We recently connected with Nick Kalning and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

So I made Boxuchan in part because I was unhappy with the subscription boxes on the market at the time! Lootcrate was the big name back in the 2010’s and I really enjoyed it at first but then it slowly became worse and worse over time. There was even an anime version of lootcrate from the same people too! And unfortunately it had the same fate, a slow death into mediocrity.

When formulating the business plan for Boxuchan, I pondered on exactly why I felt these subscription boxes were losing favor. While there was plenty of issues I could think of, in the end what really mattered was a clean solution to the majority of them! What if instead of monthly themes or predetermined boxes, what if each customer gets their own that’s entirely personalized to them? Hence, each Boxuchan box is personalized to every customer. Such a simple solution but it would become one our defining traits.

The majority of the industry however is built around the idea of each monthly box being a “theme” or some unified idea that each box is built around. Personalization takes work, so it make sense that most business models are not interested in it. That said, I really do believe that most subscription boxes lose customers BECAUSE of their business model. Subscribers will be unhappy some months, its inevitable!

So for us at Boxuchan, we created a survey for customers to fill out stating what anime they like and other assorted info so we can make them the best box possible! And I’d like to say because of this, we have had many long running patrons!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Nick and I am the owner of a business called Boxuchan! We sell personalized Anime themed boxes, each coming with Anime DVDs or Blu-Rays along with a long list of assorted anime related merch such as manga, figures, games, TCG’s and so much more. We pride ourselves on being the best anime themed subscription box on the market!

As I’ve stated in this interview, I created Boxuchan in part because I was so unhappy with all the pop culture and gaming subscription boxes. So many of them were lackluster and simply put, not fun to open! So I made a box for myself, something that I would want to purchase. Turns out, it wasn’t only me that wanted a box like this!

If you aren’t part of the fandom or any physical media communities, this might all seem confusing or more likely, a very skeptical way to make money. Let me try to win you over on the very REAL market that is anime collecting. Just as there is a collectors market for sneakers, trading cards and video games; anime is absolutely no different. This works for a couple of reasons but I think my “Seinfeld” example will explain it well! Seinfeld on DVD is dirt cheap, its an immensely popular show that had multiple printings. It is absolutely not a collectors item in any way and never will be despite its popularity. Anime as a whole however is very different. Much lower print runs, on top of special editions with higher than normal MSRB make for a true collectors market just like the aforementioned examples. And just like for those, the purchasing power in the community is very real. Late 20’s to early 40’s millennials who have a passion for their favorite series want to collect and love physical media! So all these elements combined with the fact that Anime has exploded in popularity in the past decade, has created a strong customer base!

I hope this was informative in some way, showcasing that this is a profitable business model and this customer base is willing to spend real money for their needs. Also Boxuchan is more than just business models and profit margins to me, its also a labor of love. Other business owners can relate to this, but selling anime like this is truly a dream and I feel so lucky to be able to do so. While our growth is slow and steady, I am very proud of where I am.

Into the future Boxuchan is currently working on getting a physical store front as well as many other exciting ventures for 2025 so definitely keep an eye out for us on our socials!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’ve sold many things online for most of my life. I had an eBay account starting in middle school (mid 2000’s), that was back when it was normal to just mail cash to each other! I would resell collectibles such as Pokemon/MTG cards and games for many years. Throughout those experiences I learned to have an eye for what will accrue in value and how to make a profit; invaluable skills for anyone who is interested in these types of markets.

So when I would start Boxuchan right after college, I had pretty much no money to my name. Buying a nice 300 dollar printer was a BIG deal! However, I began with good connections and skills in reselling and that helped me immensely to get started.

However what really helped me scale up in the beginning was honestly a good bit of luck. I still don’t understand how I did it, but I nailed the SEO for exactly one part of my website. If you google, Sell My Anime or Sell Anime DVD’s, Boxuchan is the first thing that comes up. This single-handedly changed how I accrued product for the boxes more than anything else I’ve done. We get emails daily of people wanting to sell their collections, which has led us to not only have a steady flow of series for our boxes but also has made us THE go to people in the community to acquire rare and out of print series. Truly a special milestone for us that will continue to help Boxuchan grow into the future!

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

This is probably one of the topics we experiment with the most! Boxuchan is made FOR the customer, each being personalized. While it’s easy to do the first couple of times, once someone has been subscribed for over a year, we try our best to get to know them a bit more so we can continue giving good service! For our monthly subscribers they can message us anytime on Patreon, send us lists of what they already own so we don’t send duplicates and most importantly, can join our Discord group chat to talk with other Boxuchan subscribers. There we do giveaways and group activities such as anime watch nights. Obviously none of this is necessary but these simple actions has helped foster brand loyalty immensely, creating a safe space to just enjoy and discuss anime. And as stated earlier, this lets us communicate with our patrons regularly, which in turn keeps the “personalized” part of Boxuchan alive and well!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://boxuchan.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boxuchan/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoxuchanOwner/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Boxuchan1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZIWhsB8z3khZjff75PZ6A
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/Boxuchan