DesignsPedia.com Reviews - 8

I visited the site for a logo update and was pleasantly surprised to meet

I visited the site for a logo update and was pleasantly surprised to meet - believe it - A REAL PERSON! Max was fantastic, spending a lot of time with me to sort out all my needs. I also bought the web design service. He was very patient while I made choices, but completed everything on his side quickly once I decided. It was an experience I didn’t foresee. Great working with this company. Strongly recommend!

Designspedia did a good job on my website

Designspedia did a good job on my website and logo design. I liked their work and they understood my ideas well. The website is easy to use and the logo is great. Their prices were fair for the quality of work. Communication was smooth throughout the project and they were flexible with changes. Designspedia is a good choice for affordable design work.

Adam Finch was a pleasur to work with.

Adam Finch was a pleasur to work with. He was prompt and precis! We started from scratch on a design I had in my head. The first designs were very near! Only needed one revision! I am overly pleasd with my final product.

The service provided prompt delivery of designs and maintained good communication throughout

The service provided prompt delivery of designs and maintained good communication throughout. However, there was persistent pressure to upgrade, which was off-putting. Additionally, the limitation to one color option wasn't clearly communicated, unlike previous experiences where multiple options were provided. Comparatively, the pricing seemed higher for fewer options. While the promptness was appreciated, the upselling tactics and lack of clarity on offerings were drawbacks. Overall, while satisfactory, there's room for improvement in transparency and pricing structure.

I liked how fast they got me the designs

I liked how fast they got me the designs and kept in touch. However, I didn't like the constant attempts to upsell me. Plus, it wasn’t clear that I would only get one color option. In past logo purchases, I got both white and black backgrounds for a lower price than what I paid here.

According to the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act

DesignsPedia do deliberate bait and switch tactics and I believe they violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act: (815 ILCS 505/2) Sec. 2. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including but not limited to the use or employment of any deception fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation or the concealment, suppression or omission of any material fact, with intent that others rely upon the concealment, suppression or omission of such material fact, or the use or employment of any practice described in Section 2 of the "Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act" On June 1, 2024, while looking at their website, I was contacted by Mark. I was just browsing for a logo at the time. Now Mark offered a good deal for a logo with a 100 percent guarantee if I do not like the product. He even offered that I pay half up front and the other half after I liked everything. But after the logo was completed and I paid the other half, he said he had to put me in touch with legal. And then legal in turn said I had to pay an additional $680 for copyright/trademark fees that the company thrust upon me last minute. This alone violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act because I cannot obtain the logo without this portion being done. It was not sold as optional but a requirement. So this information needed to be disclosed up front, not after I pay money to the company and participate in a design that they can claim if I do not proceed. This is deceptive practices since none of their initial prices are the true price you need to pay to obtain the logo. The initial price and whatever copyright/trademark you go with is the true price, and that needs to be displayed or disclosed when purchasing the logo, since that might influence decisions. But at the time, I did not know better and saw it merely as a misunderstanding, and I did like the design of my logo. So I paid the hidden fee. Then the website issue came up. Because of the logo incident, I asked point blank on June 14 that I wanted to see a range of prices and plans for a website and I want it to include all hidden fees associated. And the company agreed. And this was critical to establish because at the time, I was already negotiating with another party for the website and I was checking to see which is better. So full disclosure here is essential on whether I go with them or not and the company knew it as they knew I had another person in review to do the website. So Mark had Emma offer me a site for $1,499 plus tax and she recommended it should be custom based. It was the only offer. And Mark did say I would have to pay for hosting and SSL. However, they failed to disclose that the SSL would need to be a special EV SSL that costs around $3700. Only after I paid for the website was this significant detail provided. When I ask why is the price so expensive, the company explained it was because it is a custom based website. The custom based website the company had recommended. And here is why it was deceptive. Since the company recommended the website be custom based and they sell the SSL rate, they knew from the beginning how much it would cost. They were obligated when they were discussing the website to fully disclose that the custom based website would need a particular SSL which costs approximately $3,400. The reason they didn't disclose was because they knew that might affect the sell of the website itself. So they intentionally did not disclose the information until after the purchase as it would be harder for the client to cut the investment once money has been put in. This makes the client, however, feels trapped as they are forced to continue onward with a "deal" they do not like or lose out on everything the client already invested. And the company tried to make themselves appear like they are doing me a favor by offering me a deal to lower the fee by $1,500 if I go with them today vs if I pay later. That is still $2,200 every 3 years, which is still more money than the average SSL rate. And this is a bill that must be paid for my website to go live. Now before I said yes, I inquired why it was so high? The company told me it was because I have a custom-based website. So my answer was what if we changed it to a template-based website? But the company would not allow it. So I was forced to either pay the higher $3,700 at a later time or take their deal now to pay $2,200. A week later, I found out I could have switched to a template based, but I would have to pay an additional fee (but it still might be better in the long run if it led to a cheaper SSL rate that must be renewed every 3 years). Because of their deceptive practice is why I want a full refund on the website, SSL, and hosting. I flied with BBB and will get legal involved. Don't believe their money back guarantee.

Designspedia didn't deliver final file and offered to charge me a second time to "remake it"

Designspedia's folks promptly sent me a design, which I approved and had already paid for. However, when it came time to send the files, they did not. When we spoke a second time, they sent a file that, unbeknownst to me, was watermarked with their company logo, making it unusable for my business. Their representative attempted to upsell me on copyrighting services for the logo, which I said was totally unnecessary and unwanted. When I later discovered the watermarks and asked for the unwatermarked file, they told me they had already erased the original and would need to charge me a second time to redesign it. While I was slow in asking for a corrected file (I had archived it for use later and returned to it after 3 months and discovered the problem), they never sent me what I paid for in the first place and then refused to make it right.

Terrible people, and unscrupulous.

I wish I never got involved with them. I would spend more time trashing them, but anyone who honestly reads this and then does business with them deserves what they get.