Overall rating
3.9
Counts per rating level
  • 49% of ratings are 5 stars
  • 7% of ratings are 4 stars
  • 3% of ratings are 3 stars
  • 6% of ratings are 2 stars
  • 34% of ratings are 1 stars
October 27, 2021

So disappointed by this app and this company. As I pro plan subscriber I would really like to know why I am still waiting 3 days for anyone from the company to look at my issue and get back to me. I had to hire a shopify expert to help me update my Flex theme to the latest version, because the app did not do it, at a cost of $400. This is just seemingly wrong to me. I feel compelled to leave a one star review. I granted permission for someone from Out of the Sandbox to go into my shop and perhaps they would have offered the advice that the issues required this extra help. I got tired of waiting for my "priority support" I have been paying for but never used before. The money you pay monthly to Out of the Sandbox for this app is money spent on empty promises.

madcaphats
Canada
About 2 years using the app
September 18, 2019

Just received a message that they are now charging for this app even after we paid so much for the theme. It doesn't make sense to pay $108 for something we use 2 times a year. I will most likely move to another theme once my theme becomes too out of date.

Jimaye
United States
About 2 years using the app
Edited July 15, 2019

We are in the Shopify ecosystem for the last 4 years now and I dont remember any company that is more unhelpful than Out of the Sandbox. Both technically and from a business point of view for the following reasons (we have purchased two themes from them and this app )

1. In 95% of all the questions or help requests you raise, they simply tell you what you ask is out of their scope and you should go and hire a shopify expert on your behalf. Even though these are within the main scope of the themes or are really as simple as sharing two lines of code with you, they turn their backs and deny you.

For this reason, we have shifted to another theme provider which we are really happy with as they are at least listening and seem to care.

2. Their so called "theme updater" does not do a good job, leaving you with lines and lines of code intact and not transfered to the new theme. What is the point in buying an app that is supposed to make the update process automatic if it requires you to adjust 14 different snippets of code manually? It does not work, thats it

3. Within 20 mins of buying the app and realizing that it is not doing what it is claimed to do, we removed it and asked for a refund. Same day in 20 mins !! This is the response we get:

"Please keep in mind that updating the Theme Updater App to the Pro Plan does not guarantee that customizations will be carried forward. Unfortunately, all subscription charges are final and non-refundable, therefore, we're unable to provide you with a refund for your subscription."

There are tons of sensible vendors out there to choose from, do your self a favor and stay clear of this OUT OF THE SANDBOX company both for their themes and so called updater.

operaistanbul
Türkiye
Almost 2 years using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied July 16, 2019

Hello Operaistanbul,

We're sorry to hear about your frustrations with the Theme Updater app. We've developed this app to provide merchants with an easier way of updating their themes without needing to download a new theme file and reapply all of your theme editor customizations.

The TUA will carry over your theme editor settings and content, provided you are updating from a theme version that is already using Shopify's newer "Sections" theme editor.

When you select the "Preserve theme file customizations" our app will attempt to copy over any custom/third-party code in the theme files. However, if carrying over the custom code to the new theme will cause a conflict with the new theme code, the custom code will not be automatically applied, and a report is created to let you know which custom code needs attention.

The Theme Updater is presently a free app, with a Pro Plan available for a monthly fee. While we're unable to refund Shopify subscription charges, first time subscribers are eligible for a 30-day trial of the Pro Plan. As long as the subscription is cancelled inside that 30-day trial you will not be charged for the initial subscription fee.

Please feel free to reach out to us directly here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/requests/new for any additional questions about the Theme Updater app, the Pro Plan or any other theme questions in general.

July 18, 2021

They have terrible customer service and rarely go out of their way to help you fix bugs that their development team caused.

hexaTile Touch
United States
Almost 2 years using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied August 4, 2021

Hello hexaTile Touch Team!

Thank you for leaving this feedback, we apologize for the delay on this bug fix. We have released a new version of the Flex theme that resolves the trouble you were having, we encourage you to update your theme to add the fix!

All the best,
Out of the Sandbox

September 18, 2019

They just notified that they moved this to a paid app. 100+ a year to keep their app updated on top of what you pay for the theme.

Imagery Socks
United States
Over 1 year using the app
December 8, 2022

I spent a lot of money on a theme by Pixel Union A YEAR AGO to be told that now Out of the Sandbox is going to handle it. Which takes them forever to give support. The theme updater never suggested updates, I have issues, and support emails still come from pixel union, even though pixel union actually had useful information and articles on the theme, and now OOTSB only has links to articles? They tell me I need to update. Which means I now have to manually do it because god forbid something actually happens they way they say it will? I feel like I spent so much money to fall through the cracks. I don't know what game they are playing, but I swear I am going to find a new theme builder. It's such a mess. $320 down the drain.

