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KelbyOne

Name: KelbyOne
Rating: 2.8

2.8

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26 User Reviews

3.8

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2.8

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26 User Reviews

3.8

Overall Score

Compare

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LAST UPDATED: June 27th, 2019

KelbyOne Media Group has been an established group in the online learning business for over a decade. They offer more than 10,000 videos on subjects from shooting landscapes, portraits, sports and weddings, to improving personal photography businesses, to generating inspiration. All of these courses are offered 24-hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed on-demand, anytime, anywhere. KelbyOne strives to provide courses led by the most talented, knowledgeable and gifted instructors in the industry. With classes offered for beginners to experts, these professional photographers are able to answer questions, give advice and inspire creativity.

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The Good

Unlimited access
Transparency

After subscribing to KelbyOne, students gain access to an unlimited amount of courses and are free to pick and choose subjects they are most interested in. They can learn anywhere, anytime from any device. Subscribers also get discounts on the latest photography gear and hardware and receive monthly issues of Photoshop User magazine. Best of all, KelbyOne simulates a classroom environment that places learners directly next to the instructors as they explore and capture amazing images. Kelbyone is also a step ahead of some other online learning sites by not only listing their pricing information directly on their site, but also including a number of support features, including a relevant FAQ section, a blog, as well as email and phone support. They've also partnered with a number of top photo companies in the industry, including Adobe, a Fortune 500 company.

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The Bad

Pricing
No free trial

KelbyOne's prices are a bit higher than the competitive companies. However, this may be a result of the quality of service students receive in instruction and content. For the time being, the site's lack of direct communication with the instructor is also a downfall for the company, especially for beginners who need extra leadership and instructional support. Also, complaints concerning billing and collection issues seem to be common for KelbyOne. A few users complained about being unknowingly charged for a service they never subscribed to, while others stated that the company refused to honor the set price stated in the terms and conditions. Customers have also complained that the company charged them for unauthorized services. KelbyOne offers no free trial - not even a free demo - of its services. In short, KelbyOne is lacking in three major areas:

Issues with billing and delivery
No free trial or demo of its services
Problems with their mobile apps

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The Bottom Line

All in all, for serious photographers looking to expand their skills and gain inspiration from some of the world's greatest professionals, KelbyOne is one of the best in the industry. Though the price may not be affordable for everyone, subscribers have access to over 10,000 intriguing videos, instructed by 92 of the industries most renowned individuals. Aside from not being AICC or SCORM compliant and not offering any live-interaction courses or completion certificates, most customer reviews and user ratings are outstanding.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

2.8

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26 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

31%

4 grade

12%

3 grade

2 grade

1 grade

46%

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Charles Kok

I subscribed to a 7 day trial with Kelbyone. I informed Kelbyone that I will not continue with the subscription after the trial due to the fact that I reside in South Africa and the subscription fee is o expensive due to the current currency. I received an email from Kelbyone confirming that my subscription has been cancelled. However, on 31 August 2016 an amount of 19.99 US dollar was deducted from my account via PayPal. According to the Kelbyone website my subs expire 7 September 2016. This despite the fact that the full monthly subscription was deducted for September. So I am very disappointed in the fact that firstly Kelbyone did not cancel my subscription when requested to and secondly that despite the fact that they deducted a subscription fee for September, they now only provide subs until 7 September 2016. I have sent 3 emails to Subscriptions an have to date not received any feedback.

7 years ago

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Chip Linck Griffin Humble, TX

I subscribed many years ago, and was pleased with the content. I went back to look at subscribing again to see what was updated. Looking at this site, I am troubled by something very glaring in the reviews. There were many bad reviews, and then out of nowhere, 7 glowing 5 star reviews in the span of 2 days. Seems a little odd. As for the course. I felt it was worth it for a year, but after that I had no desire to keep paying for new content. Not at that rate. Besides, the Internet has many more resources available now than it did back when I was first looking for information. I was hoping the cost had been adjusted to reflect what the rest of the market is like now.

5 years ago

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Don Stark Trabuco Canyon, CA

Kelby One has an amazing amount of information about photography all presented by professionals who are experienced and know what they are doing. This is unlike a lot of the information on the net where the presenters don't know very much. You can pick and choose what you want to learn and do it at your own pace.

