I personally find a lot of magic in home movies, family photographs and other types of sacred memories.
But as you may know, film and print/digital images don’t last forever. Formats change as technology improves. Pictures fade with age. How do we preserve these sentimental memories?
I got excited when I discovered Legacybox, a Tennessee company that converts analog media like VHS tapes and Super8 film to digital media like DVDs and CDs. They were having a sale, and their Facebook ad caught my eye.
My first impulse was to order the largest box they offered, called the “Closet” which allows 20 items to be converted.
But, the thought of sending away the only copy of my precious memories gave me pause.
Is this company any good? Will I get my original media back? What kind of experience have other people had with Legacybox?
I searched online for a Legacybox review or two but could not find any. Even the Legacybox Facebook page did not have comments from satisfied customers, only LOTS of people asking for reviews and reassurance that their memories wouldn’t be lost forever.
I thought about all the VHS tapes I had sitting in boxes. When my sister and I were kids, we didn’t drink or do drugs or get into other kinds of trouble. Most weekends were spent making home movies with our favorite aunt. She filmed us doing all sorts of crazy skits that my sister and I concocted.
There were also the dance recitals. Years of dance recital footage featuring me and my sister. All those memories just sitting in boxes.
My gut feeling told me to go ahead and order despite the lack of reviews. The price ($275, marked down from $500) was awesome. And, all those memories were as good as lost anyway if the tapes were allowed to keep deteriorating in boxes, unwatched.
So I splurged on the Closet box to send 20 items for conversion to digital media.
I ordered and received the Legacybox materials in December for packaging my memories, but decided to wait before sending anything in. Mainly, this was because I didn’t want my items to be caught in the “before Christmas” rush. The chatter on the company’s Facebook page indicated that many folks were sending materials in hopes of receiving them for holiday gifts.
So I waited. And then the new year got busy and I kind of forgot about my Legacybox for awhile.
Now — six months later — I am finally ready to send my stuff to Legacybox!
I decided to document my experience with the company and write a Legacybox review so that others could (hopefully) find more customer feedback online.
So here is what I am mailing to Legacybox this week:
- 18 VHS tapes (mostly dance recitals with a few home movies mixed in)
- 1 Betamax tape (really excited about this one because it has footage of my sis and I as babies)
- 1 cassette tape (which I believe has the voice of my late grandfather on it)
That’s a total of 20 items for the Closet size Legacybox.
All the contents of the Legacybox — the order card, return shipping label, etc. — are labeled with the same order number and barcode… so major fingers crossed that nothing gets lost!
I did a quick video before shipping off my box:
The company estimates that my package will be returned 3-4 weeks after they receive my box.
EDITED TO ADD: You can now read Part 2 of my Legacybox review.
Have you tried Legacybox? What was your experience like? Please leave a comment, join the discussion on my Facebook page or chat me up on Twitter!
Need Crystal Ideas for the Home?

Want ideas on how to use crystals and stones in your home? Please enter your first name and email address to sign-up for my twice-weekly crystal healing home decor newsletter and receive a FREE beginner's cheat sheet on using crystals in your home!
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.