• Shutterfly

Shutterfly

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Overview

Shutterfly has a rating of 1.4 stars from 975 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Shutterfly most frequently mention customer service, christmas cards, and photo book problems. Shutterfly ranks 143rd among Photo Printing sites.

  • Service
    284
  • Value
    264
  • Shipping
    271
  • Returns
    162
  • Quality
    236

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 8.9%
Positive
7
Neutral
0
Negative
72
160
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How would you rate Shutterfly?
Top Positive Review

“Beautiful Books and Cards”

Wanda K.
2/15/24

I've created 27 projects over the past 15 years on Shutterfly. This includes 15 different photo books. Each and every time, I've always received excellent, professional customer service and beautiful books. I custom design all my books. There may have been a couple of times over the years that I needed Shutterfly to help with a mistake. However, they stand behind there products 100%. If you aren't an experienced design person then ask for help. Use high quality photos! Remember Shutterfly didn't take the pictures. The photo quality of books and cards depend on what you upload. Low quality photos will create poor quality projects; so don't blame Shutterfly for your photos. They will make what you approve. Start your project early enough to allow for help and receive book in ample time in case the book or cards need to be possibly replaced if it's the direct fault of Shutterfly.

Top Critical Review

“Poor performance”

Beth T.
8/23/24

I ordered three photo books. The order was processed, they gave me a delivery date and then only one book came in the mail. No explanation- I figured it was an error and called customer service. I was told that it would come in two shipments---Why? This makes no sense and was a huge inconvenience. Now I see all the complaints I understand this is not a one off. I will not use them again. Way too expensive for such poor service!

Reviews (975)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

christmas cards (114) photo book (92) delivery date (44) customer service (366) photo books (92)
Thumbnail of user tonyk76
Wisconsin
1 review
1 helpful vote
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March 13th, 2018

I compared this site to some others like Walmart. The Shutterfly site is hard to follow and does not do a good job of uploading photos so that you can see the card in advance of purchasing it. It also struggles to effectively upload the address and event information. Overall, very disappointed with this site and I will not use Shutterfly in the future.

Thumbnail of user iritm
New York
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 17th, 2016

I just spoke to a shutterfly supervisor regarding a mug i have ordered.
The mug print was very small and can hardly be seen.
I explained to the supervisor that I was unable to increase the font size on the mug- the website would not allow me to go above font size 14 so I assumed that it was the largest.on another section of the mug I also had to select a font size and I selected the largest- it worked!
It is not the first time I have ordered a mug and have full knowledge on how to edit and increase font size.
Basically, all they offered me was 50% off the same order which would cost me about 20$ (that was the cost of my original order-where is the discount here?).
Finally, I want to say that the representative was unfair and unreasonable.
It was definitely a technical issue and not my mistake!

Thumbnail of user aw165
Iowa
1 review
6 helpful votes
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July 19th, 2016

Went to order my book 12 by 12 hardcover book, at 50 percent off. Apparently if you click on the promotion, then click on the hardcover books, and click for additional information, there is fine print that says that the additional pages that you put into the book are not covered under the sale. The hardcover book, but not the pages in the book (if you add any). I called customer service, talked to a supervisor, and still they were insistent on there sale was advertised properly. Beware of FALSE advertising, and terrible customer service. (Note: I read the fine print all of the time on coupons, ads, etc after working in retail. However, three screens later, is ridiculous! Who would even know what to click on at that point!- If you aren't going to help with the purchase, acknowledging and changing your promotional display would be beneficial!

Thumbnail of user lindar1282
Minnesota
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 5th, 2020

Ordered 9 books. It came in 6 or 7 separate deliveries... when it could have come in just 1 or 2... ridiculous. Could have waited and sent in 1 or 2 packages instead if so many. Wasted delivery charges on them. Otherwise happy with books.

Thumbnail of user latriciag1
Ohio
1 review
3 helpful votes
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March 12th, 2017

I ordered Christmas cards in November... never received them. I contacted customer service and requested a refund and never received it. I had received a new chip debit card but they said the refund would still go to the account. It never did. I will never do business with them again.

Thumbnail of user kimj44
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 19th, 2015

I am always impressed with Shutterfly's consistently fast service. Recently I ordered something and was not able to get the tracking to work from the postal service. I was concerned that the product was not going to arrive in time and contacted Shutterfly. They could not get information from the postal service and so they just sent a duplicate order out right away just in case the first order was lost.

Thumbnail of user iw61
Minnesota
1 review
1 helpful vote
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July 16th, 2017

Per my review on 7/16. Photobook birthday gift, which I paid to have 'guaranteed' delivery by July 14th - finally received an update today.

