH will increase to $15, and will apply to all subscriptions (including new and renewed). Remember, you get an entire year of free two-day shipping with no minimum purchase, so it’s still your best beauty investment ever.
You’ll be automatically charged the new rate on your auto-renewal date unless you update your membership. If you wish to cancel (we hope you won’t!), please do so by updating your account online, calling 1-877-SEPHORA, or emailing customerservice@sephora.com. For more info, see the FLASH terms and conditions.
Thank you for choosing to beauty with Sephora.
Who Needs It?
Objectively, no one needs Flash. But moving past that, if you:
- only order from Sephora once per year and/or
- your orders always exceed $50 and/or
- you aren’t in a rush to receive your products
–you can skip out on Flash and save your money. For the rest of us, even with a $15/yr membership, Flash pays for itself within three orders. Even being on a semi-permanent low-buy, I still order form Sephora 3+ times per year. Because, you know, skincare.
It’s flawed, but my brain is conditioned to HATE paying for shipping per-order. If I just wanted to buy one <$50 thing, I feel pressed to just increase my order to hit the free-ship threshhold. This is a sales tactic, I know, but it works and not on just me! I actually end up saving money with Flash and not bringing stuff into my home that I don’t need.
The Bottom Line
What do you think about the Sephora Flash price increase?
As for me, the rate increase doesn’t bother me in the slightest. $15/year for unlimited 2-day shipping and discounted overnight shipping is still a hell of a deal in the scheme of things. If it is a tough pill for you to swallow, though, drop it and stick to making fewer thoughtful purchases.