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Posted on Jul 20, 2007 - 2:36am by John P. in Reviews, Work
A couple of weeks ago I decided to order some business cards that I could hand out instead of having to write down my domain name on pieces of paper for people when my blog comes up in conversation. So, I went over to VistaPrint.com and gave their process a whirl.
It took me about 45 minutes to search through all of their different designs until I had finally decided on and customized my new cards. By the time I was done I ordered two sided, full color, glossy cards on the heaviest weight paper. Yeah, I’m a sucker for upgrades.
I found the entire process to be relatively simple. You pick the design you want, fill in a form with your info, then customize things by deleting unused fields, dragging others around to where you want them, and changing fonts if necessary. All in all, if you can use MS PowerPoint, you can create your own business cards.
I was generally pleased with the order process with only one exception… the pricing “scheme”. When you are designing your products the prices are really cheap. But where they get you is at the very end when it comes time to pay for shipping.
The standard shipping is 21 days for about $7.50. You can bump that up to 7 days for $15 or 3 days for even more. Anyway, when it came right down to it even with the shipping it was cheaper than local printers as well as a couple of other online printers that I looked into.
Now, after I completed the order for 1,000 of these babies for a grand total of $47 including shipping, the system game me an offer to get an extra 500 for only $4.50 more, so I took it. This means that 1,500 full color, two sided, heavy duty, glossy cards came to a grand total of $51.46 delivered.
Over the next week I began to receive e-mails almost every day from VistaPrint.com trying to sell me more and more stuff. It was so annoying that I had to actually use their unsubscribe function in the e-mail. It seems to me that when a company is this aggressive you also have to worry about them selling your address to other companies.
About a week later the cards arrived in the mail. Generally speaking I have to say I’m a bit disappointed with them, but only for one reason. In the screen capture above – which is what I saw when I was proofing the cards – all of the black on the front of the card is clearly the same color dark black. But when I received the cards there is a distinct color differential between the photo area at the top and the rest of the black background. To me, this destroys the aesthetics of the cards, though others have not noticed or told me it looks fine.
I intend to contact the company to ask them to be reprinted as they appear on screen, then we’ll find out what kind of customer service they actually offer. But all in all I would say that so far I would not order from them again. The combination of Spamming me, extraordinarily high shipping costs, and marginal quality printing don’t leave me wanting to rush out and order more from them.
If anyone else knows of a great online printing company please share your experience down in the comments. Thanks!
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We have always ordered from http://www.affordableaddresslabels.com that all the ones listed in comments here, and espcially not vista print, they never sent us labels and never credited our card back, we always get our address labels in as little as 3 days
guys- the trouble with Vista print and all the others like them is the fact that they are too darn big to offer any personal service (35,000 orders a day), thats like asking McDonald’s to cook your quarter pounder medium rare! Order from someone who is actually a Printer by trade (me) with over 30 years experience in Printing (me). Rather than making pots of money I only work to make a living for my family without the corporate greed. You’ll get what you want from me. By the way I’m looking for agents in North America. I shipped my second US job over last year. I have a very small operation but very it’s becoming very successful in Europe.
Hi – just a comment that I had exactly the same experience with Vistaprint (and unsubscribed myself) only my business cards NEVER SHOWED UP. I paid the extortionate shipping charges too which annoys me no end. Not only that but they have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. When I tried their email it came back as it didn’t exist, then I tried contacting them through their webform – to which they replied that they were too busy to reply and to try again!!! If customer service is too busy to reply to your enquiry you have to wonder what problems others are experiencing…
All in all, don’t order anything from Vistaprint!
