xtremely disappointing support from Pixel Union / Out of the Sandbox. I received a DMCA notice from Shopify stating my store was using an unlicensed Flex theme. Their support team told me t... See more
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Imagine DMCAing your own customers and… Imagine DMCAing your own customers and them not seeing the notice till it's too late and shopify shuts the entire site down. That's what Outofthesandbox lov... See more
Company replied
Imagine DMCAing your own customers and them not seeing the notice till it's too late and shopify shuts the entire site down. That's what Outofthesandbox loves to do. If you're using one of their t... See more
Company replied
Flex is one of the most expensive themes out there. OOTS staff is arrogant, reply takes up to a week, almost no problems solved. The last episode was a guy who gave himself access through a collaborat... See more
Company replied
Company details
Written by the company
Discover why our stunning Shopify themes are the most popular and best reviewed Shopify ecommerce themes — ever. Build your dream online store today with our feature rich Shopify themes.
Contact info
Canada
- outofthesandbox.com
1.4
Bad
45 reviews
Replied to 75% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
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Lacks Simple Basic Features that are Offered on Free Designated Shopify Themes
After extensive research of multiple Shopify themes, I have decided to provide my rating for my paid Premium Turbo theme.
Here are my reasons why:
I initially opened my store over three years ago. I opened my store during the pandemic, and was initially selling mask. However, I knew at that point that in the future, I wanted to also sell apparel. At that time I hired a designer to create my Shopify for me. I was not familiar with themes, or anything to that extent as I paid the designer to do all the work. I closed my store a year into the pandemic, and put a in construction notice on my store front, as I rebuilt for my apparel store. The designer who built my Shopify store used the turbo theme. As back then I was not familiar with how themes were placed into Shopify. I am now under the impression that the designer used either his own turbo theme, or a stolen turbo theme on my store. Because I was familiar with the turbo theme I ended up purchasing the theme myself about six months ago not even bothering to look at other themes, that was 100% my mistake.
I have recently in the last 2 month or so been reviewing Shopify dedicated themes themself (Both Free & Paid) and wow is all I can say! Dedicated Shopify themes offer way more ability for customization than the turbo theme, which is supposed to be a premium theme. The Shopify themes allow you to do basic things as changing margins/padding/spacing in each section, using gradient colors, they provide product tabs with icons, some of the themes also allow you to upload your own icons, they allow you to choose the background color of your pop-ups, they also allow you to use pages as dynamic sources in collapsible product tabs (to allow you to have a size chart), Some themes even come with built-in cookie banners, they also provide count down timers and much more. all of these things that I’m mentioning here that come with Shopify themes do not come in the premium turbo theme.
The Turbo Theme is a Good Theme, however, it’s one of the oldest themes on the market and I believe it has a lot of catching up to do, especially to simple basic features that are standard on Free Shopify Themes.
November 7, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing your detailed experience with the Turbo theme!
Our themes, including Turbo, are premium products designed to offer robust performance and flexibility while adhering to Shopify’s platform standards. As Shopify’s platform evolves, so do our themes through updates focused on stability, compatibility, and feature enhancements.
With that said, some advanced and/or niche features may require the use of third party apps or custom development. We also provide some additional theme functionality via our Theme Updater & Backup app’s Theme Sections feature. This feature allows you to add standalone sections to your Turbo theme that may not be available natively.
If you require a feature that is not available through the latest version of Turbo or the Theme Sections feature of our Theme Updater & Backups app, please reach out to us via our Help Center and we will submit these to our development team as a feature request.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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Their support is AWFUL
Their support is AWFUL. I just upgraded to Flex 5 and my traffic died. When I asked them about why their new theme had affected the traffic, I was given some trite reply about how keyword optimization and SEO can help drive more traffic. I found the reply insulting. I've given up emailing them. They do EVENUTUALLY reply, after a week or so, but 9 times out of ten, they kick the can down the road, giving some useless reply about how nothing is their responsibility.
September 15, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Emma,
We appreciate your feedback regarding the Flex theme and your support experience!
While our support team typically responds within 24 hours, with up to 3 business days during high-volume periods, our response times may vary based on ticket volume.
Theme-related support focuses on functionality and platform compatibility, while SEO and marketing strategies fall outside our scope as outlines in our support policy.
Any change made to the storefront can temporarily affect your SEO and reporting, so it’s important to track changes over a longer period to get a more accurate representation.