"This message is regarding your order status. At the moment your book has restarted the printing process early this morning. We do apologize for the delay and will continue checking on your books status throughout the rest of today to shipment.

Thank you for using Shutterfly!

Sincerely,
Anna G. "

This is after my last update from them which said it was almost finished and about to ship - Friday. BROKEN BROKEN BROKEN... and yes, I'm extremely frustrated since this was supposed to be a gift delivered last week.

Thumbnail of user deborahp21
New Mexico
6 reviews
14 helpful votes
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July 12th, 2015

I have ordered several photo books and photo prints from them. I prefer Shutterfly over other services for color, quality, and value. I store my photos and save my photo projects indefinitely. I've worked on photo books over a period of time, and also saved finished ones for re-order. Sometimes their on-line tools are glitchy. I have had to compromise. Their photo-editing tools are limited. For shipping, I would prefer it if they boxed photos instead of using thin cardstock envelopes. I'm usually able to find a promo code, but they usually won't allow multiple discounts--using a discount sometimes overrides the free shipping or other discount.

Thumbnail of user laverner9
North Carolina
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
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May 23rd, 2017

Attempted to use this company after receiving a special offer after purchasing wedding dress. Ordered wedding invites on premium cardstock. Horrible! Horrible quality, Horrible customer service. Then they have the nerve to try and make it your fault. Never again will I use this company.

Thumbnail of user nathans640
New York
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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March 1st, 2022
Verified purchase

I ended up ordering a custom mug design from this company after another company cancelled my order without any explanation. My order was processed promptly without any issues and I got my shipment within a week after I ordered which far exceeded my expectations. Not only that but the quality of the design and the mugs was incredible and exactly what I ordered! I was seriously impressed with the care of the shipping materials too to make sure the product wasn't damaged. I couldn't be happier with my experience and I definitely would order from them again!

Tip for consumers:
Make sure to look for promo codes!

Products used:
15 oz Ceramic Mug - Custom Design

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user rickl505
Hawaii
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 15th, 2022

This company is horrible, we paid for expedited "3-5 day" shipping the last week of November and our Christmas Cards are still not here (December 15th). Worst customer service ever "we don't guarantee shipping" WTF? We paid for expedited and you don't guarantee it? We will definitely be taking our business elsewhere next year.

Tip for consumers:
Don't do it!

Products used:
Any other company...

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user annettej90
New Jersey
1 review
1 helpful vote
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December 22nd, 2020

I have been a customer for about 17 years and for the most part have been happy with my products, just a few problems here and there that they resolved. Not this time... I ordered Christmas card and never received them. They have been sitting in GA for the past 2 weeks clearly lost. When I called customer service they agreed they were lost, but said I would have to wait until after Christmas to call them back. I asked to speak with a supervisor, was put on hold and when they came back I was told the supervisor wasn't coming to the phone and they said there was nothing they could do, I would have to call back after Christmas. No apology, no consideration or even a willingness for the supervisor to speak to me. They admit the package must be lost, but won't do anything about it until after Christmas which is 3 days away... really! Very disappointed!

Thumbnail of user tifanir2
Oregon
1 review
1 helpful vote
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April 28th, 2021

If they would leave out all the coupons and scams and just price the product and have a free shipping code, it would feel better purchasing here. Instead you get people on your website by scamming them into hours of work putting together projects with "free" coupons, and then price your shipping cost the same as the product. A coupon is quite literally just free shipping. Its not a free product by any means. So just have an automatic free shipping code. Your product is expensive and not of the quality so it doesn't make it worth it to spend here. Ew!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user alanat2
Canada
1 review
2 helpful votes
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February 26th, 2016

Terrible customer service. Had a $20 discount and wouldn't let me buy something $19.99 because it had to be over 20$. The funny thing about adding one more small thing to your cart doubles the shipping cost. Lost me as a customer.

Thumbnail of user elizabethf912
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 9th, 2020

What's the point if my Christmas cards don't get here in time to mail? I have never had to wait this long for cards. In fact, I thought I was really on it this year. Took our family picture on Nov. 17th, ordered it on Nov. 19th. It is December 9th and they are still not here. Once they do arrive, I still have to label and mail them. Their big mistake is that they are using the US Postal Service. I have no idea why they don't use UPS.

Thumbnail of user geop16
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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August 21st, 2017

Also, bought a Groupon and a LivingSocial for a $5.99 8 x 8 hardback. They will only let me redeem one of them. Will be looking for an alternative and save myself a lot of time and grief. Very disappointed.

