Most people only have one copy of old photos, videotapes, home movies, and film reels, which is why it’s so important to digitize them to ensure the precious memories last forever. That’s also why it’s important to choose a credible, reliable, and reputable service that will not only take care of your memories but create the highest possible quality results.
One of the most popular digitization services is LegacyBox, a company that uses kits for convenient shipping at a per-item price based on the number of cassettes, reels, or photos you have. While they offer a lot of experience and reviews, there are some glaring LegacyBox reviews that you should read before making a decision.
We put together all the information you need to know about LegacyBox. Keep reading to learn about LegacyBox services and history, the importance of reading reviews, and summaries of positive and negative experiences highlighted in LegacyBox customer reviews.
Jump to:
-> The Importance of Customer Reviews-> LegacyBox Overview
-> LegacyBox Reviews
-> How to Use Reviews to Make an Informed Decision
-> Other Options Besides LegacyBox
The Importance of Customer Reviews
While you can learn all about a company’s services, pricing, mission, and history from its website, it only tells one side of the story, and a positive one at that. By reading customer reviews, you get to learn about people just like you and their thoughts and feedback about the service you want to use for the first time.
That can tell you a whole lot not only about the quality of services and results but can also help you determine if a business is credible, safe, honest, and transparent about pricing. When it comes to something as priceless as family memories, reading customer reviews could make the difference between preserving your entire legacy or losing it forever.
However, you do have to be careful with customer reviews because any large, successful company is probably going to have both good and bad feedback. If there is a single devastating review mixed in with hundreds or thousands of positive reviews, then it can be easy to focus on the negatives, but it’s better to look for trends and common experiences.
That’s why many review sites use a scoring system, usually of 5-stars. This allows you to truly analyze the average experience. Then, you can read individual reviews to look for the things you care about the most.
For example, look for both positive and negative reviews that indicate safety and protection for your memories, fast turnaround time, or high-quality digital files. If you notice positive or negative experiences in multiple reviews, then you might want to think twice or at least compare those reviews with another option.
LegacyBox Overview
LegacyBox.com was founded in 2009 and runs a processing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They offer shipping boxes of multiple sizes with easy sticker shipping labels to convert analog media to digital media including VHS tapes, VHS-C, Betamax, Digital 8, MiniDV, and PAL format videotapes, 16mm, 8mm, and Super 8 film reels, print photos, negatives, and slides, and even audio cassettes and reel-to-reel audio.
Their shipping boxes come in sizes of 2 items for $65.98, up to 10 items for $299.98, up to 20 items for $599.98, and up to 40 items for $1,179.98. They also charge extra for LegaxcyBox cloud stores and USB flash drive or DVD copies.
While they certainly offer a wide range of digitization services and decent quality results all with convenience in mind, they have a turnaround time of 10 to 12 weeks, and LegacyBox memory kit reviews offer some disparaging feedback.
LegacyBox Reviews
There are plenty of LegacyBox reviews to evaluate to learn more about the company, its services, and the general experience of other customers looking to transfer their old films, family photos, and videotapes to digital format.
SiteJabber is a review site that includes over 700 LegacyBox reviews with a total 3.5 star rating out of 5. They also post scores from other platforms so you can clearly see the alarming 1.2 Better Business Bureau rating (associated with their parent company, SouthTree). Additionally, Trustpilot shows that LegacyBox is a verified company with a 3.9 rating.
You can also read more reviews about LegacyBox as comments on their Facebook page. If you want another place to read LegacyBox Reddit has many more detailed analyses as well.
Summary of Positive Reviews
Positive Legacybox reviews point out the convenience of the shipping label and barcode stickers and easy pack and ship functionality. Some reviewers go so far as to say the entire process was effortless and the live customer service representatives were friendly, helpful, and communicative.
Additionally, many indicate that the digital download was of good quality. For example, one reviewer said they were able to view memories they hadn’t seen in years since they didn’t have a VCR and that the entire process, instructions, and customer service were good.
