When it comes to digitizing your old photos, home movies, and film reels, it’s important to make sure you choose a conversion service that will take good care of your precious memories and deliver the best possible result. 

While Capture offers a state-of-the-art tracking and security system to keep your memories safe throughout the whole process, there are plenty of other options that you might want to consider. One of the most popular digitization services in 2024 is iMemories. That’s why we put together this guide to iMemories reviews so you could make the best decision for your analog media. 

Keep reading to learn about iMemories, the services they offer, how they stack up against the competition, and some of the best and worst iMemories reviews. 

Jump to:

• Overview of iMemories
• iMemories vs. Competitors
• Customer Reviews of iMemories
• Key Considerations for Selecting a Conversion Service

Overview of iMemories

iMemories is a company that was founded in 2005 in Scottsdale, Arizona. That means they offer over 15 years of experience converting old VHS tapes to digital, scanning photos into digital images, and turning old film reels into digital videos. Not only that, but they claim over 1 million customers.  

They accept a wide variety of different formats including Betamax, VHS, VHs-C, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, and Micromini videotapes, 8mm, 16mm, and Super 8 film reels, print photos, negatives, slides, and even DVDs and MiniDVDs. 

Additionally, iMemories offers DVD, USB, and Blu-Ray disc copies of your memories and you can also use their SAFESHIP KIT to safely ship memories via FedEx in a crush-proof box, waterproof bags, and shock resistant bubble cushions.  

While they offer experience and a plethora of services, there are some potential downsides. Their iMemories cloud access and app offer faster access to digital copies, which is great, but the app costs an additional $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year. 

 Other add-on costs are also higher than some of the best companies for digitizing home movies, films, and photos. A USB flash drive copy of your previous memories from iMemories will cost $39.99 while each DVD costs $19.99.    

As you can see, there are both benefits and downsides of iMemories, just like there are with any digitization service. It’s a good idea to look at how they stack up against competition and to check iMemories user testimonials.  

iMemories vs. Competitors

It’s a good idea to examine iMemories vs. Legacybox vs Capture vs. ScanCafe and other competitors. You can check out our comparison chart for a direct comparison of all the most popular digitization services but keep reading to learn specifically about iMemories vs other brands.  

iMemories services are very comprehensive, so unless you have a very rare media format, they can probably digitize it for you (however, they don’t digitize audio cassettes). They also offer 18 years of experience, which is more than most competitors other than Capture that offers 23 years of expertise.  

When it comes to turnaround time, iMemories is significantly better than LegacyBox and even beats ScanCafe, especially if you pay for app access to see your digital format memories in as little as 1-2 weeks. Looking at iMemories vs Capture you’ll see that both services offer similar turnaround times.  

Additionally, when you examine any iMemories review and comparison you’ll see that their pricing is generally around the industry average, but their photo and 35mm negative scanning service costs 99 cents per photo, which is quite a bit higher than most of their competitors other than LegacyBox.  

One of the most important factors when choosing a service to turn your camcorder memories, film reels, photos slides and prints, and other precious memories into digital is whether the company does everything possible to protect your memories during the transfer process. iMemories offers only the bare minimum with tracking and order status updates, while competitors like LegacyBox and ScanCafe, and Capture offer barcode tracking, video monitoring, and other security services.  

Finally, while other competitors offer Google Photos or Google Drive integration, iMemories fails to offer this service and only offers the iMemories app for cloud access to family memories after digital conversion. Plus, the satisfaction guarantee on iMemories services is unclear unlike Capture, LegacyBox, ScanCafe, and other competitors.  

Customer Reviews of iMemories

 One of the best ways to learn about a company is to read reviews and complaints. For example, LegacyBox complaints highlight some glaring issues that might make you reconsider your decision to use them for your Super 8 film, VHS tapes, and other media. That’s why we put together this outline of iMemories customer reviews. 

On SiteJabber, iMemories reviews and ratings hold a solid rating of 4.74 stars from 13,056 reviews, which indicates that “most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases.” Their Amazon reviews aren’t as good with a rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, but their Trustpilot score is also good landing at 4.5 with 300 reviews.  

Most of the people who use iMemories and leave positive reviews praise the cloud storage using the iMemories app, excellent customer service, great digital images and videos, reasonable turnaround time, and an easy order process.  

For example, one of the 5-star iMemories online reviews from Trustpilot states, “iMemories continues to do an excellent job for me.” They continue to state that they sent in 20 8mm and 16mm movie films in “very poor condition” and that “iMemories was able to digitize all of them.” 

Other positive iMemories digital conversion reviews say things like “Service was seamless! Product is amazing!” and “Simple shipping and receiving,” as well as “I had a great experience with this company.” That being said, not all of the iMemories photo and video transfer reviews are so positive.  

In fact, some issues come up again and again in verified purchase negative reviews. One Amazon review says that while it was great to have their home videos and old memories digitized from Hi-8 tape players, “the turnaround was fairly slow, and the price is very high… ALSO – they missed an entire 10 minute clip on one of the tapes I sent.” 

Pricing is a regular concern with people saying things like “It is a very costly service to use” and “for the cost, I was expecting better quality.” One review goes so far as to say “I almost feel as if I was a victim of a scam.” And state that they didn’t get all their home movies back. As you can see, that Amazon review isn’t the only person who mentions that iMemories failed to convert all of their old movies and memories of loved ones.   

Finally, while the iMemories official website offers a solid turnaround time in general, many reviews state that it took much longer than advertised for their memories and family videos to arrive. In fact, multiple reviews claim that it took 6 weeks or longer and some say it’s better to digitize your own memories if you know how to do so.   

Key Considerations for Selecting a Conversion Service

As you can see, there are pros and cons of any digitization service and the state of iMemories review 2024 feedback is mixed. While their scores are generally high, several issues arise in multiple reviews among multiple sites. 

When looking through reviews, remember that any company that’s been around for a long time will have both positive and negative reviews. Try not to take a single review too seriously, but if the same issues arise constantly, that should be a red flag. The same goes for praise. If 100s of reviews all say that the company delivered high quality digital files for an affordable price, that’s a great sign.  

Additionally, it’s smart to not only check reviews but to know what to look for when comparing brands. Here are essential factors to consider when choosing a digitization service to preserve your memories for future generations:

• Turnaround time
• Repair, splicing, and cleaning for old videos and film
• Pricing, coupons, and discounts
• Satisfaction guarantee
• Security and protection for memories
• Experience and track record
• Media format (thumb drive, DVD, hard drive, etc.)
• Reviews and Ratings

Conclusion

As you can see from the iMemories pricing and reviews we’ve covered, the popular digitization service has a lot to offer. They have their own app that speeds up access to your memories and makes it easier to share with family members over email or social media. They also have lots of experience and offer a wide variety of services. 

However, some issues like high pricing, slower than normal turnaround time, inadequate digitization, and tons of additional charges for app access, USB copies, and even their SAFESHIP KIT should raise some concerns. 

If you are worried about the iMemories reviews you’ve seen and want an alternative, click here to check out how Capture stacks up against the competition.