5 years ago

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Mike Burkes Raleigh, NC

This is a great opportunity for any photographer. There are lessons for just about anything you need or inspiration to get you motivated! Would love to see some mirrorless camera information. Reviews of new equipment seem very Canon/Nikon focused.

5 years ago

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Glenn C Tampa, FL

This site is AWESOME if you want to learn Photoshop or Lightroom or Photography. Plus the review on Best Company is pretty bogus. KelbyOne does offer a free trial membership and their pricing is great compared to other sites. every time I deal with them too, their support and helpdesk are amazing.

6 years ago

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Ross Chevalier

I've been a member for ten years. I have no complaints and while the content has always been excellent, customer service has improved substantially since the restructuring. All organizations must continually evolve, this one does. The web presence is better, their new member community is outstanding, and the new app is easier to use and faster. There is a 10 day free trial, contrary to the article. I encourage those interested in learning online to try the service.

6 years ago

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Shortly after I sent the previous review, I managed to establish contact on the phone with Kelbyone. The conversation with the person by Kelbyone was indeed a very pleasant experience. My questions was answered and the issue was solved fast and efficiently. Thanks for that. The person I had the conversation with, told me, that the introduction of the new site is giving them some starting issues. Now I am fully satisfyed, and witout the contact problems, I would give Kelbyone 10 out of 10. If they manage to solve the contact issues in the future, they simply are the best.

8 years ago

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JFC Kennebunk, ME

The $99/year option is of limited use, actually it is annoying, as most of the good recent content is not available. However, a lot of the older content is still good as is some of the very limited newer content. Scott K is one of the most gifted Lightroom/Photoshop/lighting/posing instructors, period.

5 years ago

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Billy Parker

I been a member of KelbyOne for 3 years. The content is excellent but the customer service lady, who's name is SALLY, is horrible. She is rude, lies, and if she can't answer your question she will lie to you. When I got off the phone with her, I was totally stressed out. She didn't want to help me with my issue and I had a shoot that i need some information about. Stay away from her. She needs personal relations training. She shouldn't be working customer service support. I hope her supervisor calls me so I can tell them that she is down right horrible for customer support. Her name is sally. She pronounced her last name very fast so that I couldn't understand her because I told her that I was going to complain about her. Once again content of KelbyOne one is good.

7 years ago

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Stan Burg Buffalo Grove, IL

I am giving them a 5 because the Course Content is great but their customer service is terrible. If you want a decent learning experience, go for it. Courses are well worth it. However, if you want help, forget it.They state that you can ask questions by filling out the form on their web site. I did that but you never hear from them again. Follow ups do not matter. So, Courses YES, Service, NO!

7 years ago

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Jim P Annandale, VA

Do NOT subscribe to KelbyOne, especially if you're a Photoshop enthusiast. When Scott Kelby began the switch from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP – his former company), he worked his staff at a frenzied pace to develop every module possible for the new KelbyOne site. When he had extracted every ounce of their genius, he fired them outright, and then told his subscribers that they were merely reclassified as contractors. He assured his subscribers that they would be still be contributing the same video tutorials that the end-users had always enjoyed. To date, not one of the previous employees has posted anything, and they are all establishing their own businesses to make a living since they were so crassly dismissed. There are far more resources available on-line or even at your local library to hone your Photoshop and photography skills rather than add one more dollar of profit to such a callous individual.

8 years ago

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I have been very satisfyed with the excellent quality of the site and their instructors for years now. It is indeed very nice to have the site for learning and refreshing skills. In that sense, Kelbyone quality is A+++++. Now to the NIGTHMARE: They dont pick up the phone, when called They dont answer inquirys made via the site But they are indeed very very good at sending mails with offers, sometimes several mail per day..And their payment reception is functioning very good as well. Really, I dont understand; when you have sutch a fantastic product, and indeed it is, why not have a minimum of service in membercontact??Answer the questions and pick up the phone, and I would be a happy member and user of Kelbyone.

