VistaPrint.com - horrible experience

I have done digital prepress and graphic design software since the beginning of desktop publishing, so I know a thing or two about what it takes to print business cards.

I used VistaPrint.com because I needed cards in a hurry, and it seemed to be a well-designed site, and they could get them done in a hurry. I'm *very* unhappy, however.

First of all, they charge some ridiculously low price like $4.99 for 250 cards. That should have been a clue, but I thought "great!" and proceeded. They get you in shipping. It's practically fraudulent. I can't remember the exact choices, and to see them again I would have to buy something, which I won't do, but it was like, "30 days - slow shipping - for $5", which means they leave it on the shelf for 27 days and then ship it to you. To get 7-10 day shipping, which is still pretty slow, they wanted more like $15 (remember, it only cost $5 to print them). I opted for 2-day shipping and paid $25.50. Times 3, since I ordered three different business cards.

The second sin, even worse than the first, since I at least knew what I was getting into on shipping.... They print the cards 1/8" short in both dimensions. Instead of 2" x 3.5", like the entire rest of the world, they print at 1-7/8" x 3-3/8". But what's worse, the PREVIEW doesn't match what they actually send you. They make you sign an approval that says "I understand that my document will print exactly as it appears", when in fact it doesn't. I think it's off by the 1/8" extra trim that they don't tell you about.


The final insult was calling Customer Service to complain. They were willing to give me a credit for the printing cost (remember that ultra-low printing cost?) but not the shipping.

So they trick you into paying primarily for shipping, which transfers their product liability from where they really make their money (shipping you crap product) to the pathetic $4.99 refund if you're not happy. It's not even a refund, it's a store credit.