Is Nerd Block still available?

No. Nerd Block, whose January 2016 geek box is covered here, has since stopped running, so this review is kept on the site only as an archive record of what that month's box contained.

What was inside the January 2016 Nerd Block?

Six items made up the January 2016 Nerd Block: an exclusive Deathly Hallows T-Shirt, a Khal Drogo Legacy figure from Funko, a Hogwarts crest key ring, a Tim Doyle print of Bilbo Baggins' hobbit home, an exclusive Neverending Story notebook and a Harry Potter film cell bookmark.

How much did the January 2016 Nerd Block cost?

Subscribers paid $32.49 USD for the January 2016 Nerd Block, valued at about £24 GBP, and that figure already covered postage to the UK. Signing up for a longer term attracted a reduction on the standard rate.

Was the January 2016 Nerd Block worth the money?

On the reviewer's own valuation, the January 2016 Nerd Block held around $48 USD of goods against its $32.49 USD price, roughly half as much again, and the verdict was a decent box, though the reviewer noted a reluctance to pay standard retail for several of the contents.

Which item stood out in the January 2016 Nerd Block?

No single standout emerged from the January 2016 Nerd Block: the reviewer could not name one outstanding item, and pointed out that the headline Game Of Thrones figure was not an exclusive. Practical use was more likely to come from the notebook, plus the bookmark.

Nerd Block Geek Box Review – January 2016

Nerd Block has since stopped running. This review is kept as a record of what the box was like; every edition we opened is on the Nerd Block page.

Nerd Block is a one of the longest established of the monthly geek subscription mystery boxes. Each month, the themed boxes include an exclusive T-Shirt from Shirt Punch and usually contain other exclusive items too.

The December 2015 theme was Neverending Stories, a play on the popular film. The box arrived quickly in the UK after being sent from Canada, taking around a week from dispatch.

The standard price, including shipping to the UK, is $32.49 USD (£24 GBP). Discounts are available for longer subscriptions.

The box comes with an information card providing information about the items.

Box Contents

Deathly Hallows T-Shirt (Exclusive)

This T-Shirt is Harry Potter inspired (Harry Potter will turn out to be a theme of this box).

I’m not a big fan of skull prints on T-Shirts, but the design is otherwise up to the usual standard.

I value these T-Shirts at a standard price of $10 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 Deathly Hallows TShirt

Khal Drogo – Game Of Thrones Legacy Figure

This is positioned as the main item this month and is one of six possible figures that could have appeared in the box.

The figure is bigger than normal and took up most of the space within the box.

It is made by Funko, part of the Legacy collection and comes with a collection of weapons.

A decent enough item, although a series I’ll likely only ever end up with one of.

You can check out the Khal Drogo figure on Amazon.com. A sensible valuation price for this looks like $10 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 Game Of Thrones Figure

Harry Potter Hogwarts Crest Key Ring

The second Harry Potter item of the box. This is colourful and nicely boxed.

I am rather beyond my geek box limit for receiving key rings though.

The Harry Potter Hogwarts Crest key ring is available at Amazon.com. Typical selling price is $9 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 Harry Potter Key Ring

The Hobbit Print

This print is by artist Tim Doyle, depicting Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit home in The Shire. It’s not billed as an exclusive.

A decent enough design and ready for framing.

My standard price for these prints is $2 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 The Hobbit Print

Your Neverending Story Notebook (Exclusive)

This is clearly inspired by the film, with a (fake) leather cover.

This is also the only exclusive item in the box (other than the regular T-Shirt).

It is very small, but useful. I’ll value this at $5 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 Notebook

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Film Cell Bookmark

I wish that there were more bookmarks in geek boxes, as I always have multiple physical books on the go (and often several more on Kindle).

This bookmark is rather different, as it also has a film cell integrated into the top. My film cell is a close-up shot of Ron Weasley’s face.

There are a whole host of Harry Potter Film Cell Bookmarks available on Amazon.com. I can’t see this exact one, but the pricing is consistent and reassuringly expensive at $12 USD.

Nerd Block January 2016 Harry Potter Bookmark

More from this box: all our Nerd Block reviews.

Box Review

A decent box. I get about $48 USD of value here, which is about 50% more than the box price (not that I would pay the full price for some of these items).

Plenty of thought has gone into selection to avoid anything looking like too much filler.

Although I do like this box, I can’t pick out an item that stands out as the outstanding one. The Game Of Thrones figure is billed as the main one, but it’s not an exclusive and it’s a series I probably wouldn’t collect.

Three Harry Potter items is rather a lot, although I appreciate that there’s a fandom there. Some of the items are clearly older overstock items as well.

The items that are most likely to get used are actually the notebook and the bookmark.

Nerd Block is always consistent, but there’s a lot of competition in the geek box market. It’s easy to get themed boxes that accurately reflect your taste and that’s well worth thinking about.

Box update

Nerd Block has since stopped running, so the subscription link that originally sat here has been retired. You can still browse every Nerd Block review on this site.