VistaPrint is a direct mail service that helps small businesses create expertly designed products. From business cards and stickers to signs and shipping supplies, VistaPrint literally has it all. VistaPrint is a customizable platform that can transform your brand with ease.
VistaPrint Compared to the Best Direct Mail Services
VistaPrint is an excellent direct mail service for its wide range of products and customizable options. But it’s certainly not the only option that made our top list. After reviewing dozens of options, we found a few Golden Eggs that also offer excellent direct mail services.
Gunderson Direct is our number one recommendation for most people because of its customizable campaigns and advanced reporting features. Contact Gunderson Direct today for a free custom proposal.
NextDayFlyers is a great alternative for next-day printing capabilities, with customizable schedules and mailing lists. You can sign up for its email list today for exclusive offers.
Lob is the perfect platform for API integration and fast delivery, allowing you to get ahead of the game. Sign up to Lob today for a free demo.
VistaPrint: The Good and the Bad
Just like for all direct mail services, there will be good and bad features to consider. After extensive research, we found that VistaPrint offers excellent features that most users are happy to continue using, with a few drawbacks that could make or break the product. Let’s take a deep dive into both sides of the spectrum before you decide.
What VistaPrint Is Good At
VistaPrint offers a wide range of services and products with simple design functionalities for the fastest and most professional service possible. You can expect excellent quality of your finished product, and with a fully integrated sustainability practice and customizable options, you can trust VistaPrint to get the job done without compromising on quality or design freedom.
Wide range of services: VistaPrint offers the widest range of services compared to any other direct mail platform on the market today. You can quite literally print on anything you can think of, including business cards, magnets, marketing materials, labels and stickers, clothing and bags, signs and banners, home and gifts, invitations and stationery, and promotional products. Not only that, but VistaPrint is constantly offering new arrivals, such as poly mailers, flat pouches, and fabric displays.
Simple design functionalities: Within VistaPrint’s design services, you can choose from general design services, a logo maker, a QR code generator, and custom wedding illustrations. All of its design functionalities are extremely easy to navigate, with search bar functions, drag-and-drop tools, and the ability to hire a freelance designer if you don’t have the time to create designs from scratch. VistaPrint has a 24-hour turnaround and three revisions for its design process, and all you need to submit is your idea, product, and reference images.
Excellent quality products: According to hundreds of user reviews across multiple review sites, VistaPrint has very high-quality products. Whether you are printing a design on clothing or tote bags, VistaPrint never compromises on quality. In fact, if VistaPrint finds that your reference images are too low quality, too complex, or the font is inadequate, VistaPrint will give you a complimentary design review and will email you a list of revisions within 24 hours, ensuring that you never pay for a low-quality design.
Sustainability practices: Constant paper printing and the manufacturing of diverse materials can take a toll on the environment, and VistaPrint acknowledges this by implementing a sustainability program to minimize its environmental impact. According to VistaPrint’s website, 95% of its paper products are printed on the highest standard of paper-certified material, it has eliminated 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases from its operations since 2017, and the company is currently committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040. VistaPrint is reducing its carbon footprint by using less electricity, practicing responsible forestry, and installing greener technology—including LED lighting and curing.
Customization options: You can customize almost every product on VistaPrint’s website. Whether you want to create custom business cards or wedding invitations, VistaPrint gives you the tools to create a personalized product for any need. VistaPrint also offers templates for different products to give you a headstart in your design process, which are all completely customizable. You can change colors, fonts, images, and sizes with ease.
What VistaPrint Is Lacking
While VistaPrint offers high-quality products with sustainable measures, it still lacks in a few ways. VistaPrint has quite expensive shipping rates, and a few users have mentioned its terrible customer support and slow delivery times, which has been a recurring issue.
Expensive shipping rates: Unfortunately, VistaPrint has very high shipping rates compared to other direct mail services on the market. For example, many other platforms offer shipping for $2.49 across the US and $9.99 internationally, with the package arriving after 2-6 business days. However, VistaPrint offers to ship your products for $7.99 after eight business days. For six business days or express shipping, you will have to pay $9.99 and $21.99, respectively.
VistaPrint bases its shipping costs on the amount you spend, and you will have to pay a more expensive rate the more you purchase at VistaPrint. If you spend more than $75 on VistaPrint’s website, you will have to pay between $16.99 to $42.99 for express shipping. And not all products are available for express shipping, including clothing and bags, promotional products, photo books, sample kits, and checks.
Subpar customer support: While many reviewers claim that VistaPrint’s customer service representatives are kind, they still found that they weren’t helpful or timely. One reviewer said it took VistaPrint two months to get back to them, and they still never received their order. Another reviewer claimed that all VistaPrint’s customer service seems to do is apologize for not being able to fix the issue at hand. VistaPrint offers phone, email, and live chat support, so it’s unfortunate that many users are disappointed with its support system.
