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Funkypigeon.com
by Elharrington
So, for my boyfriends' 21st birthday I thought it would be nice to prepare a personalised card of pictures of us both so he could keep it. I had never used this site but had used Moonpig and received no troubles from them and believed it was a straight forward process so I tried Funky Pigeon. The website itself hosts good navigation and ... great ease of use, using bright colours and links to go through the site and going through the steps to make your own cards is very straight forward. Up until this point I was satisfied, completing my order and ordering a very reasonably priced card- personalised and 1st class with an option to send it off on a specific date for only £2.99.
I ordered the card to be sent the week before his birthday so it'd arrive to the door and on the Friday (his birthday was on the Monday!) they confirmed they had dispatched it. Cutting it a bit fine! So, on his birthday I was anxious when it didn't arrive with the post and rushed out to get a card! I waited until the Thursday before contacting them. I told them the circumstance and I did not receive a response until the following Monday. Their response was unsympathetic but purely blaming the Royal Mail, not taking responsibility for their choice in couriers. I did receive a refund but when I explained that I wanted the product for its sentimental value I was told to start the entire process again and pay. I am not out to get something for nothing but as a good will gesture it would be good customer service to provide the card.
Overall I would not recommend this company to anybody just through lack of care they have put into my query. I am usually pretty calm but their emails seemed rude and unhelpful and believe a company should go out of their way to help customers and rectify mistakes
bad communication
not sympathetic
no good will gesture
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moonpig.com
by FrostBite
I am writing this after the internal argument with myself as to what type of card I should buy for Valentine's day and how much I should pay. This happens for me with any occassion be it birthdays or christmas for example. Trouble is my partner means the world to me and I can't put a price on her but cards are displayed for a matter of a ... few days then either thrown away or put in a box for the next don't know how many years. As with family and friends I don't want to spend a fortune, especially at christmas time when it is already rather expensive but I have to send a card so as not to snub anyone or to actually let them know I do care. Usually at times of birthdays and christmas I look on Ebay for a nice but reasonably pricced card around £1 to £1.50 or even supermarkets and low priced card shops. However, when it comes to the one I love as previously said I just cannot unjustify the £3.94 required for the personalised card as my own artistic abilities are limited.
I first heard of Moonpig a couple of years ago after seeing the astronaut pig's head on the advert with the catchy jingle 'Moonpig dot com!' on the tv. I have tried the rival brand Funky Pigeon before but I just did not get on with the website layout as well as Moonpig so I stuck with the gravity defying porker. This year I saw the advert which was quite crass with the Barry White esque voice and flowers for £25 but I just wanted the card as I had seen a gift elsewhere which was more personal.
Moonpig have recently updated their webpage but their is the option to return to the old layout if you prefer it. It is a very eye catching set up with bright colourful thumbnail images highlighting a variety of occassions such as birthdays and good luck. Once you click on an occassion in this case Valentine's you get further selection such as cute or spoof and from there you can see their full range (there are a lot!). The bonus of this way to order cards are that they never sell out, each card is printed to order (usually posted the next day too). I opted to personalise the text of the card but you can also make videos, add pictures and change the verses inside.
The cards are available in small (£1.50), standard which I often choose (£2.99) and large (£5.99), there are always offers on such as a pack of small cards at a reduced price or 20% of large cards for example. Postage and handling fees are currently 95p for the cards. The fab thing is that yes the cards are a little more expensive than standard stores but in the price is personalisation and the cards are fantastic sturdy quality which do not collapse under their own weight after a day of display.
Once you have chosen the size and design you can opt to personalise the card. Some features are not available depending on the style of card chosen but the one I chose had an option to change the cover text; some have the option of adding a photo or video. Inside you can write on the front and/or back cover with your own verse, poem or anything you want. Here the font colour, size and alignment can be changed, you can even make your own digital signature. And finally some cards allow for the back to be altered but this one didn't so has the Moonpig logo plus designer details as would any store bought card. This process is easy to follow and comes with instructions to help you make a truely personalised quality card.
