• 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 richp
California
9 reviews
20 helpful votes
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August 31st, 2008

Not as good as flickr for photo printing and sharing - Flickr is probably the best photo sharing site out there right now and almost everyone I know has a flickr account. So, I share most of my photos through flickr. Now that they are offering printing services I just use flickr for that as well. I used to use shutterfly and haven't noticed any quality difference between the two companies, so my 2 cents is just to use flickr for everything.

Thumbnail of user dianeh69
Wisconsin
1 review
13 helpful votes
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August 23rd, 2016

I have called the company and I have taken their on-line survey, but no response. The new changes to the Shutterfly Site are horrific. I've Ben using Kodak and Shutterfly for 16 years and I am at the end of my rope. I hate everything about it. It is difficult to edit photos and to delete photos and to share photos. I can't even rearrange my photos in my albums. Bring back the old site. The new one is impossible. I have tried getting use to it, but it is too frustrating. Other friends and relatives have given up and gone to another photo site. Ugh!

Thumbnail of user gc76
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
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May 13th, 2017

Placed an order for Mother's Day card from my son on 5/08/17 with GUARANTEE delivery for 5/12/17. Which is awesome because we take off on 5/13/17 for our Mother's Day trip. Well, just like last time... NOTHING. Looked up tracking information for UPS and it is not due for delivery until 5/15. So mad scramble to find a card that Shutterfly should have delivered as promised. They are the worse.

Thumbnail of user barjing
Canada
3 reviews
12 helpful votes
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July 31st, 2019

We use Shutterfly every time we go on a trip. We come back and put our trip pictures in a book. They're great because you can just put the books out and people who want to look at our trips do. Those who aren't as interested aren't forced to sit through a bunch of pictures. They can look at them at their own pace too. Shutterfly has a lot of themes, A LOT or you can design the whole book yourself. We've been using them for 10-12 years. They always have sales too once you're on their email list. You can get 40 or 50% off your books.

Tip for consumers:
wait for a sale, they have them a lot

Products used:
books

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user allisone53
Arizona
1 review
0 helpful votes
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August 12th, 2020

I recently ordered a 16X20 print that turned out gorgeous. The only problem was that it had some noticeable scratches on it. (Maybe from shipping?) I contacted customer service through the chat option and they submitted a rush order to replace it immediately with no hassle! The best experience I've had with any customer service!

Thumbnail of user dawnk257
Maryland
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 6th, 2020

Used Shutterfly for many years and always liked their work. I have a habit of checking the cart with them, because they will say something is on sale and the cart says otherwise. Just started working on an order and found the Covid surcharge. You will not see this until check out! It's not much money, but the principle of it knowing that big business received government funding due to Covid, but workers don't see benefits from it. Shutterfly's explanation is like they are the only ones suffering from it. I canceled my order. I am not paying them a dime due to Covid!

Thumbnail of user luciem44
Colorado
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 8th, 2022

I ordered some thank you notes via Shutterfly, paid extra for expedited shipping and never received the order... for the second time! I never have any issue receiving my packages but somehow Shutterfly is never able to deliver them. I will never order through them again!

Thumbnail of user thymel
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
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November 30th, 2016

Lost a loyal customer today over $23.97... Ordered prints on Black Friday thinking I wold get the best price; however today the price is lower and shipping is free. Shameka and Anika both, after placing me on hold, would not honor current promotion even though I have not received items in mail... Who does this?

Thumbnail of user meghanf84
Wisconsin
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 5th, 2023

For starters, I waited forever for a specialty photo item to arrive. Finally got it and whoever packed it crammed it into the plastic so the photo is useless because the edging was crinkled up. Customer service is also terrible. I was told I would get a full refund and that I would be rushed a replacement. Then they went back on their word and told me that I would have to decide between a new print or a refund.

Tip for consumers:
Go to Walgreens or somewhere else instead!

