Thumbs up for Vistaprint

[MrsPWN]

I know it is nice to support small local printers but I just wanted to share this for people setting up on a tight budget.

Earlier today I clicked on a google ad on the right hand side of this forum, it offered 250 premium business cards for £2.50 with a free metal card holder included.

I designed my cards (actually using them as comp slips) and uploaded my own artwork.
I then clicked on the free offers and designed a pen for myself, rubber stamp (for return address on parcels) and a bumper sticker (maybe naff, we shall see).

Then I decided to order a small banner for £17.49.

When I clicked on checkout it showed the business cards for £8.99, well not happy with this change I called their toll free number and spoke to a nice man in Tunisia. As I am a new customer he said he could do me a better deal that £2.50 and he adjusted my cart so I got everything for free, including the banner.

He explained that my order would be coming from The Netherlands so would cost slightly more than from the UK, infact I opted for the cheapest delivery (21 days) and it cost me £6.49.

Obviously I don't know the quality yet but for someone starting out on a very tight budget it could be useful

 

[Karimbo]

Their prices are low indeed. I do end up going for their offers, which I don't think they make any profit on. They do this as a loss leader I believe to get you in their books and getting used to ordering from them. Probably ends up bringing huigely profitable in the long run. But customer support in Tunisa, warehouse in Netherlands. what are they playing at?

 

[WJP]

customer support in Tunisa, warehouse in Netherlands. what are they playing at?

What does it matter?

 

[Talay]

The cards are crap, weird dimensions and they suck you in with free or near free deals and then make their money on the postage, which is inversely proportional to the time you are prepared to wait.

 

[fisicx]

Agree with that. The cards are so bad you will throw them in the bin rather than give them to people. And expect to be inundated with offers and promotions. Their emails are relentless.

 

[Moneyman]

They are not bad for the cash but boy do they spam you once you are in.

 

[The Mutz Hut]

1st post on here, I'm a browser.
I have to disagree, I have used vistaprint for a number of years, I pay extra to get their premium business cards and I am always getting comments from customers on how good my business cards are, their postcards are good aswell.

 

[british steve]

When I first started up I brought business cards from Vistaprint, they went in to the bin withing 5 minutes and I then brought some quality cards from printing.com I would never use Vistaprint again, product quality was rubbish.

 

[B&H Digital]

You will soon realise that your inbox is full of offers where they're offering poor products/services for next to nothing. The quality of their print is mostly horrid too.

Without making this sound like a sales plea, the benefit of going with a local printer is that you often get to speak to the same person every time. With VistaPrint, you get put through to some Tunisian, then a Dutch bloke, then maybe an English person if you're lucky. The customer relationship just isn't there.

Fair play though, their prices are working as people keep going to them - and I suppose for the price you paid, you've got nothing to lose really. But we've had a few customers who have come to us after placing a massive order with VP and being appauled by their service. In actual fact, they were relieved to be able to pop in and gain some satisfaction and trust.

Good luck anyway!

 

When I first started up I brought business cards from Vistaprint, they went in to the bin withing 5 minutes and I then brought some quality cards from printing.com I would never use Vistaprint again, product quality was rubbish.

Same... they sucked more than a dyson

 

[businessfunding]

They are entirely adequate as a starting point; I showed their cards to a professional printer who pointed out a couple of points, but these were unlikely to be picked up by customers.

Obviously their margin is in the upsell and if you go for their fully flying cards it will actually cost you more than a 'proper' printer - similarly, rapid post is a bit funny (the standard package often turns up within 4 days)

Overall, worth a look, but get quotes from printers on here - there is less difference than you might imagine.

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

I've used VistaPrint quite a few times - business cards were poor, my "free" rubber stamp didn't have anything on it.
Having said that, I do like their postcards which we use regularly - really good quality, nice weight and definitely a great marketing tool for us. Better than leaflets as people are more inclined to keep them.
The spam is a bit much, but then you can always delete it, their offers are regular and very enticing although they are masters at upselling, so be disciplined!

 

[Christine Hough]

My problem with vistaprint is that somehow they signed us up for a website which must have been an opt-out add on and we thought we had been diligent about opting out of all add ons. It then took over a year to get them to stop taking the fee.

Several times we cancelled online and yet when we went back it had been reset.
Eventually we did a refund through our card (co-op bank who were extremely helpful as soon as we said 'vistaprint') even then they kept charging and I had to get another few months refunded before it finally went!

But Goodprint are excellent.

 

[Vectis]

Did look at them once or twice. The initial offer looked good but the postage was well over the top and I guess that's where they were making the money. Didn't use them in the end. I certainly wouldn't use them for printing artwork going to a client as I wouldn't trust them.

 

[MrsPWN]

We shall see

The cards are 350gsm and will be put in with parcels instead of comp slips which are usually paper so should be fine.

