Vistaprint Sublimation Shirts

[Justin]

Had one of my customers ask for a sublimation shirt today. I don't do many any more and price them quite high, all be it I believe fairly. My customer puts on a mark-up obv. which hikes it a little higher.

The lady came back in saying she could get them for £3 from Vistaprint and showed my customer an example. He said it was awful and pointed out the quality of the shirts/print etc. I supply them with.

Looking on the VP website I see they sell 1 shirt at the moment for £2.74. You then have to pay to upload your own design, pay more if you want to see a proof and then I assume postage on top. So the shirt ends up costing considerably more.

I know there are companies that will sell shirts for next to nothing and I just feel that it undervalues the product and can kill the industry.

[Justin]

Rush £14.95 3 Business Days (with order tracking)
Priority £7.00 7 Days
Standard £3.40 14 Days
Slow £2.30 21 Days

They you go, postage prices

[Louise]

A lot of companies do that, loss leader they call it dont they? get you hooked by a cheap offer then they hope you buy better next time or more stuff than you intended. But personally I dont think the public are that stupid (all of the time ) Most will buy it and be very dissappointed and not go back.

You see it all the time in embroidery, someone yesterday came to me as they had got cheap polos embroidered off the net and the colour had all faded out of them in just 3 months! Cheap isnt always the best bet.

is that their postage for the shirt order?

[Justin]

Yeah, that's what it said for 1 t-shirt! You really do get what you pay for

[Kaz]

Vistaprint are a nightmare. As has been nboted, the prices look good, until you get to the P&P, and that's where they rip you off.

Also, when I bought business cards from them a couple fo years ago, I noticed these 2 £9.95 amounts coming out of my bank, phoned them up to see what it was, and they said I agreed, to it, erm, no, I didn't, trhy reluctantly refunded me.

Never ever again would I use them, for anything.

[JSR]

I got one of their little flyers in with my last DVD from Play.com.

It advertises a T-Shirt "was £5.49, Now £2.24" and, next to it, "1 Photo Mug - was £12.49, now £6.24".

I couldn't stop laughing. Who in their right mind would buy a photo mug for £12.49? No way did Vistaprint sell their mug for that price! Even at £6.24, they're pushing the high-end.

And that price is just for one item. You can't buy two t-shirts at £2.24, or two mugs at £6.24. No, the tiny small print says "1 T-Shirt and 1 Mug available only at the sale price". So if you want two mugs, you're paying £18.73. Anyone buying two photo mugs for almost £19 wants to look in the mirror - wherein they'll find a third.

There are hundreds of scare stories over the web about Vistaprint and I wouldn't use them in a million years.

I do get rather offended that, every time I buy something from Amazon, it goes to a page saying how lucky I am to qualify for a Vistaprint special price. Often the same from PayPal. And all these leaflets that get put in with orders from Play.com, Amazon, and lord knows who else (or maybe it's just a bundle deal with all Channel Island's based DVD suppliers?).

I have the impression that Vistaprint spend so much on advertising that they just don't have any money left to actually make the product or provide customer service.

[Ian M]

A friend of mine showed me a T-shirt he had done by Vistaprint & it was very poor quality. In fact it was so thin you could see right through it.

It's like you all say you pay for what you get.

As we say up here in Yorkshire 'you don't get owt for nowt'.

I think Deborah Meaden on Dragons Den suns it all up with her saying 'if it's too good to be true then it usually is'.

Ian

[bms]

I personally have never had a problem with Vistaprint and only use them for their "free" offers plus slow postage. Always had very good service and never a problem with payment - just to offer a slightly balancing argument.

However, the title of this thread might be a little misleading unless something has changed in recent times, 'cos the t-shirts from Vistaprint are thin cotton t-shirts and as we all know (and slap your hands if you don't) you can sublimate onto cotton. These are probably laser printed or someother method - the image/ text stuck to the outside of the t-shirt which is a whole different quality product to sublimation.

[Ian M]

thin cotton t-shirts and as we all know (and slap your hands if you don't) you can sublimate onto cotton.

Martin,

Do you know something the rest of us don't?

[JSR]

Always had very good service and never a problem with payment - just to offer a slightly balancing argument.

You're right. As we all know, people who have complaints shout louder than those who have excellent service.

Trouble is, just Googling for "Vistaprint scam" calls up so many websites and complaints that you couldn't read them all in one lifetime. That's what puts me off.