Check your We Are Underground theme ASAP - BFCM disaster

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A critical bug has affected multiple We Are Underground themes (Testament, Icon, Mr Parker, Fashionopolism, and Vintage versions) purchased before January 2020, causing severe issues during the crucial Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales period.

Key Problems:

  • Mobile navigation failures
  • Slideshow images not displaying
  • Variant selection broken (customers unable to add items to cart)
  • Store conversion rates plummeted during peak shopping days

Business Impact:
One merchant reported thousands in lost revenue and wasted ad spend, with the issue only discovered when a customer reported cart problems on Cyber Monday.

Developer Response:
The theme developer sent instructions to update to the latest version (free for previous purchasers from Shopify Theme Store). However, when the affected merchant requested a refund for the original purchase price, the CEO declined but offered a free new theme instead.

Current Status:
The merchant has lost trust in the developer and is switching to a different theme. The incident raises concerns about theme maintenance and developer accountability for critical bugs affecting paying customers during high-stakes sales periods.

Summarized with AI on November 24. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I have We Are Underground’s ‘Testament’ theme that’s been working fine for years.
Hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars prepping for BFCM marketing.
Small Biz Saturday - my paid ads are getting no sales, store conversion rate plummets.
On Cyber Monday, a shopper emails me and says they can’t add variants to cart. What?
Hours looking at theme code trying to figure out if I messed something up.

Tuesday morning I get an email from the Theme Developer, and the subsequent conversation:

Critical theme support issue> If you are using one of our Shopify themes that was installed over 2 years ago and have not since updated to a later version, and are experiencing sudden issues with mobile navigation, slideshow image visibility and or variant selection then we recommend that you follow our support document that delivers a simple, permanent fix.> > This impacts some Testament, Icon, Mr Parker, Fashionopolism, and Vantage theme versions purchased before January 2020> > Instructions> We recommend updating your theme to the most recent version where possible. This is free to all Shopify merchants who have purchased a copy of the theme previously from Shopifys theme store.

With a link to instructions ‘fix the problem’.

I’ve used this theme with zero problems until BFCM 2022. Then, boom - thousands in revenue and wasted ad spend lost - not to mention brand reputation.
I have zero trust in this developer now, so I’m going with a different theme.
I requested a refund for the original purchase price of the theme. The CEO was like, “Sorry, can’t do that. We can offer you a new free theme though”.

No thank you.