Doodles, hopefully my stamp will have something on it

Most of my printing is bi linguel so has to be done locally anyway.

 

[a1anm]

But Goodprint are excellent.

We don't get loads of printing but have used Goodprint quite a few times and have always been very happy with the results.

 

[fisicx]

The cards are 350gsm and will be put in with parcels instead of comp slips which are usually paper so should be fine.

You do know they come with the vistapront logo on the back....

 

[MrsPWN]

....actually they will have my logo on the back

 

[businessfunding]

You do know they come with the vistapront logo on the back....

Not if you say not..

 

[smo]

Hahahahahahhahaha

Hhhhhhhhhhahahahahhhahhaah

Oh dear, as every vista print customer soon learns you will be spammed to hell and back as a result.

The way they make their money is by selling on your details, some to e-mail marketing spammers, some to postal spammers and some to phone spammers! You might even find you have been signed up to several recurring billing services with your credit card that you didnt agree too......

Enjoy

 

[MrsPWN]

Didn't use a credit card and I can add it to my porn spam and the lovely Nigerian widow that keeps contacting me.

 

[Christine Hough]

I wish you well and I hope they do the job well for you.

It sounds as if you have been careful, but keep up the vigilance! I prefer not to get ultra cheap from a company that is subsidising by taking regular payments for things people never intended to sign up for, or by selling on my details. And there are other companies out there.

But hey, I did use Vistaprint once ore twice before I got caught! Since then I haven't.

 

[MrsPWN]

I will keep up the vigil and report back..

 

[B&H Digital]

and the lovely Nigerian widow that keeps contacting me.

It's a small world, I think I may have the same one contacting me

 

[businessfunding]

Hahahahahahhahaha

Hhhhhhhhhhahahahahhhahhaah

Oh dear, as every vista print customer soon learns you will be spammed to hell and back as a result.

The way they make their money is by selling on your details, some to e-mail marketing spammers, some to postal spammers and some to phone spammers! You might even find you have been signed up to several recurring billing services with your credit card that you didnt agree too......

Enjoy

I have to say that this doesn't in any way represent my experience of them.

I would agree that their quality is only average (but acceptable for many trades) and that the upsell is blatant and a bit irritating, but I have had no integrity issues at all.

 

[Stationery-Direct]

I actually don't know why people still use Vistaprint, as others have said above there are lots of negatives in using them, just do a search online for reviews...surely all these people aren't wrong?

There are lots of UK based printers that offer good quality and excellent prices, such as ourselves, so for those who want a quality product with service to match see below...

500 x 400gsm Matt Laminated Business Cards
Printed Full Colour 1 or 2 Sides
Litho Printed (best quality print method)
FREE UK Mainland Delivery
UK Customer Service
£20 > LINK

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

It's a small world, I think I may have the same one contacting me

She emails me too ..... I thought I was special!

 

[MrsPWN]

She may be emailing you guys but she is sending me $3.75m

 

[10032012]

My Vista Print experience...

1) I ordered some business cards on offer (not the free ones) and was impressed with the quality. They weren't that competitive overall... As I decided to get the free pen, stamp etc. (the pens are sh!t... stamp ok) the postage was extremely excessive (the weight of a small cheap pen and small 2cm stamp isn't going to cost much more to post anywhere in the world).

The idea was getting business cards at a very affordable price as I didn't have my brand sorted by then or a website fully up and running (i.e. when the brand and site was done I order better quality business cards and can afford to throw away any of the previous ones I have left over)

2) I set-up my second business... almost identical offer... and same circumstances but this time I didn't even have a temporary logo. I didn't get any additional items. This time the print quality was awful (previous was a blue background... this time it was white i.e. no print) You could barely read the bold (...supposed to be) black writing. I binned them within 5 minutes. It came from another site than the previous one in a different European country (Belgium and Netherlands - not sure which was what but you don't get to choose).

3) They spam you crazy and sell on your details. They weren't open about international shipping... I had assumed at first they were an international business with printing facilities in the UK. They didn't specify otherwise.

4) They request payment details prior to even knowing how much the end amount will be. So after registering an account... inputting your details... getting spammed already... many felt they might as well go through with the full checkout process.

5) Remember Vista Print like Windows Vista... it looks good and promising but when you use it, turns out awful!

 

[MrsPWN]

Well the banner has been sent so will be able to see for myself soon...

No extra spam yet but I did get my 1st ever PPI claimback phone call yesterday so it is possible they got my number via VP, they were most upset when I told them they were toolate and I had already claimed back £8,300 (I wish) lol

 

[Rasta Pickles]

Agree with that. The cards are so bad you will throw them in the bin rather than give them to people. And expect to be inundated with offers and promotions. Their emails are relentless.

My brother-in-law (a skinflint) gave me his business card once.

Totally amateurish so I said "WTF bro? Where dun did ya' git dis?"

When he told me VistaPrint I duly admonished him.