*** Blurb Photobooks, exclusive TP Member discount! ***

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Chris, chalk it up to experience eh? :)

If it (ever) arrives, and you think the finish is superb, give them another chance in a few months or so, and try the Express delivery :)
 
Just checked my order, was shipped today apparantly.

The countdown begins :D
 
I received mine today and am very pleased with it, as is my wife, I ordered it as a surprise for her as a momento of our 25th wedding anniversary cruise. Very good quality and I only ordered and paid for it on the 20th Jan (I did pay for express shipping), got an email on the 27th to say it had been shipped and it arrived this afternoon (28th).

as I said, the quality is great, the service seems good and I even got the £5 discount as well. Pity the photos are crap (if you want to be bored and have nothing better to do, you can see some of the images here) still the wife thought it was a lovely gesture and it might allow me to buy some more kit later.

Big up for Blurb from me (y)
 
Betty said:
Chris, chalk it up to experience eh? :)

If it (ever) arrives, and you think the finish is superb, give them another chance in a few months or so, and try the Express delivery :)
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Nope. For me they are done. They quite happily tell you by email about the possible delay when you get one, they forget to mention that information when you order. It would appear that if it is lost and you have not picked a tracked option, it is your problem.

I'll leave it until Saturday and then reorder somewhere else - I hate to do it as it's a big book (loads of extra pages) and a lot of reeffort.

I hope that everyone is happy with their order, the moral of my story is GET EXPRESS and pay the extra £20 or so for delivery that they are culpable for.

Chris
 
I can't believe I missed this :(

Is there a limit as to how many books can we order with the discount code? Also, is that discount for each book, or per order?
 
Tulipone said:
should have stayed with tried and trusted.

Chris
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Chris who did you use before Blurb ? i'm waiting on a photobook from "myphotobook" who are based in Germany, i had to send one back and get a replacement as i wasn't happy for various reason's, i will post the full story when the book arrives which should be tomorrow but this has been going on since last October and i'm bloody frothing at the moment :(
 
I apologise, in my earlier post I stated i paid for express shipping, I did not, I paid £10.18 for Priority shipping (which is still tracked).

I will definitely use them again as I had a good experience with them, but had I not I would also be very cheesed off!
 
Chris,

Admittedly I didn't have to pursue any claim as mine eventually turned up, but have you contacted them as the customer service I got from them at no point suggested that it was tough and I'd have to live with it. In fact I forgot to close the contact and they e-mailed me to check on reciept. I know you're done with them and I fully understand why, the quoted delivery times don't appear to bear relation to actually delivery times, but I'd chase some more before giving up on my order / money.
 
Betty said:
Thats lovely Ed! I like the pics of either of you on the dust cover :)

Heres mine if anyones bothered...

http://www.blurb.com/books/543922

Yes its soppy, but thats the point of a Valentines present ;)
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They're great pictures of you together Betty, I have been married for 25 years and I doubt we have a dozen pictures of us together other than our wedding photos. Bit difficult you see when you are behind a camera, also until I lost all my weight i would shy from having my photo taken so there are actually very few of me in existance from the previous 20 years.

I knoe this is off topic, and it may sound a little morbid, but, give a thought to having some photographs taken of yourself (not you Betty, I refering to everyone here), I know you prefer being behind the camera (we all do, and we all think/know we can do it better) but idf anything happens to you (god forbid) please leave a legacy in pictures for your family. Until the last couple of years I pretty much had none, and it is only lately I realise how much it may mean to them in the future. (It may not of course because I'm a grumpy old git, but I like to think it may).
 
TG. said:
Chris who did you use before Blurb ? i'm waiting on a photobook from "myphotobook" who are based in Germany, i had to send one back and get a replacement as i wasn't happy for various reason's, i will post the full story when the book arrives which should be tomorrow but this has been going on since last October and i'm bloody frothing at the moment :(
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Hmmm....tried the Aldi service - that was swift but the quality was awful. In fact when I returned the (second) book to them (they said to keep it) they wrote a nice letter back fully agreeing with me. Gave me a credit for a free book next order - shredded the voucher when it arrived just to prevent temptation.

Photobox is pretty good and speedy (IMHO). Not as cheap as Blurb and most claim that the quality is not great. Probably have 3 or 4 from them.

Bonus print is also pretty good and swift, with similar comments from others. I think that their software is better than Photobox.

The best I have used (to date) WAS Jessops/Pixology. i think that they have changed their suppliers since I last used them so cannot comment.

We go on holidays 4 -5 times a year, thats what we do best!

Perhaps this needs to be opened out in a new thread - a discussion about quality of photobooks?

