I firstly must come to Vistaprint's defence and state that they offer cheap office supplies and marketing equipment. They have never marketed themselves as an all-singing-all-dancing premium company offering luxurious material fit for the advertising the Royal Wedding. They do, however, offer 'premium' business cards but we'll get to that later. Vistaprint are a EUROPEAN company (based in The Netherlands and they ship from Belgium) and the label on the packaging of the order clearly states it has been shipped from Belgium, so the people bashing them for delivery charges and delivery time should go easy. Every company has to make a profit and Vistaprint offer free marketing materials and ask for a reasonable amount for postage and packaging. How they make a profit I will never know.

Vistaprint's range of products include (to name a few):

- business cards
- return address labels
- calendars
- brochures
- postcards (advertising on the front and back of a postcard-sized piece of card - great if you want to advertise but cannot affort leaflets, or brochures would be too big)
- stamps
- mugs
- t-shirts


It takes a little trial and error to get used to the site, but it will be a breeze the second time you come to order. I thought it was a scam at first, as most companies flashing adverts like theirs usually do scam you. Free business cards? Yes, they are free but a reasonably timed delivery can rack up the price of 250 cards to £7. However, if you are patient you can get 250 business cards for free with £3.95 21 day delivery. The website is a bit cluttered, you WILL get bombarded with 'add return address label to cart', 'add stamp to cart'. Just keep clicking 'checkout' and you will pay under a fiver for 250 business cards. I remember when business cards were £45 minimum for 200, and they were reserved for people in top-dog professions.

The emails can get irritating, but they are packed with offers. If I were to log into Vistaprint now and order some business cards, I would pay full price. All I have to do to get them at the same price as before (instead of £10+) is refer to one of the emails they have sent me and click on 'free business cards'. Simply filter the emails if they irritate you that much but you may find yourself coming back to the emails when you want to reorder for under a tenner!

The delivery prices are very reasonable, but the delivery times could be improved. I always choose the 21 day delivery because I always get my order early. I find that when I order only postcards or only business cards using their designs, my order arrives in two weeks or under. I have received an order today: 100 postcards using one of their designs and some return address labels. They took 20 days to get to me. My last order was for 250 postcards and nothing else - they arrived in less than two weeks.

My last order

140 labels - £2.49 + £1.70 postage
100 postcards (colour front with black and white printing on the back) - £0 + £3.57 postage
VAT - £1.55
Total - £9.31

Subtract the labels and I have some thick and colourful postcards to push through people's letterboxes for pittance. A very professional look. The card the postcards are printed on is great quality. The card the premium business cards are printed on, however, is not thin, but it is not thick. I would say 'premium' is the wrong word, but they do-the-job and they still make you look very professional.

If you start using advanced editing, adding maps to your business cards, reverse side colour printing and adding more products as you go, you can start racking up VAT and delivery costs, but if you want something basic to kick-start business then this site is the way to go.

Their delivery times and charges are as follows (for 250 business cards on my account as a returning customer):

Slow: 21 Days - £3.08
Standard: 14 Days - £5.20
Priority: 7 Days - £8.07
Rush+: 3 Business Days (with order tracking) - £14.95


I have never had a problem with printing or any errors or smudges on my orders. I always check my marketing materials and I agree to take responsibility of any errors by ticking a box before ordering.

When your order arrives you do not get a receipt: this is emailed to you. I would rather a paper copy to avoid faffing about with printing. You will receive a well-packaged order with an offer card giving you a discount on your next order. You will also receive a multi-lingual brochure showing you their other products and at what price.

The prices vary. They really do. I can give you a rough idea of the standard prices of business cards but new customers are quoted differently to return customers, and even they are quoted differently to people who go directly through to the site (not through an ad or discount URL).

250 premium business cards are £14.99 standard price, I am quoted £10.49 and a new customer will get them for free. I will get them for under £5 if I find one of their marketing emails in my inbox.
500 premium business cards are £22.99 standard price, I am quoted £20.74 and a new customer may pay 3/4 of that price.

An old order for a completely different profession is still on my portfolio and Vistaprint are saying I can order 250 of those business cards for £2.50. As I said, it varies on the type of customer and what they are ordering! I have received two free business cards holders from Vistaprint over time - they are certainly not tight people!