“I’ve used Shutterfly for many years building photo books. The thing that irks me the most is how they jerk you around on their pricing. When building a photo book the header always gives you a cost, but this cost is always some sort of discounted price. Then when you go to the cart to apply the myriad of discount codes they inundate you with (like 50% off) the “discounted” price magically increases to the full list price that you never see during the book building process. In essence, they are lying to you about the true retail list cost of the photo book. It’s a twisted marketing scheme that really is unfair. Tell me what the book costs then apply the discount codes to show the true savings, why lie about it?
The same thing just happened today doing a Christmas card. The cart subtotal price BEFORE applying any codes was $74.10 then I applied the 50% off code and the subtotal price jumped to the list price of $122.10. So the discount only applies to the full list price leaving a subtotal price of $61.05, which is really only a 18% discount! Why would they play these games with loyal customers? Are they hurting that bad? I’m tired of their games with pricing, so see ya Shutterfly, I’m going elsewhere!”
“I have used Shutterfly for at least 15 years. Although they have expanded the products they offer over the years, the quality of their products have slowly declined over time. For example, their prints used to be good overall, with decent color saturation and contrast. That is no longer the case. One of their best services is photo printing in larger or unusual sizes (e.g., 12 x 12), but instead of shipping the photos flat, they now roll them, which causes the photograph to be wavy inside the frame. Finally, they have once again updated their photobook creation tool. While there are a few new features, it takes much longer to create the same type of page/spread I used to make. Additionally, they removed some features that were essential. For example, you can no longer justify text in a textbook, which is the standard in bookmaking. You also can no longer move items (e.g., photos, textboxes) using your computer's arrow keys -- this means that you can't move items by a very small amount. Although it sounds silly, it takes forever to align your headings, stickers, textboxes, etc. Finally, the quality of the photobooks have declined over time. If you compare a basic album I made 10 years ago to a basic album I made last month, the difference is obvious -- the older album looks so much better, and I didn't have to pay for all the extra upgrades they require today to make a decent album (e.g., upgraded color, paper quality, cover quality, etc.).”
“Shutterfly was my very favorite site to make books until they changed the interface. Now it was impossible for me to use. I tried. I could not design my book.”
“they have no idea what they are doing, sent them a photo and they cropped three people out of it, tried customer service, IDIOTS, do not use shutterfly”
“I ordered a “free” photo book and paid almost $50 for shipping and handling. I only wish their “handling” was worth something. Somehow my book title was deleted and they literally printed “Book Title” and “Book Subtitle” on the hardcover of my book. When I called about their 100% satisfaction policy, they offered me a new code for a reprint of the book, but I was still responsible for the S&H. This is so frustrating! If only 1 REAL person had looked, they could’ve sent an email ensuring that’s what I wanted printed on front but I’m sure now that it must all be automated and computer-driven. Such a bummer.
#sweepstakes”
“Photos were printed with the tops of the head off but does. It appear that way on line.
Getting customer service to simply fix the problem and resend new prints is a fiasco.”
“This company has no logical process for getting the product to the customer...I created a photo album as a special gift for friends in France to take with me on my trip. I leave in a few days and still no photo album and UPS doesn't have the package yet. I've called three times and was told they will reprint and expedite the shipping at no cost...So I'm going on my trip without this gift.
Do Not Use This Company....they do not deliver your product ... They can't even manage to get the items shipped in a timely manner. It has been a horrible experience!”
“The process asks if you want to send a card with the order. As it was a gift, I said yes. Shutterfly then completed the process without mentioning the gift. So, instead of a surprise, I had to call the recipient and let them know it was coming. I hopped on their chat support, which was a mistake. Their chat support is very slow. I kept thinking the connection had dropped, but they were just really slow. After about 10 minutes, they said they couldn't do anything once the order is set. Needless to say, it's my last purchase from them.”
“What began as a lingering technical issue gradually escalated into a serious account lockout, creating uncertainty and mounting pressure. Conventional support channels failed to provide clarity or progress, which only added to the frustration. After careful consideration, I reached out to U.R.F, under the leadership of Unique Services. From the outset, their approach was methodical and reassuring. The team conducted a thorough assessment, identified the root cause of the security compromise, and acted swiftly to restore full access. More importantly, they reinforced my account with advanced protective measures, ensuring the long-term safety of my portfolio. Their expertise proved invaluable at a critical moment.”
“I’ve used Shutterfly for years (15? 18?) for our holiday cards and have always been pleased. This year, 2025, the site keeps hustling me to an AI version of my wording on the back of the card and is not giving me a preview of our words/ OUR NAME on final preview of our holiday card!! Nope. I do not want to receive 80 cards to send out that states “Merry Christmas, THE ROBINSONS”. We are not the Robinsons. (Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?!) 😢”
“I used Shutterfly to send out my holiday cards. I used their "We'll Mail Your Cards For You" option. I wrote a personal message to each recipient. I made sure the personalized message matched the correct address. I submitted my orders and Shutterfly then prepared the order and mailed the cards for me. I don't know what the heck went wrong but Shutterfly duplicated two of the 40+ individual cards I prepared and sent only those two to all of my recipients. No one got the card they were supposed to get. No one saw the personalized message I wrote to them. But even worse, one of the cards they sent out had a very personal, private message meant for that recipient's eyes only. It was not something for the world to see. But thanks to Shutterfly, numerous friends and other family members received that card and saw that very private message. To say I'm angry is an understatement. Obviously there was nothing they could do; the damage was done. I received a full refund which was the least they could do but it doesn't undo their colossal screw-up. I will never use them again...not for cards, not for a personalized mug...nothing. They offered a service...if you can't do it right, then don't offer it.”
“I placed an order for Christmas cards and labels. Shutterfly is so backwards, you can't place an order for 2 items on the same order. You must order each individually with separate order numbers. My Costco discount did not populate on my 2 orders so I called to get my discount and found that shutterfly had the wrong costco member number in their system for my orders. I corrected them as I was told they have a new system?( I have bought from them for the last 5 years so it has always been the same costco member
number) I was told that even though it was shutterfly's fault , not mine they still could not credit me back the 51% costco discount on my $275,00 order. Therefore, I asked to cancel both of my orders. They told me they could not cancel my orders, so I should decline receipt of my orders and have them sent back? Pathetic customer service. They obviously do not appreciate return customers. I will never buy from them again!!!!!!”
“1/5 Stars: Unauthorized and Arbitrary Charges - A Complete Disappointment
My experience with Shutterfly has deteriorated into a nightmare of unauthorized and arbitrary charges on my credit card. I am writing this review to warn others about their billing practices, which I can only describe as deceptive and incredibly frustrating.
In previous years, they would charge my account as if I had an annual subscription repeatedly without any corresponding order or clear explanation. These are not charges for products I've ordered, subscriptions I've knowingly agreed to, or services I've actively used. They appear randomly and without warning, draining funds from my account for no discernible reason.
I was just emailed by Shutterfly and they state the charges are legit. It's clear that their billing system is either deeply flawed or intentionally designed to generate unwarranted charges, and their customer support seems incapable or unwilling to rectify the problem.
This situation has created a loss of trust in Shutterfly. A company that cannot manage its billing transparently and accurately, and that continues to charge customers without authorization, is not one that deserves anyone's business.”