8 years ago

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Will New York, NY

Took a seminar with Scott two three years ago and it was really good. He's great. With it came a membership tp Kelbyone. I did not need the magazines and the updated email solicitations so I cancelled and unsubscribed from his services and especially from MAIL. Since then Kelbyone (Scott Kelby) has NEVER stopped spamming me with daily offers and emails. I have unsubscribed at least 10 times, I have called them three times and was promised to be removed but they never did. There customer service people are horrible. Finally I spoke to one of Scott's partners who was also was outright rude. If I get some time I will file a lawsuit against these creeps for internet harassment. Scott seems like a good guy, the rest of his org are grade A creeps which does not reflect well on him.

8 years ago

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Ed Luczak Gilbertsville, PA

Content presented on the site is excellent. They have a wide variety of courses,so why a 3? As good as the courses are is as bad as the website is. Desktop, mobile and their app is HORRIBLE! It is so bad I finally cancelled my membership after two months. I would love to be able to access these great lessons but it is nearly impossible and incredibly frustrating and my emails have gone unanswered. Scott, love your course but can't take the website you longer. When I spend half of my time watching the hour glass, restarting the app, using pull down menus hat don't work and a search bar that Is a joke I just can't do it any longer. Bring the presentation level up and I may return someday.

8 years ago

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Teo Morell Fort Lauderdale, FL

I subscribed to Kelbyone because I really like some of the instructors they have and the offered courses. On the other hand, I have never seen a professional website and mobile app as bad as Kelbyone's. Also, their support is null; I have open support tickets and 72 hours passed without any response nor acknowledgement. Website: - Once your profile is created, you cannot change your password. - There is a pseudo-history. It does not remember where you left the course. You are forced to navigate within the course to find where you left. They could mimic PluralSights websites for this matter. - History does not show all watched courses. iOS app: - I cannot even get to log in. There are several reviews indicating this same problem (so it is not me). - The funny part... I can download the courses (up to two at a time) without being logged in). They might be loosing some money right there. - The app crashes constantly. For example, try to move forward on a video. - Searching by instructor freezes. Also, several people are reporting this problem. - When the video is maximized to full screen, the audio goes off. Android app: - On this one, yes I can log in, but guess what? I cannot download the courses offline. It just stays at 0%. - Full screen video does not work. - The app crashes constantly. I guess Kelbyone has not invested much (or any) money in quality assurance (QA). They also need to provide minimum support to their users. The good; their instructors rock!

9 years ago

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Julian Roberts

Fantastic resource for photographers that keeps getting better. I use it most days and wouldn't be without it.

5 years ago

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Douglas Wilson Hurricane, UT

Received a two-month free subscription. The third month I was charged, so I called and canceled and tried to get reimbursed for the error. There was no warning of the charge, no email, letter, text, nothing. They refused to refund the money. Bad business practice.

7 years ago

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James C

Scott is a talented trainer but I have been left disappointed by the quality and number of new videos on Kelby One. I can easily find similar, newer and often better, content for free on YouTube. They need to step up their game big time to justify the fee.

7 years ago

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E Wolpe Washington, DC

They are not what they were a few years ago. The talent that was there when I first joined (the reason for joining) has mostly been fired. Monthly publication which I looked forward to is now digital, and not worth the time to try and read. Really miss what was!

7 years ago

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RMG

I'm having a similar experience as LN has had, except I'm having no luck at all getting past the Muzak holding pattern. I've created an account, it shows I'm paid up for a year, but when I try to view a course they want more money! LN- what is the secret to getting through to these folks? RMG

8 years ago

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D Akron, OH

I have been a member for only two months.. though I find the teaching tools great! However ...The customer service and feedback is terrible. I have sent two to three service requests with no reply and called and no one answers its an answering machine and still no reply. I am about to cancel the service because of the poor customer service!

8 years ago

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Mark Szemple Edison, NJ

I have been a KelbyOne member for years and the amount of content that is available is priceless.

5 years ago

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Thomas Meurling Lompoc, CA

It the best and most comprehensi training for photo and editing on the market

5 years ago

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Moshe

KelbyOne is my go to for information and guidance with photography.

5 years ago

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J Tampa, FL

KelbyOne has the best courses on Photoshop, Lightroom, and photography.

5 years ago

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Alexandra's Corner Tampa, FL

Sadly, my experience with this company changed for the worst in the last two months. Members are not appreciated, and neither are their experiences.

6 years ago

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