Thinking of trying out Legacybox? Here is my completely honest Legacybox review of how this company works and what the pros and cons are. {Sponsored by Legacybox. All opinions are my own.}
Looking for other honest reviews? You might be interested in my Stitch Fix review, thredUP review, Datebox review, and Rocksbox review!
Honest Legacybox Reviews
Legacybox is a company dedicated to helping you preserve any format of outdated memories in a digital format. They can preserve many different kinds of media — photos, VHS tapes, DVDs, even Super 8 film!
I recently had the opportunity to try out their services and share my honest thoughts about the process. If you have been thinking of using Legacybox, I hope this honest review is helpful to you.
Note: After I posted this, many people have left comments stating that Legacybox lost their photos or VHS tapes that they sent in. Though that wasn’t my experience and they have updated their tracking to be more reliable in recent years, I want to keep this an honest Legacybox review. So I definitely think it’s important that you know that this is something that has happened multiple times. Read the comments for honest experiences others have had with Legacybox that were not positive like mine was.
Why this Legacy Box Review took so long to write
It usually takes me 2-4 hours to write a lengthy content post.
That might sound like a really long time for a 1500+-word post, but when you add in the time to think through the outline, dig up links and resources to use in the post, take pictures for the post, tweak sections after you’ve written it to tighten things up, and get everything formatted correctly, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that great posts just require quite a bit of time to get from idea to published post.
Occasionally, a post that requires extra research or photos or thought will take me over 4 hours. But that is very rare.
I wanted to give you some context for what I’m about to say so that you’d understand how crazy and insane it is… and you’d know that I don’t take reviews lightly. Or, maybe I just need to get a better system for organizing my photos and other memorabilia. {No, on second thought, let’s stick with the I don’t take reviews lightly excuse. :)}
So, are you ready for this?
Writing this post took me 15+ entire HOURS.
Yes, I’m not kidding you. I really did say FIFTEEN. Count ’em. FIFTEEN HOURS.
And I may have wondered if I up and lost my ever-lovin’ mind when I was in the middle of those hours. But I’m here to tell you that I survived and I’m here to say I hope you enjoy this post. 🙂
To be clear, it wasn’t necessarily the writing of the post that took all of that time… though it definitely did take some time and effort to research Legacybox, take pictures for the post, and type out everything I wanted to say about my experience.
{Silas with me at my sister’s wedding. I’m not sure what’s going on with my hair there. I asked for an updo from the hairstylist who did hair at the wedding and she gave me some sort of updo for sure! But I had to share this picture because Silas was so teeny-tiny and it melts my heart!}
Going Through All Of Our Photos
What took me forever and a day was that part of writing this post involved going through 4 TUBS of pictures and letters and memorabilia from 34 years of my life and then deciding which items I wanted to send off to Legacybox to digitally preserve.
People, that’s like trying to decide which kids are your favorite. It’s near impossible!
And not only did I have to decide on which pictures and videos I wanted to have preserved, but I had to look through all of the photos and letters and memorabilia in order to make those crazy tough decisions.
Being the highly-distractible person that I am, this was no small task. Because pretty much every photo and letter and piece of paper in those tubs holds special memories for me.
When the Legacybox Kit arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, I naively thought I could go through the memorabilia tubs in about an hour. Jesse pulled them out of the attic and I opened the lid of one and started in.
{My family — rocking our matching, homemade dresses that my mom sewed for us. This was when there were only 5 kids!}
It Took WAY Longer Than I Thought It Would!
Four hours later, our entire bedroom was strewn with piles of papers and photos and photo books… even a little baggie of hair from Kaitlynn’s first hair cut.
It looked like a disaster, but clutter-hating me didn’t really even seem to notice because there I sat, completely engrossed in reading letters Jesse and I had written to each other before we were married when he was away at college in Virginia. I kept finding another letter or another photo or another piece of our history that I needed to share with Jesse.
Pretty soon, he was up there next to me and we were reminiscing on so many different memories and special times from our past.
All of a sudden, half the day had past and I realized, “Oh my goodness! I’ve not even gotten through two tubs yet! I still have two more to go and I don’t have a CLUE how I’m going to narrow down the photos I want digitally preserved!!”
{Be still my heart! That’s Kathrynne and Kaitlynn in my sister’s wedding.}
I’m So Glad I Went to All That Work, Though!
It took me two more afternoons to get through the rest of the tubs and then two more hours to go through the photos I’d narrowed things down to. I felt like I had just run a marathon when I finally shipped off the Legacybox. But it felt SO good!
I was thrilled with the finished product and getting all of these really special pictures and videos digitally preserved — not only for my own sake, but so I can share them with my kids and their kids and maybe even my great-grandkids someday!
How Legacy Box Works
If you’re interested in trying it out, Legacybox is a company dedicated to helping you preserve any format of outdated memories in a digital format. They can digitize many different kinds of media — photos, VHS tapes, DVDs, even Super 8 film and more!
Here’s how it works:
1. Sign up to get a kit in the mail. Depending upon how many memories you want to preserve, you can choose the kit that is best for you. They offer four different kit options.
2. Legacybox will send you a kit that includes a welcome guide, a pre-paid FedEx shipping label, individual item barcodes, a crush proof box, and a personal concierge so you can talk to an expert any time if you have questions while you’re collecting items for your box.
3. Fill up your box with your items you want preserved. They can digitally preserve almost everything — tapes, film, photos, negatives, or audio. fill it with any formats in your collection, then send it back in the box it came in with the pre-paid label.
Note: One thing that I missed somehow was that you are supposed to save the outer box that the Legacybox comes in to stick the Legacybox in and mail back. I almost didn’t catch this before I had tossed that box and it would have been bad because the Legacybox fits perfectly into that box and that’s how it guarantees that your special items aren’t crushed in the shipment.
4. After several weeks, you’ll receive your originals back along with your memories converted into a preferred digitized format (choose from watchable DVDs, thumb drive, or digital download link). Plus, you get to keep the Legacybox for storage. Barcoding with online order tracking ensures your memories stay safe throughout the whole process.
{My dad’s parents meeting Kathrynne for the first time — their first great grandchild. They were SO excited to finally have a great grandchild as they’d been hoping and waiting to have one for a long time. My grandma didn’t live much longer after this and my grandpa is no longer alive, either, so this is a very special photo for me.}
{Our family Christmas card a few years back. Oh, the kids look so little there!}
Pro Legacy Box Reviews
You never have to leave your house! If the thought of finding a local place (or a techie friend) to do this for you feels a little daunting, they save you having to worry about making phone calls or online research to find a company to preserve your memories.
This would make a cool and unique gift idea. I am thinking it would be fun to give to a relative or friend who had a lot of memories to preserve or for someone who had lost a loved one.
It’s so simple… well, not the part of going through all the memories and photos! 😉 But the part of actually sending things off to Legacybox? It’s a cinch! You just put your items in baggies with identification stickers on them, pop them in the Legacybox kit, put it back in the mailer box it came from, attach the pre-paid label, and drop it off at a FedEx store. Boom, done.
Con Legacybox Reviews
You could do it yourself. While some of the older VHS, film, and audio might be hard to professionally preserve yourself, other things — like photos — would be fairly simple to scan and preserve onto a DVD or thumb drive.
It’s expensive. $75 to $500 for preserving your memories is a lot of money. But it’s also one of those things that could be a priceless sort of investment. Many of the photos and VHS tapes I dug up were ones I would never want to lose… and ones I want to share with our kids and grandkids.
Note: After I posted this, many people have left comments stating that Legacybox lost their photos or VHS tapes that they sent in. Though that wasn’t my experience and they have updated their tracking to be more reliable in recent years, I want to keep this an honest Legacybox review. So I definitely think it’s important that you know that this is something that has happened multiple times. Read the comments for honest experiences others have had with Legacybox that were not positive like mine was.
