BLUDOMAIN

I posted a while back asking for opinions and experiences with Bludomain. I got

a mixed response and decided to give them a try.

 

I bought a site yesterday (the Madison for $410). I got an email from them

saying the site would be in my inbox by midnight MST. It is now 9:30 am the

next day, and no site. The site I bought doesn't require any faxing...just

click and buy the template with more info emailed to me later.

 

I can't find a phone number on the site or in any of the emails.

 

I am worried that I got screwed. Does anyone have a number where I can reach

them?? I have tried writing in for a response but got nothing. Maybe I should

give it more time, but allready they are not fullfilling their end of the

bargin.

 

Thanks

Stacy,

 

I would be patient (easier said than done). I know that some have had bad experiences with them, but I have never heard of them outright defrauding anyone. They are notorious for being slow to respond (at times). I have been with them for over a year and have had pretty seamless service. However, I have had some slow responses on emails in the past though. They are always short-staffed, which is somewhat inexcusable to my way of thinking.

Unfortunately, I know that they just came out with 2 new site templates in the last day or two, which always seems to be an extremely busy time for them. You just picked a bad time to jump I think.

I would be inclined to send a support email through their site as well, just to pester them a bit.

 

Bear in mind that I am not a rah-rah supporter of Blu (their are plenty of those cheerleaders on their blog), but I have had a good experience with them.

 

Email me if you want more info.

 

Bob

madison is the $100 template isnt it?

 

it's what i'm currently running - (Website removed)

 

I had a great experience with them, and I'm really impressed with what i got for the price. They'll normally return emails within a few hours.

 

 

Also, check the ftp to whateveryoursiteis.com and see if theres a /madison folder.

They might have just forgot to tell you

Yes, it is a $100 site...but after adding the proffing/shopping cart and hosting/domain it came to $410...which annoys me because I looked at their $800 sites and there is a 1/2 price special. ARRGH.

 

I hope I get the experience the both of you have had. I just hear a mixed review and the reviews are to etreemes..either people love it or they want to take them to court. Luckily more good reviews then bad!

 

I will take it easy for a couple days, but I don't like being told I will get a response in a certain time frame, then not being able to contact anyone.

 

Thanks

Stacy,

 

I agree that it is frustrating. If you look at their blog, there are always these cutesy posts from their staff "hey, whe're working through the night to get this new site up, hey, we got stuck in Vegas for WPPI and we are behind, etc". My feelings are that they are big enough to hire more staff. You cannot run this kind of business like it's out of your dorm room.

On the upside, I believe you still have time to switch templates if you wish, as long as they have not started on the Madison site yet.

 

Good luck.

I would just email them and wait a little time. They are always so busy.

It is worth the price to just wait a couple days. If you got that designed for you, it would be more than double.

I bought a BluDomain web site a year ago. The ease of setting it up and making changes to it it worth every penny I spent (very few pennies compared to my previous site). But, I too had trouble getting them to set it up to start. It wasn't over night - or even several nights. Actually, over a week. They told me they had a devastating email crash.

 

Eventually I actually got emails from them saying the site was set up but the emails had some other photographers name on it and it was for a different site than I ordered. Be patient. Once it actually gets set up you'll be a happy camper. They never did add me to the list of launched sites.

 

Seems like they should spend less time updating the blog as to what the latest trend in shoes are and concentrate on customer support. IMO.

I always get a quick response if I email them at support@bludomain.com

give it a try and don't give up, they are really good guys :)

Check your junk folder, it may be in there.

I'm suprised people still use them. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome everytime. :)

Since you just bought it yesterday and we're talking minutes & hours late, I'd wait a day or two before assumming I've been "screwed".

Blu domain is foul. (watch me eat my words a buy a site in a year...)

 

They gave me a terrible experience, and I am honor bound to let everyone know.

David,

 

Good point, which was in the back of my mind as well.

Stacy, I know there's a lot of complaints about them as far as customer service, but with all the sales going on now..they're so hot.. they're probably just crazy busy :)

 

What worries me more with them is that they're getting so popular everyone's getting them and will end up with photographers that have exactly same pages. I almost got one myself. Although I want something very simple which they offer - I'm very hesitant- I have a (winklet) template and hate it - because so many others have it.