Chris
 
Since we are sharing....http://www.blurb.com/books/529753

Most of it appears to be missing at the end!

EdBray - interested in your thoughts on the crusie - we are thinking about one.

Betty - To be young and in love! Ed was talking about the need for photos of yourself - I cannot think of a better thing to give to someone.

Chris
 
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Betty said:
You've missed nothing! The code is still valid Wail :)
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Right, but I am not too sure I can make the deadline.

As it so happens, I haven't imported my pictures on to my hard drive; and don't want to do so until my new Macbook Pro arrives, which isn't until the middle of February :shrug:


So, it may be that I will miss the discount ... but I do plan to get a few books, even if I can't get the discount.
 
I totally agree Ed. Most of those pics I took myself though, camera at arms length! :D

Get snapping people, and dont always hide behind the camera!
 
Tulipone said:
EdBray - interested in your thoughts on the crusie - we are thinking about one.
Chris
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Okay Chris, my thoughts on the cruise, glad I did it, enjoyed it for what it was but I never felt I connected with the people at the places we visited.

Always seemed to get there too late and leave too early. Great way to see different places and people but never get to know them. Excursions were very, very expensive, we spent over £1000 alone on excursions during our 15 days onboard (average was between £50-60 each per excursion). It got very tedious having to be back onboard every evening by 5 or 6 pm and then having to do pretty much the same thing as the evening before. 15 days was at least 5 days too long for me. For me it was just like going on lots of short day trips.

My wife enjoyed it more than me, to be honest I would probably have been happier with a couple of seperate weeks in a couple of different places, although we did visit a few places that we will return to for a proper visit, especially Rhodes (loved it to bits, very photogenic and steeped in history) and Croatia (beautiful, very turbulent history, lovely people and cheap).

I personally would never do a cruise again unless it was a freebie and was for no more than a week, but I have some friends who love them and go on at least 2 or 3 a year, each to their own.

Total cost in Cruise, Excursions, and spending money came to about £4000.
 
NEWSFLASH. My photobook arrived today. 27 days from date of order to delivery.

Has anyone else got a Blurb book to hand? Should the binding be stuck in, or are your pages just held in by the front page? Also the picture stuck to the front of the book. Mine is a bit iffy with the picture at the spine not properly stuck down.

I paid for premium paper and it is obviously better - but has anyone else had any photobooks from anywhere else as well as Blurb? Is the quality better?

Chris
 
Im on day 26 and waiting, Obviously wont be here tomorrow so Im looking at 28 days at least, Even for economy thats a poor effort. The book only has 20 pages in it.
 
Blurb have today offered to reprint the defective book. I hope that everyone else continues to get a good quality product.

Chris
 
I am worried mine wont be here for Valentines Day :(

Shame your's didnt pass QC Chris :(
 
Me too Del, Ive got really high hopes for this, Ive even started my 365 book with them to get published at the end of the year :(
 
Well mine turned up today, Order 5th Jan arrived 3rd Feb. Even for economy thats shocking!

I must say though I am thouroughly impressed with the product and I can say I will be ordering with them again, Ive not got an issue with the quality.
 
asterix said:
Well mine turned up today, Order 5th Jan arrived 3rd Feb. Even for economy thats shocking!
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I get the impression, postage seems to be snails pace from Europe, seems strange really when you can order something from the far east and get it within five to six days :shrug:
 
shipping time from europe isnt great for anything, i did say that earlier in the thread. Tullipone im sorry you had an issue with quality, yours does seem to be an isolated incident though
 
Matty, Do you work for Blurb, It seems criticism of them does sit well with you, If they get the praise they must take the flak when needed, Qaulity issues and ridiculous delivery times must be stated to others about to order. Delivery times from Europe can be slow, But not as slow as 30 days.

As I said, Quality is fine with mine, delivery was poor, others need to bear that in mind if they ordering say a proof book for a wedding etc, Allow time before promising your customers.
 
no I dont work for them, but as we are promoting the business on the forums a little I like to stick my nose in, we spent a long time thinking about and examining what Blurb do before allowing them to become traders and sponsors of the competition, so we know that they are a solid company.

You are right to point out the flaws in the service though, delivery times should be noted, but from my own experience with europe and the way the post seems to go, 28 days after christmas isnt bad. My company waited longer for a parcel from france, so its not unusual.

I understand that there is going to be an update to the website at some point to make people aware of longer delivery times for the basic delivery cost, so the comments hear do not fall on deaf ears.

Quality issues are few and far between it seems, however issues should be bought to the attention of Blurb first, it is there product afterall, it looks like issues are taken seriously as the duff product is being replaced, so that is also good.

