Anyone use Shutterfly for photo books?

[familyfirsttimer]

I have been a long time Snapfish user but am ready to cut the cord after 15 months of poor customer service and aggravating issues. Wondering if anyone uses Shutterfly and could share their experience with them. I typically max out the pages on 150 for the 8X11 hard cover books. Snapfish always had discounts out there so I'd pay @$80 for that. Wondering how Shutterfly compares.

 

[havaneselover]

I've used them for the last decade. Never been disappointed. It's easy to use and with coupons the price is decent.

 

[js]

Ditto on above. Once you start using too they send you great coupons. I had one end of November for 10 free Christmas cards and just got another 10 free
cards, just paid shipping. I always make photobooks of my vacations. If I don't have a code, I make the book and wait for a free photobook or whatever
the coupon is good for using. I love having the app on my phone and can transfer my phone pics right to the app but I'm sure Snapfish does this too.

 

[Alesia]

Shutterfly books are better quality than Snapfish.

If you make larger books, take a look at blurb.com - their books are beautiful, professional quality books.

 

[Jacova]

I used Shutterfly for my wedding photo books and they came out great. 6 years later the books are in great shape. Highly recommend.

 

[familyfirsttimer]

If you make larger books, take a look at blurb.com - their books are beautiful, professional quality books.

Thanks for the lead, only thing is it look slike they only store book online for 15 days if you don't order it. I like to work on a month at a time typically and then order when the books gets maxed out (or in this case larger but look slike that won't work for me. Thank you though, their prices look great.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I should be a salesperson for Shutterfly. I have made dozens of books with them over the years, ranging from 20 pages to over 100. I have worked on some books for literally years. Their customer service is amazing. I had one book come with a printing error (little blob on a page) and I had a new one in hand in less than a week. One time I put the wrong address which was one number off. There wasn't a house at that number but UPS delivered it somewhere and I never received it. They still shipped me another free of charge, and it was my mistake!

Their discounts haven't been as great as other years (you used to be able to stack like crazy) but I still pay 50% off for photo books and use free codes all the time. They send out codes through many different companies- Kellogg's Family Rewards, My Coke Rewards, Destination Maternity, Pampers, Discover and I'm sure I'm missing some. I stopped using Snapfish years ago because I found that Shutterfly quality is much better (although I admit I'm picky).

I've had many things made through them and am always happy- books, prints, mugs, a pillow, coasters, plaques, address labels, cards, stationary, etc. They take customer service seriously and that's one of the many reasons I'll stay with them.

 

[CoP Luv]

I use Shutterfly too, but this year they changed their website which annoys me to no end when trying to upload and organize my photos. Sometimes they get loaded into a specific album, sometimes not and they go directly to their "new feature" called Timeline. While that can be great for digital photos that have an automatic timestamp on them, some of my older photos show up on the date that I uploaded them, and not in any chronological order. I have "2013" photos lost in the "2008" timeline, and vice versa. The ability to automatically load onto a specific album is only on some functions and not all (i.e. - I cannot always upload onto an album when I am in the "edit photobook", but can when I just upload photos to "My Shutterfly".

While I love the end result of Shutterfly's photobook, the new "organizational" features are pretty terrible, IMO.

 

[jenniy122]

I have a number of Shutterfly book and love them. The only other book I've ever had is one from Disney's photopass so I may be biased, but my books have all come out high quality (and I just go with basic finishes) and have last through years of page turning.

 

[firefly_ris]

Yes, I make one every year for my mother and mother-in-law (kids photos throughout the year) that I give for Christmas. Last year I received both photo books without any title printed on the cover (even though my saved project most definitely had the title on it) -- quick phone call and they re-printed, replaced and did a rush print and delivery to ensure they would arrive in time for Christmas. I usually get the 8x11 hardcover photo books -- I don't usually order extra bells and whistles like the lay-flat pages or anything.

For deals -- check your email for deal codes, as well as retailmenot.com -- I just ordered this year's photo books last week, without any discounts the 2 books plus shipping totaled at a little over $100, but got it down to $60 after coupon code and free shipping code. I also get Shutterfly gift cards from credit card rewards -- so I used that to pay towards the total, so I only paid $10 after all was said and done.

I use them for almost all of my photo printing -- unless it's a print size that they don't offer, then I also recommend Nations Photo Lab for that.

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks for this timely thread - just started working on a photo book today and will give Shutterfly a try.

