Business cards are COOL. At least they can be! My name is Diana Ratliff, and you might consider me a “business card evangelist.” I’m not a printer or graphic designer. (I’m actually a Pages
Stay In Touch
More
© 2011 Business Card Design
I said on my business card printer review page that I’m leery of ordering business cards (or frankly, anything else) from Vistaprint.com. Here’s why.
Let me start off by saying that I did not personally have problems on the few business card orders I placed with them in years past. I think some of their card designs are really attractive, their “250 free cards” offer was sheer marketing genius, and I even wrote a couple of columns for them in their first email newsletters. And there are many happy customers.
But I have concerns that I feel you should know about.
Their business cards are smaller and thinner than standard.
Vistaprint.com cards are smaller than anyone else’s cards I’ve seen; 3.43″ by 1.93″ (or 87mm x 49mm). See this page for their “document trim size” and other artwork specifications. People think I’m making this up, so prove it to yourself by putting a Vistaprint card on top of a standard-sized business card. And they don’t TELL you their cards are smaller, which bugs me.
They’re also thinner/lighter than most business cards – 10pt. I did some research on paper weights; it’s confusing, but maybe it helps to know that standard 3×5 index cards are 110# stock. And 100# weight cover paper is 11 pts. (See http://www.paper-paper.com/weight.html). So 10 pt cards aren’t very thick or sturdy.
Now some people like thick cards, and some people like thin. So thin business cards aren’t necessarily bad. But personal preferences aside, why should you care if their cards are smaller than other printers’ cards?
Because perceptions matter. If you’re out to impress a client, and your business cards have less size and less weight, YOUR BUSINESS can be perceived as being somehow “less”, too. Cheap. Flimsy. Not around for the long haul. Not a very good business image to have.
Maybe a 10pt WEIGHT card is fine for you, but when that business card is also smaller in SIZE… well, I don’t see how that can enhance your reputation at all.
I know, I know, maybe you’re a Vistaprint customer and you never noticed this and no one’s ever said anything negative about your cards – but believe me, SOME people WILL notice. They’ll just be too polite to say so.
So am I saying that VistaPrint’s cards are okay, but not for business use? Well, not really.
Second: Lots of customer complaints.
I’m not making this up, either. Read all these complaints. (Type Vistaprint scam or Vistaprint ripoff or Vistaprint problem into Google and you’ll find more.) Several years ago, there were a lot more. VistaPrint used to have an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau; the service area of Eastern Massachusetts, Maine & Vermont, ranked them #1 of the top 10 most complained about businesses with an unsatisfactory Reliability Report in the past 12 months as of 12/31/2006.
As of 2010, they have an A+ BBB rating – so evidently they’re doing something better! But that still concerns me.
Third: They’re not that cheap, anyway!
People initially visit VistaPrint.com to try out their free offer. It’s hard to beat “free”, so I understand the appeal! – even though every free card does have the “cost” of you giving them an ad on the back side of the card. Many people choose to upgrade from the free offer and pay for their cards.
But if you’re going to pay for your business cards, Vistaprint.com isn’t that great a value, compared to other printers. See BusinessCardPrinterComparisonChart.pdf. Most online business cards printers don’t charge for additional images, but Vistaprint does. Their turnaround time is around the longest (Standard shipping, not their “Slow” option – and again, this is what THEY SAY their shipping time is, not my opinion) and the coating on their business cards is not UV coating, which most others use.
In Short:
Lots of people like Vistaprint.com’s cards, are happy customers, and have had no problems. Good! But this company just makes me uncomfortable. And I wonder how they (or ANY company) can give away so much for free, which is why many use people them. Ever heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”?
Given that there are other business card printers with excellent reputations, cheaper prices, and beautiful cards, I don’t recommend ordering business cards from Vistaprint.com.