Legacybox.com Reviews FAQ
Legacy box helps you preserve any format of outdated memories by converting them into a digital format. You send in old tapes, photos, reels, videos, cassettes, and more. And they send your memories back in a converted digitized form of your choice!
Yes, Legacy box is a legitimate and trustworthy company that has a BBB rating of A+. However, there are many customer complaints about Legacybox losing their photos and videos that they sent in. This is definitely something to be aware of, though they have updated their tracking process to be a lot more reliable in recent years.
Legacy box costs anywhere from $65 to $1000+, depending on how many items you want to convert. However, they almost always offer some sort of discount or coupon code, so never pay full price! For example, right now they’re offering 50% off all of their boxes.
It typically takes around 10-12 weeks to process and receive your digitized memories once Legacy box receives your box.
Hi Everyone:
Two reasons WHY NOT TO USE LEGACYBOX (so far):
(1) delays and
(2) poor customer service
You should consider alternative companies to do your digitizing. I sent twenty rolls of 8mm film and videotapes for processing over three months ago and they just started production on them. The two times I have contacted them by email, I just get form responses with the same information as on their website. I had 8mm film digitized a few years ago by another company and did not have problems with service or prompt processing (couldn’t use that company anymore because they are not in business).
I will let you all know how they turn out (if/when I get them back).
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience! I’ve used Legacy Box in the past and had a great experience! Thanks for your honest review, though. -Meg, MSM Team
Apparently I didn’t include digital access in my order, although I thought I did. Although I am still within the 30 day window, they will not honor their guarantee of 30 day backup. They have already deleted my files and tell me too bad. I would have to re-ship & pay fir shipping & access. Customer service attitude is “too bad.”
Ugh. I’m so sorry that happened to you! -Meg, MSM Team
I have yet to receive anything from Legacybox except on my bank Statement that you received my $258. That was over 6weeks ago. Please advise.
Ha – did a doubletake at your first photo description as my name’s Silas as well 🙂.
I had a terrible time just getting the legacy box to come to me and when I complained, their response was “not our problem and you ordered standard shipping“. It took 17 days for the box to get to me after I initially ordered. It took eight of those days for it to just leave legacy box. And this wasn’t free shipping this was inflated smart post charge. Their customer service just shrugged and blamed me so I had to track the box down myself. For what they charge they should at least offer free shipping, then I wouldn’t have cared how long it took. I have a friend Who converts media who says they are charging way too much. This will definitely be the last time I am using them because I have lost all confidence that they even care about my satisfaction.
I’m so sorry to hear that was your experience! Thank you for sharing your honest review. -Jordan, MSM Team
Legacybox has had my videos, old 8mm movies and some pics for over 90 days and they still have not even started digitizing my order. I have written them several times and they always reply 2 more weeks. I have now asked for my items to be returned and my money refunded. So disappointed’
Thank god for these reviews. I ordered the closet Legacy Box last week. It was supposed to be delivered this past Wed. I didn’t get anything and the tracking said “delivered.” I have a Ring camera so when the mail person or delivery people come, I have a video. No video of anyone dropping anything off. And i didn’t get any mail that day. I called Legacy and was put on hold for 15 minutes only to get an auto response that they were not available. I left a vmail for a return call. This is during business hours. Then I sent an email. No response to the email or phone call a day later. I call again and they take no responsibility because it’s a shipping issue. They agreed to send another box. But now I am worried and I google reviews and find this website with reviews. And I realized how idiotic I am to take the risk of SHIPPING these memories knowing there could be a chance they could get lost. Even if it’s only 1-2% (and frankly, I think its more), i don’t want to take that risk. Anyway, I looked online and found a local place that is reasonably priced and COMES to your home to scan. It may end up being cheaper – who knows. And they color correct on the spot if you want. Anyway, I urge everyone to look local.
Not happy with the service or even customer service. My husband ordered the 3 pc set for mothers day. When we called to ask a question while putting in our video recorder, my husband realized it only was a digital download and he wanted a thumb drive, which cost extra, of course. My husband gave a credit card and off we went. We recieved the videos back yesterday and no thumb drive!! So now we only have this digital download we dont’ want to watch it on a laptop or phone!! Called and the customer service rep was not helpful or willing to even offer a small discount on anything. I planned on sending more videos in, but it will not be with Legacy Box.
Stacey A Mangiaracina –
Just buy a thumb drive for $10 and copy the files to it. You can burn the files to DVD if you want also. A thumb drive is nothing but a portable storage device like a hard drive in a laptop or phone.
Digital download is the #1 way to receive these files. From that format, you can store them anyway you want to . Any other method is susceptible to becoming obsolete hardware (DVD) or physically being lost or failing (thumb drive).
Digital download will allow you to store unlimited copies in unlimited places and distribute them to friends and family without having to send out any physical device.
Hi Terry! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m sorry for any confusion with our pricing. The price that we advertise on our homepage does include both the digitizing fee along with the fee for the thumb drive, since that is our most popular option. While those two fees are separately, we do advertise the pricing with at least one option added, to give you a heads up. However, you can always change the thumb drive for another output option, according to your own preferences. If you have any more questions, feel free to email us at [email protected].
Hi Andrew! Though there are rare occurences where things do go wrong, we are the industry leader in this field and have fulfilled over 500,000 orders with the vast majority being very satisfied! I definitely understand the hesitancy of sending your stuff off, but if you have any questions about our business, we’d be happy to assist you! You can email us at [email protected].
Hi John! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m sorry you were having issues with your DVDs! The main function of the DVDs is indeed to be played on a DVD player. They do not have files, like a thumb drive would, however it may be an issue with the compatibility on the computer as well. If you’d like to troubleshoot this issue some more, feel free to message our Customer Service team at [email protected].
Hi David! This is Blake from Legacybox. We’re currently the industry leader in our line of work and have served over 500,000 customers all across the country. There are indeed other options, however Legacybox can guarantee high quality and a timely turn around for your items. If you have any other questions, feel free to message us at [email protected]!
Hi Robert! This is Blake from Legacybox. I totally see the benefit in getting it done locally! A lot of times, those places will be a bit more pricey than us though. I do want to clarify that if you order the thumb drive or digital download, you are indeed able to edit those files once you get them back! If you have any more questions, feel free to email us at [email protected].
Hi Steve! This is Blake from Legacybox. If you didn’t get any digitized media back, that’s definitely a problem. We should have either offered to set up a return or refund you for the expenses. If we did neither of those, please send us an email with your order information at [email protected] so that we can get this resolved for you!
Hi Dee! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry if you got a thumb drive that wouldn’t open the files. We’re always more than happy to refund or set up a return when a product does not function correctly. If you message our team at [email protected], we’ll be happy to make sure that refund is processed properly!
Hi Randall! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry that your order experienced the transition to our new cloud service. However, we are always very happy to refund for any payments that are submitted even after the cloud service was deactivated, as we never deny refunds for this issue. I’d be happy to personally refund you! You can send us an email at [email protected] to follow up.
Additionally, I do want to add that we also always provide the option to have your items reprocessed to our new cloud service free of charge. If you’d like to set that up, also just include that in an email to our company! We’re more than willing to work with you on this. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hi Jessica. This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry for your experience. We care deeply about the items that are sent in to us, as we acknowledge that these are not just ordinary products, but irreplaceable memories. I’m at a loss as to why your reels were received in that way, as there’s no way that the film reels would have been shredded while in our facility. I know that you have been in contact with our Customer Service team in the past, but if you have any more questions you’d like to reach out to us about, feel free to reach out at [email protected].