I'm wondering about stacking discounts, specifically the discount from a mycokerewards code plus a generally available discount code. I know I have seen a lot of generally available discount codes, so if the codes don't stack then I'm guessing there's not any point to getting one through mycokerewards. On the other hand, I don't have a lot else to do with my points since the rewards have been so lackluster lately.

 

[Laundress]

Another fan of Shutterfly. Have used them for years. Made many photo books. they have held up. Takes me months to make the book. no problem.
one time one of the pages was croped wrong. They sent me a new book with the week. they send coupons and discounts often.

 

[buzzrelly]

I love Shutterfly! Have been using them for years and the site just keeps getting better and better. They recently updated to a new Timeline version and they have facial recognition. I love playing around with that.

I have made multiple books and have never been disappointed. They now even have a feature where an actual person will make your book for like $10 more, or something. It's an awesome time-saver and I have made two so far and both came out great!

 

[TeamH5]

Ditto on above. Once you start using too they send you great coupons. I had one end of November for 10 free Christmas cards and just got another 10 free
cards, just paid shipping. I always make photobooks of my vacations. If I don't have a code, I make the book and wait for a free photobook or whatever
the coupon is good for using. I love having the app on my phone and can transfer my phone pics right to the app but I'm sure Snapfish does this too.

My mom does this for my kids. Makes books of all our travels. She's been using Shutterfly for at least the past 5 years for these photo books. The first ones she got for my kids 5 years ago still look brand new, and they go to bed looking at these books.

She'll easily max out on pages, and has a lot of upcharges for using things like Disney stickers and what not. She never buys a book unless she has at least a 50% coupon or BOGO free coupon or something similar.. Even with those, her prices are around $50/book. Worth it though. I've used shutterfly for many years for various things, though not photo books specifically, but I've never had a problem with them.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I use Shutterfly too, but this year they changed their website which annoys me to no end when trying to upload and organize my photos. Sometimes they get loaded into a specific album, sometimes not and they go directly to their "new feature" called Timeline. While that can be great for digital photos that have an automatic timestamp on them, some of my older photos show up on the date that I uploaded them, and not in any chronological order. I have "2013" photos lost in the "2008" timeline, and vice versa. The ability to automatically load onto a specific album is only on some functions and not all (i.e. - I cannot always upload onto an album when I am in the "edit photobook", but can when I just upload photos to "My Shutterfly".

While I love the end result of Shutterfly's photobook, the new "organizational" features are pretty terrible, IMO.

I agree, I'm not a fan of the timeline thing at all. I have to make sure to upload into an album now. Takes some getting used to, but it's not the best change IMO. I wouldn't mind the timeline, it's the uploading part- they should make it more obvious where the photos are going! I liked how you had the box pop up before, you put in what album you were adding to and done.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Thanks for this timely thread - just started working on a photo book today and will give Shutterfly a try.

I'm wondering about stacking discounts, specifically the discount from a mycokerewards code plus a generally available discount code. I know I have seen a lot of generally available discount codes, so if the codes don't stack then I'm guessing there's not any point to getting one through mycokerewards. On the other hand, I don't have a lot else to do with my points since the rewards have been so lackluster lately.

It depends on the codes. I don't know what discount you mean from mycokerewards because they've had a lot lately- $20 off, free calendar, free other stuff, maybe free shipping (I can't keep track)... If it's a dollar off coupon, that comes off first. So you made a book for $100 say. It knocks it down to $80, then there's a sale for 40% off (or you have a code for that), then your total is $48 before shipping/tax. If it went the other way around it'd be $40- they stopped that. Now the dollar off amount comes off first but you can still stack most of the time.

I had a code for a free calendar from mycokerewards and got free shipping from discover- both were unique codes. It let me use both and my total was $0.

 

[texasroni75]

Got a photo book from Shutterfly for my parents last Christmas for free with a code they sent me (just paid shipping). It was top notch. Photo quality was great, thick sturdy pages and solid binding. I was impressed. I am watching my email for another code to make one for myself.

 

[Franzenel]

We have used shutterfly for years. We do a year in review book and give them out for x-mas presents. We put the year on the spine. It's pretty cool to go through them like little year books and see the kids grow up.

 

[seasheller]

Love my Shutterfly photo book! Have found a few codes for free books, just pay the shipping.

 

[AmyAnne]

Can someone comment on the shipping times? Right now, for free shipping, the estimated arrival date for a photo book is Dec. 19-23. Is that likely to be when the book actually arrives?