If you think this information is important, please tell your friends!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I am an artist and designer, and for postcards and very short run business cards (for barbershop quartets for example) I have found VP to be an excellent investment. I’ve been a reseller for years, and I still get oooohs and aaaaahs over my cards for eagleturtle, although I last printed in 2006. The stock is NOT substandard. When I need a thousand cards at a time, I go to large printers, but the shortrun postcards are brilliantly colored repros of my paintings, sculptures, and graphics. I do wish they would optimize for PNG files, but otherwise, for the purpose they just can’t be beat. I MUCH prefer dealing locally, but the costs for shortruns are prohibitive. I do think they ‘eat our lunch’ on shipping, but the total-wash is comparatively economical.
~eagleturtle
Vistaprint makes us honest graphic designers look like we’re ripping off our clients. I’ve lost business to Vistaprint because clients say why should they pay me when they can get the cards for free from Vistaprint? The old adage “You get what you pay for” certainly applies here. I design custom business cards and don’t follow a template, and I don’t overbill and provide shoddy merchandise.
I have to agree with the comments about size and weight. I had used Vistaprint for free postcards previously and was happy with the product I received. So when I required business cards I actually paid to upload my design from the graphic designer and was devastated when I received them. As you mentioned they were smaller, lighter but worse the font was so small I practically needed glasses to read them (and I don’t normally use glasses) this was not evident when I looked at the proof.
I know they’re not top of the line, but they serve their purpose for most people who are on a budget. I’ve never had any problem with the cards I’ve gotten from them, which I use to advertise my novel. For something more elegant, I’d probably use a local printer.
In my experience, people who say that VistaPrint’s prices are not really all that great don’t actually know how to take advantage of all of the extra offers that VistaPrint provides…I just bought 250 Business Cards, a 50 sheet pad of Sticky Notes, 140 Return Address Labels, and a metal Business Card Holder. The Business Cards, Sticky Notes, and Return Address Labels each have my own personal uploaded photo on them, so my price includes paying for three individual photo uploads, but my total order, with shipping, came to only $33.92. That’s with $.99 shipping, because I pay attention to the emails they send me.
I also bought all of my Save The Dates(250), Invitations(100), RSVPs(100) and envelopes(100) for my wedding from them for under $100 total, and was incredibly pleased with the service and quality. When I accidentally clicked on one of their offers to “Order 100 more Save The Dates” for an additional charge if I ordered within twenty minutes, well AFTER the twenty minute deadline AND closed my webpage before it even loaded the additional products, I was pretty upset when I saw that they added the extra charge to my order anyway. I sent an email to their customer service, not expecting to receive a response for a couple of days, if at all, and within six hours they had refunded me back for the additional amount, and sent me an email telling me that they would still be sending the extra cards out, at no additional cost.
So, all in all, I love VistaPrint. Pay attention to the email offers that they send, as annoying as they may be to get every few days. I just have a VistaPrint folder in my email that I send them all too when I don’t feel like dealing with them at the moment. Then I go back later when I’m looking to place another order. Most of their offers are still good well beyond the deadline, so you don’t actually have to always read them right away.
I have noticed that VistaPrint cards are pretty low quality. I can remember two specific instances someone handed me a business card and as soon as I touched it, I shuddered and thought “Vistaprint…”. I will still do business with them though, normally when someone hands me their card it is because I am selling them something – if it was the other way round, I may think twice.
Wish I had seen this post before I bought my business cards. My previous employer got business cards through Vistaprint and they were decent card stock and the normal size. But I just created a new order a few weeks ago and my new business cards look smaller and cheaper than any I’ve seen before.
It literally looks like a cheap imitation of a real business card…feels like a knockoff made in china. I sent a nasty email to customer support, but I guess it’s my own fault for not doing some proper research beforehand.
I figured how hard can it be to create some friggin business cards, you know?
I just wanted to say I agree with you that there is something suspicious about “free”…I think I figured out what it is…on the back of the absolutely free cards they advertise THEMSELVES..ON MY BUSINESS CARD!
I am debating whether or not to order them at this point. To get rid of their advertisement its $4.00. That already is a bad taste in my mouth…and as a person in the psychology field I agree with you about the smaller card comment. However, starting out and looking for work..this may not be the worst deal for $4.00. Will have to think about it.
I like them for labels and checks but I wouldn’t get the business cards from them. While everything looks like it’s cheaper on the surface the truth is they rape you on shipping costs.
