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Shutterfly Review

Wednesday, February 12th

2025 Calendar Store Reviews

Shutterfly Review 2.5 Star Rating

Shutterfly

2.5 Star Rating
  • Wall calendars start at $34.99
  • Wide range of customizable products
  • Various calendar styles available
  • 92 trendy pre-designed templates
  • Easy photo upload from multiple sources
  • 100% Happiness Guarantee

Since its establishment in 1999, Shutterfly has made a name for itself in the personalized photo service market. The company provides a broad spectrum of customizable products such as photo books, greeting cards, stationery, various prints, thoughtful gifts, artful decor, and items for weddings. Their lineup also includes calendars, which allow customers to infuse personal memories into practical daily use. With Shutterfly, you can create items that are uniquely yours, whether for keeping or giving.

Wall, easel, desk, and poster calendars

When choosing a calendar, Shutterfly gives you different options in terms of style and functionality. Photo wall calendars display personal memories and serve as wall decor. Easel calendars are compact and stylish for desks. Desk calendars are flat, easily accessible, and can be personalized. Poster calendars have a minimalist look and show the entire year at once.

Regular deals ease sticker shock

We'll be looking at Wall Calendars for the purpose of this review. At Shutterfly, you can choose between two standard sizes: 8x11 and 12x12. Shutterfly's prices are about the same as its direct competitors'. The smaller calendar size starts at $34.99 and the larger size starts at $44.99, although while we were shopping, Shutterfly was running a deal for 50% off. As longtime customers of Shutterfly, we can tell you there are deals throughout the year, so you may want to consider designing your photo calendar and waiting to purchase until one of these deals comes up again. You can also sign up for text messages for an instant 20% off.

92 designs

Shutterfly lets you choose from a selection of pre-designed templates of various aesthetic sensibilities. You can filter for these styles, which include Classic, Colorful, Modern, Rustic, Watercolored, and Whimsical. There are 92 designs to choose from, which is comprehensive without being overwhelming. And, if none of these pre-made templates call to you, you always have the option to start with a blank canvas.

On-trend, bold designs

One of our favorite calendar designs was the one titled "The Future is Bright”, which stood out with its fresh and vibrant aesthetics. During our research, we started to notice that templates from competing services often recycle the same old motifs and lack the creative spark that this design ignites. They may stick to the tried-and-true formulas that, while reliable, miss out on the current trends and the personalized storytelling that Shutterfly brings to the table. We like this template's modern and personalized feel, with its dynamic mix of typography and playful design elements that evoke optimism and joy. The "good times” sticker-like additions and the varied photo shapes give it an on-trend, scrapbook vibe that's both engaging and personal, turning each page reveal into a delightful discovery, rather than just a mere flip of the calendar. If this particular template doesn't fit your personal style, you're still sure to find something equally as unique and trendy in Shutterfly's catalog.

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You'll need to create an account

Once you've found your template, just click the orange "Personalize” button to make it your own. You'll need to sign in next so that your progress doesn't get lost between sessions. When you upload your photos, you can select them from your local files on your computer, or even from social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google Photos and Art Library.

Personalize holidays and events

Shutterfly is one of the better tools in terms of customization capabilities. For calendar creation, you have the flexibility to begin your calendar from any month of your choice, and there's room for personalization with editable text and a variety of font options. You can add personal events, unique holidays, and even add photos to mark important dates - think a photo of the Epcot Ball underlaid behind the date you leave for your family vacation to Disney World. As an add-on, you can also purchase a set of colorful stickers with simple symbols on them to indicate appointments, lunch dates, grocery shopping days, and more.

Create harmonious variations on your chosen theme

The editing tool thoughtfully includes "idea pages” and "embellishments” that match the aesthetic of your chosen template, ensuring any personal touches you add complement the design, and making it easy to add your own flair while maintaining a consistent style. For example, if you've chosen a rustic-themed template, the idea pages might feature earth tones and natural textures, while the embellishments could include elements like leaves, wood grains, or vintage frames.

No BBB rating, poor Trustpilot score

When it comes to customer reviews, Shutterfly's got some ground to make up. While their product listings are individually reviewed right on the site and usually receive favorable ratings, the overall picture isn't quite as rosy. It seems they're not making friends over at the Better Business Bureau (they're not rated), and the word on Trustpilot is a bit grim with a "bad" rating from 28,000 reviews.

Delivery is often late

Some of the reviews we came across were quite disheartening. Customers express significant frustration with delayed shipments and unmet delivery promises, even when additional fees for expedited services were paid. This reflects poorly on Shutterfly's reliability and fulfillment of customer expectations.

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Satisfaction guarantee is vague

Shutterfly does offer a "100% Happiness Guarantee," but when you click on the policy page for this, it's suspiciously empty, with no details about what this means or how they'll enforce it other than a vague promise to "make it right" if you're not satisfied. One customer reported having been sent a photo book of poor quality prints where resolution had been reduced somewhere during the printing process. Despite Shutterfly offering to reprint the book at no charge, they didn't take steps to assure the customer that the quality issue could be improved, so the customer would have been in possession of two poor-resolution photo books.