If you’re still experiencing lower-than-normal storefront traffic, please reach out to us via our Help Center and we will investigate this further with you and help point your in the right direction.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Out of the Sandbox has hardworking people who are knowledgable and and responsive
Wow! I was really disappointed seeing these reviews! I LOVE Out of the Sandbox! They are always responsive to me, and their themes are awesome and very flexible! I bought a theme 4 or 5 years ago (Turbo) and they continue to update it. I do pay $129 a year for support, though, and it is well worth the money. One can't expect unlimited support on a product for free, right? Where else would you get that? Seriously, they are an awesome company!
September 9, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Judy,
Thank you very much for highlighting the ongoing value you find in our themes and support!
We strive to maintain a balance between premium product quality and efficient support services, so your review is greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Beware of this company
Beware of this company! Do not waste your money. Their current customer service is awful, often referring you to have to "hire an Expert" to get your theme even working to a basic point. I purchased mine years back and back then they excelled at helping me to customize it. Not recently. My current theme started to give a bunch of Google Search Console errors and they told me that the only solution was to upgrade to the latest version to get those solved. Ok. Decided to update the theme manually but their new updated theme is half baked and it needs a lot of coding to get it right to where my previous theme even was. After lots of back and forth (prepare to wait 24-48 hrs for them to get back to you for each response) they would not help even to fix simple issues often referring me to "hire an Expert". Look elsewhere!
May 17, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Alex,
We appreciate your acknowledgment of the theme’s previous strengths and your feedback on your support experience.
Our support team typically responds within 24 hours, with a currently published window of up to 3 business days during high volumes, as per the support policy found on our website.
Theme updates aim to align with Shopify’s evolving platform, but previous code customizations and third-party app integrations may require external development, which falls outside standard support scope.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Stay away at all cost
I've been building websites with WordPress and Shopify for years, and let me tell you, the Fresh theme developed by OotS is by far the worst I've ever tried - especially considering the exorbitant price they charge. We've been plagued with multiple issues since implementing the Fresh theme. It glitches out constantly and is riddled with flaws and essential features that are simply lacking. Plus, it seems to be incompatible with every plugin we've tried so far. To top it off, their customer service is very poor. They claim they can't locate us in their backend and insist we bought their plugin from a third party which is not the case. They simply refuse to assist us. It's a shame I didn't read the Trustpilot reviews before blindly purchasing this theme. The 1-star reviews hit the nail on the head.
To put it plainly, it's like buying a first-class ticket on Emirates and ending up with a rickety seat on Congo Airways. Sure, you'll get to your destination eventually, but it won't be pretty, and the end result could be disastrous. Save yourself the headache and opt for a free theme like Dawn instead.
February 27, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Julius,
Thank you for sharing your feedback on the Fresh layout of our Flex theme.
Our premium themes are built to align with Shopify’s platform standards and are used successfully by a wide range of merchants.
Compatibility issues are often due to third-party apps or unsupported customizations, which fall outside the scope of theme support.
To receive assistance, merchants must provide a valid order number so we can verify the purchase and access theme registration details. If your theme was not purchased directly from us or was not registered properly, support eligibility may be impacted—please contact our Help Center with your order details for review.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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Does anyone know who the CEO or CFO of…
Does anyone know who the CEO or CFO of Out of the Sandbox is? I want to contact them about getting a refund for a product I cannot use. That’s daylight robbery!
February 21, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Nicola,
Refunds for themes purchased through the Shopify Theme Store must be handled directly by Shopify, as theme developers themselves do not process these transactions. This is outlined in Shopify's Terms, and is outside the control of any third party theme developer.
For purchases made directly through our site, all refund requests must meet the criteria outlined in our published refund policy.
We encourage you to contact our support team directly so we can review your case within the appropriate channels.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
These people are unhelpful in the…
These people are unhelpful in the extreme. Despite being a Shopify partner, OOTS affiliate and pushing their themes to clients, they have now on four separate occasions with the same theme refused to support it, admitted that the demo theme is not a correct representation of what is achievable, or that the documentation is just wrong.
That would be $260 to purchase a theme that is essentially misrepresented and not fit for purpose.
Where other Shopify partners pride themselves on support and going the extra mile for customers, OOTS pride themselves on being unhelpful, uncaring and treat customers and potential customers with total contempt.
As a Shopify expert, Partner, App Developer and store owner that has presented for and worked with Shopify themselves since 2013, avoid these people and spend your money elsewhere.
If you want to have a conversation where you reply instantly then wait three days for their reply these are your guys.
