Vistaprint warning

[thaily.livejournal.com]

I keep seeing people order from this site without knowing their reputation, so here it is.

Vistaprint hooks a lot of people with "free" cards, but make you pay to upload images or even preview the card. But worse still, a lot of Vistaprint customers have found that VP will withdraw about $14.95/£9,95 from your bank account/credit card at least once a month after your purchase if you don't uncheck one of the dozens of checkboxes the site throws at you. Some people have been charged hundreds of pounds/dollars for their "free" cards.
If you complain about it they'll give you a phone number to call, in the US. And even then they're impossible to actually contact. The few people who do get through were promised a refund and received nothing. Many credit card companies and banks go "Uhm, durrr!" so you won't get your money back.

My suggestion is to pay a little more with a different printer and avoid getting scammed.

I have personal experiences with http://www.moo.com/ for example; their print quality is good, the paper is good, it comes in a little box to keep your cards in and shipping is fast.
Also, you can give each business card a different print on the backside if you like which artists can use as a little portable mini-portfolio.

Comments

[tealizard.livejournal.com]

Agh I hate companies like that. The worst part is they usually find some loophole to make what they're doing LEGAL.

(also, I had to laugh at the recommended website's name... I had to pause for a moment and wonder if this was... well, a different community ;) Shows how braindead I am on the weekends eh?)

[warsawkook.livejournal.com]

I placed an order for business cards from VP - checked all my spelling twice over, even had a coworker look it over just to make sure I hadn't effed up. Then when I get the cards, there's a typo. I tried contacting customer support in every way shape and form and got jack all. (Thankfully these were more of PERSONAL cards than they were BUSINESS cards and I'm a known goofball by nature, so whenever I hand one out I always joke "Find the typo and win a prize!" :P )

I WAS observant enough to get myself OUT of that "VP Club" before they billed me for any of that bullcrap, but really? I bet they do this typo kinda shit on purpose just so you go on and place a second order. There's ALWAYS the chance that it WAS error on my part, but really - I was SO critical of checking my spelling that I honestly doubt it.

Not to mention how many soliciting EMails they send out once you HAVE ordered - it's at least one a day. Unsubscribe from that forthwith or have your mailbox flooded.

On the UPSIDE - the cards did come pretty quick, they're all printed and cropped nicely (vibrant colors and no fading or white stripes), and they're pretty decent as far as free "just pay shipping" cards go.

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

That is really cool that you can get different prints on each card back. :O If I ever get business cards, I'll check that place out.
Thanks for the recommendation!

[allytha.livejournal.com]

I have had nothing but good experiences with overnightprints.com, reasonable prices and the quality is very nice. Though I have to say, I love that moo.com will let you use multiple designs in one order.

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

THIS. I've used Overnight for about six years now, and they rock. No issues, easy to get in touch with help should you need it. I also give them a big thumbs up.

[lastres0rt.livejournal.com]

I want to go on record as saying I also love MOO Minicards. Love the crap out of 'em.

I've ordered three times from the blokes (Two packs of minicards and the 3 for 2 Sticker deal they had a few months ago) and I've been nothing but pleased with the results. They are a little pricier from the whole "They're shipped out of England" thing, but they're heaps above anything you'd find elsewhere, especially for the whole "each card can be different" facet of them.

Even made a little fanpage for the folks (http://www.squidoo.com/moo-minicards).

Not the first time I've heard of Vistaprint on here, so I'm not surprised, and all the more reason to stick with a reputable company like Moo.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I ordered cards fro Vistaprint once, but I didn't get the free ones. the quality of the cards was good, but dear god - the spam!

[idess.livejournal.com]

I ordered cards from VistaPrint, but I havn't recieved them yet (this was recently). I wasn't 'silly' enough to order the 'free' ones because I figured they weren't gunna be free anyway. I hope I don't get this membership crap you're talking about e.e Makes me nervous.
But that place does throw so many stupid offers at you to get you to pay more, it's really sad. Moo's prices were a little much but I'll definately go somewhere else next time I want cards done.

[albinowolf.livejournal.com]

Just make sure you check your card statement thoroughly every month. They try to slip it in there. Some people have had it show up as a vacation rewards program that they unknowingly forgot to uncheck the box for.

[blackberrypie.livejournal.com]

I have to agree on Moo being awesome!! :) Their cards are sooo cute, and the little boxes they come in! Yay! ^^

[joecifur.livejournal.com]

yep -- i dodged any problems with vistaprint, but they will sure spam the ever-living shit out of you no matter how hard you try to filter them or get off their lists! pretty lame quality, too; you get what you pay for.

two friends of mine both had charges put on their accounts monthly just as you mention, though.

and thirding or fourthing how absolutely AMAZING moo.com is. great and responsive customer service too!

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

Your local printing company may actually be best business card deal in some cases.