Products used:
Photo

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user tabithag2
Guam
1 review
3 helpful votes
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May 16th, 2017

I ordered prints. I took the time to go through all of them to make sure they were turned correctly and situated how they should be on the paper. Well, one thing, it took a month to receive them, AND they look terrible! The quality is sooo, so bad. Some of them are so burry you can't even tell who the person is. Some look like they were running out of ink, and about a quarter of the pictures people were missing major body parts LIKE WHOLE HEADS. Why did I pay for a bunch of pictures of headless people! I've gotten really good large prints from shutterfly, but I will never order regular prints again. So disappointed in this service. Save your money.

Thumbnail of user cathryns5
Pennsylvania
1 review
1 helpful vote
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November 27th, 2017

I ordered a calendar and my preview was correct but when I got my calendars they had a bunch of incorrect dates/events from a calendar I made 2 years ago. They gave me credit to reorder but couldn't guarantee the same mistake wouldn't happen again. I have been trying to delete any old events (even though not selected) and my screen freezes every time and I have to log out, has been going on for the last 3 days. When on the phone with shutterfly, she was having the same issues and the website wouldn't even work for her. Terrible site. Won't use again.

Thumbnail of user mm862
Louisiana
1 review
2 helpful votes
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December 17th, 2019

Seems like my review is much like all the rest. I paid for expedited shipping and guaranteed delivery by today. Order history still said "in process" until today. Now it only shows an order date with no delivery estimate. I received an email today saying there is a delay and it would ship in 1-3 business days. I called customer service to see if production has even started and she told me it was coming today. I had to explain that they sent an email today that said there would be a 1-3 day delay. She couldn't access where it was in the processing stage but then told me she will put in for expedited shipping and a new guarantee of delivery tomorrow. What? Have you even started printing? She can't tell me that. I think I'll make a BBB complaint as this seems to be a deceitful and habitual practice of theirs from reading all of their customer reviews.

Thumbnail of user kelleyo22
Missouri
1 review
9 helpful votes
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December 14th, 2020

I'd give them zero stars if that were possible. Far and away one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. 2-1/2 hours on the "chat" and the problem was not resolved. To make matters worse, by the time they offered to cancel my order because they couldn't fix it, they said "Oh, sorry, it's too late to cancel." I'm sure it wasn't too late to cancel when I started with customer "service". I will NEVER order from them again

Thumbnail of user ellenh35
New York
1 review
8 helpful votes
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August 19th, 2016

Who authorized the recent changes to the Shutterfly site? I can no longer access the address book to share photos so I have to go to each name in my gmail contact list to share with people. I can't figure out how to add shared photos to my account. They took away the option of a few free video uploads. The site is impossible to navigate. I used to love Shutterfly but now it is terrible.

Thumbnail of user taram58
Canada
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 11th, 2017

I ordered my wedding books on shutterfly. After working on the design for nearly a year, I was so excited to get them in time for Mother's Day! I ordered three copies, one for my mom, my mother in law and myself.
However, the books showed up and were printed incorrectly -the pages were out of order! I was really disappointed but when I phoned customer service; they walked me through to understand the error, they reordered the books free of charge and expedited the order! The young man, Orlando, I spoke with was very helpful and pleasant. I wasn't sure I would receive the books in time, but was pleasantly surprised when they arrived after just 4 days of reordering.
Thank you shutterfly for pulling through. The books are perfect!

Thumbnail of user shantaec3
Utah
1 review
1 helpful vote
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October 13th, 2022
Verified purchase

I ordered photos with Shutterfly for the first time. Photos were easy to order and arrived earlier than expected. On the down side the photos were printed on cheap printer paper. The same quality I can easily get at home. Then the quality of the photos was very disappointing. The quality was comparable to mediocre photos from the 90s. They lacked vibrancy and clarity. Due to this I doubt I will use them in the future.

Products used:
Photos

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user vu115
Ohio
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 1st, 2017

We received our Christmas cards and the bottom of the lower pictures are cut off. I contacted the company and they offered me 50% off of a re-do. That does not help as they are giving everybody 50% off of products this time of year. This certainly is not 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Thumbnail of user samanthas159
Texas
1 review
4 helpful votes
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April 24th, 2018

I just spent over $70 for prints and having them delivered to my house, they all look horrible. I cant use any of them theyre fuzzy and bit-mat which is extremely upsetting considering I got them from the devices that actually took the photos. Theres absolutely no reason for the extremely low quality photos I revived. I am very upset will never use this company again. I am out $70and Im going to have to reprint all these photos from a different company. Do not waste your time and money.