Thumbnail of user heatherr438
Indiana
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 13th, 2020

Horrible experience! I ordered my Christmas Cards on 11/27, plenty of time for me to recieved them and send them out before Christmas! It's now 12/13 and still not here! The USPS tracking is no use, it shows my package has been in Georgia for 5! Days? No one has answers, and I just keep being told to be patient? NO! GET ME MY ORDER!

Thumbnail of user marybethm19
California
1 review
9 helpful votes
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February 12th, 2020

TOTAL INCOMPETENCE. Never in my life have I had so many problems with a service as I've had with this company. Customer service is nonexistent. I had a horrible issue with my photos not uploading properly and the customer service rep actually said they were having trouble with their sight! Isn't this what they do? Another rep accidentally deleted all my photos. Really?

Thumbnail of user jamesr1615
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 17th, 2020

I ordered well in advance of Mother's Day at the beginning of April. A month and a half later the book still had not appeared after Mother's Day. I called and complained and it was mailed the next day. One favorite photo was left out and two others cropped so poorly the better part of the photo was cut out of the book.

Thumbnail of user debbiei8
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 13th, 2017

Back in 2015 I ordered a Mom color blocks mug which came out great. Pictures were clear, the blocks were crystal clear and clean looking. This year I ordered a Dad blocks mug and my photos were grainy (and they were high resolution photos) and the blocks themselves were also grainy and not crystal clear/clean looking. I emailed Shutterfly and their response was to just send another mug. The second one has the same grainy problems and this time the photos were darker! I will never order a mug from Shutterfly again.

Service
Thumbnail of user chrsd
Virginia
1 review
13 helpful votes
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June 22nd, 2020

We ordered a custom order from Shutterfly on the 5th, and a similar one from Zazzle on the 8th. The Zazzle order got to us within 10 days. We still haven't received the item from Shutterfly. Don't waste your time with a company who can't get something to you in a decent amount of time (or leave more than 2 1/2 weeks to order something from them.) But my suggestion is just go somewhere else. Why take a chance?

Thumbnail of user aubreys44
North Carolina
1 review
1 helpful vote
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March 13th, 2020

There was an error with my order (wedding invitations) I called in and was given the run around for 2 hours stating they couldn't do anything. I was only charged for the 75 invitations I was given out of the 140 ordered. I was not asking for the rest to be sent for free I repeatedly told them I was more than happy to pay for the additional invitations. They stated that they would not be able to pay for expedited shipping, set up expedited printing, or give me the same discounted price as the first time I ordered. I tried over and over to explain my frustration. The lady stated that "we don't do expedited printing" and "expedited shipping is only one or two days faster and not worth it" at the end they did everything I was asking for, but it was a huge hassle. Then I got my new order and they messed up the envelopes. It's just been an awful experience across the board.

Thumbnail of user austins34
Texas
1 review
2 helpful votes
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July 5th, 2017

This is the company that does not respect your privacy and steal your photos. I have once uploaded some photos to their website. Then I have deleted all my photos from albums and saved projects. However, they keep sending me promo emails which are titled "Your memories from this week three years ago...". All these emails show photos which I have deleted. Obviously they keep my photos in their database even I have "deleted" them from my own account. Avoid Shutterfly unless you don't care they steal you photos!

Thumbnail of user lisag2854
Wisconsin
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 5th, 2022

I ordered a memorial blanket for my mom as a gift. My dad passed away in october. My mom is also terminal. The blanket was easy to make. I was excited for it to ger here so i could give it to mom. I got notification it was delivered, but got home and it was nowhere to be found. I posted on fb to neighbors, in case it was misdelivered, hoping someone found it and would contact me. I contacted customer service, not expecting much, because quite frankly, its not their fault ups messed up. They graciously told me that they would re print my order, and it arrived less than a week later. Its so amazing! Mom loved it, i loved it too...and the service was above and beyond. So thankful.

Products used:
Blanket

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Thumbnail of user sabrad
New York
8 reviews
32 helpful votes
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March 17th, 2009

Ordering site - I found this site, after getting a coupon to buy items on it. I totally luve this site for buying gifts. I've made 2 photo books and enjoyed every moment. It's user friendly and great to work with. After I've made the purchase, I had my things very quickly. I recommend this site for all your photo gift needs.

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From the business

Create photo books, personalize photo cards & stationery, and share photos with family and friends at Shutterfly.com.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user levih42
Levi H.
Typically does not respond to reviews

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