Ordered a photo book, got an amateur product
Ordered a photo book. It was some of the worst printing I've ever seen. The colors were far off. The exposure was wrong. I took this $85 dollar book and threw it right in the trash.
About Blurb
Data updated- Website
- www.blurb.com
- Category
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Location
- United States
- Status
- Unclaimed
- Last 12 months
- 29 reviews
- Replies to negative
- 50% (31/62)
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About this business
Blurb® is a self-publishing and marketing platform that unleashes the creative genius inside everyone. Blurb’s platform makes it easy to design, publish, promote, and sell professional-quality printed photo books, trade books, ebooks, wall art, and more.
Written by the business, not verified by us.Is Blurb legit?
Blurb (www.blurb.com) has a 3.6 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 200 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Hobbies & Crafts and its reputation is mixed. Opinions are polarized: 65% rate it 4 stars or higher while 27% give 1 star; The business has replied to 50% of negative reviews; Reviews mostly discuss Product, Customer service, Quality. Last updated 2026-09-05.
What reviewers say
AI generatedMost reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Consumers frequently praise the exceptionally high quality of the custom photo books and the impressive print details. Many people also appreciate the fast manufacturing processes and surprisingly prompt delivery times for their creative projects. Some reviewers were not happy with the poor customer service and extremely slow response times when unexpected issues arose. Customers also mentioned significant delays with shipping, along with occasional flaws in print quality, missing pages, or incorrect addresses on delivered orders. People found it quite frustrating to resolve these problems due to a total lack of proper communication from the support team.
Auto-generated from all reviews of this business. For reference only.What people say
The postage is ridiculously expensive
The postage is ridiculously expensive - and not very clear how much until you get to the end of your order- almost the same price as the printing & binding.
Ordered a book
Ordered a book, express shipping as well on December 19. Was supposed to be delivered December 26 no problem. I got the tracking number but it only ever said "label created" for the entire week, I asked for my shipping money back as it was past the date and asked why I still haven't received my book. Their reply? "Oh fedex never picked it up." What? They ordered me a new one and covered the cost of express shipping on the 27th of December, estimated arrival on January 6th. It is now January 6th, fedex tracking number has said "label created" since December 29. Is this a joke? Regardless, the fact that this was a Christmas and anniversary gift, and they STILL charged me for the insane amount, after all the back in forth I've had to do. Had I not messaged them I'd still be waiting for them to tell me "oh fedex never picked it up" what does that even mean. And is that whats happening again? Like just give me a refund and go somewhere else. Absolutely insane, not worth it, as another review said, express shipping is a lie, and it's over expensive for these problems. Go somewhere else
Express delivery scam
I ordered two separate photobooks and paid over 40 Euros for express delivery for them to be delivered “no later than 18 December” and “no later than 20 December”. The photobook that was supposed to be delivered before 20 December was delivered on 27 December which meant no Christmas presents under the tree for my parents. The delivery of the other photobook (that was supposed to be delivered on 18 December) turned into a farse. When I was made aware that the book would not be delivered in time for me to take it home to my home country I managed to change the delivery address to my friend’s house so she could bring the book with her for Christmas. According to Fedex tracking the book has still not been delivered, 13 days later! After 20 messages with blurb.com staff they claim the book was delivered sometime after Christmas which means I will have to wait until my friend gets back to see if it is really there. Do not pay for express delivery, it does not mean a thing! Do not rely on blurb.com for Christmas presents! The frustrating part was also that after paying for the express delivery with the words “delivery no later than…” the blurb user account changed the words to “estimate delivery” which is not the same thing at all! Had I known about the late delivery I would have shipped the book to my home country so that we could at least give a delayed Christmas presents and saved myself countless e-mails and frustration. I will now either have to ship the book myself or bring it next summer when I travel back home. That is if the book has been delivered as blurb.com claims (not supported by fedex).
Four days in a row that FedEx say…
Four days in a row that FedEx say unable to deliver, despite us being here the whole time, and I’ve had no response to my messages to blurb’s support team. It’s a shame as the books are good but FedEx seem to be completely useless - they don’t really provide any meaningful tracking on their website/app, and they don’t seem to have the gumption to call if they can’t find you. What a waste of time.
