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Seen At 11: Companies Offer Monthly Surprise Delivered To Your Doorstep

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Everyone knows the fruit of the month club; a box arrives filled with fruit, you just never know what kind.

Now imagine a surprise package delivered to your door every month filled with the latest fashions, exotic coffees and even treats for your pets.

As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, it's a growing trend that has people asking: "What's in the box?"

"It's really like having a personal shopper, but delivered to your door," said Katrina.

"It's a present for myself almost," said a man named Bernie.

"It's kind of like Christmas every month," said Theodora Blanchfield.

They're called subscription boxes. Customers pay from $10 to hundreds of dollars for them each month, signing up for everything from beauty products to clothing and even underwear.

Subscribers pick their category, but what comes in the box is always a surprise.

"It's super fun. Every month, you get this box and you have no idea what's going to be in it," Blanchfield said.

Blanchfield said she spends about $100 a month for a box from Stitch Fix, a fashion service.

Professional stylists make selections based on subscriber's preferences, Gainer reported.

"Some stuff I open it and I'm like, that's exactly my style. Other stuff is like, I would never have picked that for myself, that's kind of cool," Blanchfield said.

"We definitely have the woman that doesn't like to shop. We also do have the fashionista who loves shopping and this is another way for her to shop," said Katrina Lake, CEO of Stich Fix.

Lake said customers are happy to let others do their shopping for them.

"Simply keep what you want and send back what you don't want," she said.

Bombfell is a men's fashion service.

"A lot of times what we'll see is the wife or the girlfriend is actually signing up for the account," said CEO Bernie Yoo.

Yoo said no matter who picks their clothes, most men are happy to be surprised with fashion options.

"It's basically been picked for your fit, for your taste," he said.

Retail expert Tom Julian said customers love the surprise. But critics said letting other people make choices for you is not for everyone.

"I think we signed over some of our fashion choices and some of our shopping budget too," Julian, of The Doneger Group, said.

But Emily Palan is hooked.

"I do the ones for makeup and beauty all the time," she said.

And she spends $39 a month for surprise box from GetPetBox.com for her pup Gandy too.

"I was pretty excited to see what he was excited about," she said.

Most of these services do not charge a fee to join, and will let you suspend the service anytime.

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