Subscribing to ManyPixels issues [updated]

I gave ManyPixels a go twice (first the Basic plan, then the Premium one), but canceled both times after a month or so. I didn't have crazy high expectations, and wasn't in a hurry, but some of the output was downright sloppy - curves had jagged edges, things weren't symmetrical, etc. I did like some of the concepts they came up with for me, but the execution wasn't there.

I've had some similar experience - Not so many issues with the billing but I've not received any of the designs as per my expectations

Understand that I went in with very high expectations after seeing: Harvy App by one of the fellow indiehackers on here.

But I ended up with these results: https://imgur.com/a/210z4Xv

They were not as per my expectations, the tiger illustration was what ended it for me. I had asked for a Tiger illustration for a project that might've been likely called ServiceTiger and wanted a tiger illustration with a tiger with wrench in his hand.

I since moved my work to 99designs and having a lot of luck there, but then again I'm paying almost 8 times of what I might've paid to ManyPixel in one month.

I guess you get what you pay for. IMO, It's very hard to maintain quality at the scale at which Manypixel is currently operating.

I've also tried Penji and in comparison they were much better on the design aspect of things - but they dropped the ball on communication and being responsive. Manypixel on the other nailed it on constant communication and dialog on my design requests.

I signed up early on and stuck it out through the initial period where it was honestly terrible. In my first month I had like one terrible draft in the whole time and a raft of unanswered web chat/emails. Since then it has improved, though almost every time I submit a brief I get a "it'll be late as it's a national holiday here" reply. Could be bad luck?

My main gripe though is how disjointed everything is. Web chat was present but seemingly never attended. The payment service is entirely separate from the brief submission service (itself buggy and bad UX), which again is entirely different from another account which is some kind of "account" portal for which I can see no purpose at all (there's nothing there). I know it's almost received wisdom to not build out your own systems and rig together no-code systems instead, but it's awful for users. I have to guess which is more appropriate for any particular query and invariably get met with silence anyway!

Quality-wise, some designs are honestly great, others are comically bad as if they rushed out in MS Paint in a half hour. I don't think there's any way of working with the same designer so it's just blind luck there. I mention this, but usually another round of feedback can get it fixed (probs with a new designer?). This is actually the least of my problems with the service.

All these downsides aside, when it works it works great but after nearly a year the growing pains excuses are wearing thin.

I was actually thinking of giving them a try and for that low price I was suspicious that their quality will be subprime and now I know my suspicions were right.

I had 2 months with them and my subscription will expire in a couple of days.
In these 2 months, I asked several types of works, from logo to UI/UX, to websites design, etc.

The only concerns I had were:

• poor customer support for any not-technical issues. I asked for some information or change to the invoices and I never got a feedback, even after asking several times.
• sometimes I asked to have 3 completely different version of a logo or other types of works, explicitly saying that I was happy if they would spend 3 times the normal time to deliver. Every time I got the 3 versions after a couple of days only, but unfortunately, the 3 different versions, were all very similar.
  I saw a very big variance in the quality of work (which is understandable), some were good, some so-so.
  In general, I'm satisfied with the service, especially considering the price, there was no chance I could get what I got at the same price.

Hey Ryan!

Sorry to hear Manypixels didn't work out for you. We are currently making a lot of changes (for the better) which will fix those issues.

As regard to your account, I double checked and we've refunded all charges you have made to us. Feel free to email me at robin@manypixels.co if there are still some problems (I also DM'ed you my WhatsApp on Twitter). In addition, I'll gladly keep you subscribed at no charges for a month so you can see how we can improve things.

NOW - as regard to Manypixels: Our goal is to create the best, on-demand marketplace for any type of creative requests.

We're still learning on how to best do this and your feedback helps :) Design is a complicated product to sell and we're working on a v3 which should fix a lot of the quality issues you've encountered. I'll make sure to give a preview to you about this.

Finally, here is some of the work we've done in the past - I'll also check on our site to see the issues with the work not displaying properly: https://dribbble.com/manypixels

I checked out a few unlimited design service options for my blog and can see from both sides how the expectations can be misaligned. Clients can feel the "I'm paying each day for work" which makes design reviews and waiting times frustrating. On the other side, the services are using offshore teams (and sometimes a few in-house designers) to complete work quickly from a large queue.

I think the number of successful use-cases for an unlimited design service is quite slim and would perhaps suit social media post & print material creation the best.

Thanks for sharing this. Maybe they've worked for some so I hope this post doesn't hurt them negatively. But still great to hear from a few fellow members here that it hasn't been so far!

@Vinrob

@ryanwinchester, I was going to work with them but chose not to due to your posting here. Thank you for the heads up.

It's funny because harvy.app is what pulled me in, too.

Let me know if you source any similar designers/services that resemble the quality and craftsmanship of harvy.app.

Best wishes.

@ryanwinchester sent you DM on Twitter.

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