I wish I had checked out this site before I “ordered.” After reading their fine print, I decided not to order from them. I checked the Shopping Cart to make sure that nothing was there and exited the site. Well, now all these 3rd party charges are showing up and am having to deal with all that nonsense! Vista Print is definitely NOT a company I will ever use and have warned all those in my email address book. Am thinking about starting a “Trash Vista Print” campaign. :o)
SO frustrating! I can not stand Vista Print. When cancelling an order it states it will be refunded back to me but in fact it is given as a store credit. When I placed my second order, it did not offer the store credit but asked for my credit card again. I was stupid enough to give it because I assumed the first amount would be refunded back. Customer Service is TERRIBLE. I will try to WARN as many people as I can about Vista Print. I also agree 100% about the shipping options. Way too much and way too long.
vista print is a rip off i used them for one year so far i have a website and all the stuff off the website i have seen another company with the same log so my $5,000 on advertisment all in the bin awaiting a website transfer as you can do so littlen on your website so i got a new service and they tell me to wait 60 days so that means i have to pay them another $60 bucks stay away from these guys rip off waste of money even uploading you own design looks nothing like the one on the computer
I think this falls into the “you get what you pay for” category. Printing is a craft elevated to an art form when performed by the right people. Visit your local print shop and pay what it’s really worth.
1,500 cards for 50bucks! If you can read your name and URL you’ve got nothing to complain about. You probably couldn’t buy the paper yourself for that price.
Support local business AND get a decent job produced. From what I understand VistaPrint produces your cards overseas in the Netherlands. And judging by all the shadiness they engage in to make a profit, they should just charge what the cards are worth instead of undercutting the rest of the industry and making people think that paying $50 for 1500 cards is normal.
Check out this site before you order : http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/vistaprint.html
The problem with Vista Print is not the cards and service; they are involved in a scam. I bought cards that were delivered promptly and very nice but they used my credit card details to register with a sister company called VPRewards. Unauthorised, VPrewards debit my credit card monthly using your purchase details as a ‘membership’. My bank are investigating this as a fraud. A search of the web reveals that this is taking place on a grand scale and there are many cheated customers. One other thing the business cards are free if you have their discrete advertising and in doing so you inadvertently pass on this scam to your customers which is a further kick in the teeth.
That seems to be the issue with a lot of these online printers. Here is a company that specializes in printing “quality” business cards and postcards. http://www.premiumcards.net
One thing though, I noticed John said and I quote, “In the screen capture above – which is what I saw when I was proofing the cards – all of the black on the front of the card is clearly the same color dark black. But when I received the cards there is a distinct color differential between the photo area at the top and the rest of the black background”. Now, that wouldn’t be a reason for a reprint. Your screen is projecting light and the cards are reflecting light off of colors printed on paper. Your screen may not be calibrated correctly or you may not have submitted a “cmyk file. Never the less, I have heard too many bad stories about vista anyway. Most were that you get suckered in to junk.
Premiumcards.net uses ULTRA THICK 16pt cardstock. The colors are brilliant and rich. The price is $49 for 1000 and shipping is about $9. Business cards and postcards are all they do. When you sign up for an account with them, they don’t send you anything via email unless you ask them to. Once you sign up, you get a welcome envelope sent out the same day with a couple of nice samples. Anyway, I got some cards with high gloss and round corners for a few bucks more and they got to me in about 8 days including the weekend. I paid $67.51 total with shipping and the price was awesome for what you get. No spam, better card stock, faster service and great customer service. It was worth every penny
I would guess the reason your blacks are not dark deep black is not the printers fault. It’s your file. If you use only 100% black you will get a flat washed out dark gray. My suggestion is that when ever you want a dark solid back you need to make what is called a “rich black” in cymk. To find out how to do this go to: http://www.colorprintingpros.com/faq.php. They have a lot of great tips and tricks the pros know about how to design for print. They also have a Free File Review to make sure your file will print as you hope they will. If they find a problem they will advise you of it and offer suggestions on how to fix it. 16pt Business Cards with free overall glossy UV or Matte/Dull aqueous coating start at $39 for 1,000 and you don’t need to register for an account. The quality of there printing is the best I’ve seen and they offer unique optional WOW FACTOR Effects you can add to your cards to make you standout and get noticed.
This company is a terrific resource for all your advertising, sales and marketing literature.
They have raised the bar for online gang run printing with more options and services other companies can’t or don’t offer. I am a graphics designer and I resell printing so I need a company that make me look good and they always do. No one can print a better job or offer better customer service than Color Printing Pros.
This seems a little self serving; clicking on Jorrocks takes you to Catalog Graphics, of which Color Printing Pros is a division of them. They may be decent printers, but I wouldn’t take this comment as an independent endorsement.
