• Southtree

Southtree

Overview

Southtree has a rating of 2.74 stars from 376 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Southtree most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and poor quality problems. Southtree ranks 2nd among Video Converter sites.

  • Service
    50
  • Value
    50
  • Shipping
    45
  • Returns
    21
  • Quality
    45

Proactively asks for customer feedback

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 14.3%
Positive
1
Neutral
0
Negative
6
24
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

  • I am very satisfied with the DVD's made from old VHS tapes.

Critical highlights

  • Customer service is terrible, basically non existent.
How would you rate Southtree?
Top Positive Review

“Completely Satisfied”

Anthony E.
2/11/22

I had worries about sending irreplaceable family memories off to strangers. Through four separate orders, with a total of over six hundred individual images, my experience with Southtree was excellent. The staff that I dealt with acted friendly and professionally at every contact. I would recommend Southtree without reservation to anyone. If you think this review sounds too good to be true, I don't exaggerate.

Top Critical Review

“Disappointing Service”

John B.
2/6/24

Their estimate is 10-12 weeks. My order is pushing 20 weeks and the only response I receive to inquiries or complaints is "sorry for your inconvenience." Southtree is not holding up its end of our good-faith agreement. I have been given reasoning related to high volume and short staff. Here's the problem with that: A company which is truly committed to the customer experience does not pass its inconveniences and problems on to the customer. Southree's challenges are not mine. Customers should not be the ones to make sacrifices for a company's inability to properly staff, adequately hire, or effectively manage workload. Staffing shortages abound, but good companies step up, exercise basic work ethic, and maintain a positive customer experience. High volume or workload is something for which most companies strive. This is an indicator of business growth. Lack of preparation for growth is not the customer's fault. So, the customer should not bear the resulting burden.

Reviews (376)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

vhs tapes (60) customer service (46)
Thumbnail of user anthonye740
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 11th, 2022
Verified purchase

I had worries about sending irreplaceable family memories off to strangers. Through four separate orders, with a total of over six hundred individual images, my experience with Southtree was excellent. The staff that I dealt with acted friendly and professionally at every contact. I would recommend Southtree without reservation to anyone. If you think this review sounds too good to be true, I don't exaggerate.

Thumbnail of user michelleo1079
1 review
1 helpful vote
October 30th, 2022
Verified purchase

I had a great experience using Southtree! They were excellent to work and they they kept me informed every step of the way. Some of my tapes were falling apart and they somehow managed convert them. It has been such a blast watching old Christmas and birthday celebrations when my kids were so very young. Such sweet memories. Along with the thumb drive I got for myself, I got each of my kids a thumb drive made as a Christmas gift so they'll have their old memories forever too. Thanks Southtree!

Thumbnail of user stevenb2555
1 review
0 helpful votes
June 28th, 2022
Verified purchase

The conversion from analog to digital is good. Since I no longer have a camcorder I am able to view my home movies on my computer. I had everything put on a USB thumb drive so I could transfer to my computer and edit the recordings. They did a nice job considering the age of these Hi8 tapes.

The only setback is how long it takes to get them back. If you need them back faster there is a charge for that. Expensive. Otherwise everything was good.

Thumbnail of user rogert201
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
September 10th, 2023

On August 19,2023 I concluded my research on the available options to FINALLY digitize (2) two valuable VCR Video tapes that I have had since 1992. I chose Southtree and I am ecstatic about my choice. Throughout the process, I was kept apprised of the status via their website's VISUAL TIMELINE, and courteous professional emails from Syngyn. Brett, Zach, Rachel, Dee, and Dawn are the Southtree associates who completed my task of digitizing my memories to a Google Drive Download on September 7th, and my original tapes arrived safe and sound on my doorstep on September 9th. The quality is fantastic and better than I had expected. I know that issues happen, and things go wrong at times, but it is how you handle them and I am convinced that this team would handle any issues professionally and with empathy. Best in my book! Kudos to the team! Thank you!

Tip for consumers:
LOVED THE EXPERIENCE!

Products used:
Digital conversion of VHS tapes

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user stephanief1015
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 11th, 2022
Verified purchase

South tree always kept in touch and let me know how my order was coming along…. They asked if it could be delayed because of the Christmas rush and it said yes. Getting my movies back was certainly worth the wait!
Yes, I would recommend Southtree because of their customer service! My movies are so fun to watch after 40 years.

Thumbnail of user charlesw1585
1 review
1 helpful vote
March 26th, 2022
Verified purchase

I submitted 40 camcorder video cassettes to Southtree and have watched about 7; the quality of the picture and sound are the same as
They are in the camera playback, no deterioration since 1991, in 32 years. I possibly have 5 0r 6 more cassettes which I will send to them
When I return to where they are located. Their price is the best I could find and in this era of disaster capitalism, they stand far above the many low quality operators.

Thumbnail of user evelynh375
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 29th, 2022
Verified purchase

Southtree did a beautiful job saving as many of my old videos as possible. It took a little time but I'm very pleased with the end product. I now have my memories from my children's early years that can be shared with them easily.

