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I recently ordered a Shutterfly metal print. It’s part of a test I’m doing to see how online printers stack up against one another.
I’ll present my findings later on in a head-to-head comparison of all seven companies with whom an order was placed. For now, I want to focus on Shutterfly. Learn more about best canvas prints on our website PhotographyTalk.com.
I have to say that I might have had the highest expectations from Shutterfly. The question is, were those expectations met?
Let’s find out!
We have announced the winner of our 2020 best metal print company $100 challenge! Find out which company came out on top.
Table of Contents
- About Shutterfly
- Shutterfly Hours
- Shutterfly Products
- Shutterfly Promo Code
- Shutterfly Return Policy
- Shutterfly Reviews
- Shutterfly Metal Print Review
About Shutterfly
Shutterfly’s website notes that the company’s purpose is to “share life’s joy as the leading retailer and manufacturing platform for personalized products and communications.”
The company was started in 1999 and has since grown into three divisions: Shutterfly Consumer, Shutterfly Business Solutions, and Lifetouch. Shutterfly Consumer and Lifetouch are focused on professional and personal photography services while Shutterfly Business Solutions focuses on digital printing services.
Back in 1999, Shutterfly started with 4x6 prints from digital images. Now, they offer an extensive line of products and services, including unlimited photo and video storage.
One of Shutterfly’s newest services is Groovebook.
Groovebook is a mobile app that you can use to order a photo book with 40-100 photos. The photo books are delivered right to your door each month for just a few dollars. Shutterfly bills it as a great way to “do more with all those phone pics and relive your memories.”
Shutterfly Hours
You can make orders on Shutterfly’s website any time of day or night, seven days a week. If you need customer support, you can call 1-877-284-9610, Monday-Friday 7:00 am to 5:00 Pacific time or 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Pacific time on the weekends. Oddly, as you can see above, the phone number isn’t actually on the contact page. You have to hunt for it elsewhere.
Assistance can be found via chat as well. Chat is available 6:00 am to 8:00 pm Pacific time seven days a week. Chat is much easier to initiate - there’s a small tab in the bottom-right corner of the website where you can access it.
Shutterfly Products
Shutterfly has an extensive range of products that extends well beyond metal prints. You can order photo books of various sizes and designs, cards and stationery, posters, and paper prints.
Shutterfly products also include calendars, wall art and decor, and an assortment of wedding supplies, like announcements, party invitations, guestbooks, and more.
As noted above, Shutterfly includes several divisions that offer other services. Their portfolio includes BorrowLenses, a website that offers photography gear rentals, Lifetouch, which specializes in school day photos, and Groovebook, the mail-order photo book I mentioned earlier.
Shutterfly also owns TinyPrints, which specializes in custom stationery.
Shutterfly Promo Code
Shutterfly always seems to have a deal on one product or another. You can see the current Shutterfly promo codes by visiting their promotions page. There, you’ll find deals that range from free shipping on certain items to 50% off your order to free photo pages in your photo book order.
Shutterfly Return Policy
Shutterfly has a “100% happiness guarantee.” It stipulates that Shutterfly isn’t happy unless you’re happy.
If you aren’t pleased with an order, you’re encouraged to contact Shutterfly and they will “help make it right.” But the Shutterfly return policy doesn’t explain what that means, whether it’s reprinting your items, refunding your money, or something in between.
Shutterfly Reviews
Shutterfly reviews are a bit all over the place…
On TrustPilot, Shutterfly reviews are decent, with a 4.2-star average rating based on nearly 27,000 reviews. On Sitejabber, the Shutterfly reviews aren’t as good, with a 3.3-star rating based on 874 reviews. On Consumer Affairs, the Shutterfly reviews are slightly better, with a 3.4-star rating based on 448 ratings.
There are also many individual Shutterfly reviews from sites like PC Mag, PC World, and Tom’s Guide. None of these reviews paints a very good picture of Shutterfly.
PCMag gives Shutterfly 3 out of 5 stars. PC World’s Shutterfly review of their photo book clocks in at a dismal 2.5 out of 5 stars. Tom’s Guide isn’t much better - Shutterfly gets 3.5 out of 5 stars in that review.
Shutterfly Metal Print Review
As I mentioned at the beginning of this Shutterfly metal print review, I ordered this print so I could compare its quality to metal prints from six other companies.
The goal here was to order similar prints of the same image to see how each company stacked up against one another in terms of color, image quality, and so forth. The budget was $100.
My 16x20 Shutterfly metal print totaled $80.16. Here’s the price breakdown:
Print: $62.69 (with 35% off)
Tax: $4.48
Shipping: $12.99
I have to say that I had extremely high expectations for my Shutterfly print. I’ve ordered things from Shutterfly before and had a good experience. This is my first Shutterfly metal print, though.
To start with, Shutterfly doesn’t offer custom sizing for their metal prints. That meant I ended up with a 16x20 print when I wanted a 16x24. This was the first issue.
When the print arrived at my door (a full eight days after I placed the order), my first impression was that the print felt really cheap. There’s just not a lot of weight or heft to it that indicates that it’s a quality piece.
The print itself has noticeably soft details (which might be hard to see in the photos...it’s extremely tough photographing highly reflective metal prints). The sharpness of the original image is definitely gone. In terms of image detail and resolution, I’d give this print a 5 out of 10.
Unfortunately, the colors are off, too. Again, I’d give the color accuracy a rating of 5 out of 10.
On the back, the mounting hardware not only looks cheap, but also feels cheap. It’s just three little blocks on the back for mounting. The main block in the middle isn’t even on there straight, so hanging it on the wall would be an adventure.
Really, from top to bottom, front to back, this print is disappointing. It was the cheapest of the bunch, and it shows!
Stay tuned for more details about my Shutterfly metal print in the upcoming under $100 metal print shootout.