Thumbnail of user deborahm847
California
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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June 12th, 2020

My daughter had ordered an end of the year school photo book for her teacher. It was supposed to arrive in 7 days and it is going on 12 days today and it has still not arrived. My daughter is more than upset as her teacher has now left for the summer and the book is still somewhere...?

Thumbnail of user kentf6
Colorado
1 review
5 helpful votes
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April 29th, 2016

Shutterfly has a "100% happiness guaranteed" statement on it's web site. We received a book that was not at all what we expected. The "guarantee" is a credit to a future order... not a refund or full credit for the product. I feel that the guarantee statement is... simply put... false advertising.

That said the product is good, even though quite expensive. Costco offers a good, and less expensive, alternative.

Thumbnail of user taylorm108
Canada
1 review
1 helpful vote
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July 21st, 2017

Vistaprint is the way to go! Never using Shutterfly again-you can't make me! Ordered July 3rd 2017, still haven't seen it (it's the 21st). I went to track the package and it was N/A, went to see "if my package doesnt show up..." got an error message. Thing was 30 bucks! Use Vistaprint. Cheaper, better, and no joke delivered the next couple days.

Thumbnail of user andrea.martin
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 7th, 2023

As a Costco member, I have always used the Costco photo center. Their prices and quality were unbeatable! I have made one order with Shutterfly since Costco has switched their photo services were switched over and I will not be creating with Shutterfly again. Shutterfly is extremely expensive with a lower quality and high shipping (I order 6 of the same photobook, Shutterfly charged shipping for each book, even thought they were shipped all together) Would not order again.

Tip for consumers:
They charge shipping per product, even if they are in the same order.

Products used:
Photobook

Thumbnail of user nikkiw175
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 9th, 2022

I ordered a 24x36 Canvas print of my dog that passed 3 days prior. I got BLANK canvas. Had to fight for a refund to my card as they only wanted to give me gift certificates. 7-10 days to get my money back because they screwed up. So not only do I now have to find a company that knows that they are doing but I have to wait a week or more to get my money back. We are crushed about not getting the image of our late dog. They have lost my business for sure as this was just devastating to open. I would post pictures but they keep telling me my images are too large. I am sure they do this to prevent the truth being shown.

Products used:
Wall Art

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user kerryw96
Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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April 19th, 2020

I have been using Shutterfly for over 10 years. I have never been disappointed with their products or their customer service! They are honest and they work hard to find solutions to any issues that arise. Recently, I ordered a photo book with many extra pages of my recent trip to Antarctica.The result was top quality, as always. I wanted to send one of the books to a friend in Canada, but because of the Covid-19, the US Postal Service was not delivering to any countries except the US and their territories. I called Shutterfly and explained the situation. They told me to mail the book back, which I had inscribed already, and they are sending it to Canada for me, no charge for shipping! They are the bomb! Thank you Shutterfly for always going above and beyond for me. I will be using them for many years to come.

Thumbnail of user josephs1586
Texas
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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January 13th, 2023
Verified purchase

Okay so i ordered a book for christmas and of course it was very busy and it was going to be late. Tracking just kept saying "package acceptance pending" and it was annoying and after the package was delivered i was given the reasons it was delayed for so long. It went to west virginia and before that it was in Pennsylvania, where it was supposed to be delivered in the first place. It was all UPS's fault they missorted it and sent it to the wrong place. I then noticed the address was old and my person moved. I chatted with shutterfly and they immediately reordered the purchase at no cost and sent it! I will use them again no matter what because of this outstanding customer service. Shipping is not their fault. So i was wrong when i wrote a bad review earlier.

Tip for consumers:
order early great shutterfly i will use again

Products used:
ordered a 12x12 book great value the shipping company sucks 10+days christmas season

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

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From the business

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

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

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