Official Review
This is a fully functioning service that I believe deserves a spot in the BlackHat World community.
Overview
My business partner and I needed a website for our Shopify store. After speaking with Mark Starr and a few other sellers here on BHW, we decided to go with him based on the examples he provided. We wanted specific elements from each of the sites he showed us and hoped to have it completed within 2–3 weeks.
Communication
Overall, communication was smooth. We spoke via Skype. There were delays on our end, which naturally caused delays on his. The timeline stretched to 3–4 weeks, especially as edits came in.
Performance
This is where things became more difficult. We asked for elements that matched his example websites, but had to repeat ourselves several times. Yes, everything was listed clearly in a Google Doc, but during revisions, we had to triple-check that our requests were being addressed.
Some features shown in his example sites couldn't be replicated on ours. In one case, he said a paid add-on was needed. We would’ve appreciated knowing about potential extra costs upfront, especially since the example sites didn’t seem to use add-ons.
Payment
We paid via Bitcoin (with a fee), 50% upfront and the rest upon completion. There was some confusion around pricing. On BHW, he advertised a 50% discount, but our customizations and Skype discussions led to different pricing. I appreciate him working through it with us, but I had hoped for the price advertised.
Revisions
He was open to revisions and made multiple changes as requested. We went through about three major rounds, which I’m grateful for. we had to compromise on some original hopes and designs—even though those were based on his own examples...
In the end,
while going back two or three times became a bit frustrating. I don’t mind mistakes or forgotten items if someone is willing to fix them.
Pros -
Fully functioning Shopify website
Revamped our theme and added new elements/products
Edited Instagram images for custom use
Stripped and repurposed videos for our site
Fixed broken elements
Open to revisions
Cons -
Number of products added didn’t match what was discussed
Product pages needed multiple revisions
Quality of final product didn’t fully match his example work
Some expected features weren’t possible or required extra cost
Final Thoughts
I only wish the features outlined in the Google Doc—based on his own examples—had been fully achieved. Also, the product pages initially had no descriptions, which we had to go back and fix.
While I’ve been critical here, I want to emphasize that he was a nice guy, and we ended up with a solid website after all the revisions. If you can't find someone else on BHW who's responsive and willing to revise their work, I'd say give this guy a shot—he knows what he's doing.
Verdict
It was okay. Thank you
@Digitalmarkstar for all the hard work you put into everything.