Hi Kim! This is Blake from Legacybox. I completely understand the hesitancy of parting with your precious memories, for any reason at all! However, we do take safety very seriously. We transitioned to UPS last year in order to make sure the shipments are getting the safest treatment possible, ensuring that they don’t pass through the Post Office, where things aren’t quite as reliable. But I completely understand the benefit of going local. If you have any more questions, feel free to message us at [email protected].
Hi Sherri! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry that this was your experience! We definitely want to help resolve issues like this. If you haven’t contacted our customer service yet, please feel free to do so with your order information so that we can assist you with this. You can contact us at [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hey Beth! This is Blake with Legacybox. I’m sorry for any delay in your order. Our normal processing time is 4-6 weeks once it arrives to our facility. It looks like your order arrived to our facility in Chattanooga on May 24th and it was delivered back to you on July 2nd, right around 5-6 weeks! So sorry for any confusion about how long our process is and for any delay that you may have experienced trying to contact our customer service team!
I would say that I was – overall – disappointed. I purchased two “Closet” boxes. Each containing 500 pictures. The process was easy, the boxes secure and pictures returned in reasonable order. However, I had two issues. One is that the scanned pictures were of a very low quality scan. Some had dust and hairs on the scanned picture that was not on the original – I was extremely diligent in this and sent them in Ziploc. I have had better scanned copies from my local Costco machines and for less money.
The second issue was one order of 500 pictures scanned onto a thumbdrive. About 70% of the scanned pictures were partially or totally grayed out or unscanned. I’m waiting to see what Legacy Box does with this issue. I suppose I’ll have to send my pictures back for a re-do, but I just hate to trust my pictures with the mail/UPS again.
Decent process, but quality is lacking.
In case my comment above gets lost…..always go local with these cherished memories. I would bet everyone has a local person doing it out of their house if you search around. Don’t put the in a box to some internet company where who knows who is going to take care of your things. Don’t use Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, etc…..they also put your stuff in a box and ship it off. Just one more middle person. There are also companies online that claim they are US but put your stuff in a box to India where they can get the work done really cheap.
I am a stay at home mom that does this out of my home. There aren’t many of us but we are out there and we actually care about your things.
It just breaks my heart to read these comments. To me, these things are my most valuable items I have in my life and would be destroyed if something happened to them.
It’s good to see some people with similar experiences like my own. I was starting to think I was alone.
Legacybox sent me the original box after a few weeks (FedEx lost it), I then sent in 40 items from my late grandfather’s personal stash. They were very intimate and wonderful family memories. I was smart to take pictures of everything before I sent it in.
It took way more time than normal because it was around Christmas, and I then received an unmarked brown box with my stuff and an arrangement of unlabeled DVD’s. I took a look at them. There was no audio and everything was unorganized. I had no idea which tapes were on which DVD’s. I had to reach out to customer service to understand that buried in their FAQ, it says there’s likely no audio for the media I sent in. Okay, my fault.
Due to the nature of the package I felt something was amiss, and after haggling a bit with the CSR, they sent me another box to send my stuff in and give me all digital files instead.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE.
This second trip took much less time. I then received a LegacyBox labeled package with everything neatly packed inside. One problem. At least 10 of the small reels I had sent in HAD BEEN SHREDDED, and their cases DESTROYED. Like, in pieces and had been smashed by something heavy kind of destroyed.
Whoever was responsible for this managed to stick all of the shredded tapes in an old plastic bag and then they stuck a sticker on it that said “This media is in a format that cannot be processed”
I took pictures of everything that was damaged, and spent TWO weeks haggling with a new CSR over the nature of what I received.
They ended up giving me my money back. However, it will never replace these cherished memories.
It is now a year later. They are sending me review requests and newsletters despite having unsubscribed twice, and having reached out to their customer service team about unsubscribing twice.
Needless to say- STAY AWAY.
Hi Jessica. This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry for your experience. We care deeply about the items that are sent in to us, as we acknowledge that these are not just ordinary products, but irreplaceable memories. I’m at a loss as to why your reels were received in that way, as there’s no way that the film reels would have been shredded while in our facility. I know that you have been in contact with our Customer Service team in the past, but if you have any more questions you’d like to reach out to us about, feel free to reach out at [email protected].
Converted digital to online – then DELETED THEM ALL A YEAR LATER! And still charging$
Sent in a bunch of old tapes to have converted and put online.
A year later, without letting anyone know, the deleted all of the online media and told me it can’t be recovered. On top of this, they continue to charge me for a service which they stopped providing, and refuse to refund.
Hi Randall! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry that your order experienced the transition to our new cloud service. However, we are always very happy to refund for any payments that are submitted even after the cloud service was deactivated, as we never deny refunds for this issue. I’d be happy to personally refund you! You can send us an email at [email protected] to follow up.
Additionally, I do want to add that we also always provide the option to have your items reprocessed to our new cloud service free of charge. If you’d like to set that up, also just include that in an email to our company! We’re more than willing to work with you on this. Looking forward to hearing from you!
I also had a terrible experience with LegacyBox. Sent 6 VHS tapes in, got a thumb drive and tapes back, but NONE of the files would play. WHAT? I’ve complained numerous times, been promised a refund, but 6 months later, I still have no refund, and no digitized memories. Save yourself the time, money and energy, and go elsewhere.
Hi Dee! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m so sorry if you got a thumb drive that wouldn’t open the files. We’re always more than happy to refund or set up a return when a product does not function correctly. If you message our team at [email protected], we’ll be happy to make sure that refund is processed properly!
It took a couple months and at least I got my material back..but that was all. No discs, no flash drive, just packing paper. Lots and lots of packing paper for slides.
Hi Steve! This is Blake from Legacybox. If you didn’t get any digitized media back, that’s definitely a problem. We should have either offered to set up a return or refund you for the expenses. If we did neither of those, please send us an email with your order information at [email protected] so that we can get this resolved for you!
Well after reading this I’ve seen a place over by US 23 in Green Oak township, Michigan, where you can walk in and have it done. Think I’ll try that. Also I hoped if they are digital all of us could edit them after they are converted to cut out the boring parts, add sound, etc.
After reading all of the reviews, is there is recommendation’s for services other than Legacybox. I want to convert some VHS tapes to disc.
My recommendation is go local. I’m a stay at home mom that does it in my area. We are all over the place. Put a post on your local Facebook market places that you are looking for someone local. Try an internet search as well. A small business will treat your previous memories with love.
My experience was different. I paid and received what I requested in timely fashion. However, I went to download recorded memories on a my new laptop, I discovered that the DVDs are now cleaned of all their contents. It says, “There is no video or picture content to be downloaded”. Anyone else have this experience?
Just speaking from experience since I do what legacy box does on a small scale. A DVD can’t be wiped clean UNLESS they just went bad. They could have used a poor quality DVD to start with.
I’ll bet the DVD is fine. Try it in a DVD player.
Their DVD’s are meant to be played in a DVD player connected to a television. If you want the videos downloaded to your computer you would need to run DVD extraction software, such as Handbrake (for Mac,) to convert them to standalone .mp4 files. That’s just how DVD formats work.
it a good thing you publish the bad reviews on the company that you have a financial arrangement with. Thank you. Keep up the good work. i will not risk my memories with Legacy box
This place is a rip off. You think you are getting something for the fee, but you are not. The fee for the box is just the fee for the digitizing. You have to pay extra for the format you want. Very deceptive advertising. So be prepared to add on what you think you are paying.
Hi Terry! This is Blake from Legacybox. I’m sorry for any confusion with our pricing. The price that we advertise on our homepage does include both the digitizing fee along with the fee for the thumb drive, since that is our most popular option. While those two fees are separately, we do advertise the pricing with at least one option added, to give you a heads up. However, you can always change the thumb drive for another output option, according to your own preferences. If you have any more questions, feel free to email us at [email protected].