I ordered from VistaPrint and did not notice the extra service checkbox or maybe I did and went back to change something and if flipped back on. They I started getting my credit card hit with a monthly charge from another company. The web says it is a VistaPrint scam. I like the cards, but to have to pay for them over and over again sucks. I contacted my credit card chargeback department. If you buy from VistaPrint use your credit card companies temporary/one-time credit card service to avoid extra charges & work.
I ordered business cards & address label in February”08, paid for it, received the cards, not perfect but tolerable. Problem is they have been hiyying my credit card since then with the same amount. There is no cutomer service hence hence after paying them 5 time more than than the original cost I have decided to tale firm action against them. God knows how many people have been dealt with in this manner. I found that they are aggressive and not so reliable company.
We ordered from that site http://www.affordableaddresslabels.com and received our wedding labels that look great in 3 days, no spam emails, no extra charges! got 280 labels for the price of $12.90, we used them for all of our thank you notes
I have been ordering from VistaPrint for YEARS and have ordered 1000’s of cards for myself, family members and friends as well as other items. I have never been nothing but VERY satisfied. I have NEVER been charged incorrectly. One time I actually made a mistake and called them and the took it off my order and gave me credit with no problem. I do get a lot of e-mails, but they are always offering welcomed awesome offers. No company is perfect, but I think this one has gotten a bad name and deserve another look!
Just a thought!
I’ve never been a huge fan of VistaPrint’s business cards. I’ve ordered them before and they’ll use 80# card stock. They’re flimsy and cheap looking.
Among other sites I prefer from are http://www.printerfetch.com, http://www.48hourprint.com, and http://www.uprinting.com. They offer 14 pt. gloss card and produce a higher quality product. Uprinting in particular will send you a sample booklet which has all their paper types, coating types, and offset and digital press examples. Just got it today.
I am having a very frustrating experience with VistaPrint. I ordered my cards 15 days ago and I’m still waiting for them to be delivered, despite ordering with a 7-day delivery. This is an exercise in frustration and VistaPrint’s response to my complaint has not impressed me.
I will not be ordering from them again.
sometimes these big companies make mistakes not only vistaprint.com but also others like overnightprints.com. Sure, they are cheaper so we hope they can have greater services.
Yeah, I have ordered from them before and the print quality is pretty bad. But you get what you pay for. If your not looking for anything spectacular this is probably the place, but if you want your business cards or whatever you get to really impress people, Vista Print is not the place to get it done.
My last order was through a place called printing you can trust…more expensive, but the printing was very nice.
unauthorised charges were found on my credit card from vista print 1 day ago.
all they said was “oops”.
Yeah, right…we didnt order anything but they just chrged our card.
Sounds like a scam
I had the worst experience working with Vista Print. All i wanted was a set of folders to hand out to customers along with some literature on my business. Well, not only did vista print screw up my original order, they somehow managed to lose both the original and a re-order in shipping. so, after they printed a third and i finally received it (almost 3 weekes after placing the first order) and it looks horrible. the quality sucks and it looks like a bunch of teenagers printed the folders in their home inkjet and put a glossy cover on it. on top of that, i could barely understand the people in their custoemr service, because they were all from INDIA!!!!!!!!! this might be the worst company i have dealt with, and i have dealt with some bad ones. i do not reccomend Vist Print and i thinkw e need to band together to make sure no one ever uses this company for printing needs.
I agree with you. Blog as much as you can about this business. HORRIBLE!
I have put in several order of different items with VistaPrint. Mostly, I have been quite happy with what I’ve received from them. There have been two episodes where things didn’t go right. The first time I ordered cards for both my wife and I, each one with a different illustration of our faces, I wasn’t completely happy with the color saturation on one, and the black level on another, and told them so. They re-ran the cards at no cost and shipped them right away, but there wasn’t any real difference in the quality. I ended up with twice as many usable cards for the same price and am not necessarily unhappy, though I will try to improve the images when I re-run them.
The second screw up was a postcard that I ordered shipped in 6 days for an art show I was doing. The cards came in about 5 days late because Fed Ex had them sitting somewhere on the other side of the country on a pallet. VistaPrint immediately removed any and all charges and I got them for free. It took 5 minutes. I question their shipping reliability, but no ethical problem here. The cards themselves were stunningly beautiful—way beyond my expectation. I was wise enough to make them generic, so no real loss there.