I am still waiting for my book...do I…
I am still waiting for my book..so I cannot comment on it yet. This is the fourth time that I have used this company as I like the ease of navigation around the software. However, every, single, time.... The delivery is appalling with a capital A!!! If the rest of the world and other large companies can get delivery right, why can't Blurb?? Don't bother waiting in for your package as it will be a day wasted. I'd like to know of another company in the UK where you can make good quality photo books and add as much/little text as you like with ease. I would then consider going with them. This is also the first time there's been a production issue too... Blurb, you are seriously letting customers down. Get a grip and do it right!! NB 18 Dec 2024 Parcel finally delivered! It's actually 6 days late as FedEx leave containers hanging around at the Belgium port. I'm essence, this is down to FedEx and not Blurb though. I just wish Blurb would shake things up with FedEx or use a more reliable courier. The book, as usual is beautiful and I guess why I use them. The delivery choice is the issue.
Fixed
I was provided an adequate solution from BLURB. But UPS never again tho. I ordered photo-book for 170$ and more than 40$ for delivery, UPS were not capable to delivery the package to the address where they were delivering from 2017 (i ordered some books before). There is no way to change/update delivery address or contact them directly. Not saying blurb collected my phone number and nobody contact me - and on the UPS website its announcement that they are contacting the shipper - BLURB.
Terrible service
I’ve used Blurb for several years and never had a problem until now. I placed an order on 2nd December and was informed delivery would be on or before 11th December. I heard nothing from them and when i checked my order status yesterday it was “in production”. I requested more information and have now been told that they can not give me an estimated delivery date. They say their printing department is “very busy”. However, they are still advertising aggressively for new business and giving optimistic delivery times. If anyone wants their books any time soon then don’t use this company. Its now 15th December and they’ve told me my books have been despatched via Fedex and said I should get it by 24th December. They’ve given me a tracking number but Fedex doesn’t recognise it. I’m very doubtful about it.
Updates
I have been a customer for 15 years but a recent change in the software caused me a lot of work by changing the fonts and line spacing. This happened once before but I was producing an image heavy book so not so much of a problem. I am now producing new editions of older books and one new book, all heavy on text, all nearly ready for printing. After going to great lengths to get the layouts to fit the pages, I had to start again. Again I am close to submitting my product and I am again asked to update the software. I declined. What is going on?
Reply from Blurb2024-11-18
Hello Rob, We’re sorry to hear that the recent software changes have caused difficulties with your book project. I can see that one of our support agents has already reached out to assist you. Please continue communicating through that email conversation, as it’s the best way for us to provide the help you need. Best, Blurb Team
Terrible
Terrible book production. Terrible customer service. There is not even a way to call and talk to someone They promised a delivery date and after paying for express delivery , days later the supposed delivery date of the re make of the book , it has not even shipped … No answer from them via email either . I do not recommend using blurb if you are a picky or professional photographer . It really is very bad
Reply from Blurb2024-10-14
Hi Liz, I'm sorry about your negative experience with your delivery and that you could not reach us. I was unable to find your support request. I'm going to send you a private message to request more details, such as your email address, order number or your support request number. Best, Blurb Team
Beware Eye-watering Shipping charges
I am absolutely disgusted that after working hard for many hours on a 32 page 12x13 photobook, then uploading it for delivery, I was charged AU$64 for shipping presumably from Australia to New Zealand. My long labour on this work meant I felt forced to pay it, or start all over again with a different publishing company. When complaining about it to customer service, I was told this was because the Australian office doesn't print, and the thin book was sent from USA. This is dishonest on two counts: 1, Blurb shouldn't parade an "Australian" office choice to order from as it doesn't produce anything there and may just as well be an online function, and 2. even from the USA to New Zealand that price is absolutely exorbitant for one slender book. I have made many photo books with Blurb over the last decade or more, and have recommended the company to friends and family but will not be doing so in the future Blurb’s response below doesn’t address the exorbitant cost of shipping, whereever the item is posted from. Buyer beware.
Reply from Blurb2024-08-09
Hi Sonia, I'm truly sorry to hear your last experience wasn't as good as you had hoped, especially because you've been a loyal customer for many years. To calculate the shipping cost before starting creating your books, you can visit the following page (make sure you select the correct book type): https://au.blurb.com/shipping To calculate your book cost in advance, you can visit this page: https://au.blurb.com/pricing#/ I would also like to clarify something for you because I believe there may be a misunderstanding. Our Customer Support team didn't say that "the Australian office doesn't print". They said that "all orders shipping to New Zealand are printed in the US". We have an Australian print shop that is currently printing books to ship to Australia. Finally, we have an Australian website, https://au.blurb.com/, to allow customers who wish to do so to select AUD as their preferred currency. However, orders can be printed in different facilities around the world depending on the book type or shipping address. That said, your feedback on the cost to ship from the US to New Zealand has been forwarded to the relevant team to see if we can improve on this in the future. I hope you'll find this answer helpful. Please feel free to reach out to our Customer Support team again if you have any further questions. Best, Blurb Team
My order never arrived
My order never arrived. I contacted customer support and they cancelled and refunded my order instead of fullfilling the order and speeding up delivery. The whole process of ordering was difficult and support are not really helpful.