I am so happy I looked at reviews as well. I looked at Legacy Box and iMemories reviews. Both “seem” so wonderful from their websites, but there are so many bad experiences on both companies. Thank you to those who shared those. No one wants to lose these precious memories or pay all that money and not have good quality or sound. I will also plan on using a local company so I don’t have to lose them in shipping.
I am so happy I did some research before I sent my tapes and films to Legacybox. After all the bad reviews, it seems like a roll of the dice as to whether you will even get your originals back, much less a good copy. I am just going to look for a more local outfit. Also, Legacybox seems kind of pricey.
I just canceled my order because it’s deceptive and looks as though it is intentionally so. I received an email with 54% off. I placed the order on the site. I received a voucher by email. I was confused as to why I had to go back to the site to place an order. Why couldn’t I have done that in the first place rather than having to redeem a voucher? The voucher step seems a waste of time. Then I found out why it’s likely done that way. The price doesn’t include the cost of the digital medium/format. You have to pay more money.
I contacted customer service and was given a lame story of how they used to choose the format, but people contacted them angry the company made the choice. When I asked why they can’t include that in the cost, allowing you to choose the format without charging additional money, she said it’s just how it’s done and that it’s listed on the site. I looked over the site. It doesn’t say you have to pay additional money for the format, just that you pay and choose the format. They put prices next to the format, but I would assume that would be included in the cost since I had to initally place an order for a box.
Basically, this looks like a bait-and-switch. The discounted price and emails lead you to believe the format is in the cost of the box. When you get to the order page to redeem the voucher and realize you have to pay additional money, I’m guessing many people just wind up paying it just to get the process over. So in the end, if I didn’t cancel, I would wind up paying close to $100 to have 2 super 8 movies converted. It’s not cheap, but wasn’t the reason I cancelled. I cancelled because of the deceptiveness.
Joe, I just now had the exact same experience as you. I was completely perplexed about ordering and getting a voucher. I went to redeem it and noticed too the additional fee for a digitized format. Like who pays for a service to digitize their analog memories and would not expect that service to include actually giving you those digitized files. I contacted them immediately via chat. When you call they have a recording claiming they are very busy and only communicating through chat and email. I too complained about the deceptiveness and also told them it was classic bait and switch. I just asked for a full refund. What a joke is Legacybox!
I sent in Four Lifetime boxes (rcvd 14 June 2018) so far the customer service rep I have been dealing with has been very accommodating and has even called me to give me an update on the process. In the boxes were photos, vhs, vhs-c, 8mm and slides so I understand it will take a awhile to process. just recently my rep told me 4 Sept 2018… “your order along with many others should be getting through shipping this week as there has been a backlog of orders that are complete and not shipped out yet. Attention is being put to the shipping department right now because of this by management. I apologize for the delay.” So…. needless to say I will try to exercise some more patience, was it costly – yes, but I am waiting for the results to give full feed back.
I’m in the same boat I think. My order days it was shipped on September 12 2018, but ceded hasn’t picked it up yet. They said it was “on the shipping trailer.”
I waited 2 months only to find out that I owed them more money. I paid careful attention to all of those little stickers and thought I had used only the ones I had paid for. Now I’m being told they won’t ship until I pay another $100.00. Any extra stickers should be on a completely separate sheet from those you already did pay for and they should be very well marked and NOT in fine print. I’m very angry right now and will not use this service again.
I’m about to create a service like legacy as I have 75 VHS from my kids childhood. I’ve been talking to art schools to make sure the equipment and manner I use is the best ever. I’ve read a lot of negative things about legacybox. Seems they got too big too fast. Of course legacybox will answer no tec questions I have. I’m a computer programmer and son is a engineer trust me we plan to get it right. He works full time but is helping in research we want to use.
Thanks for all of these painfully honest reviews. I am terrified to use Legacy Box for fear I will lose my one and only 8mm film reels. I feel just terrible for the families that lost their artifacts and for the crappy way that Legacy Box treated it’s “treasured” customers. I am so sorry that this happened to so many people who were just trying to preserve the past.
I will not even consider using Legacy Box for anything!
Do not use Legacybox if you want to transfer 8mm film’s to DVDs. $300 later I have the DVDs but no sound. And they tell me they cannot format the sound and it is under their fill faq’s. Waste of time and money!
Most 8mms were silent so if you wanted them to add music that’s different. Very few people in the 70s had sound 8mm cameras back then.
My father owned a sound super 8 MM camera back in the 80’s, and I do want the audio synced with the video. I’ll have to do some good research, cos this place seemed the perfect solution.
When FedEx lost our package around Christmas 2017; here’s what happened:
1) We learned that LegacyBox did not have a digital copy of our lost originals,
2) We requested a shipping refund from FedEx; they denied it and said that we would have to get the refund from LegacyBox since LegacyBox contracted directly with FedEx. I’m sure they received the $100 lost freight insurance + the $50 we are out for the order…nice profit for you LegacyBox.
3) We contacted LegacyBox and they said that since they didn’t lose the originals; we were not entitled to a freight refund.
4) Per LegacyBox’s terms and conditions, we requested that, in lieu of a full refund, that they ship us 3 un-exposed 8mm film reels; so we could use with our camera…LegacyBox’s denied our request.
5) Three (3) months after the film request denial, LegacyBox said we will have to get our refund from Groupon.
6) Groupon said we will have to get the refund from LegacyBox.
So here we are…no where. We will never do business with this company again.
I sent multiple videos, pictures and tapes to Legacy Box. It was straightforward to do. I was completely disappointed with the results. It was poor quality, extremely expensive and to have to pay an additional $40 to have it put on a hard drive was adding insult to injury. Not recommended!
I have placed two 40 piece orders on separate occasions. On both orders, all of the reels, 8mm, and audio tapes were returned.
Legacy was very accommodating with my last order. My mother had movie reels from her 1948 high school graduation that she wanted to share at her 70th reunion. I mailed them into Legacy, but not early enough to get them back for the reunion. I wrote to the company and told them my situation. I asked if they could expedite my order. They immediately email back and said they would try. I received the full order two weeks later. Needless to say I was thrilled with the company. They did a great job.
My order shipped in the first week of May and I’m still waiting for my order in the second week of July. They advertised that it will take 4-6 weeks but it’s more like several months and they can’t tell me how much longer. Just be prepared to wait a long time.
They did not lose my stuff, but they converted my 62 year old slides directly to digital without cleaning them. All the other services I checked made sure the slides were clean first, so I assumed Legacy Box was the same. Nope. Preserved a whole lot of dust and crud on my parents’ wedding pictures. Plus, they converted an old home movie to digital and it was too dark to see anything on it – I wish they would have asked me before going forward. I didn’t have any way to know the quality beforehand – if I had, I would not have bothered to send it. I asked for them at least to re-do the slides without another charge but I got no response at all.
Hi Texan,
What other services have you used besides Legacy Box? I’m interested in preserving some old photos but it’s hard to find information about quality of the scans.
Problem with Legacy is that you cannot edit the converted DVDs. What a dissapointment and waste of money. Expensive service and cannot edit it! Why even do it?
I also got wrong names on the dvs. They got them confused.
Wish I wouldn’t have used them.
How are they going to be able to edit your Dvd the way you want it? As an example what if they edited your DVDs and then you would get them back and complain about them being edited the way they did, they took stuff out that you want and kept in things that you didn’t want, and if you try to walk them through it it would take hours and hours, think about it it, makes no sense!
I think Auri wants to edit the video themselves. That’s how I read the post.
I sent my most precious VHS tapes to them in April and was wondering what was taking so long. It is June 19th and I am still waiting for my merchandise. My late husband was on those tapes and I trusted Legacybox to take care of them. I have been trying to contact their customer service line all day and after a 30 minute wait I gave up. The customer service offered leaves a lot to be desired. I just want to know what happened to my tapes. After tracking the package it seems that it was shipped to somewhere in Chattanooga, Tn.I live in Yonkers, New York. Please can someone have a little compassion and let me know what happened.