Support is an integral part of any service, so it’s simply unacceptable for users to wait months to hear back from a representative.
Unpredictable delivery: Many reviewers also expressed their distaste for VistaPrint’s delivery. Despite the clearly outlined delivery times on its website, many reviewers found that their orders were processed way too late—which, in turn—made their delivery late. One reviewer said they expected USPS to deliver their order on the 10th of August, but VistaPrint didn’t process their order until one day before the expected delivery date. Another reviewer claimed they were meant to receive their order on the 14th of June but still had no package by the 30th. Once they reached out to customer support, a representative told them that the products they wanted were out of stock.
While many reviewers aren’t happy with VistaPrint’s delivery, there were still a few reviewers who claimed they received their package earlier than expected, so it seems to be quite an unpredictable service at best.
VistaPrint Options and Pricing
VistaPrint has a massive range of products and services on its website, so to make it easier for you, we will be discussing the most popular services it currently offers. Pricing varies depending on what service you choose.
Get 20% off at VistaPrint with the coupon code CRAZYEGG20. It is available to new customers only and limited to one use per customer.
VistaPrint Website Builder
VistaPrint has partnered with Wix to help you create a website you are proud of without needing design expertise. Wix’s website builder is the perfect place to start an online store, with a seamless connection to VistaPrint’s additional printing services.
This collaborative website builder is free, and without the need for design expertise or coding experience, you can build a website in a matter of minutes.
You can choose from more than 500 professionally designed templates and customize them to suit your needs. The website builder is incredibly customizable, as you can add advanced features, such as an online store or accept bookings online.
To optimize your website for search engines, answer a few questions about your website, location, and keywords, and VistaPrint will send you a personalized SEO plan to help you get found online.
And don’t worry about your website not being mobile optimized because you always have the option to view your website in the mobile-optimized version. If your website needs some tweaking, you can switch to the intuitive mobile editor and fix what you need.
With drag-and-drop tools, you can make your website come to life. You can utilize video backgrounds, scroll effects, and animations to make your website stand out.
Some other intuitive features include:
- Online scheduling software
- Logo maker
- Custom domains
- SEO tools
This collaborative website builder is free and comes with Wix web hosting.
VistaPrint Printabilities
It’s no lie that VistaPrint offers a huge range of services, with printing being its primary offering. With VistaPrint, you can create merch for your brand, make unique products for your shop, and display a logo for your website, all in a few easy steps.
VistaPrint’s printability is endless, as you can create custom messaging and designs on just about anything you can think of. From signs and stickers to totes and t-shirts, you can create the most personalized products and ship them to yourself in one intuitive interface.
Here’s a list of some of the printing items VistaPrint offers:
- Packaging tape
- Business cards and menus
- Metal signs, posters, and chalkboard signs
- Window decals and signs
For ultimate brand visibility, you can print onto caps, cups, bucket hats, windbreakers, sweatshirts, duffle bags, beanies, and aprons.
And the best part about VistaPrint’s printing services is just how easy it is to get started. All you do is tell VistaPrint what you want to print, and it will forward you to its custom process page. For example, if you want to design a logo, VistaPrint will take you directly to its logo maker, and you can design from there.
However, VistaPrint also offers two additional ways to begin the design process. Instead of doing everything by yourself, VistaPrint can pair you with a professional designer, where you can work one-on-one to create the perfect design for your business.
On the other hand, you can start a contest and invite the VistaPrint community of designers to submit ideas, and you can choose your favorite. The only potential downside to these options is that you will have to pay upwards of $399 for your design, but there is a 100% money-back guarantee on every tier.
The current pricing tiers for the design contest include:
- Bronze — $399, including 30 design concepts and full copyright ownership
- Silver — $669, including 60 design concepts and full copyright ownership
- Gold — $1,199, including 90 design concepts, full copyright ownership, and mid to top-level designers
- Platinum — $1,799, including 60 design concepts, top-level designers, a dedicated manager, and prioritized support
VistaPrint in Summary
Overall, VistaPrint is a decent direct mail service for customization on a huge range of products. Its design functionalities and sustainability practices are top-notch, and many users are happy to continue using VistaPrint’s service. However, you should take the user reviews regarding its terrible customer support and unpredictable delivery times into consideration before making a purchase.
Luckily, VistaPrint isn’t the only direct mail service with customizable products and simple design functionalities. Gunderson Direct is an excellent alternative, as it’s a full-service marketing agency with customizable campaigns. NextDayFlyers is perfect for quick printing, with next-day printing capabilities at affordable rates. And if you need a more automated direct mail service, Lob is the perfect place to start with powerful API integration and fast delivery.
Want to read more about the best direct mail services? We reviewed dozens of options and narrowed it down to the top five. If you want to scope out all of your options, see all of our top picks here.
