Review of Vistaprint: Great for my small business

Summary of Post

My positive experience using Vistaprint for a small business venture, how you can order stuff for free, tips to maximizing your savings, and best of all links to all that free stuff! I have been a customer since 2009 and they remain my go-to site for hassle-free ordering of business cards, address labels, brochures, banners and heaps of other stuff that is perfect for promoting my small business. With a bit of planning and waiting for their free offers, I have successfully ordered Vistaprint products worth over $2200 over the years, and paid nothing (yes, that's zero, nada, zilch) except for shipping. 

Vistaprint BBB Scam Complaints Galore?

Before I sat down to write my review, I googled 'Vistaprint review' to see what other folks had to say about  Vistaprint , and I was kinda surprised. 

Some folks had had 'fraudulent' $14.95 monthly charges from unwittingly
signing up for Vistaprint affiliate offers like 'Passport to Fun', which is a rewards membership program. Now I've used and loved 'Passport to Fun' and similiar rewards programs (see my review of Trilegiant, Shopper's Advantage, Buyer's Advantage) and I can see how this could happen. With Vistaprint, after you have completed your purchase, a screen pops up offering you $10 back on your order if you sign up for some reward membership program, usually a 30 day free trial period. After the free trial, you'll be charged a monthly service fee for the membership until you call to cancel. Just be careful not to sign up if you don't want to try out the offer. Me on the other hand, whenever I shop at Vistaprint, I take advantage of these offers to get some money back while trying out a new rewards program, and cancel before the end of the free trial. A win-win situation for yours truly.

There were also a bunch of complaints on the quality of Vistaprint's products and the inflated shipping costs. Personally, I have been extremely satisfied with everything I ordered and had many compliments on the banners, business cards and promotional brochures I hand out at events. The shipping costs are expensive if you order late and want rush shipping. I saved a lot by ordering way ahead and choosing the 21 day shipping option (the cheapest). And my orders have all arrived quickly, some in 5 - 7 days.

How to Maximize Savings at Vistaprint

First, keep an eye out for any of their ads saying FREE stuff and if it’s free for the stuff you want, go ahead and click through to get the offer. (One ad example below). That’s how I made my first purchase. After that, I got weekly emails with different offers and made subsequent purchases by clicking through those emails with the best offers. (The emails can get annoying to some, so make sure to use your alternative email that you don’t mind getting ‘spammed’ at). 

My most favorite offer is the ‘FREE FREE FREE small banner, lawn sign, business cards, post cards, brochures, cap, t-shirt, bag, fridge magnet, return address labels PLUS free design uploads’. I design all my promotional materials according to the templates Vistaprint provides, then upload the design and am good to go. Here are some links to free Vistaprint products that I compiled for my own easy click-thru and hope you find useful too!

• Get $5 off your purchase (guaranteed to work)
• Get a small vinyl banner sign FREE. Plus save 50% off other sizes.
• New Customer Offer. Get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25, plus save 25% off Your First Order at Vistaprint.
• FREE Business Cards! WOW! Bonus: Order Today and ger FREE Shipping on orders over $50!
• Free T-shirt
• Free Holiday Photo Book (plus 50% off premium photo books. Great gift.)
• Free Photo Calendar (choose from Wall or Desk calendar.)
• Free small Tote Bag (plus Save 50% Off Other Sizes)
• FREE SHIPPING and save 25% Off Sitewide

When I first started out, I just chose one of their many stock designs, and got my business cards free, but as my business grew, I got creative and wanted my own designs on these materials. The upload is no longer free nowadays, but at 50% off, and it’s still totally worth it, in my opinion. Also, if you’re reordering something where you previously uploaded a design for, you can reuse that design and skip paying any upload fee.

Below is one of my bills from one of Vistaprint’s FREE everything offers. 250 business cards (worth $20), 25 brochures (worth $40), 100 postcards (worth $24), 25 fridge magnets (worth $13). Total value was $97 and I paid nothing but shipping of $11.63.

I’d love to hear what your experiences with Vistaprint were! Please do leave a comment at the end of this post!

By the way, I've also compiled in one handy location, links with discounts and coupons to all the places where I shop online. Check out Where Gracie Shops!

Peace.