I also sent mine in mid April 2018. I got an email July 11th that they are being returned. I used this service because I believed that ad I kept hearing on the radio that “my precious memories would be returned, within a couple of weeks”…etc. Since we did this for my dad, and he died before they returned our materials to us (three months later), our family is VERY unhappy with legacy box.
Their customer service people seem well trained in cordiality, but not much else. They repeatedly lied to me when I phoned. I paid the money and stayed on the line until I could talk to someone. Email responses were uninformative. Online order tracking (I’m not talking about delivery tracking, I’m talking about “informing me at every step of the way on progress” that is also promised in their famous radio ad) was either empty, or WRONG. They got the details of my order wrong. Several customer service reps came and went (ie are not longer employed) during the time they were supposedly processing our materials. I have yet to see the results of their work because, even though I ordered “digital download”, they haven’t put our materials up, so we can’t download them.
THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS COMPANY.
Beware if you get 16mm film converted. They don’t do sound. It’s not real clear when you signup and pay, but you get the converted films back with no sound. Very unhappy about the disclosure or lack thereof. Other sites offer sound for a comparable price… Wish I would have googled a little more.
I’m still waiting on my first box too. First lost in transit, second has never arrived. I’m getting my money back and going local. I’m sorry to those of you who have lost treasured photos. And I agree, Legacy box customer service is terrible.
I just recently ordered from Legacy Kit. After reading through these reviews I am sitting here in horror thinking….will I ever see the videos and slides I sent to them a few weeks ago? Then I read (from one of these reviews) that they are located in Tennessee. I sent mine to St George, Utah. So now I’m thinking, maybe Legacy Kit that I sent mine to, is not the same as Legacy Box. Or are they the same? Does anyone know? The names are so similar.
Yes, I believe Legacy Kit and Legacy Box are two different companies. 🙂 -Meg, MSM Team
Hi Kim! How do I go about locating someone like yourself that provides this service and is reputable??
Thanks,
Rebecca 🙂
Look up your city or biggest close close by and use words like VHS transfer, picture scanning etc. My website is hannahshousemedia.com look at my site and try to find someone that has something similar to my “about me” section. People like myself are out there near you but you just have to find them. Also, your local Facebook yard sale pages are good places to look around. I would be more than happy to do this kind of work for everyone here but I hate the idea of stuff going in a box through any kind of service. BUT if you feel comfortable enough I would do it only if it is tracked and I keep your project for a month after it is done to be sure you are happy before I delete. AND I stay in touch and I am easy to reach during the whole process. They all should do that at least. Then when it gets shipped back and if there was a problem it could be duplicated.
I had a really bad experience with Legacy Box. So bad that I’m now taking time to find every single site I can to warn people away. I’m 45, I buy things and travel all the time and I’ve never done this before. They’re that bad. Don’t send your materials to them. I can see from others’ reviews that a good percentage of people have everything work out just fine. That’s great. But it’s also very clearly not anywhere near 100%, which just doesn’t work in this business of taking people’s memories. And believe me, they DO NOT CARE.
Do not use LegacyBox. They are expensive and slow, with no quality control and poor customer service. I sent in 5 small 8mm films, 40 slides and 260 photos. After waiting well over a month, I received all my originals back in the mail. However the only items they digitized were the films and, a month later, the slides. LegacyBox said they never processed my 260 photos. I made 5 phone calls and sent over 10 emails asking for a refund. Another month has gone by, and still no resolution. Seriously doubt I will ever get the money back … what a scam.
I’m currently having problems with LegacyBox. I’ve called their 800 line several times during the past three months and either receive a message that due to a large volume of calls I should refer to information on LB’s website… or I wait on hold for an hour or more and no one picks-up. I’ve sent electronic messages that are usually ignored or I receive the standard line to expect delivery in 4 – 6 week (period already exceeded).
I filed a complaint with the BBB and received a message from them stating LB will not reply to their inquiries. Also, contacted Amazon who agreed to refund my money but more importantly, I want my family’s VHS tapes returned as they are more valuable than the money. After three weeks, Amazon has had no success in determining whether the tapes will be returned. I’ve worked with thousands of companies in my business career and personal transactions and LB is among the worst.
I’m trying to find what professional equipment legacybox uses as I have over 100. I can buy the expensive equipment then help friends that need same? Do you know?
I use Cosco’s photo service to transfer VHS to DVD. You get 2 DVDs back for every VHS tape, or 50 slides. On sale its only $15.
My wedding VHS was returned with a note saying it was poor quality & I was not charged since they didn’t transfer it . I called the compsny directly and they told me to add a note to transfer regarless of quality. They did it with no problem & they did the best they could with quality. The VHS was 25 years old so I just happy to be able to watch it again. 1 copy went straight to safe deposit box.
The same with a 8 mm reel I found.
My dad put everything in slides because it was cheaper to process than printed in the 50s & 60s. Codtvo provides little boxez yhst hold 50 slides each snd you put them in the box in the order you want and they come back exactly in that order.
I have never had a problem with Costco’s service or the company they use .
I sent legacybox some video tapes, and thirteen rolls of negatives. I got back the digitized tapes, and the originals, but they apparently lost the thirteen rolls of negatives. I say apparently, because no one in customer service will get back to me with any explanation. It’s bad enough that they lost something I can never replace, but the utter lack of concern about what they lost is just an extra slap in the face. Avoid them at all costs.
Without identification of who is in the pictures within a generation or two , they are meaningless. We are now in the process of going through boxes of old family pictures and trying to figure out who they are. We are trying to write on the back if our pictures this info for our future generations. Pictures , however saved will mean nothing without this.
I use Cosco’s photo service to transfer VHS to DVD. You get 2 DVDs back for every VHS tape, or 50 slides. On sale its only $15.
My wedding VHS was returned with a note saying it was poor quality & I was not charged since they didn’t transfer it . I called the compsny directly and they told me to add a note to transfer regarless of quality. They did it with no problem & they did the best they could with quality. The VHS was 25 years old so I just happy to be able to watch it again. 1 copy went straight to safe deposit box.
The same with a 8 mm reel I found.
My dad put everything in slides because it was cheaper to process than printed in the 50s & 60s. Codtvo provides little boxez yhst hold 50 slides each snd you put them in the box in the order you want and they come back exactly in that order.
I have never had a problem with Costco’s service or the company they use .
They lost my VHS tape. I’m devestated. It’s been two months and nothing. There not taking calls. They send same repetitive email. The thumb drive did not work of the other 9 files downloaded. Don’t sent them anything. They don’t care.
On 1-5-18 I spoke with a rep from Legacy and told them I was not very good using a computer and thus he took my order over the phone. l told him I had 5 vcr that I would like the info put on dvd and that IL wanted 2 dvd per vcr tapes for atotal of 10 dvd. I remitted on that day for atotal of $ 71.18 Then on 1-28-18 I was told that they needed $28 more which I remitted that day. I received my order1-8-18 via Fed X. After opening the box I only had 5 DVD and not the additional 5 as I was told. After playing the DVD they are all 5 of them are blank. I expect a phone call Monday AM in regard to this matter My phone is 502 817 5337 I did not get a packing slip with my order. Attempting to reach any one by phone is a real problem for me.
DO NOT SEND YOUR ITEMS!!
I sent my items to Legacybox in Nov and still don’t have them back…. it Feb. They no longer answer their phone and when I try to email it bounces back! DO NOT SEND YOUR ITEMS!!
Hi Stephanie,
I’m so sorry that your experience was like this. Our team was admittedly understaffed at the time. However, now we currently have a 2-4 week estimated processing time and our hold times on phones are normally under a minute, and often instantaneous! We also answer emails within 24 business hours. So sorry you didn’t get the best service your first time but we’d love another chance to demonstrate our improvements!