Thank you so much for this post!
I had paid for a print off, noticed it was smaller than all the other cards in my purse and when I rang to ask about it they were very vaugue and claimed it to be standard size. I thought it was bacuse it was premium business card but at least now I know I’m not just going crazy!
I’ll be ordering elsewhere.
I admit, I did start out using Vistaprint but have grown professionally. Being in the graphics, print industry, it has to be known: Vistaprint is amateur, cheap, and people recognize Vistaprint cards all the time. Small biz needs to understand that your biz card is a reflection of the way you conduct business: professionally or amateur-ish. Image is important.
Vistaprint will give you FREE at a one time deal and then when re-ordering, they hit you with a cost plus shipping charge. I agree its a great selling tactic but its not a long lasting relationship for small biz serious about their image.
I agree with the article. I was very happy with first couple of orders but did upgrade where I could. Definitely smaller – this last lot seems smaller than before but I have not checked – still looks cheesy although it has a nice glossy finish. I would be interested in the “best” companies.
Hello Tim,
I don’t know who provides substandard product or doesn’t. But I can tell you that Vista Print spends a lot of money on advertising and a bit of time (=money) on junk mail. Money that I do not feel like reimbursing someone for. If you would provide a link of some kind to your business…. I do not know the protocols for this type of request or if you would be breaking any rules by providing contact info, but it would be appreciated. I want my business to stand out. I want a card that can stay in a wallet for ten years, survive the test of time and come out still looking good. I don’t need it to survive a nuclear holocaust, but I want it to look GOOD and have some texture and appeal and be legible.
most people should know by now if something says free-that they might not be the highest quality. but i have ordered from them too and they were high quality good stock paper etc.
I have to both “agree” and disagree” with what’s been written here. First, the “disagree”. I deciced to spend a few extra bucks and get Vistaprint’s “premium” cards with the gloss coating on the main side of the card. I have to admit I was impressed with the quality of the stock and gloss coat finish on the main side of the card. I did upload my own design and added my company logo and wording on the backside. Everyone person I showed the card to was impressed, including some rather large company CEOs.
Now for the “agree” part. I do agree that by the time you select “premium” stock and all the other add-ons, the price jumps considerably above what Vistaprint leads you on to believe. BUT still, the cost ran about $40 for 500 cards and they got to me in 7 business days – far less than what I was quoted by local quality printers who I can’t imagine would have produced any better of a business card.
However, admin is absolutely correct about the cards being slightly smaller in size AND Vistaprint not telling you this up front. In fact, Vistaprint misleads you by stating their business cards are standard industry size of 2″ by 3.5″. Now, is the “really” a big deal? Well, I guess not too much when you consider very few people (if any) would ever notice the difference. After all, how many people hold up business cards to each other to compare size, right? But I agree with admin that it’s the principle of the matter – and that does tick me off.
I have let Vistaprint know my displeasure on the “misleading” of the card’s size.
So, final word – if you’re going to buy from Vistaprint, know up front the cards will be a tad smaller in size and be sure to order the “premium” stock of cards.
I had my business cards made by a local printing company. For one of my colleagues, I used Vistaprint. Overall, the local printing company did a much better job. It took Vistaprint a couple times to get it right. They originally printed the card crooked and have poor qualify control. However, they did send replacements with no hassle. There was a big difference in price; over $100 for the printer and $10 for Vistaprint. The Vistaprint cards are decent. You get what you pay for.
It was very upsetting to see how crappy the VistaPrint non-standard cards looked on 2″ x 3-1/2″ magnets purchased elsewhere! I got an immediate refund.
I don’t get the undersize stuff they use. To the best of my knowledge, they don’t even try to explain it.
I’d rate them a big, fat ZERO.
I don’t agree with their whole ‘free’ ordeal anyway. I went to the site (after hearing about them on commercials and such) saw the option to make a ‘free logo’. So I tried it out and then went to add it to the cart — assuming it would be free, but no! $19.99 for a downloaded logo file. That’s not free… anyone could just take a picture of the image anyway, ‘course I didn’t do that, I’ll just design my own and scan it into the computer.