Corey in particular I have found to have a real attitude and willingness to not help if at all possible.
February 9, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Tony,
We appreciate your longstanding use of our Partner program and involvement in the Shopify ecosystem.
For clarity, our demo shops only use default theme settings to illustrate design potential, and documentation is regularly reviewed for accuracy. If your theme is missing features shown in the demo shop, you may be using an outdated version or your theme has been modified by a developer and/or third party app.
All features and functionality seen in any of our demo stores can be configured directly via the Shopify Theme Editor, which means that there is no customizations or additional development needed to achieve a desired look seen in a demo store.
Support is available to merchants with a valid license as per the support policy published on our website. Support does not cover customizations, third-party apps, or functionality outside the theme’s documented features, as outlined in our Support Policy.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Buggy themes and Awful Company
Awful company - I bought their Superstore theme and it is full of bugs. I selected the infinite scroll option and now the filters and the menu stopped working. Reached out to support 7 times but haven't gotten a response. Reached out to Shopify, nothing. Will be doing chargebacks on those guys as I bought two themes that are not fit for purpose.
I am currently using their Turbo theme and it keeps crashing on mobile. I pointed this out to the developers and they just pointed the finger at some other apps despite me not having any apps.
Pathetic team and a pathetic company. Their themes are overpriced and full of bugs. Absolute trash. Avoid with a barge pole
January 31, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi there,
Our themes, including Superstore and Turbo, are premium products developed to meet Shopify’s performance standards and are used successfully by thousands of merchants.
Reported issues such as broken filters or mobile crashes are often related to store-specific setup or custom code - even when third-party apps are not visibly installed.
With that said, we encourage merchants experiencing any issues with their theme to reach out to us directly via our Help Center so we can properly diagnose and troubleshoot the issue.
If you did not hear back from our support team on any of your seven attempts, it’s possible that our responses are being flagged and blocked by your mail provider, as this is not an issue that any other merchants have brought to our attention.
If you’re still experiencing issues with the theme, please contact us using an alternate email that uses a different domain from the previous email.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Pathetic
Pathetic! Wasted $425 on a junk theme and pathetic support.
January 12, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Vivek,
Thank you for your feedback on the theme and your experience with our support.
For clarity, our themes are premium products designed for long-term use on the Shopify platform and are actively maintained to align with Shopify’s technical standards.
Support is available to verified theme purchasers who submit a valid Shopify order number through our Help Center.
If your request involved advanced customization or third-party app conflicts, those fall outside our standard support scope as outlined in the policies listed on our website.
If you’re still experiencing issues with the theme that you believe are unrelated to customizations or third arty apps, please reach out to us via our Help Center.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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Slow and unsatisfactory customer service
A glitch in my theme caused my website to stop working for mobile users. After 10 days of the slowest customer service from Out of the Sandbox, no resolution was achieved. First OOTS said it was a Shopify issue, then a Printful issue, then "out of their scope." I didn't do anything different on my site than I'd been doing for a year when it suddenly stopped loading product pages and navigation correctly. Each time I'd receive an email from OOTS it would not resolve the issue, or be helpful in any way. I'd respond back and have to wait 24-48 hours for another non-satisfactory response. Though I've loved the look of my theme, the customer service and non-resolution was a huge disappointment. For an expensive theme like Turbo, not only have I lost money the last 10 days, but will need to spend more to hire an expert to resolve my issue. So so bummed.
January 16, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Kate,
We appreciate your positive comments about the Turbo theme’s design and for leaving your feedback on your support experience.
For clarity, our support team typically responds within 24 hours, though this can extend up to 3 business days during high-volume periods, as outlined in the support policy on our website.
For issues like the one described in your review, these often involve third party apps or customizations which are outside our scope of support. This is outlined in our Support Policy, and our support team is able to help point you in the right direction, but it is outside our scope of support to troubleshoot, implement, or fix any issued that have been introduced into the theme files by third party customizations or third party apps.
In these cases, we recommend removing the modifications to restore functionality or working with the app developer to diagnose the issue.
If additional support is required, we recommend reaching out to a Shopify Expert who can troubleshoot any compatibility issues between the theme and third party apps and/or customizations.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
THE WORST customer service I have ever…
THE WORST customer service I have ever seen.
They just seem to not care at all.
Pixel Union is just as bad (they purchase OOTSB)
December 28, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi John,
Thank you for sharing your experience with our support team.
