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Shutterfly not a good start.
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Jan 23, 2023 19:52:00   #
redlegfrog
 
I tried to do a couple of photos to see how Shutterfly worked but got to a place where the web site wouldn't let me load the shopping cart. Should be an easy fix right? Except they don't have a page of instructions or a help line. All they have is one of those chat things. You start out with a computer who eventually connects to person (I think) but that person is busy. After 5 min I went to read some email and when I came back she had closed the connection. I will try again tomorrow.
Costco you will be missed!

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Jan 23, 2023 20:26:13   #
Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.
 
Personally I wouldn't waste my time with them.

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Jan 23, 2023 20:59:12   #
fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM
 
In many respects, at least for photographers, Costco made a mistake by dropping the in-store photo processing and now the online photo center. In this and in other ways Costco is becoming less and less important as a place to shop - I say that having been a Price Club/Costco member since the late 1980s.

I doubt Shutterfly will be my 'go to' place for my photo needs. Not sure who will be but I have tried the local Walgreens and they did a rather nice job.

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Jan 23, 2023 21:06:34   #
redlegfrog
 
fredpnm wrote:
In many respects, at least for photographers, Costco made a mistake by dropping the in-store photo processing and now the online photo center. In this and in other ways Costco is becoming less and less important as a place to shop - I say that having been a Price Club/Costco member since the late 1980s.

I doubt Shutterfly will be my 'go to' place for my photo needs. Not sure who will be but I have tried the local Walgreens and they did a rather nice job.


Yes, the search is on. I'm hoping people will chip in with their experiences.

PS. My experience so far. Costco could have raised their price's by 30% and charged a healthy freight charge and still been less than what I have found so far.

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Jan 24, 2023 05:25:23   #
DaveO Loc: Northeast CT
 
We've done numerous photos and a few books over the years with Shutterfly as well as a large metal print and been completely satisfied. If we are not in a hurry, we usually have them ready to purchase for when a sale is held.

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Jan 24, 2023 07:06:54   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
redlegfrog wrote:
I tried to do a couple of photos to see how Shutterfly worked but got to a place where the web site wouldn't let me load the shopping cart. Should be an easy fix right? Except they don't have a page of instructions or a help line. All they have is one of those chat things. You start out with a computer who eventually connects to person (I think) but that person is busy. After 5 min I went to read some email and when I came back she had closed the connection. I will try again tomorrow.
Costco you will be missed!
I tried to do a couple of photos to see how Shutte... (show quote)


Shutterfly is a very good company to work with. They have some interesting directions sometimes. I have found their customer service very good. Yes, they are a very busy company and I am sure they will be happy to help you.
Don't give up on them, they are having growing pains.
And please, in the future, don't post such a negative post before resolving your issue. Thank you.

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Jan 24, 2023 08:10:12   #
Wilderness Images Loc: Apache Junction, AZ.
 
redlegfrog wrote:
I tried to do a couple of photos to see how Shutterfly worked but got to a place where the web site wouldn't let me load the shopping cart. Should be an easy fix right? Except they don't have a page of instructions or a help line. All they have is one of those chat things. You start out with a computer who eventually connects to person (I think) but that person is busy. After 5 min I went to read some email and when I came back she had closed the connection. I will try again tomorrow.
Costco you will be missed!
I tried to do a couple of photos to see how Shutte... (show quote)


I completely agree redlegfrog, I would have complained about a price hike but in retrospect, it would have been the way to go. Thus far, I haven't found anyone who can compare with the quality of their hard cover books and match the price. Shutterfly is almost double the price, even with the 51% discount.

I actually got to talk to a real person, albeit someone I could hardly understand, that only further convinced me that Shutterfly is NOT the answer.

Jack Olson

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Jan 24, 2023 08:24:44   #
Wilderness Images Loc: Apache Junction, AZ.
 
billnikon wrote:
Shutterfly is a very good company to work with. They have some interesting directions sometimes. I have found their customer service very good. Yes, they are a very busy company and I am sure they will be happy to help you.
Don't give up on them, they are having growing pains.
And please, in the future, don't post such a negative post before resolving your issue. Thank you.