Discrepancy between what you design and what you get

Other customers have called into question the quality of the received products - specifically printed photos - based on issues with cropping and color reproduction. It seems like there can be a discrepancy between the digital preview and the final printed product. We don't think Shutterfly is taking as many steps for quality assurance as some of their competitors with robust checklists are.

You could lose your photos

We would also warn you against using Shutterfly as your primary method of keeping treasured memories safe, even though they try to present themselves as this type of cloud service. One customer reported that Shutterfly deleted her account with no warning or explanation, and she lost the only copies she had of her children's baby photos as a result.

Too unreliable to recommend wholeheartedly

We really like Shutterfly's interface and the range and quality of the calendar templates they offer, but their customer satisfaction has declined a lot in recent years. If you decide to go with Shutterfly, you might be in for a lot of frustrating back-and-forth about delivery dates and product quality. For these reasons, we have to give them a lower rating than we'd like to.

Where is the Best Place to Buy a Calendar?

In today's digital age, where our lives are increasingly managed through screens, the charm of physical calendars, diaries, and planners still holds a special place in many hearts. There's a unique pleasure in using a tangible calendar: the feel of turning over a fresh page to reveal a new month, the satisfaction of writing down events and appointments, and the joy of physically crossing off completed activities.

For those who cherish personalization, custom calendars with photos add a sentimental touch to daily planning. However, finding a good selection of paper calendars in local stores can be surprisingly challenging. It's no wonder that this shift in availability makes online calendar shopping an increasingly popular choice.

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Calendar Store FAQ

It originates from the Latin word calendarium, which meant "account book” or "interest register” according to Britannica. But, the idea of a calendar, or a way of tracking the time from one day or season to the next, certainly isn't limited to the ancient Romans. You could spend hours looking at different historical calendars, from the Mayans to the Persians and many other cultures and time periods.
Most people use the Gregorian calendar, introduced way back in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. This system was put in place to account for the fact that it takes 365 1/4 days for the earth to go around the sun - and that's why we have an extra day on February 29th every four years (a "leap year”).
Yes, often ones with religious underpinnings. For example, the Islamic (or Hijri) calendar, is strictly based on the cycles of the moon (which is why the dates of Ramadan don't always correspond to the same dates or seasons on the Gregorian calendar).
There's nothing historical about it - it's simply for convenience. That lets you buy a calendar for the next year before it starts, and you can transfer any events or reminders from the current year's calendar if you want to start using the new one right away.
Even though most of us rely on some kind of digital calendar system, from Outlook to Google, paper calendars are still in demand. Many people like being able to see a month at a glance, to see which birthdays and other special occasions are on the horizon. And, customizable calendars with family photos continue to be a fun way to share memories while planning new ones. Page-a-day calendars can still be spotted on office desks, bringing humor or inspiration to the workplace.
If you're just looking at local retailers, the answer is likely to be no. Many stores only carry them from November through January and then clear them all out, especially if they don't specialize in calendars and other print items (e.g supermarkets vs. bookstores). Fortunately, there are many online retailers of calendars that let you purchase them whenever you like!
Not any more than it is to buy them in-person. Some stores will even give you free shipping, discounts or seasonal promos to sweeten the deal.
Policies vary by retailer, but most will give you a replacement, store credit or refund if you're unhappy with the calendar you receive. This is also true of customized calendars: if you design one with your own photos and graphics and something goes wrong in the print process, the best calendar stores will reprint it for you, no questions asked.
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Continued from above...

Many retailers have reduced their in-store offerings, making it hard to find calendars that are both unique and appealing, no matter when you're shopping. On the other hand, online stores offer lots of options, from stunning landscapes and animal themes to motivational quotes and artistic designs.

Whether you need a wall calendar for the family kitchen or a compact desk calendar for your office, the selection online is extensive and varied. Plus, prices online are often more competitive than in physical stores, and if you're looking to create a custom calendar with personal photos, many online retailers offer fun and user-friendly design tools.

When choosing which online calendar store you want to shop with, you should consider the following factors:

  • Selection. Does the store offer a wide range of sizes, styles, and themes? Are there enough choices within specific categories, like wildlife or motivational themes?
  • Cost. What are the prices of the calendars, including shipping fees? Are there any customer incentives such as free shipping or discount codes?
  • Satisfaction policy. If you're not satisfied with your purchase, can you return it for a refund? What is the timeframe for returns?
  • Reputation. What do past customers say about their experience with the retailer, especially in terms of quality and customer service? How easy is it to design a personalized photo calendar?

Top Consumer Reviews has thoroughly reviewed and ranked the best online calendar retailers available today. We aim to help you find the perfect calendar that not only organizes your year but also adds a touch of personal or aesthetic value to your space. 

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