We respond to all valid support requests submitted through our Help Center and typically do so within 24 hours, though our published response window is up to 3 business days based on ticket volume, as outlined in the policies found on our website.
Out of the Sandbox maintains clear policies to help merchants resolve theme-related issues efficiently. If you’ve experienced delays or still have an unresolved issue, we recommend submitting a request through the appropriate Help Center so our team can review it.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Terrible customer service
Terrible customer service, it's only a bot on the chat line, never a human. They "answer" within 24 hours, but nothing useful, no follow-up. No dialog to solve problems whatsoever. I wouldn't buy their themes again.
November 8, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hey Ell,
Thank you for sharing your support experience with us.
For clarity, our support is provided by a human team via email only, however, we do provide a live chat bot in our Help Center which can be used as a self-service tool to help you resolve your issues without needing to wait for one of our agents.
We offer this as a way for merchants to get the help they need during our off hours. There is always the option to connect with our team directly, as well, should you need any specific help that you are unable to find in our Help Center.
As outlined in the policies on our website, our support does not include custom development or help with third-party integrations, so these issues would require assistance from a Shopify Expert.
If you’re still experiencing issues with the theme, please reach out to us via our Help Center.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Flex is one of the most expensive…
Flex is one of the most expensive themes out there. OOTS staff is arrogant, reply takes up to a week, almost no problems solved. The last episode was a guy who gave himself access through a collaborator login without even asking or informing us, trying solve an issue. He completely messed up our quick view, blamed it on me, and got snappy when I reached out again after he went silent for 1 1/2 days. Since then never heard back from them. An absolutely ridiculous company who doesn't care if they harm your business. Stay away!!!
October 18, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Marc,
Thank you for noting the resolution and the positive outcome you had with our development & support teams!
We aim to respond to verified support requests within 24 hours, though during high-volume periods our current published window is up to 1–3 business days.
Our backlog during the time of your review was unusually high, but I’m happy to report that our wait times have since been consistently lower; often within hours!
Based on feedback, we’ve also made some improvements within our system so that if you do reply in the original ticket before we reach out, you will not lose your place in our queue.
If you need any assistance with your theme moving forward, please con’t hesitate to contact us through our Help Center.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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Sandboxx is a joke
Sandboxx is a joke. Price gouging military families and members. Our cards get to our grandson, BEFORE Sandboxx mail. As I understand it, retired USMC Major General Ray Smith “E-Tool Smith” is co-owner. If so, sir you should be absolutely ashamed to be associated with this crap company!
October 14, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi there,
Out of the Sandbox develops premium Shopify themes designed for merchants seeking professional, high-quality solutions for their e-commerce strorefronts on the Shopify platform.
Our pricing reflects the value, ongoing updates, and support included with each theme purchase.
Support is provided only to verified purchasers who contact us through the Help Center with a valid order number. As per our support policy, we aim to reply within 24 hours; however, please allow 1-3 business days. Response times may vary based on ticket volume and complex issues may take longer to resolve if they require additional research or consultation.
We encourage merchants to reach out directly for assistance related to theme use or licensing.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Paid $400 which was pretty much the…
Paid $400 which was pretty much the most expensive theme available. It TANKED our website in serps and there are CLS issues which they have not addressed. I would NOT recommend this theme or company at all
Avoid
October 3, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Christian,
Thank you for your feedback.
For clarity, our premium themes are developed to comply with all Shopify’s performance standards and are used successfully by thousands of merchants around the world.
Issues affecting search rankings or cumulative layout shift (CLS) can often be related to customizations or third-party apps rather than the theme itself. With that said, any change to the storefront, including publishing a new theme, can temporarily affect your store’s SEO.
While SEO optimization is outside the scope of our support listed on our website, we recommend reaching out to a Shopify Expert in these cases who can tailor a plan for your specific industry.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
I bought the most expensive Shopify…
I bought the most expensive Shopify Theme on the market. This is the slowest website ever known, only issues and no support. I've been in contact with Shopify and an app developer, both saying the issue comes from the Theme. In order to update this expensive Theme I have to pay even more. They advised to contact THEIR partners in order to install the Theme, which I did and I no response from them so far. Utterly ridiculous company with non existing Customer Support. Stay away from these cowboys!!!
September 21, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi there,
Thank you for you sharing your experience with the theme and our support.
For clarity, our premium Shopify themes are designed to deliver high performance and ongoing updates aligned with Shopify’s platform standards.