Personally I like to see things that I am happy to put my name to (via the forums) be well received, negative things always seem to play on people more than positives.
 
I'm glad to hear that the views of those of us who have used Blurb as a result of their promotion on TP has been taken on board. As I have already said the quality of the product I recieved was excellent and I will use them again. The delivery times do leave a little to be desired though and it is this that, as a group we can hopefully affect some change.
 
I am content to send my book to Matty for his inspection for quality. If he thinks that the quality is acceptable then I will happily retract my comments on the forum.

I also do not have an issue with the delivery time that Blurb claim it takes for delivery on their website. If I am given the accurate information in which to make a decision, then I can decide what option I wish to pay for. Unfortunately it was not the 4-7 business days they still claim, it was more like 21 days - 15 odd working days. Thats a big difference. Especially when the book is defective when it arrives.

I had decided that I would say no more about this and this is the last. If Matty would like the book (when the replacement arrives) please PM the address, I leave it to him to make any further comment.

Chris
 
Tulipone said:
I am content to send my book to Matty for his inspection for quality. If he thinks that the quality is acceptable then I will happily retract my comments on the forum.

I also do not have an issue with the delivery time that Blurb claim it takes for delivery on their website. If I am given the accurate information in which to make a decision, then I can decide what option I wish to pay for. Unfortunately it was not the 4-7 business days they still claim, it was more like 21 days - 15 odd working days. Thats a big difference. Especially when the book is defective when it arrives.

I had decided that I would say no more about this and this is the last. If Matty would like the book (when the replacement arrives) please PM the address, I leave it to him to make any further comment.

Chris
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I wouldn't want anyone to retract their comments when they are clearly valid. I know that if I had had to wait as long as you to recieve a substandard book I'd be angry and I can understand why you wouldn't use them again. However, most of us do seem to have had a long wait that was eventually worth it as the books have been very good quality, hence my comments.
 
matty said:
shipping time from europe isnt great for anything,
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apart from plants, in my business we buy plants from Holland and they get delivered 2 days later. I find it very strange these books take so long, I wonder what the real reason is? I've ordered mine and its been dispatched, we'll have to wait and see.. :) fingers crossed!
 
I need my book by Saturday as a Valentines present, I am getting really worried now :(:(
 
Hi everyone,

Just jumping in from Blurb HQ. Really sorry to hear that some of you are frustrated that the delivery of your books is taking so long. While we offer Economy shipping, because it is not trackable, we recommend the trackable options instead. While our Economy carriers post expected delivery times on their websites, which is what we go off of, we find that orders going Economy can take up to 20 days to arrive. Not great, we know, but some folks prefer Economy prices and don't mind the wait.

We recently updated our Shipping Information page to set better expectations around our non-trackable Economy shipping options. Hope that helps.

So, please contact our customer support department if your order hasn't been received within 20 business days so they can order a reprint if necessary. Customer support can definitely help out.

Thanks for your patience.
 
Thanks for taking time to join and explain Dean, Much apprciated. Well done on updating site too to inform folk of delivery times
 
Tulipone said:
I am content to send my book to Matty for his inspection for quality. If he thinks that the quality is acceptable then I will happily retract my comments on the forum.

I also do not have an issue with the delivery time that Blurb claim it takes for delivery on their website. If I am given the accurate information in which to make a decision, then I can decide what option I wish to pay for. Unfortunately it was not the 4-7 business days they still claim, it was more like 21 days - 15 odd working days. Thats a big difference. Especially when the book is defective when it arrives.

I had decided that I would say no more about this and this is the last. If Matty would like the book (when the replacement arrives) please PM the address, I leave it to him to make any further comment.

Chris
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no need to send it to me, i dont think i suggested it WASNT duff, i just stated that it seems to be the exception rather than the norm.
 
fritter said:
apart from plants, in my business we buy plants from Holland and they get delivered 2 days later. I find it very strange these books take so long, I wonder what the real reason is? I've ordered mine and its been dispatched, we'll have to wait and see.. :) fingers crossed!
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if they took a long time they'd be explants!:D
 
Thanks for the info Dean :)

I dont mind the wait at all, its just having ordered my book on 19/01/09, I thought there would be plenty of time for it to arrive by 14/02/09. There's time yet, but a reprint wont be necessary :)
 
I thought that I would finalise my issues on thread. Blurb reprinted the replacement book and sent it via UPS. I had notification a couple of days ago that it had been sent and it arrived today. The replacement book does not have the defects of the original and the courier delivered timely. Unfortunately I was out and the guy helpfully chucked it over the gate. Anyone else have torrential rain today? Not Blurbs issue, just hope it dries out okay!

Chris
 
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