 

That said, for the $$ their templates are great!

There is a thread on this forum and other forums about the terrible customer service from BLUDOMAIN at least every other week!

 

Doesn't anyone do any research before signing up with that company?!?!?

I am being patient...and I emailed them again at the support address, hopefully I am up and running soon.

 

I usually have more patience than my 2 year old son...but when i couldn't contact them and there was nothing in my mailbox when they said it would be, I got worried because I have heard some pretty crazy horror stories.

 

This reminds me of the famous triangle: FAST GOOD CHEAP pick two...but you can never have all three!!! In my case I am hoping I got the GOOD and CHEAP combo ;)

 

I will settle for the slow turn around, sice it was so incredibly cheap and I happen to LOVE their templates.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

Good God give those guys a chance, it is Christmas and maybe they are

even more busy because of it. They do answer and they do take care of you and I do NOT think they will screw you, so relax and be patient a little longer. Patience is a virtue :)

When I bought my new site from BluDomain this year, it took a few days for them to respond to the faxed contract papers, but after that I had nothing but excellent service. After they acknowledged my sign-up forms I was live in less than a day. They didn't even get around to sending me a PayPal invoice for about a week after I went live. Also, for me the site interface they provide for uploading images and customizing content was well worth a few days wait for it to get set up. I have never needed to use support since I went live, and my new site has worked flawlessly since I went live. So, I'm a very happy customer, but based on many other reports I may have just gotten very lucky!

I emailed them a week ago to let them know that they were taking a beating in the forums, and to let them know I wasn't buying a site from them because of their terrible service lately. I got a reply within two hours, telling me they hired 15 new people, and that they weren't aware of any customer service issues, and that I would be very happy with them. What a bunch of jerks they are turning out to be.

I love my Blu site and had only minor issues when getting it set up. They seem to over-promise and under-deliver with the turnaround times, which they really should stop doing! I would rather be told that it will take a week and then be surprised when it's up a few days early. I'm glad to hear they've hired more people...I imagine that will make a big difference and they will continue to grow!<p>Just give 'em a few days. Best of luck with your new site.<p>

- Jill<br>

 

 

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OK, so now they've had a few extra days.............how about an update, still waiting???

I purchased my first site through them and the only problem was it was filterd to my junk mail. I decided I wanted 2 more site and purchased them both yesterday and have them both today! I have always had great luck and fantastic customer service with them! Hope you have yours by now!

OK...here is the deal. Bludomain sites are amazing. Their customer service is good....just slow. My take is you get what you pay for. I'm willing to pay $400 for a new site when it first comes out, even if I have to wait 3 days for them to finally get it to me. The fact is once you get it the ball is in your hands from that point forward. You can host with another company and never again have to wait on them. With that said in the last year I have not had to wait more than 24 hours for a response with an answer to any question.....that is odd compared to most things I hear, but true. The fact is you pay a flat $400 for something that is amazing....who gives a rip if you have to wait a bit for it to get into your hands and setup...from that point forward you don't have to wait ever again and it blows away a majority of the sites I see from other photographers. Be patient and you will reap the rewards later for very little cost. --mike

I am INCREDIBLY upset with bludomain.

 

I ordered a site Nov 26. I still don't have it. I received the contract and sent it back IMMEDIATELY via e-mail. Nothing for a week. Then they said I would have the things in my inbox by Midnight. I have sent several e-mails back to them- and got nothing in return. Last week I received an e-mail saying I would have the site by Monday (as in New Years Eve.) What is it today? Thursday? NOTHING. They already charged me, too. I actually was charged before I even heard they received my contract.

 

I'm sending them an e-mail now saying I want a refund immediately. This is absurd. I LOVE the site, so I am incredibly disappointed I am not going to be able to use it. My plan was to be live by Jan 01. Now it's going to take me weeks to have a site built.

 

Incredibly frustrated with bludomain.