Mystery Bag - JULY 2026 - 250th Anniversary Edition

Special Edition Box Not Very Special

Pros: Every item promised was included. The promised value of the box was met. I can and will use all the items. Cons: This box was advertised as celebrating America’s 250th and as a special one of kind appreciation of Pen Boutique customers with the BIGGEST mystery yet! My reasonable expectation was that the box would have an overall American kind of theme and at least one or two exclusive to Pen Boutique items and just have more upscale/higher priced products, even if it was just a fewer items overall they would be special and kind of fit the box name. My box had many more items than I anticipated but was nearly half Ferris Wheel Press x Harry Potter products, including the pricey ink and the one high priced fountain pen. And minus the big ink and the high price fountain pen, I had 14 additional items under $30 each. When people complain that mystery boxes are just things a shop is trying to offload, I feel like this is the kind of box they are referring to and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt that way over all the boxes I have purchased from shops, including past boxes from here. If this had been advertised as a magical story mystery box or just a plain July box with a generic product list like most monthly boxes are, including the much cheaper July box, these choices would make sense. So I feel they definitely missed the mark on this one. To be fair, the Cross Rollerball is red and the Cross Bailey light fountain pen is blue, so that is Americana I guess. That said, I give it an average rating because I will use it, most things were a new to me product or a version I didn’t have, while I wouldn’t have sought out a Harry Potter assortment I don’t mind it -at least it was cohesive throughout the items- (but if someone who does not like this theme for a variety of reasons I can see them being extremely upset), and I received everything that was advertised… just not the theme I expected. I just would have loved half the amount of items that fit box title and truly felt like a special one of a kind box, but at the end of the day it is a mystery box and that’s okay. Still love Pen Boutique, in fact just ordered an exclusive pen today! And would still recommend a mystery box to people who truly can live with whatever surprise comes, most of their boxes are not stated to be specifically themed so the expectation can and should be lowered so you can just enjoy the surprise.

This was such a fun box to open. Not one thing in this box would I have purchased if I were in store, but I am so grateful I grabbed one. Mystery boxes are so great to explore all the fun out there in the stationery world that you dont even know you need. 💛