The Card Boys costs £24 for 8 artist-designed cards every three months, with skips allowed

The Card Boys is a quarterly greetings card subscription: £24 gets you a letterbox box of eight cards designed by living artists, so you always have one to hand. Our hot take is that a low-frequency stash makes more sense than most subscriptions, because cards do not go off, but only if you actually send cards. On 5 November 2026 the official site lists the box at £24, which works out at £3 a card, and a separate 10 card Christmas box at £24 that you need to order by 30 November.

What is The Card Boys?

The service was started by Brighton-born entrepreneurs Adam Newington and Callum McIntyre-Nash, who spent six years at Freddie’s Flowers before launching it. According to Retail Gazette on 2 November 2026, more than 1,000 people have used the service and the founders say they have around 500 current customers. The pitch is simple: the founders are actors who borrowed the theatre habit of swapping cards on opening night, and built a subscription so people always have a greeting to hand, according to PG Buzz.

What do you get for £24?

• Eight cards in each box, with designs from the founders’ artist friends, at £24 for the box.
• Delivery every three months, with one box per season.
• Blank cards, each in an A6 size, and each arrives without plastic wrapping, with a recycled envelope.
• Cards printed on FSC certified board, according to the brand.
• Each card shows the artist’s photo and biography on the back.

Sources: The Card Boys (home page, FAQs and terms, checked on 5 November 2026) and PG Buzz.

The site shows the current box as running from 1 September to 30 November, and next season’s box, Winter, from 1 December to 28 February. A sneak peek of the Winter designs is on the home page.

How do skips, payment and cancelling work?

The FAQs say payment is taken on the day an order is made, and the box is dispatched the following day. You can skip a delivery or cancel at any time, as long as you tell them at least three days before the next order. The FAQs ask you to do this by email, and the terms say a change needs to be requested by midday three days before the shipping day. The terms we read mention no minimum term.

UK shipping is free: the product page for the quarterly box says £24.00 (£3 per card plus free UK shipping), and the standard rate was also £0.00 when we checked the basket with the Christmas box on 5 November 2026.

Is the Christmas box worth it?

The Christmas box is a one-off, limited run of 10 cards for £24, designed by the illustrator Rebecca Diggle. That is £2.40 a card, against £3 a card in the seasonal box. The cards are A6 and blank inside and the site asks you to order by 30 November.

If your main need is Christmas cards, that is the cheaper way in. If you want a year-round stash, the quarterly box is the one that matters.

What we think

The strongest idea is the frequency. Most subscriptions fail because they arrive too often, and a box every three months is easy to ignore until you need it. Eight cards a season is also about right for a household that sends a few birthday and thank you cards. Retail Gazette describes the box as large letter size, so it should fit through a letterbox.

The £3 a card is a premium price, but you are buying designs from independent artists, not mass-printed shop cards, and the artist’s details on the back make the card a small introduction to their work. We have not compared it with every shop on the high street, so check your own usual price per card.

There are limits. The site does not let you pick the designs inside a box, and skips and cancellations are handled by email rather than a button, with a three day cut-off. If a card arrives in poor quality, the terms promise replacement cards or a discount at the brand’s discretion.

Who is it for?

• People who forget birthdays until the morning and want a stash ready.
• Anyone who likes independent art and a card that tells you about the artist.
• Households that send at least eight cards a year, so the £24 box does not sit in a drawer.

If it sounds too much like a commitment, see our listing for My Greeting Box, or our letterbox gift ideas.

Price and The Card Boys: the essentials

• Price: £24 a box on 5 November 2026, for 8 cards (£3 a card).
• Frequency: every three months, with skips and cancellation at three days’ notice by email.
• Christmas box: 10 cards for £24, order by 30 November.
• Delivery: free UK shipping on the quarterly box and the Christmas box, sent Royal Mail 1st class.
• Size: A6 cards in a large letter box that fits through the letterbox.

See The Card Boys and its current box on the official site, or browse our pick of lifestyle boxes.