Like so many others, my children found Legacy Box on Groupon and purchased it for us. After many months, we “DUG THROUGH” color transparencies. Then we sent about 450 of them plus 7 VHS tapes for transfer. I did not hear from them for several months. I called, and each time I called I was put on hold for 10-15 minutes. Legacy Box closes at 4:00 PM eastern time-just great for those of us on the west coast (close at 1:00 our time-great service?) The “delay” was due to our sending of two types of media. What? I asked if our order was alright. I was informed that we were over 2 units, so I spent an additional $28. Total spent $298. Order would be out in 10 business days. No order, Another call, put on hold over 10 minutes, another excuse. Finally after 2 months our beautifully packed order came. It was nice. First, looked at a DVD with color transparencies. Almost all were so dark a person could only imagine what they are. ONLY the very underexposed slides were viewable. EVERY picture was covered with dust particles. Next we looked at a VCR transfer. Very soon into it, the picture began to “skid” in their projection system, so one could not see the picture. Results, 6 of the 7 VHS tape transfers had “skids” almost on the whole DVD. Called them again, this time requesting a shipping label for return and a refund. Took 2 more calls (with being put on hold) before the label was emailed. Sent the package-no contact and no credit. About 3 weeks ago the whole order was returned to me with zero explanation. So, now 6 months later we have received 2 or 3 automatic emails asking us to “rate” their service. My view-they have a great sales pitch, great website, nice and friendly female voices, and zero integrity. We sent the order July 2017 and it will be 2-1-2018 tomorrow. Their computer cannot communicate to me whether our accounts have been credited. Beware!
Read the BBB review of this company and complaints. I would never use them.
Very unhappy…LegacyBox shipped our digitized, 40+ year-old 8mm films; shipped them via FedEx/USPS; and they were LOST! When we contacted LegacyBox, we after 50 days, received a final answer stating that “support says we do not store backup digital copies of what we converted for you”. It is hard to believe that a company, LegacyBox, would not care enough about our digital content to at least temporarily store our digital content until after they received notification of package delivery. Very disappointed.
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m so sorry that this happened to you! We’ve made some improvements to our system based on rare occurrences like this.
FedEx and USPS didn’t have the best track record, so we have transitioned to using UPS instead and they have been an amazingly reliable shipper! Additionally, we began keeping temporary digital backups of the files in case there is an issue in transit.
I know that this information doesn’t change your situation and I apologize greatly for that. However, we are always trying to make our service better for customers to come!
One comment about the quality of DVDs. My brother-in-law is a movie lover and has a whole library of movies. Most were in VHS (some in Beta) format. I went to his house one day and saw their garbage bin (40 to 50 gallon size) full of VHS tapes. I asked what happened. My sister told me he bought a DVD burner and was converting them all. The life expectancy of VHS tapes is 7-10 years. For unprofessional DVDs its less than half that, so be careful about burning your own and do some research. -Clark
The whole process of getting my 8mm movie reels converted went like clockwork, but I was not as happy with the results. I expected the different reels to be on separate discs; but they were not, and there was no mention of this in any of the advertising that I saw. It was our intent to give each of our children a disc containing the movies of their school years.
As someone else has mentioned, the discs do not play on a US-VCR. The quality of the pictures is not nearly as good on half of the computer screen as when shown with a movie projector on a much larger screen or even the wall.
Maybe we were expecting too much, but we are very disappointed.
So you mentioned the possibility of doing this oneself. I have the equipment and knowledge but I have tons albums and boxes of photos. I think it would take eons to scan them all. What are your thoughts on do it yourself. How many photos did you have scanned?
Crystal, the only thing I don’t see is the QUALITY of the digital copies. Can someone please chime in and give a review of the quality. That will make or break my decision. Thx
Can you digitize VHS tapes that were recorded in England?
They do NOT play on my US VHS
They do play on my English VHS – on an English TV which I brought with me to the us.
I want to play them on my US DVD player.
You need to have them converted to NTSC – the American standard. England uses the PAL broadcast standard.
Legacy box has had my tapes for over 3 months and refuse to give me a delivery date. I would go elsewhere.
Ugh I don’t know what to do! I have over 50 items to send in and I have read both good and bad reviews. I break out in a cold sweat when I look at all of my various formatted memories that aren’t being enjoyed BUT I DONT want to have any of it lost……
800-656-6032 is the toll free number to call legacy box – I found this on google and I did call them and spoke to a rep after about an 8 min hold. I still would like to do this but I don’t have 100% confidence to be honest. They are located in Chattanooga TN by the way.
You could try taking it to a local place? Maybe the thing of not mailing it in would give you more peace of mind?
Hi Cindy! I saw a Groupon special and thought about using Legacybox. As with other such services, there are too many problems to be reliable. I will find a way to have the recording done with someone local (with POSITIVE REVIEWS) so that nothing will be lost. I actually have an 8 MM / Super 8 MM projector, so I will just make the time to do this myself with a screen. I can also transfer my own VHS to DVD. Time is the factor!
I recently used Legacy box and purchased the small starter kit (3 items). They lost two of my tapes containing videos of my children and family that can’t be replaced. They are “still looking” for the tapes and after two months has not been found. Rethink sending your precious memories to them! You would think their system if fail proof but it is not.
Wow. I’m so sorry that happened to you. Thanks so much for your honest review! -Meg, MSM Team
Glad I read this. No way I will use Legacy Box. Knew it sounded too good to be true.
I am happy to have back my LegacyBox order, but keep in mind , THEY HAVE NO CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE NUMBER to report or share problems. They sent back all my VHS tapes , but NO disks or thumb drive as ordered. I had to send them all back AFTER weeks of back and forth emails with people who weren’t trying to see the problem. I love having these digitally, but a 5min phone call could have resolved the whole thing,….makes you think they purposefully want to keep my money while they dilly-dally!
Also, some of the files came back blank (5 out of 40) , and ALL of them have very low volume, so showing them to the 90+ grandparents ( big goal) is almost impossible… Still the memories and the amazing video of loved ones passed is so worth it. I would pick another team that has a number to CALL.
Hi Sherron,
I’m sorry if you weren’t able to reach us on the phone! Our number is located at the bottom of our website, legacybox.com, and can also be found in Google search. It’s 800-797-8210 and normally we answer very quickly!
If you weren’t able to get in touch with us to fix any of your issues, we’d still be happy to do so! If you give us a call or shoot us an email at [email protected], we can definitely get that set up. Just let us know!
Thanks for sharing about that! -Meg, MSM Team
For sure. Let me know if you do a comparison.
You better check your memory stick, and all the cds you received from them. I purposely paid for the memory stick as it’s easier to upload to the computer, and I have had several orders, and I just realised all of them were missing things. They either didn’t copy them, or didn’t put them on the memory stick. One or the other. I think they have gotten too big and too careless. Just my two cents. And yes, I resent things back and they still didn’t do it right.
Once you get it all back, are you able to go into the files and make comments onto the digital photos? Such as name of the people in the photo.
I sent in 30 8MM tapes to covert to DVDs. The ones that work are terrific and we are having great fun watching them. Unfortunately, out of 11 DVDs we watched thus far 3 were not processed correctly and are unwatchable. Service team at Legacy box has been very slow to react. Still working on trying to get the defective items processed correctly. Very frustrating. I would go elsewhere if I had this to do over again.
I’m SO sorry to hear that! How frustrating! -Meg, MSM Team
I sent 10 tape reels from the early 1970’s to LegacyBox as a Christmas gift to my mother after my father’s death. Reels that are irreplaceable. I got back one dvd with only ONE of the ten reels on it, my family originals never came back and two months later, no one at legacy box has ever been able to answer what happened, nor are they pro-active in calling me back. Every time I call it seems like no one has even looked into the problem. What a tragedy for my family. I’m realizing now, that most of the referrals are somehow “underwritten” directly or indirectly by Legacybox.
