New Upates: The Fifty Dollar Logo Experiment

This is where fun really kicks in; when you realize that things we see often have deeper roots just like the old adage saying "We only see the peak of the iceberg".

Here is the story. With the rise of a lot .com design services that somehow hurt the business of a lot of professionals, creative director Jim Walls at 160over90, a Philadelphia based branding agency, conducted what he calls an experiment with one of these offshore companies (50DollarLogo.com) to make a point. On February 17th, Jim finally posts his insights of doing business with such company. The next day, acclaimed designer David Airey picks up the story and posts it on his blog, Logo Design Love. The blog has 9516 readers so it didn't take very long to start an intense discussion and argument among industry professionals which eventually lead to exposing a genuine scam and copyright violation story.

Keep in mind that whenever an offshore company promises six logo designs, unlimited revisions and a 1-3 days turnaround time, just know that:

a) It is too good to be true.

and

b) They might be hiding a dark truth... just like that laundromat not far from where I used to live that have no washing machines but still in business after 10 years...

Apparently, according to a comment left by Brian on Logo Design Love, 50DollarLogo.com has been reported as an attack site by Firefox. For those who are unfamiliar with attack sites; they "...try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system... Some attack sites also intentionally distribute harmful software".

Another comment left by Keith suggests that "...if you go to their web design portfolio you will see links to work that they clearly haven’t done” such as the Get London Reading Website. It has in fact been design by artist Kent Lyons... And I personally believe that the layout of the site is purposely built to be mistaken with successful Logo Works. It is clear that the company is ran by crooks with the intention to fool and screw you. Ask Doug in Florida that filled a complain on Rip-off Report.com :

"This company offers logo design packages starting at $50 for 6 logo concepts, you can also add other services to this for additional fees. They offer to present you with your concepts for revision in 1 to 3 days. I picked a package above the $50 one that offered 12 design concepts. I made payment after completeing my order and waited for my concept designs.

After 4 days I had heard nothing and decided to use there online help service as they claim to have 24/7/365 operaters to answer your questions. It seems I must have caught them on the leap year when no one was available. I left a message reguarding the status of my order only to recieve a mailer demon email saying it could not be delivered and the mail box was full. I then sent a somewhat threatning email to the email address on my order confirmation. I recieved a generic misspelled email in return stating my order was in progress and I would recieve my designs asap.

It is now day 9 and I have heard nothing and recieved nothing. So much for a 3 day turnaround. I will be requesting a refund and filing a dispute with my credit card company. The site appears to be a scheme to me. The online support is never online and the mailboxes are full. Seems to me I'm not the only dissatisfied customer. Just remember, you always get what you pay for.
I thought I had found the answer to my business logo need. It turns out I just created alot more hassle for myself and I'm currently out $70."

To all my entrepreneur friends, please beware.

David Morin B.V.A.
Brand Artist
www.getapowerplay.com