Snapfish: Should be Slowfish, or Expensivefish or just plain Fishy
Written: Jul 24 '04
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I recently was reading a magazine that had a coupon for Snapfish. I had downloaded my digital prints to the internet before for prints and had a good experience, so I thought I would give Snapfish a try.
GETTING STARTED
Before you can even upload pictures, you have to create an account. This requires you to enter a fair amount of personal information and create a password.
UPLOADING PICTURES TO SNAPFISH
This wasn't as easy as other sites. First, I had to download the pictures to my computer. Then, I had to go to Snapfish and download free software (you only need to do this step once). After that, I was able to upload my pictures to Snapfish. The process for 70 pictures took over 25 minutes and I have a snappy computer and highspeed internet connection. Those with phone connections might want to quit here.
EDITING PHOTOS
Once of the best parts of uploading photos to a site such as Snapfish, is that you can edit the photos before you print them. Snapfish allows you to crop, eliminate redeye, change contrasts and rotate the print. Most photo developing sites offer these features.
I found it very hard to navigate around Snapfish to edit my photos. The buttons were not obvious and it required a lot of backing up and restarting to get through some very basic edits. The photo editor on my pc is much easier to understand and manage. In hindsight, I should have edited my photos on my computer, then uploaded the edited photos. It would have been easier and I would have had the final versions easily available.
The other difficulty is that Snapfish was very, very slow. A few times the site was so slow that it froze and I had to exit the site and come back in to finish the edit.
ORDERING
Once I completed my edits, I could order prints. The one thing I really liked about Snapfish is that it was easy to custom order prints. I could get the quantity and size I wanted easily. It was also easy to checkout with only the basic information required.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an email when my order was placed. I also got an email when my order shipped.
SHIPPING COSTS
Shipping costs are very high. Here are the prices for digital photos for standard shipping by the US postal service:
1-5 prints $0.99
6-15 prints $1.48
16-25 prints $1.97
every add'l 10 prints add $0.49
The shipping costs are also complicated and different for rolls of regular film. Check the web site for recent, accurate information.
PACKAGING
The packaging was a real disappointment, especially considering the higher shipping costs. My prints arrived in only a thin, paper envelope. I expected, at least, a hard cardboard mailer, similar to the one used by Shutterfly. My prints arrived in good condition but that seems like luck to me.
STEALS AND DEALS
The site offers all kinds of "deals" and at any given time something is on sale. I got 10 free prints with my first order. Plus, 4x6 prints were on "sale" for 19 cents each. Although this sounds cheap, shipping costs add a lot to the total.
Snapfish does not seem to participate in rebate sites such as: Upromise or Ebates. However, this type of thing changes regularly so it may make sense to check.
QUALITY OF PRINTS
I thought the quality of the prints was high. The prints I got were glossy, which must be the default. I usually choose matte finish and forgot to do that when I placed my order.
REGULAR FILM
Snapfish will also develop rolls of regular film. You can order free mailers on the site. I didn't do this and can't comment on how it works.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I didn't really care for my Snapfish experience. I thought it was too time consuming and the web site operation was not obvious to me. I especially disliked the flimsy paper mailer. I can only give the site two stars.
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Discount: Overstock.com; Target.
Photo Developing: Shutterfly
Miscellaneous: Babystyle; 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com.
Recommended:
No
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modernmarvel
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