Thumbnail of user spbraff1
1 review
0 helpful votes
March 25th, 2024

I placed my Southtree order on October 7,2023 and was told that it should take 10-12 weeks for my tapes to get digitized. Not only did my order take 5 months, but when I received my digitized videos, two of them were silent and one of them was missing a portion at the beginning. I payed $227 for this and truly expected better for the price. When I contacted Southtree about this, they told me to send those tapes back, but I have no intent to do this as I believe they would take another 5 months to arrive. I plan on getting these tapes digitized somewhere else and I recommend others get their tapes digitized somewhere else as well!

Thumbnail of user sherylt107
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
October 25th, 2022
Verified purchase

Im having 500 memories saved on a thumb drive each order. Im so pleased and can share with family. And the large boxes of photos are no longer taking up space.

Thumbnail of user peggym387
1 review
1 helpful vote
March 31st, 2021
Verified purchase

I recently sent five reel to reel tapes to have downloaded. These were interviews with Eleanor Roosevelt, Sen. John Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey and two others by my dad, H. P. Sconce, in 1959 for his radio program, Christian Celebrity Tyme. These tapes and over 300 more have been stored under my bed for years. I received a tiny thumb drive and the interviews were perfect. Thank you.

Thumbnail of user roberts6325
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 11th, 2022
Verified purchase

Had old movies that were just sitting in a corner collecting dust. Southtree took these memories put them on a flash drive for us to show our grandchildren. As for my wife and I going back many years brings happiness and a little tear.
Modern technology to bring back old memories is a blessing.
Thanks again.

Thumbnail of user johnb12480
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 6th, 2024
Verified purchase

Their estimate is 10-12 weeks. My order is pushing 20 weeks and the only response I receive to inquiries or complaints is "sorry for your inconvenience." Southtree is not holding up its end of our good-faith agreement.

I have been given reasoning related to high volume and short staff. Here's the problem with that: A company which is truly committed to the customer experience does not pass its inconveniences and problems on to the customer. Southree's challenges are not mine. Customers should not be the ones to make sacrifices for a company's inability to properly staff, adequately hire, or effectively manage workload.

Staffing shortages abound, but good companies step up, exercise basic work ethic, and maintain a positive customer experience. High volume or workload is something for which most companies strive. This is an indicator of business growth. Lack of preparation for growth is not the customer's fault. So, the customer should not bear the resulting burden.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user frankl1316
1 review
0 helpful votes
June 27th, 2022
Verified purchase

Sent about 20 years worth of tapes (various formats) to Southtree earlier this year and though it took several months we are very pleased with the results. We ordered the USB sticks (in addition to online access) and that's made it even easier. Currently catalouging files by year and will be sharing with all the family! Thanks.

Thumbnail of user williamk2086
1 review
1 helpful vote
November 24th, 2022
Verified purchase

I have used Southtree a number of times over a period of several years. In all that time, as their business has grown, they have failed to improve turnaround time (I waited five months this time for my stuff). But they are creative at devising ever more opaque pricing policies and strategies like also operating two purported competitors. It seems the business model is based on one-time customers, which makes sense given the nature of it, but what a cynical way to run things.

Thumbnail of user marki24
3 reviews
4 helpful votes
August 1st, 2023
Verified purchase

Pros - I received my originals back.
Cons - it took months to complete my order. Customer service is terrible, basically non existent. They don't leave the link up long enough to download your pictures. I wouldn't trust them with my memories again.

Products used:
Digitize movies and photos and sent me a link which doesn’t work.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user karenv709
1 review
2 helpful votes
May 31st, 2021
Verified purchase

I have trusted south tree with precious 8 and 16 mm film that my mother had dating back to the 1940's. Sure did not want to lose these precious memories that our family wasn't even sure what was on them. South tree did not disappoint. Transactions were uncomplicated and communications were timely and professional. I have also used their services to convert cassettes. Equally satisfied. They are my #1 to go to and should be yours as well.

Thumbnail of user marisaf28
Marisa F. – Southtree Rep

Hello Karen! Thank you for taking the time out to leave a positive review. We truly understand how important and precious these items are so we want to make sure all of our customers have a positive experience. Hearing that you had a positive experience and that you would use us again is the best compliment we can get. Thank you so much again!

Thumbnail of user luandag1
1 review
0 helpful votes
August 29th, 2022
Verified purchase

Count your photos before placing order. Put them in baggies of 25 each. Then you know exactly how many and pay for the right amount. Wait for next sale and place order. Rest is easy. Once sent in, wait months to get them back, with many emails about status updates. But still way better than trying to make time to scan it all yourself :)

Thumbnail of user ashokm44
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 24th, 2024

After 3 months I received the transfer of 4 video cassettes and 4 audio cassettes. There were the following problems with that. They never corrected those and never refunded my money.

1) Two of the MP4 files were IDENTICAL. Since two were identical, they completely missed transferring one of the cassette. Those that were transferred to MP4 had really bad resolution/quality. When I play the original cassettes on my VCR, they have far better quality.

