LegacyBox is one of the most popular companies for digitizing home movies, old photos, and film reels, but it works a little differently than some of the other options like ScanCafe, Capture, and EverPresent. So, how does LegacyBox work and is it the best choice for your precious memories?

Capture offers over 20 years of experience to help you answer those questions and more. That way, you can make the best decision for your analog media. 

Read on to evaluate the LegacyBox process and how it works and learn from user reviews, cost comparisons, and how LegacyBox stacks up against other digitization companies. 

Jump to:

• LegacyBox Process Explained
• User Experiences and Reviews
• Comparing Costs
• LegacyBox Versus Competitors
• Perceived Benefits of Using LegacyBox
  
  

LegacyBox Process Explained<

LegacyBox is owned by the same company that operates SouthTree and Kodak Digitizing Box and offers warehouses located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As their name suggests, they digitize your personal box of videotapes, photographs, and other old family memories. Unlike some other digitization companies, they also convert audio cassettes to digital. 

To put it simply, you put your memories into the designated box, ship it to them, and they return it in around 12 weeks. You can purchase the LegacyBox Digitizing Kit with included welcome guide from LegacyBox.com based on the number of items you have. 

Once you place your online order, they will send you the LegacyBox kit along with a pre-paid shipping label and barcode stickers to track each item. You fill your box with old videos and memories, send it back to them from UPS, and then they will start processing it when it arrives at their facility. 

When completed, they will ship your original copies back to you as well as DVD or USB Flash Drive digital copies. You also have the option of paying for cloud storage. While their digitization process sounds simple, do LegacyBox reviews tell the same story?

User Experiences and Reviews

Now that you know the answer to, “How does LegacyBox work?” It’s smart to examine some of their reviews to see if everyone was satisfied with the process, services, and other factors. This will help you determine if they are the best company to digitize home movies and photos. 

At first glance, LegacyBox has above average reviews, but you should also consider SouthTree reviews and Kodak Digitizing Reviews since they are owned by the same company. On SiteJabber, LegacyBox has a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and on Trustpilot they have a solid 4 Stars. Those seem pretty good, but what about the specific LegacyBox user experiences?

Positive reviews praise convenience and the simplicity of being able to fill the box and ship it without worrying about taking care of shipping due to the pre-paid UPS shipping label. Others say that the customer service was great with email updates and many people say that the digital files were good quality.

There are lots of good reviews, but unfortunately there are also lots of LegacyBox complaints to consider. One of the most common complaints is the excessive turnaround time. LegacyBox already claims to take 10-12 weeks, which is at the higher end when compared with Legacybox competitors, but many reviews indicate that it took even longer to receive their order. 

Other recurring issues include expensive and deceptive pricing because you are forced to pay for at least one digital download, thumb drive, or DVD. Additionally, while there are plenty of reviews that are happy with the quality, there are others that say the quality was lower than the original media. 

Comparing Costs

LegacyBox costs are based on the number of items that you want to convert into digital format. An item is considered 1 videotape, 1 audio cassette, 1 film reel, or 25 photos. For example, their smallest box is for 2 items and is priced at $65.98 while they also have 10, 20, and 40 item trunks with costs ranging from $299.98 to $1,179.98. An item is considered 1 tape, 1 film reel, or 25 pictures. 

Without a LegacyBox discount code or coupon, these prices are quite high when compared to other digitization companies. One of the main concerns is that while you can add additional items, their smallest box is for two items. That means that if you only have a single VHS tape or film reel, you might have to pay for two anyway. 

While their pricing for videotapes and film reels are only around $2 to $10 more than competitors like Capture, ScanCafe, and iMemories, that can add up quickly. However, their photo print, slide, and negative pricing are even more expensive costing $65. 98 for up to 50 photos. Capture charges only $29.99 for 50 photos and only 50 cents for each additional image. 

Let’s say you have an order for 500 photos. At LegacyBox, you’ll pay $599.98 for that order, but with Capture you’ll only pay $254.99, less than half the price. The more photos you have, the bigger the difference will be. 

LegacyBox Versus Competitors

However, that’s really where the advantages end because when it comes to LegacyBox vs. Costco vs iMemories, ScanCafe, and all the other digitization companies, it becomes clear that there are better options available. 

For example, ScanCafe and iMemories offer cheaper pricing, faster turnaround time, and more experience than LegacyBox. However, the difference between Legacybox vs competitors is even more noticeable when you compare LegacyBox vs. Capture. 

While both convert most of the same types of media like VHS tapes, VHS-C, MicroMV, Betamax tapes, MiniDV tapes, 8mm film, 16mm film, photo slides, negatives, and more, Capture is cheaper and doesn’t charge an extra fee for digital download. With LegacyBox you have to pay an additional $19.99 for digital download or choose to get a thumb drive or DVD copy. 

Capture also offers the first ever touchless photo album scanning service, unavailable with any other options. Then, when it comes to security, Capture offers a state-of-the-art tracking and security system that monitors your precious memories through every step. LegacyBox’s barcode tracking simply doesn’t compare. 

Finally, one of the biggest discrepancies is with turnaround time. LegacyBox claims a turnaround time of 10 to 12 weeks with many user reviews claiming even longer. If you want digitization as a gift idea and need it by a certain date, this is discouraging. Capture, on the other hand, guarantees a turnaround time of less than 30 days including shipping. 

Perceived Benefits of Using LegacyBox

After comparing LegacyBox with some of your other options, you might wonder why they are so popular. Well, that’s because there are some perceived benefits of using LegacyBox due to their good marketing and powerful claims. 

The way that LegacyBox works is tempting due to the convenience of the shipping box. Plus, they claim that this box further protects your memories along with barcode tracking. However, when you take a closer look, you’ll see that while it’s convenient, it’s not worth the price difference. 

Also, the security is basic when compared with Capture and some reviews even mention that LegacyBox lost their memories. Yes, LegacyBox will preserve your memories, but a single lost memory is unacceptable, which is why Capture offers a satisfaction guarantee and complete monitoring of your order every step of the way. 

Conclusion

How does LegacyBox work and is their digitization process worth it? Well, that decision is up to you, but converting old media with LegacyBox, while convenient, seems to come with some risk due to the high price, various complaints, slow turnaround time, and other factors. 

If you want to make the best decision for digitally archiving your old home movies, Super 8 film reels, and other precious memories and digital format heirlooms, click here to see a detailed comparison of Capture versus LegacyBox, ScanCafe, iMemories, and Walmart.