For RIDICULOUSLY HUGE prints, I'll recommend Bill O'Keefe at Redding Roasters. He does large format prints on an archival giclee. He used to make prints for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York when he worked at different company. If you need gallery or museum ready prints, that's your guy. No help for business cards, but if you need a LIFE SIZE print, its well worth the price.
That huge machine next to me is the printer (http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_430xN.23315693.jpg) That's actually a comparatively small print being shown as an example. You can get ahold of him through Redding Roasters Coffee Company (http://www.reddingroasters.com/) to get a quote based on size, coverage, material to print on, etc.(yes, he normally roasts coffee. printing is the side business)

[twospotz.livejournal.com]

well, living here in Sweden I've used VP several times for postcards, businesscards etc. and never had any "extras" pulled for me. I order what I want, need and ask for, pay the taxes and shipping and such. Nothing extra is pulled or anything. never heard of that before!:-/

[almightytora.livejournal.com]

I have never had problems with Vistaprint.com at all and always just got the free cards with shipping. I even got 500 more free in a settlement this past year, which I have yet to utilize.

[lastres0rt.livejournal.com]

"Settlement?"

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

Meh on VistaPrint, I've never gotten anything good from them. My homemade cards looked better than their own. :|

Now MOO on the other hand... never bought anything from them but Sweet Jesus - they're a popular company in my work place (I work for Kamans Art Shoppes), everyone loves to order the mini cards!

I just need to some nice pieces ready for my own minis :p

[sci.livejournal.com]

Have used Vistaprint.
Guidelines are simple:

Be sure every tick-box you see is correctly ticked or un-ticked. Joining any sort of rewards program will ensure you're charged money monthly to be part of it.
Customer support is minimal. I had to make threat of going to the police before they would confirm I wasn't on their rewards program.
They do not abide to international banking practice, but "to the spirit of the Jamacian banking regulations".
I used their downloadable template to make my cards rather than enter text on their website. This seems more reliable, though my cards came out darker than I wanted. this may have been an issue with my monitor however.

In short, yes you can get what you're after if you persevere. Any refund will will likely be in the form of extra free cards.
Treat them like a market stall. Be alert and it can work out for you fine, but there are no guarantees. It's a slipshod operation, so one day is fine, then next is a nightmare.

My too-dark cards were replaced with another batch of 500 too dark cards. So for 1000 cards, a very good price. But be careful.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Why go through all that risk if you can just use another site with a better reputation, though?

[wayah.livejournal.com]

I used vistaprint once and had that happen. If you contact your bank/credit card company and explain that you did not authorize those payments, they can put a stop on it and get your money back :)

[kuwaizair.livejournal.com]

uh crap im gonna have to look this into more.
someone suggested vistaprint to me.

so the're taking my money contiounsly?

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

They try to get you to sign up for various programs that automatically withdraw a monthly fee by hiding it in small print and sneaky places while you're purchasing your "free" cards.

You have to be very careful to check or uncheck the right boxes to make sure you're not letting them sign you up.

[raeraesama.livejournal.com]

I get my cards and bookmarks from GotPrint (http://gotprint.net/gotprint/welcome.do), but I've always kinda wanted to try Moo.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

If someone is offered something for free almost every single day via spam and they accept, they deserve to get swindled out of hundreds of pounds/dollars? Because the majority of people who did get scammed never remember seeing any checkboxes about subscriptions, and they're all reasonable and intelligent people as you no doubt believe yourself to be.

Eventually you'll get scammed, I hope you'll remember what you said here and finally get off your high horse.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Actually the company seems to go to great lengths to hide the "subscription option" then actively avoids helping people get their refunds. Just because it doesn't happen to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to others or that other people are just not as clever as you, which you seem to be suggesting, and "have it coming".

But please carry on as you are, all the greater the fall when someone takes advantage of your overconfidence.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

For the mods' reference, rileycostello has been deleting his own comments.

[lastres0rt.livejournal.com]

I've always been told that assuming people are just as smart as you on the internet is a mistake.

If enough people are getting bitten by this company through "User Error" or other means, then they deserve to tell others to stay away from said company. Just because you appear to be doing well for yourself by navigating around what is apparently an obvious trap to others, doesn't make said company a good company.

[tequilalcorbly.livejournal.com]

I'll stick with Moo! They're not only better in quality, but they're fun as well.

VP keeps contacting me, and I keep marking them as SPAM with no luck. :/

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

Used them, never had a problem. However I didn't like their quality so I switched over to overnightprints.com, and love them. MOO is also VERY good.

[risperidal.livejournal.com]

I use 123print.com for mine.

[krazgurl.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, thanks for the warning. I was getting ready to use them for my business cards.

[anastasia-gg.livejournal.com]

I have been buying from vistaprint since 2003, actually. Never had a bad experience once and I find that if you order during their promotions, you can get even the uploads free. The quality of their products is very nice and as long as you play your cards right, you CAN get a great product and service for a great price. I use them for all of my needs, still. Their products do what I need them to.

[kazeno-taka.livejournal.com]

I know your comment is over a year old (and this post several years old). But I wanted to chime in that, while Vistaprint is spammy, a little common sense will save you from problems. The additional 'special offers' pages are optional. After you're done putting your info in, simply click the shopping cart at the top and you bypass all the spam.

And of course, uncheck anything you don't want. Their quality is good and I've never been charged for anything because I never hit 'next' without making sure things aren't checked. Also verify your total before hitting 'submit' for goodness sakes. If it's higher than you expected, it means they added something. Don't hit 'complete order' if the total is wrong!