Update 2/20/2011. In spite of all of their reassurances about how there was always a free option, now that my paid two months have run out, they won’t even show the galleries that I made there in a crippled format. Instead, as of today, they show a big nasty demand for more money instead of any part of my gallery. Is it an exaggeraton to call that extortion? Hmm, maybe a complaint to the FTC for false advertising is in order.
Update 1/22/11. After opening my dispute with Paypal, Cincopa restored the already-paid-for service. But now I know what happens when I stop paying. My creations that I paid to develop on their site are crippled. And, btw, the creations you see here have made me a power user, unable to add more projects using their free service. Still looking…
Posted on 1/21/11. Since the Company has decided to put their advertising up on my web site, without my consent and in spite of prepayment for the next month for services that include my right to specify that this advertisement does not show on my blog, I though I would just add a couple of words. Buyer beware.
This model bothered me from the start because the Company doesn’t really say what happens if you decide, after some period of buying their services, what happens to your creations. There is always the free option they say, for anyone who’s not a power user. But what happens to things you’ve paid to create? Several unsatisfying e-mails between me and their customer service left me no wiser, and pretty much believing that they thought I was an idiot. I signed up for the free two week trial to have more options for my slideshows and videos, you have to set up a repeating Paypal transaction to do that. On the 15th day, my Paypal account was charged. OK, I’ll invest in another month; but planning to either sign up for a year or find another way to do this, I cancelled the prepayment plan.
What is this? On day 16, after paying for a full month, on top of the two week trial, I am unable to use the paid account! It’s been demoted to a free account with all of the crippled features, including the ugly black bands over my pictures and the advertisements that you see.
Although it’s on my blog, I don’t advise you to click through. Paypal will probably get me my money back but who needs this?
If you have a recommendation for a reputable service like this, please let us know.