When this step is finished you are then asked if you would like to add a gift to your order. For the over 18s there is the option of purchasing alcohol; other gifts include chocolate, balloons, flowers and teddy bears. I did not opt for a gift as I am purchasing one from another outlet.
Once registered or logged in the process is to ask whether you want the card sending to you to sign personally; this is the option I choose as I think a handsigned card looks nice and also I like to check the card before sending. If you would like to sign the card during creation then you could send the card direct to the recipient. Then delivery service can be chosen, the options are first class (next working day after print) or special delivery for those last minute emergencies. I always choose first class as this is reliable and I have ordered the card with enough time, estimated arrival is the 5th Feb 2013.
The final step after confirming the card, your order and details are correct is to pay. Here you can use card, a prepay fund (add £20 and get an extra 25% free) or cash through a preloaded card which can be used at most corner shops.
I find the process itself very smooth and efficient when using a laptop however the app on my android is behind even though fully updated and has no Valentine's cards on it. I can create a card in less than ten minutes but I have used it before and know what I want; if you are a little undecisive the hundreds of cards available to choose from may cause a few setbacks.
Generally my cards are of good quality but one time there was a mistake in the spelling of my partners name (not through my fault, I did check). After emailing Moonpig they sent another card free of charge with no hassle as it was a mistake from their printers. I have used them a few times and this was the only glitch and as it was resolved promptly I have no qualms at all and recommend them highly. The look on my partners face is always priceless when she sees the personalised card I got her and it always puts me in a good light :)
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Funkypigeon.com
by Craig86
About The Product/Service
Funky Pigeon is a brand owned by W H Smith, they have become one of the huge players in the personalised cards market. As well as personalised cards the website offers gifts, posters, flowers, notebooks, calendars and more.
My Opinions & Experiences
I'm not entirely sure why ... I first chose to shop at the Funky Pigeon online store as opposed to one of its competitors but I'm glad I did. I can't really compare the service to the others because I have only used Funky Pigeon and have been impressed each time.
I find using their menu to find the right card very simple, you can browse by person, occasion or card brand (me to you e.t.c.). They often have a large range of card designs for anything I have required, you simply find a design you like whether it be a photo card or not and amend the text on the front of the card and write your own message inside. You have plenty of flexibility on most cards, some however will allow you to do more than others.
I have often used the photo cards whereby you can upload a photo to be used on the front of the card, some cards allow for multiple photos to be uploaded. There are often different fonts and colours to be used allowing you to manipulate the basic card as you wish and add your own bit of creativity.
One of the benefits about signing up to Funky Pigeon is the reward scheme, if you refer a friend you can get £3 credit for every friend that signs up using your code. Your friends will also get 50% of their first purchase.
I haven't used the prepay option but this allows you to upload a prepaid balance to your Funky Pigeon account, they will also give you free bonus credit (the value of which depends on upon your prepaid amount), for instance prepaying £20 will get you £5 credit free.
As well as the vast range of card options and customisation features one of the best parts of Funky Pigeon for me is the delivery speed. Often delivery is free depending on amount of cards purchased and depending on the time of your purchase the cards could be through your door the very next day, apart from around Christmas I have always had mine within 48 hours.
One tip I would give is to do a search for "funky pigeon discount code", they often have codes allowing for discounts, many times I have had 50% off or similar, it's well worth a quick search.
Prices are very reasonable even without discounts, the common A5 card size being £2.99.
Only negative experience I have had with the service came this Christmas, I used two photos for two cards and although they were night time shots the surroundings were lit up, on my computer and camera the photos were clear and bright enough. Unfortunately when the cards arrived the colour was very dim, much darker than the photos I had uploaded. Just keep this in mind when using night shots.
In Summary
A good online card customisation service, cheap and hassle free, I would recommend to anyone.
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