As far as the $14.99 automatic billing that people keep complaining about, I so far haven’t found any problems. You have to read things before you sign off. The $10 discount is based on voluntarily signing up for the discount rewards. I have taken advantage of these before and have found them to work, if you’re willing to do the necessary reading and the hoops they put you through. But they do work if your time isn’t that valuable to you. With some practice, you can actually get good at it and save some money as long as you unsubscribe from the offers within 30 days. That’s your responsibility, not theirs. Kind of like buying a sub prime mortgage. Read the fine print. It’s kind of Basic Survival 101 and you can’t be lazy about it. But it does work. Like anything else, you have to learn the system.
i’ve used 48hourprint a few times. their prices are on the higher end of the scale. you’re looking at 75-85 bucks for a thousand business cards. but i’ll tell you what, i’ll fork over a few more dollars for quality of the product and for the credibility of the company. i’ve had to use the customer service once and i found the response to be prompt and helpful. i was able to save 10% by searching for online coupons.
i was tempted to try out a cheaper vendor when i looked at how much you could save by a number of different sources. in my hour of research however, i came to the conclusion that you get what you pay for. and although some of the less expensive options may be reliable it’s not worth the risk for me. i just placed another order with 48 hour print. if i am disappointed with the product in any way i shall return with the specifics.
Vistaprint is terrible. I used their template for a custom designed business card. Three times I went back and forth with their customer service. All three times Vistaprint screwed up the job. Don’t waste your time and money. Vistaprint is absolutely the worst. Although expensive, I have found Kinkos to be the best.
I just ordered from VistaPrint – first time ever using their service and definitely the last. I wish I would have found this blog before I tried them.
Ordered my Christmas cards because they had the design I liked. Yes, there was a 50% savings but paid the 50% savings in shipping costs.
I was HUGELY DISAPPOINTED with the order. I’ve ordered collage photo cards before (not from VistaPrint obviously) – the pictures on the card were worth nothing since it was so small! I will not be using them as my holiday cards.
Called VistaPrint the very next day to put their “Customer Satisfaction” to the test. Got a non-English speaking dude who sent me through the “100 questions” before he agreed to refund me. But no refund on the shipping – just the crappy cards they sent.
Very bad – never experienced anything like this. Next time, I will stick to something I know.
So today, I am scrambling to order my Christmas cards – very sucky!!!
I have used Vista print to get cheap business cards for some of my website clients and haven’t had any issues. Sorry to here about yours. Hopefully Vista Print has turned things around since 2007!
I tried VistaPrint once before and never again. May I suggest using 123Print instead? Much better. More friendly. You get exactly what you order.
I ordered 120 postcards to be sent to my best clients. I also added myself, and two of my other locations, to the mailing list. I received a mangled, damaged, bent and torn postcard, as did my other two locations. The damage to our professional reputation cannot be undone. The layout and print quality were acceptable, but I ordered new postcards, not used toilet paper!
Do NOT ever order postcards from VistaPrint. Local printshops charge more because they do not destroy your postcards, and your business image, before they mail them out.
Never again, and I wish I never did in the first place.
Check out…
BluegrassPrint.com
They are very inexpensive. 1,000 two-sided business cards with uv gloss is only $29.00. With shipping it is definitely less than Vista.
I cannot contact vistaprint by email and the help line is always busy from the UK easy to pay but impossible to get problems resolved beware
Our pricing is not meant to compete with the “no customer service, hidden charge, crappy print quality and leave you dissapointed” online print sources.
We are real people running an honest high quality service – give us a try
1000 full color both sides with uv high gloss printed on premium 14 pt cardstock for $76.00
According to the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/06/AR2006050600160_pf.html this negative option selling scam earned Ventura $650 million in revenue in 2006.
I have a huge blog post with all the details of all of the different scamming sites Vistaprint and Adaptive Affinity run and how best to get a refund.
http://www.hubbers.com/index.php/i-got-scammed-by-vistaprint-and-adaptive-marketing-and-adaptive-affinity-ltd-and-amazon/