2) I had clearly asked for and paid for 1 DVD per video cassette. They just sent me a thumb drive with MP4 files. No DVDs. They never sent me DVDs despite my asking over and over again.

'Please don't waste your money. They are not cheap. Please stay away from this company.

Tip for consumers:
They completely messed up my order. Very poor quality. Much worse than the original analog media. No refund.

Products used:
Digital transfer of analog video and audio cassettes

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user peterw78
2 reviews
8 helpful votes
April 21st, 2023

I sent Southtree 95 Hi8 Sony Camcorder tapes for conversion to mp4 files. Their website is slick, but their quality control is horrible and their customer service to correct the problems has been exceedingly viscous. They returned one box of tapes very poorly packaged. I sent twice as many tapes to The Digitize Center where there were no problems with any tapes. I wish I had searched the web for reviews of Southtree before buying. Their reviews on Yelp and elsewhere are very bad. Avoid Southtree.

Products used:
MP4 digital files from Hi8 Sony Camcorder tapes

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user fredg236
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 19th, 2021
Verified purchase

Excellent communication and good quality work. When I told them I lost the thumb drive after the job was done and delivered to me, they offered to the whole job again for free, charging only for the new blank thumb drive and postage. They managed to capture the audio from an old cassette tape which I was unable to play on my cassette player. I am very pleased.

Products used:
Video and audio digitalization

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user paulw1516
1 review
3 helpful votes
June 21st, 2021

The quality of the digital transfer of my cassette tapes was very good. The technicians, however, paid no attention to the holders in which the tapes were originally. I had to spend 45 minutes putting the tapes back in their original cases. That kind of sloppiness was disappointing.

Tip for consumers:
Good quality reproduction but sloppy in keeping tapes in proper containers.

Products used:
Digitized tapes and photos

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user juliec2511
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 28th, 2023

Used Southtree to convert old video camera tapes. I paid for the "digital download" option. I waited months and months for tapes to be converted. When I finally received the email that my download was ready, there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING indicating that the download link would ever expire. Photos attached! I had a baby around this time and forgot to download them right away.

Fast-forward about a year later, I finally got to the bottom of my to-do list and went to download my videos. They were gone. After going back and forth with customer service a number of times, I find out that I can pay $20 for a "Legacybox" subscription, THEN ALSO PAY another $20 for my download link to be resent. I go through this entire charade, am out another $40+, and STILL do not receive a download link. Sidenote---the Legacybox fee is an annual subscription service, so I will then have to go through the legwork of CANCELLING this service once I finally get my files.

Next comes ongoing phone tag with customer service reps as I cannot get a clear answer on how to actually access my files. The amount of time and money I have spent on this is 100% not worth it. Stay far away from this service.

For the record, there is a note on the Southtree website when first choosing the "download link option" for file delivery, stating that the link will be active for "30 days." But, that is never stated again anywhere on any materials I received. Then, the customer service rep I spoke to told me the link is active for "60 days." I honestly would not be angry about the expired link if the expiration time had been CLEARLY STATED in my digital download email.

Service
Value
Shipping
Thumbnail of user karyp4
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 13th, 2022
Verified purchase

I had some old reel-to-reel home movies that were about 55 years old. I had previously tried to have them converted to DVD by a local company, but was told they were too old and degraded. As I had nothing to lose by trying Southtree, I boxed them up and mailed them. The process was very simple; just put the bar codes on and send them in the box that was included. I was very surprised and pleased that my home movies were able to be preserved! The quality of the DVD is remarkable considering what they had to work with! I am extremely satisfied!

Thumbnail of user melaniem799
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 25th, 2022
Verified purchase

It took 6 months to receive my items back, but I was in the middle of a move so that was okay to wait. My VHS tapes were in poor condition, so my DVD recordings aren't great. DVD and thumb drives are much smaller to store, and the quality will not continue to deteriorate. My product did come back to me in a double box, so that was great. I continued to get emails from Southtree giving me updates on the materials. I am happy I didn't want my items back for any occasion. Six months is a long time, but it all worked out.

Thumbnail of user banningl
3 reviews
5 helpful votes
July 26th, 2022
Verified purchase

I sent in 10 tapes for transfer on March 8th. It is now June 26th and they say it will be another 6-7 weeks. 5-6 months! This is insane. I sent them in early so we could watch them at our annual family reunion this week with people coming in from all over the country. Now we will be deprived of that experience. I feel like I have been deceived. They need more people dubbing tapes and less people sending out innocuous memos. If you need your transfers done in the foreseeable future go to another company.

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From the business

Home video transfer from VHS to DVD/digital, photo scanning and cassette tapes to CD/digital. Preserve your recorded moments digitally.
Send in your aging tapes, film, pictures, and audio recordings. You'll receive new DVD or digital copies with your originals, safely and simply.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user southtreer1
Southtree R.
Typically does not respond to reviews

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2.7
376 reviews
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