Actually billnikon, maybe it's time you went out and shopped around a bit. I was offered a 51% discount on EVERY purchase, plus free shipping on all purchases over $50. I actually talked to a Customer Service person who didn't know much about the Costco deal, everything she priced out for me, (books and prints on metal) was almost double what I had been paying at Costco, we even had to create the hard cover book to make a fair price comparison.

I called the local Shutterfly plant here in the Phoenix area, to see if I could come down and actually 'see' a book before making any decisions. I was told in no uncertain terms that they do NOT allow visitors in their plant. At least Costco had sample books on display at their stores. I will not be making Shutterfly my alternate.

Jack Olson

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Jan 24, 2023 08:40:30   #
redtooth
 
If you are interested in talking to a computer deal with Shutterfly Wal Mart does a pretty good job . They have the same equipment as Costco used .

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Jan 24, 2023 08:56:50   #
OhioJoe Loc: Columbia Station
 
Did you ever try Snapfish? They are part of HP.

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Jan 24, 2023 09:09:07   #
coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA
 
As a past owner of a photo lab I completely understand Costcos decision.
Photofinishing “used” to be very profitable. Once digital replaced film that profit went away.
In film days, we/all photofinishers charged an At Time of Developing fee (ATD). That fee varied from location to location but that fee covered the cost of developing the film and packaging.
The cost of the prints was almost pure profit. And you almost always had 24 if not 36 exposures.
Enter digital. No ATD fee. People became more selective with print selections, sometimes only selecting 2 or 3 images.
There is much more but bottom line, it was too difficult to sustain photofinishing operations.
That space where the photofinishing equipment was housed became more profitable selling jars of mixed nuts at $18 a jar.
That’s a simplification but don't want to bore everyone with other details.
I don’t use any online service. Fortunately, the camera store that bought my operation is still in business utilizing silver halide technology for printing.

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Jan 24, 2023 09:11:45   #
coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA
 
Costco for a long time retained their silver halide processing equipment and eventually gave in to inkjet technology which is the same as Walmart uses.

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Jan 24, 2023 10:14:54   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
Wilderness Images wrote:
I completely agree redlegfrog, I would have complained about a price hike but in retrospect, it would have been the way to go. Thus far, I haven't found anyone who can compare with the quality of their hard cover books and match the price. Shutterfly is almost double the price, even with the 51% discount.

I actually got to talk to a real person, albeit someone I could hardly understand, that only further convinced me that Shutterfly is NOT the answer.

Jack Olson


I have talked to several folks at Shutterfly and they all spoke excellent English.

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Jan 24, 2023 10:47:29   #
AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!
 
I actually went through the process of transferring my images over to Shutterfly. It was a seamless transfer. My girlfriend, is having all sorts of difficulty. Shutterfly does NOT offer the 51% off price on 4x6 prints, which is the bulk of my orders. And they wanted to charge me $2.56 to ship one print! I'll have to order a LOT of them before the deadline in order to keep my prices competitive at the art fairs!

I'm desperately hunting for a replacement that's decent at similar prices. For canvas prints, one can go to YPOC, which was the printer for Costco. I haven't looked at their pricing structure yet, but the quality should be the same.

I have to admit that I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing. It sort of ruins my business!

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Jan 24, 2023 11:41:17   #
rangel28
 
AzPicLady wrote:
I actually went through the process of transferring my images over to Shutterfly. It was a seamless transfer. My girlfriend, is having all sorts of difficulty. Shutterfly does NOT offer the 51% off price on 4x6 prints, which is the bulk of my orders. And they wanted to charge me $2.56 to ship one print! I'll have to order a LOT of them before the deadline in order to keep my prices competitive at the art fairs!

I'm desperately hunting for a replacement that's decent at similar prices. For canvas prints, one can go to YPOC, which was the printer for Costco. I haven't looked at their pricing structure yet, but the quality should be the same.

I have to admit that I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing. It sort of ruins my business!
I actually went through the process of transferrin... (show quote)


Are you signed into the Shutterfly site as a Costco member? When I sign in to Shutterfly now (after I transferred my photos to Shutterfly), I am seeing a "Costco Wholesale" logo at the top of the page. I am seeing 4 x 6 prints priced at $0.18 each.

Note that even though Costco is offering a 51 percent discount, I think Shutterfly's shipping and handling prices are probably higher.

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