Oh no! I’m SO sorry to hear that happened. 🙁 I actually know several people who have had super positive experiences with LegacyBox (myself being one of them). I’m so sorry this wasn’t your experience, too! Crystal always gives a 100% honest review of the product, even when it’s underwritten. 🙂 -Meg, MSM Team
My experience with Legacybox has been a nightmare and I would give only one recommendation…DO NOT EVER USE THEM!!! I thought I was lucky to have a Groupon to save a ton, but it was the beginning of a horrible ordeal still unresolved! First, I never got the original box, so months later I contacted them and they sent out another one. That should have been a warning sign! So it finally came and after months of sorting thru boxes of photos…some 100 years old…I sent off 600 photos, 15 VCR tapes and 1 8mm movie. I was busy thru the Summer and never gave it much thought until Sept and checked online to see it was in the process of Digitizing so I waited a few more weeks and when I looked again it had never moved! So I finally contacted someone and the end of Oct. and expressed my fear that my precious items had either been sent to someone else or been lost! I then received my box a few weeks later…but nothing had been processed and the movie was missing! I have now been weeks trying to get my money back from them with no luck! I am only thankful my entire box was not lost or destroyed…but my priceless movie is still amongst the missing! DO NOT USE LEGACYBOX…EVER!!!
It is sad enough you lost your memories, but I’m curious, no one mentions refunds. Did you at least get a refund of monies paid?
Hi Ellen,
Here at Legacybox, we do realize the great amount of trust that goes into sending such precious and irreplaceable items in the mail to us. I’m sorry if it was difficult to get in touch with us! I’d be happy to look more into this with a fresh pair of eyes. Did you ever get your originals back? Did we offer a return? I’d be more than happy to have our team reprocess your reels if they were never done so properly! Just reach out to us at [email protected]. You can even send the email to ATTN: Blake! I’d be happy to help.
Thank You!!!! I have been dutifully scanning pictures from the 1800’s because I’m afraid to send them to LegacyBox for the very reason that I may never see them again. Every time I grumble about scanning I’ll come back to this page and have a read LOL. These pictures are irreplaceable and I can’t imagine having them stolen from my front porch let alone lost and have no clue where they are. Plus all the LegacyBox adverts in the middle of the post made me wonder…… Thanks everyone!!!!!!
I sent 3 VHS tapes since we no longer have a working VCR. This was a test before I send others. Now I know to just buy a machine and do the rest myself. They could have done a much better job. The volume is too low to understand in one of them and another has a fuzzy line at the bottom that is very easy to remove. I guess they just load them in and take them out without any quality control. For this price, I would expect otherwise.
Hi Lynn,
I’m so sorry that this was your experience! Though we can’t improve the quality, we do always make sure to make the digitization a faithful transfer of the original’s quality! If this wasn’t the case in your order, it’s definitely something we’d want to fix or properly reimburse for. We’ve made a bunch of improvements to our process since your original order, so I’m hoping that it’s fixed whatever issue occurred with your order!
Hi Blake,
Sorry for the delay in answering. I would appreciate a refund. I have since had them digitized by a local company. What do I need to do to initiate my refund? Thank you for following up.
Hi Lynn,
Of course! If you could provide your order number, I’d be happy to help initiate this. You can provide it here or, if you’d rather email us, shoot us an email at [email protected]. You can even put ATTN Blake in the subject line so that it’s directed to me. I look forward to receiving that information!
I have had a terrible experience with Legacybox. For my father’s 70th birthday, I had some 40+ year old family movies digitized by Legacybox. When they shipped them back to me (after a six week wait, I might add) they didn’t require a signature upon delivery so FedEx just left the box on my porch where it was promptly stolen. (I live in the middle of San Francisco and my door is street level.) Legacybox doesn’t back up their work – I repeat, THEY DON’T BACK UP THEIR WORK – and their customer service is horrible. They gave me my money back but the promised call from the manager has yet to come. The email inquiry I sent yesterday, prior to finally getting a customer service agent on the phone, has also gone unanswered. Because theses memories are worthless to a thief, I am sure that the only movies I have of myself as a baby and my mother as a young woman will wind up in a landfill somewhere. I can’t get my films back but I can tell you honestly about my awful experience. Save yourself some heartbreak and don’t trust your irreplaceable family memories to this company. They don’t take even the most simple steps to ensure their safety.
That’s so horrible! I just recently used Legacybox, and absolutely loved my experience. I’ve heard from dozens of other people who have loved it, too. I hate that you had such an awful experience! -Meg, MSM Team
I was worried about not getting all the reels and videos back – some of these are the only pictures my sister has of her kids as babies and if any of these are lost – I would want my money back and there would be no compensation for lost memories… as expensive as this is it should be marked / by year if a customer labels it and puts the time in to follow your instructions- then Legacybox should return them as requested.
Heather…same thing happened to us…FedEx package from 12/6/2017 is still “in transit”. I was shocked, when LB finally, after 50 days of constant attempts to have them send backup digital files, said “support says we do not store backup copies of customer digital content”. We tried to contact the two owners several times…no response! We will never use again!
Hi Heather,
This is Blake and I’m the current Manager of our Customer Service team. Firstly, I want to apologize that a manager never reached out to you at the time. Secondly, that this happened to you. Having irreplaceable memories stolen is beyond tragic and I hate that this occurred as a part of our service.
That said, in the past 2-3 years since your initial issue, we’ve implemented a temporary backup system, specifically for situations like yours. We keep files on our backups for a limited amount of time, just in case the package is stolen or lost by the shipper. We don’t require signatures because it can often lead to more frustration for customers eager to get their product back. But we’ve definitely taken more steps to ensure the safety and security of our customer’s items, including transitioning shippers and using safer shipping methods as well.
My deepest apologies for what happened to your items. I know my words don’t replace those. But I did want to ensure that we have taken all the steps we can now to care for these precious items that our customers entrust to us.
Best regards!
I’m looking for a service that will digitize my VHS, make them available on-line for editing and subsequent download to DVD or other media, and store them for me in the cloud.
If Legacy Box had offered this service, you would at least have the digitized copies of your precious memories.
Can anyone suggest a service that does what I’m looking for?
I believe that Costco Photo Services does this and they often have coupons (around Christmas). I do not know where the videos are shipped to process though (it is an outside service that they use).
Thanks for the tip! -Jordan, MSM Team
Please check reviews on Yelp and the Better Business Bureau before you send off your irreplaceable memories to Legacy Box. They have lost countless people’s items (including mine) and they go through no effort to recover them but become totally unresponsive to any inquiries. Be safe and go with a local company, even if more expensive. It’s not worth it. Of course, a blogger/reviewer of their services would receive the white glove treatment. Not true for everyone else.
I sent in 24 items 3 months ago to be given as Christmas presents. After spending $249 for the original kit, plus an additional $198 for additional items, I received 6 DVDs back 9 days before Christmas.
Immediately began corresponding by email, (nurse and unable to call between 8 to 4 weekdays enduring the hold to speak with a customer service rep, and Legacy Box closed weekends). I was offered a refund if I wasn’t satisfied. These were Christmas gifts!
Yesterday I viewed all 6 DVD’s hoping I could come up with a way to resolve, then realized 19 items I sent in, with confirmation they were received and paid for, were NOT transferred to DVD! Again the office closed, Christmas now 3 days away and I have no DVDS to give my 84 year old parents for Christmas, nor my 4 grown sons. My dads surprise 85th bday is in 1 week, I had hoped to use DVDS of past family reunions. I am so disappointed to have spent over $400, planning so far in advance for the ultimate gift for loved ones, to be empty handed. Go local.