These positive experiences are the reason why they have 419 5-star reviews of SiteJabber and 51% 5-star reviews on Trustpilot. However, as you know, positive reviews only tell one side of the story.
Summary of Negative Reviews
There are plenty of negative Legacybox reviews to offset the positive ones. In fact, according to SiteJabber, more than half of the reviews over the past 6 and 12 months have been negative and 29% of all Trustpilot reviews are 1-star, the lowest possible rating.
Some negative reviews go so far as to say “DO NOT RECOMMEND…IT’S A SCAM,” “Very poor quality,” and “a complete waste of time and money.” If you read through the reviews on any site, you will notice some disturbing trends in the complaints.
First, people constantly complain of a long turnaround. Many of the positive reviews on Trustpilot are from people who haven’t received their digital copies yet and those that have often pointed out that it took significantly longer than 12 weeks without any clear updates.
Second, lots of reviews indicate that the pricing structure was deceptive, and they had to pay extra for digital download, thumb drive, and other add-ons. This is what leads people to feel like they’ve been scammed because they pay an exorbitant sum for mediocre results 15+ weeks after they placed an order.
For example, one review says, “They want my additional $$$ for something I already fully paid for! Watch out. DON’T USE Them for your precious memories.” Others echo this experience and complain about terrible customer service that acts friendly and helpful but gives no real updates or understanding of the process.
Finally, even some of the 3-, 4-, and 5-star reviews mention that the quality wasn’t great or that Legacybox couldn’t transfer their entire order for one reason or another. Multiple reviews also indicate they paid for transfers that ended up being empty or with sound and audio that don’t align.
As you can see, why Legacybox may be convenient and offers over a decade of experience in the industry, there are plenty of scathing reviews that should make you think twice about trusting their service.
How to Use Reviews to Make an Informed Decision
You can use customer reviews to make an informed decision about LegacyBox or any of its competitors, including iMemories or Scan Café. The best way to use reviews is to decide on the things that are most important to you. Then, you can compare reviews for different services to find the one that best fits those preferences.
For example, reviews indicate that while LegacyBox may be good when it comes to convenience, their reviews show that you should be hesitant if you want a fast turnaround time, care about budget, or want the highest possible quality for your memories.
As mentioned before, no business that’s been around for a while will have perfect reviews, but they can be a useful tool to improve the decision-making process and enlighten the more common issues of a particular service, both good and bad. Hopefully, this ends up landing you on the best choice for your most precious family memories.
Other Options Besides LegacyBox
If you don’t want to risk using LegacyBox for film, photo, or tape transfers, there are a few additional options. The first is to use an analog to digital converter or photo scanner from Amazon to transfer your memories yourself. While this can be an affordable option, it’s time-consuming and may not lead to the best results.
Additionally, if you want to transfer video tapes, you will still need a camcorder or VCR. Finally, many options are targeted at tech-savvy users and are somewhat difficult to use. That being said, they can be a great choice if those downsides don’t concern you and you have time to dedicate toward digitizing your memories yourself.
Another option is to use a more reputable, experienced, and beloved competitor. Capture has been an industry leader for over 20 years and has digitized over 12 million memories. Additionally, our state of the art tracking and security system monitors your precious memories throughout the process, through every hand, and all the way back to your door.
Plus, compared with Legacybox’s 10 to 12 weeks turnaround, our turnaround time of less than 30 days makes us a clear choice if you have an upcoming birthday, holiday, anniversary, or family gathering. Capture also partners with Walmart, CVS, and Sam’s Club so you can choose their services to receive the same quality digitization and satisfaction guaranteed.
Conclusion
When choosing a service to care for your priceless memories like old photos, videotapes, and film reels, it’s important to check reviews to make sure they will take good care of your analog media, produce high-quality digital copies, and offer everything you want out of a digitization service. While LegacyBox does offer a lot of experience and convenient shipping box functionality, there are much better options out there if you care about budget, turnaround time, and digital format quality.
While we may be biased, we believe Capture offers an exceptional combination of affordability, security, quality, and customer service for your most precious videotape, film, and photo moments. Click here to read some Capture reviews!