Theme-related performance issues can sometimes result from customizations, third-party apps, or external integrations, which may require additional development beyond the scope of support policy found on our website. As outlined in our Support Policy, we are unable to integrate, troubleshoot, or fix any issues with third party customizations or apps.
We recommend verified customers contact our support team directly for assistance, and for advanced setup or help with manual updates, consulting a Shopify Expert is often advised.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Non-existent customer support
Their themes are great, but it stops there. Once you’ve purchased a theme from them (by paying an exhorbitant amount of money) you are basically left to your own devices. Their customer support is practically NON EXISTENT. Nevermind that they have no live chat onsite, after purchasing their Turbo theme and implementing it with my Shopify store, I ran into some technical issues. I’ve sent countless emails through their “contact us” page over 6 months and NO ONE has ever gotten back to me (and in case you’re wondering, they didn’t go into my spam folder either as I clear these folders on a bi-weekly basis).
Given how much they charge for their themes, you’d expect some level of post-purchase support. I’ve had to hire external help (and therefore shell out MORE money) to help me figure out some aspects of the theme, which aren’t covered on OOTS’s FAQ pages. So my advice would be to purchase at your own risk, and don’t expect a response from them once you run into any issues. Grossly disappointing.
August 29, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Zee,
We appreciate your positive feedback regarding the quality of our themes and for sharing your experience with our support.
Our support team typically responds within 24 hours, with a published response window of up to 3 business days, exclusively to verified purchasers who submit requests through our Help Center with a valid order number.
If you do not hear back from one of our support agents after 3 business days and have checked your spam/junk folders, it’s likely that your mail provider is blocking our outgoing messages.
If you’re still experiencing issues with the theme, please reach out to us via our Help Center and use an alternate email that has a different domain from the previously used email.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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Better off with a FREE Shopify theme
This company used to make magical themes, now they produce the slowest site imaginable, full of cruft, complacency and zero customer service.
After 6 years my best advice is USE A FREE SHOPIFY THEME. Nothing beats a culture of excellence. Save your money!
July 5, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Val,
Thank you for sharing your feedback on our theme and support.
For clarity, our themes are designed to offer robust performance and ongoing updates that align with Shopify’s evolving platform standards.
Performance issues can often times be caused by customizations or third-party app integrations which fall outside our scope of support, as listed on our website.
We are unable to integrate, troubleshoot, or fix any issues with third party customizations or apps, and would recommend that you connect with the third party app developer directly, or with the developer you worked with to make these changes with.
We recommend merchants experiencing performance concerns contact our support team via our Help Center with a valid order number for a thorough review.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
This company is an absolute disgrace
This company is an absolute disgrace. I was initially going to cancel my order when I found out support is 1-3 business days unless you pay $100 for priority support. Which is absolutely ridiculous for a premium theme.
Hi ever after buying my theme for $400 I found out that it had a bug. This bug meant you literally could not use the theme. It wasn’t some small thing, the theme did not work in any way.
After a few days I got a reply saying they know about this bug and it can’t be fixed until an update. They however don’t know when that update will be.
I can’t believe how bad they are. Luckily I did get a refund. But this is blatant fraud.
Avoid at all costs
April 17, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi Baz,
Thank you for sharing your feedback on the theme and our support.
For clarity, our premium themes include support that typically responds within 24 hours, with a published window of up to 3 business days, without additional fees for verified purchasers.
Optional Priority Support is available at an extra charge, but this does not affect the timeliness of our responses for merchants not using this feature. This is separate product that we offer to those merchants who are looking to get speedier help, but is not something that is mandatory for theme support.
All known bugs that are store breaking, meaning the customers are unable to checkout, are patched up by our technical team during the support interaction.
For all non-store breaking bugs, these are addressed through scheduled updates aligned with Shopify’s platform changes and quality standards.
We maintain transparency and adhere to established policies regarding theme updates and support as listed on our website.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
Been waiting for a week for a reply…
Been waiting for a week for a reply over email after an update…. Zero response and 4 emails later!
April 6, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Out of the Sandbox
Hi John,
I appreciate your frustration regarding the wait time on your previous support ticket.
For clarity, we typically respond to support requests within 24 hours, with a published window of up to 3 business days during high volume periods, as outlined in the support policy on our website.
Your ticket was likely handled during a time of unusually high volume, but I’m pleased to announce that we have since made significant improvements to our support efficiency and the majority of tickets are now answer within 24 hours.
If you’re still experiencing issues with the theme, please reach out to us via our Help Center.
Regards,
Out Of The Sandbox
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