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PastBook Review 2024: Important Update!

PastBook Review 2024: Is PastBook Legit or Scam? (Update)


Is PastBook legit or scam?

Look:

Originally we wrote this post early 2021 when the company was decent, but after receiving multiple complaints about Pastbook in the past few months, we’re updating it.

(The update is on February 2023, which is 2 years after the initial review.)

So…

I kept an eye on them after I received a comment from Lou Ann on January 9, 2023:

I thought this was rather unusual, and took the extra step of forwarding this message to the PastBook team to make sure she’s taken care of.

See my email sent on January 10th, also CC’ing Lou Ann:

The very same day I receive an unsatisfying response from one of their reps:

I thought I’d give them time and will follow up again later.

And I did follow up 10 days later:

And again I got a general, unsatisfying response:

I found this very suspicious, so I thought I’d wait a bit longer and see what happens.

And what do you know?

In February I received several complaints about PastBook – either the book wasn’t delivered, or the quality was terrible, or they couldn’t get in touch or get a refund.

See for yourself.

Eva Loran’s comment on February 1, 2023 where she mentions she didn’t get the order, even though she’s paid for it:

Sheryl Meng Fields complaint about Pastbook published on February 16, 2023:

And Walt wysk’s concern on February 18, 2023:

(And now I’m updating this post on February 19th.)

After seeing a sudden flow of negative reviews of the company that was once decent, I’m forced to warn folks to be careful to deal with PastBook.

The amount of recent complaints about bad quality, unfulfilled orders, or not getting refunds is concerning, don’t you think?

Instead, I recommend you check out Mixbook, a #1 rated photo book company (with nearly 30k 5-star reviews).


PastBook Complaints (Video Update)



What Is PastBook?


What is Pastbook?

Pastbook is a company that provides photobook services to people who need it. They focus on providing assistance to social media users who want to put their collection of photos in an actual book. They have pre-designed layouts that you can choose from and have your album ready in no time.

Aside from that, they can also make customized calendars, posters, and even cards that you can send to your loved ones and friends. With this, you can better share your life story to those people who are very dear to you.

Is PastBook worth it?

February 2023 update: After a number of negative reviews and complaints, we don’t think it’s worth it.

It’s not just a photo book, but you can choose to create posters, calendars, etc. And it’s a great photography gift idea.

(Keep on reading to find out what’s so special about this company.)

What are its features?

Just like any other companies, this too have its own set of features that you need to check out. Here are some of it:

  • PastBook Pricing

When it comes to services like this, it is imperative to check out the various pricing plans available for you. Even if financial resources is not an issues, it is still wiser to check out the price-quality ratio of the products you want to avail of. That way, you can have the best value for your money.

This company gives you different pricing options to choose from, depending on your preference. They can create a PB with a minimum of 16 pages and a maximum of 500 pages. Check the plans below:


A screenshot of PastBook pricing plans


    • 16 Pages (Soft Cover)
      • Small (8.5 x 6″)   – $20.40
      • Large (12 x 8.5″) – $25.40
    • 26 Pages (Soft)
      • S – $30.00
    • 26 Pages (Hard cover)
      • S – $39.00
      • L – $43.00
    • 50 Pages (Hard)
      • S – $53.00
      • L – $65.00
    • 100 Pages (Hard)
      • S – $68.00
      • L – $83.00
    • 200 Pages (Hard)
      • S – $84.00
      • L – $99.00
    • 300 Pages (Hard)
      • S – $99.00
      • L – $114.00
    • 500 Pages (Soft Cover)
      • S – $110.00
      • L – $125.00

You see, these prices are relatively higher compared to other companies offering the same services. However, they do offer an automatic 35% discount upon checkout to compensate for this.

And if you wanted to get a higher discount rate of 40%, you just need to purchase another copy of the book that you can give out to family and friends.

Now, as far as shipping fees go, it depends on the size of your ordered PB and where in the world your location is. You will know that in the checkout area.

  • One click photo book

This company also boasts about their fast and easy scrapbook creator. In fact, they advertised it as one-click photo book. This means you no longer need to do the layout by yourself.