Reply from Blurb2024-08-09
Hi Stephan, I'm sorry to hear that your order was cancelled. I was able to find your support request and see that your order was cancelled due to an internal problem. The colleague who assisted you offered to expedite your new order. I'm also seeing that they offered you a discount on your new order to apologize for the inconvenience. In case you decide to give us another chance, please reach out again and we'll be happy to help you place your new order. Best, Blurb Team
10/10
I was concerned that my delivery wouldn't arrive in time and Céline from Customer Services was just fantastic. Tracked my parcel over a couple days and made sure my parcel made it in time. Once arrived, the books are completely perfect. Very satisfied and will use Blurb again, thank you!
Jen T
Jen T. is an absolute angel!!! She worked with the kudoboard rep to get my kudoboard book to me in time for a retirement event. Because of a mishap on my part, the two parties talked to their team and got it to work to make sure I got the book in time!! I am so very grateful for Jen T. Thank you so much for working with me. I appreciate you! About the product: I absolutely love the books. This is my third book and each of them came out great - really good quality!!
Paid 18.00 for expedited shipping
Paid 18.00 for expedited shipping. The site said it would take 3 days to print. I ordered it on the 16th. It is now the 23rd and no shipping email. No way to check my order status. It is one of the most backward sites out there. Why can so many other sites do it so much better?
Reply from Blurb2024-05-28
Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the problem with the delivery of your order. This is something our Customer Support team can help with. Please click this link to reach Customer Support: https://support.blurb.com/hc/en-us Our team is there for you, ready to help as soon as we receive your support request. Best, Blurb Team
What you see may not be what you get.
[Please see comment at the end of this entry.) I have used several bookmaking services; friends told me to try Blurb, suggesting it would be cheaper. The bookmaking software is competitive with other vendors and is reasonably easy to learn and use. I created a book and bought two copies. They arrived with the front book cover image not at all centered on the cover. I doubled checked the cover page I created in the development software (BookWright). The image was well centered as I had intended. I went back-and-forth with tech support for about 10 days. They ultimately explained to me how Blurb trims pages and how book covers work differently in Blurb. Bottom line: in their graphics software, "what you see may not be what you get." they made no attempt to help me with a redo, discount, or even to say they regret my dissatisfaction. 04/22/2024 Unexpectedly, I heard from Blurb today. They said, since this was the first time I had used their product, they would give me an account credit to the full about I paid. That is generous of them. I will post again as soon as I get the corrected copies.
Reply from Blurb2024-05-13
Hello David, I'm sorry to hear that your initial experience wasn't entirely positive. I was however able to find your support request and see that you were offered an explanation with the option for a free replacement. I hope that you're happy with your new book. If you have any further questions, please update your support request. Best, Blurb Team
Very good app to make books
Very good app to make books I made my first graphic novel
Poor quality. I don’t recommend
Paying almost £50 for a book that I couldn’t even use, due to the poor quality (bleeding it’s terrible) nobody checks any mistakes, they printed blindly. And that is not only the issue, the customer service is a disaster. No skills to deal with issues at all. No solutions, no refund, no return. Make yourself a favour and print with another company.
Reply from Blurb2024-02-23
Hi Ramona, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on our services. We're sorry to hear about the negative experience you had with your order and our service. We were able to locate your support request and can confirm that you have been compensated for the faulty order. Best, Blurb Team
Poor customer service, outdated software
I've been using Blurb for over 10 years. And finally moved on to a competitor after realizing how antiquated their software is. I endured many crashes, lost projects, and wasted time. When I reached out to get support, I was sent around to 4 different people. Not one had an answer for me or could solve the issues. Not ideal given how expensive their books have become. Now that I'm using a competitor to make books, I'm amazed at how much time and money I wasted with this company over the years
Reply from Blurb2024-01-03
Hello, We are sorry for any dissatisfaction you have experienced. Upon reviewing your support request, we could see that a member of our technical team provided assistance. We hope that the provided resolution has addressed your concerns. We value your feedback and hope you'll reconsider using our services and products in the future. If you have any further questions, please update your support request. Best, Blurb Team
Great Customer Service
I recently used Blurb to make a picture journal as a wedding gift to my partner. I had never done anything like this before, so I had reached out to the customer service to get a better sense of what I should do to execute my idea, and it was by far the best customer service response I have ever had. I felt heard and entirely helped. It was hard work to get the journal organized, but that was purely based on it being my first time. Once I finished and ordered the book, it was a quick turnaround, and it came out absolutely amazingly.
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