Another thing I noticed watching DVDS I did receive, A two hour VHS tape sent in returned with setting shown on screen at SIX hours / slp, which Legacy Box “professionals” should know diminishes the quality. Another DVD froze one hour in, obviously the final check of ones order is not there @ LB. All the emails I received from LB, “archiving” is a joke.
Initially I went to a local CVS with 2 super 8 tapes, received 2 DVDs in 2 weeks. SIMPLE.
Go Local.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I almost used them. My biggest fear is losing irreplaceable family memories. I will use a local company now for sure! Thank you!!!
Hi Susan,
This is Blake from Legacybox! I’m so sorry that you had this experience. Whenever there is an issue (whether it is with our process or our shippers), we want to make sure that we exhaust all avenues to get to the bottom of things. I know it’s been a while since your initial comment, but if you’d like to reach out to me personally, I’d be happy to look at your case with a fresh set of eyes. Just email [email protected] and put it to ATTN: Blake!
I look forward to assisting you soon!
I ordered a Legacybox and it never arrived. I emailed Legacybox and they would not answer. I had to get PayPal involved and PayPal told me Legacybox never answered them either.
“Whenever there is an issue (whether it is with our process or our shippers), we want to make sure that we exhaust all avenues to get to the bottom of things. ” – lol what a load. I hope you didn’t get exhausted not answering emails. I filed claim with PayPal and they sided with me and gave me a full refund. I’ll never trust my valuable old films and movies with Legacybox.
Hey there! I responded to you on another thread, so I’ll copy my response here 🙂
We’re normally very responsive with requests like this. I’d be happy to look into it. The email may not have gone through. But we normally don’t have any problem at all with order fulfillment or refunds on cancellation. Normally, filing a claim can delay the refund process a little bit. I’m sorry if you had a bad experience though! Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you!
I have used LegacyBox only once, but have another box to fill on my floor. I will say that in your ‘Cons’ section, i have a scanner. I have scanned photos myself. It takes a LOT OF TIME and then I have to of course, clean them up and put them in a folder on my hard drive and…you get the idea. What’s great is that I spend all the time picking out the photos I want, put them in a box and then the only time I now have to spend is waiting for them to come back (not really that long considering) and the time enjoying them (well worth the time).
Great post!
Thanks SO much for sharing this!
I also wanted to say that customer service is fantastic! I’ve contacted them 3 times with “slightly” OCD-level questions and they’ve been patient in their answers.
For instance, they want the photos in 25 quantity but I have 53 wedding photos. Yeah, um, what to do? They told me to throw the extra 3 in (no charge) because it wasn’t that big of a deal to them.
That meant I shipped the box right away instead of having to figure out which 3 to not sent or find 22 more photos…
I think 15 hours is pretty good for going through 34 years of memories!!
I recently went through my boxes of cards, letters, and mementos from the last 15 years, and it was a MASSIVE undertaking. I sorted them all into years, and now I am going to insert them into my journals accordingly so they will be “in context” with my journaling. I found letters from my mom who passed away when I was 19, letters from my husband when we first started dating, and all kinds of priceless memories. Made me so happy and so melancholy at the same time!
Maybe I will use Legacybox for my mom’s photos. Sounds like a good idea…
Thank you so much for taking the time to put together all of your honest reviews. Because of your transparency and relatable stories, I have found your blog an invaluable reference as a mother of two school-aged boys. I understand your struggles, feel your motherly love and relate to your role as a Christian wife in a world that is set out to demean our men as caregivers. My prayer is that you continue your ministry for many years to come and that you are lifted up by it more than you are torn down.
BTW: I just ordered my Legacy Box for my 22 wedding anniversary using your coupon. I’ve been wanting to get that video digitized since DVD’s were new ? And now I can include those first moments of being parents with it!
You are a blessing!!
I researched Legacybox but ultimately decided on Imemories. Both companies are pretty highly reviewed those. It feels so good to be making progress on preserving and organizing our family memories. Thanks for a good review!
I keep toying with the idea of Legacy Box. My dad was an amateur photographer (made his own dark room!), and we have boxes of old slides from him. There were way too many for a Legacy Box and it was hard to tell what was on the them so a friend end up lending us a slide/negative scanner. Took my 15 year-old three weeks and hours every night to scan them all, but he did it. 3,000 slides in all! We still have some oversized slides that didn’t fit in the scanner so maybe those will be destined for Legacy Box. 🙂
Hi Maryalene! How did your son scan the slides? I’d love to do this!
Hi Jessica,
I’m not sure if will let me post a link here, but if you search on Amazon for ‘scanner for slides,’ I ended up buying the Wolverine 8-in-1 scanner. My son said he cleaned the slides that were dusty (I think he just gently used a damp cloth) and then put them in the machine. The images saved to an SD card, if I remember right, and then we transferred the images from the card to my computer.
Hope this helps!
YES! This is so incredibly timely. My mother passed away years ago, but I’ve only recently gone through the tubs of family photos (going all the way back to 1928) and I felt daunted and completely overwhelmed by the task of digitizing all these important family photos. I could do it myself, but my scanner is slow and the process would take hours I just don’t have. I just picked up a box with that 40% off code, and I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders now that I’m finally getting this done! Thanks!!!
Oh! I’m SO glad you were able to get in on the deal and it will be something so special for you and your family! That made my day!
Okay, I have to ask.. In the picture of your family rockin’ the matching dresses, which one are you? I totally can’t tell, but I’m guessing the far one on the left. I love seeing other people’s family pictures! It makes me feel part of their lives. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, the spunky little girl on the far left! 🙂
Oh, my goodness, Crystal! I knew your grandparents! I married a Sterling boy and we lived there for for almost 14 years before we moved. I mostly knew your grandpa through my husband who worked in the Athletic Office at Sterling College. Kenny was a great guy! It was wonderful to see his picture and be reminded of him!
That is SO cool! I miss them so much and Sterling holds a special place in my heart.
We bought this for my mo for Christmas last year. She was so happy cause she loves photos! It was super simple and we got a deal around Christmas.
This looks amazing…but I read something that cautioned against replacing hard copies with digital….because it is likely the digital technology to read them will become obsolete in maybe just a decade or less. No guarantee you could pass it to the next generation for sure. Hard to imagine…but hopefully there will be another service then that could transfer it to whatever the newest thing will be. Crazy technology! I like to make online photo books for my “hard copies”.
Just to clarify: They recommend that you download the digital copies to a cloud-based service so it’s not just on the CD/thumbdrive, but also “in the cloud”, too. And you still have your hard copies, too.
Thanks for sharing! Never heard of them. Will have to keep them in mind!
Anyone looking to just get photos off there phone and into there hands quickly. Check out chatbooks.com – Download the app – add pictures – add caption and done!
Thanks SO much for that recommendation!
I use Chatbooks with my Instagram account to create our yearly family photo album/book. It enables me to pull in the captions and the photos in chronological order and our kids love looking through the books over and over. 🙂
They always have great deals around Christmas too. That’s how I bought my Legacy Box last year….just something to keep in mind and start saving up for (for anyone who maybe can’t afford it right now). 🙂
Thanks so much for mentioning that!
You did great! I would have spent weeks crying over all the fun times (I cry when happy!). I would love to have something like that done with my pictures – I often think if we had a fire or something, I would lose them all.
I think I might add this to my list of things to save for and attempt in the future – thanks for bringing the company to my attention!
You are so welcome! And YES, it was quite an emotional thing for me to dig all of those pictures up! But it was good, too — so many special and happy memories!
You can get vouchers for around 50% off if you search Legacy Box on LivingSocial!! I only paid $425 for the “trunk” (40 items). This was a savings of $675!!! I’ve used Legacy Box twice in the past and love the end product!