You can simply send them the pictures, or have your photos from social media accounts linked to the site and you’re ready to go. Their editing team will do all the work for you and all that’s left to do is wait for the product to arrive at your doorstep.

However, if you have the time, you can also arrange the pictures on your own. This way, it will be more personalized and customized to your liking.

You can choose which images should go to a certain page, or which photos should go together, stuff like that. But if you plan on editing your pictures itself in the site, there’s only very little you can do. If you want, edit your photos ahead of time before importing it to PastBook.

There is also this thing called Facebook Book or Instagram Book. For this part, you will need to access your social media page/s and select a specific timeframe for the images you wish to include.

It could be something on your timeline and feed, or in an album you created in the past. Once you are done setting the timeframe, the site automatically collects your pics with its captions. And you have the option whether to include the captions or not.

  • Mobile App

They also have a mobile application where you can directly create your PB.  The thing about this one though is that it is only available for iOS devices.

There is still no mention whether they are going to create separate apps for Android users unfortunately. So if you have mobile phones not running on iOS, you have no other choice but to use the desktop version.

There are three different applications you can download from the store.

One is specifically for Facebook, the other one for Instagram, and the last is called My Year. The last one lets you create your PB based on the selected year you wish to include. It can come from IG, FB or even your phone gallery, or a combination of everything.

For the first two apps, once you log in to your account (FB or IG), your photo book is automatically created based on the timeframe you chose.

However, these apps have one downside: it doesn’t let you save your work unless you place the order. So if you just want to try it out and don’t plan on ready ordering the item, might as well do it on the PC version.

  • Desktop Editor

If you want to do more than just have the apps pull out your pictures from your social media accounts, you can opt for the PC version instead.

Here, you will be able to add cover, edit it and put some descriptions along the way. However, the editing tools are very limited since this targets people who want to have it the easy way. So editing here only means cropping or rotating your images.

Other than that, you have to do it before going to the site.

  • PastBook gift code

In this site, they also give you the chance to give e-gifts or e-vouchers to your friends and families. There are 3 options you can choose from: $25, $40 and $50 gift cards. This will allow your recipient to redeem a 26-page, 50-page, or 100-page PB respectively.

The last and most expensive option gives you the best value for money, by the way.

All you have to do is purchase the gift card and an email will be sent to you containing the voucher code. You can send it to anyone you like and have them create their very own PB at the site.

There is also this option where you can pre-pay an FB year book to your friends. The pricing is the same with the regular PBs. You can choose how many pages it will be and which kind of cover it will have.

You just have to send the gift link to your chosen friend and they will be able to choose whichever photos they want to include in their own book.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Variety of layout designs to choose from
  • One click creation

Cons

  • A bit pricey

Final Verdict

February 2023 update: PastBook used to be a decent choice if you want to keep you photos as mementos you can share with families and friends. Some might find it a bit pricey but you do get what you pay for, that is, good photo and paper quality they use for your book.

Seeing multiple Pastbook complaints and negative reviews, I don’t think it’s worth it, and you should tread lightly when dealing with this company.


Frequently Asked Questions



Q: Is PastBook legit?

A lot of you have been asking if PastBook is a scam or not.

Well, I’d like to tell you that you with the 2023 update, there are too many complaints coming from YOU, the readers, who left comments here under this review.

I can’t call them a fraud without more information, but the latest information that’s come to light is full of red flags.

Please leave your comments below if you also feel that you’re unhappy with this company for whatever reason.

Q: Is PastBook customer service reliable?

As far as customer service goes, this site used to be okay. You could create a ticket and send it to them to raise your concern.

Emails and site chat box is the only way you can reach support, and while they sometimes respond to queries, as we’ve seen above, they were pretty generic and didn’t give any concrete answers.

Q: How long does it take for my photo book to arrive?

February 2023 update: As seen from some of the comments submitted below, it seems many have not received their orders even a month or two later. 

This depends where you are located. But the average standard delivery date ranges from 7 -10 days. Of course, you need to be prepared for some delays because there might be some things that could happen with the parcel that is out of the company’s control. An example would be courier’s slow moving deliveries.

Now…

I’d like to hear from YOU:

  • Do you have any complaints or issues with this company?
  • Anything else to add to our Pastbook review?

Let us know in the comments below!

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