Ardent Market
United States
Over 1 year using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied December 9, 2022

Hi Ardent Market team!

When updating your vintage Superstore v3.2.1 theme to OS 2.0, all content will need to be rebuilt. This is a one-time process required by Shopify to align with new templating standards. You will still be able to use the Theme Updater to help streamline your updates with future releases!

With all of our Out of the Sandbox themes, you only need to pay once, and the theme license is yours - there is no additional cost to retrieve an updated theme version!

The Theme Updater does have monthly and yearly subscription options.

With the Free plan, you are always able to download the most recent theme version at no additional cost, and update manually. For this update to OS 2.0, because of Shopify's new templating standards, this is advised.

Thank you very much for your feedback!

All the best,
Out of the Sandbox

November 6, 2021

Although the pro monthly subscription was cancelled in the app at the beginning of September after the update to Theme 2.0. The app was still charging for October and November. According to Shopify the app was still registered for requiring charges.

TOP-SHELF.de
Germany
Over 1 year using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied November 12, 2021

Hi Top Shelf team! Thank you so much for your feedback. We apologize for the inconvenience - this is certainly odd and we will be looking into a solution for you ASAP. A member of our support team will be reaching out via email shortly.

December 19, 2018

Out of the sand box started with good intentions and it used to offer sterling customer service but all they are now too big for their boots, its very sad since we have used the theme for a while now, I would not buy anything from them again and would not recommend them either!

Cocofina - The Coconut Experts
United Kingdom
Over 1 year using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied March 19, 2019

Hi Cocofina!

We’re now able to respond to App reviews so we wanted to take this chance you reach out to you! So sorry to hear that you’ve become unhappy with our customer service. Our Project Manager had reached out to you in December to help clear up the previous support interaction - hopefully, this helped clarify the outstanding issue.

If there are any other questions we can help out with, feel free to get in touch with us here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. We’d love to help out and do what we can to turn this experience around!

September 20, 2019

Same as others I will be uninstalling. The frequency in which major updates are released stand in no relation to the pricing. In case you got many customizations you will have to do most manually anyway so there is no sense in paying for it.

Inikama
Germany
Over 1 year using the app
Edited September 24, 2019

I've been a loyal and happy customer for years having purchased the Parallax theme and now on the Turbo theme. Received the email like everyone else and decided to update prior to the price increase for the basic plan. All of a sudden updates that were smooth with no user input from me, changed to 'we cannot update these three customizations'. Following the instructions to manually update the code, I keep getting an error on one of the customizations. Emailed support multiple times and no response AT ALL which has never happened in the past. Why all of a sudden is there radio silence from a support team that was very responsive in the past [even though I upgraded to the PRO plan as they wanted which is supposed to get me priority support]. I'm very disappointed in Out of the Sandbox. If you're going to start charging for updates then at the very least offer support for your products. Given my current situation and the feedback of other irate customers, I would NOT recommend purchasing a theme from this company in the future.

Developer response is useless as it seems that they haven't even read my review. I've already submitted two support requests with NO response.

Dalasini
United States
Over 1 year using the app
Out of the Sandbox replied September 24, 2019

Hello Dalasini,
Thanks for the remarks on the Theme Updater App - we're always looking for ways to improve the experience.

From your note, it sounds like some customizations to your theme were not automatically carried over during the update - while the app can detect all your code customizations, it will only carry over customizations that will not cause a conflict with the new version of the theme. For instance, if you have customized a part of the theme that is then updated in some way in the new version, this customization would need special attention to be sure it's working/necessary with the updated feature. The app provides the note to let you know there are templates that require special attention, since simply carrying over the customizations 'as-is' could cause problems. We hope you value this improvement to the updating process, as updating normally would involve you finding all the code customizations throughout your modified code templates, after you had manually reconfigured the theme settings. Even without the code being applied automatically, the app still provides significant time-savings compared to the normal updating process.

Thank you for your patience as we work to reply to our support requests in order - we have a lot of questions at this time of year, and trust that you will receive a reply as we address the support requests in the order they were received (or updated). If you're submitting multiple notes, we strongly suggest submitting a new ticket, so as to avoid updating the date/time on the original submission.

As a Pro Plan user, you have access to the Priority Support contact form, which is a feature within the app. Any questions we receive from this contact form are replied to first, so we can prioritize your support experience. To access Priority Support, go into the Theme Updater App, and choose 'Action' below the theme you'll be asking about - choose 'Contact Priority Theme Support' to open the special contact form. We look forward to replying to your priority support request!

All the best!
-The Out of the Sandbox team