philosophy.com redeemed - it's now on my "Nice" list of companies.

A few posts ago, I told you about the difficulties I have had with two out of two orders with philosophy.com.  I even posted pictures of how the box arrived from FedEx (with ample room for a hand to fit into the box and rummage around which may have happened).  I wrote a letter to the COO of philosophy, and I was called last Thursday by a very pleasant company representative.  She apologized profusely, and promised to replace my order and the original bag that I was supposed to get (why companies just don't tell you that the code is "invalid" after they run out of the promotional items is beyond me), and she also offered to send me a "gift" for my troubles.  She sent me a lovely and generous package and I can certainly say that philosophy.com does take customer service seriously.

philosophy.com gets a Very Nice rating in my book.  I will be sending a Thank You note to the people involved shortly, but for now, philosophy.com and the lovely lady who helped me get a huge, public, "Thank you!".

Picaboo 20 page medium softcover book review

As I mentioned previously, I made up two medium (6"x9") softcover 20 page photo books for hubby and friend of a Mets game they recently attended.  Although, generally speaking, I liked the hardcover book I made up from my niece's wedding, this softcover book was very disappointing.  And to charge $7.99 to ship each one (when if weighed a few ounces at most and was shipped in just a cardboard envelope) is overpriced shipping.  It was tough getting the book out of the envelope without bending it - cover or pages.  We don't even know if our friend received their copy as UPS left it at their front door during a terrible wind and rain and thunderstorm - it was so light it could have blown away (and we have not heard anything from the friend).

So, over all, while the hardcover books may be worth looking into, I cannot recommend the softcover (which just seemed to be thicker paper - most other places at least use a cardboard like cover and/or a laminated cover).  I was disappointed over all with this book.  And, please note, with shipping and using an Internet available coupon, the two books came to over $25.00 that i paid out of pocket (this disclaimer made to make the FCC happy).

Picaboo leather album

As I mentioned previously, I received a coupon for a free book up to $39.99 from Picaboo.com.  This coupon was available throughout the Internet, and was not provided only to me.  Nor was I requested to review it.  But, I thought you'd like to see a few pictures of the ultimate product (now that USPS has confirmed the bride and groom have received it!), so here are my thoughts, impressions and comments as well as a few photos.

First, there was a learning curve - it took me a bit longer to learn how to use their software (which is downloaded to your computer, rather than you uploading photos to their website), partly because they seem to have many more options to choose from than some of the other competitors (three of which, probably the best known three, I have used previously). 

I was disappointed with the leather in both color and feel, and, in the future, might have to upgrade to one of their higher level leathers.  However, the navy blue did seem almost black, and I am not sure that the color will be different with upgraded leather.

I did like the larger choices of themes, layouts and colors.  In fact, as I mentioned, I made another book for my husband and a friend of his for their recent trip to a Mets game - more on that when I receive it as I opted for paperback with those books.

Below are some of the pictures I have of the wedding album project:

If you make your own book, come back and let us know what you think of them.  check my prior post for a buy one get one free code that is valid through September 28!

Naughty philosophy Part II

Well, after waiting longer for my order than I would have had the Pony Express delivered it, the above photo is how it arrived.  Yes, the hole in the box is large enough for a hand to reach in and grab stuff with.  The product I ordered was not in the best of shape either, and somehow an over-sized white with black accents beach bag morphed into a smaller totally black with white accents tote bag.  I sent a letter to the President/CEO of Philosophy and we'll see what if anything he has to say.  I have definitely been unimpressed with both shopping experiences I have had with philosophy.com.

Coming soon:  Photos of the photo book I made for my neice's wedding with Picaboo,com (the book is on its way to her now and I want her to see it before I post).  Thanks for your patience.  I have also ordered a medium paperback book for my hubby and his friend from Picaboo of their latest trip to the new Shea (yes, I know that's not what it's called, but it should be) stadium a few weeks ago - will post pictures of those as well with my review.  Right now, through 9/28, Picaboo has a special offer: buy one book get one free with this code:  BGFSEPT   .

Have fun!

Naughty company alert

Well, I won't be shopping with philosophy.com again.  I placed an expensive order on September 1, and it qualified for their "free shipping", so I took it.  They took two days to ship it out, and then FedEx "smartpost" sends it from AZ to CA, which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that I live on the EAST COAST.  The original arrival date was supposed to be September 13, but now it's been moved to September 15.  Why?  Because for some unknown reason, FedEx has been keeping my item in its Los Angeles location for 2.5 days - weekdays that is, not weekends:  September 7-September 10 it hung out in the LA warehouse or hot truck, who knows.  In either case, not a good place for cosmetics to hang out.  I called philosophy.com and their attitude was "Well, you can upgrade to faster shipping."  My question is, what would that shipping be, because the Pony Express used to get things from coast to coast in 10 days, so from AZ to CT would have been 7-8 days.  Are they resurrecting the Pony Express to move things faster than FedEx "smartpost"?  What an ironic name for the service, because it seems less than smart to me.

As I tried to explain to the woman at philosophy.com, no one needs their product -  it is a luxury.  So, in the future, I will be buying my luxuries from another company - one that does not waste their clients' time or money by sending them product that can be damaged by extensive time in heat via a method that moves slower than a snail.  And one that does not patronize me by telling me that 1) it's not their fault (um, yes, it is, you chose the shipping company and method when you offered me free shipping if I spent over X amount), and 2) I can pay more (I already did).  And customer service is sorely lacking, especially since I had to call 4 times today (and stay on hold for 15 minutes) in order to get through to them because they didn't have enough people to answer the phones (I can only guess other people wondering why it was taking so long for their purchases as well).

Nope, philosophy is not a company I need to deal with again.  Nor will I shop with anyone who uses FedEx "Smartpost" either.  I'll be doing all my shipping through UPS and the USPS.  All I can picture is that for the past two and a half days the gorillas from the old Samsonite luggage commercials have been playing catch with my package.

As for why I am posting here, well, I would have written a letter directly to the corporate CEO, but that information doesn't seem to come up at all on Google searches (just a corporate address), and I also thought people should hear about my experience.

As good as free (almost) Freebie!

Hey, I recently found out about this website that lets you make photo books.  Yes, I know there are lots of them around, but this one was new to me.  And, even better, is the fact that for all new customers, through August 31, you can use the code FREEBK to get a free large book, including leather bound, worth $39.99.

I've used several other well known photo sites to put together photo books, and I was impressed with Picaboo's so far.  There seems to be a lot more choices and flexibility.  It did have a slight learning curve, but last night I finished up a wedding album for my niece's wedding that we attended last month.  3-4  business days to process and 3-4 days for shipping (yes, you do pay shipping with the above code, but it was $8.99).

Even though I obviously haven't seen the final products, I thought I'd pass this along to you so you could give it a try for $8.99 yourselves!  Good luck and have fun.  Once you get your books, back, post on here what you think of them.

Oh, yes, it would help if I actually give you the website:  www.picaboo.com !  (the exclamation pint is mine, not part of the URL)

I know, I am a bad girl for staying away for so long

That's why I am hoping you will forgive me because, in a way, I come bearing gifts.  I am so excited.  Corel is running a great promotion now on its photo editing software - see here:   http://store1.corel.com/corel/?storeKey=us&trkid=NASEMGglBR  You can save 30% on Paint Shop Pro X3 - the latest version.  Instead of paying $99.99 for it, you pay $69.99 for a full version, or like me, $59.99 for an upgrade.  But, wait, like the Ronco commercials say, there's more - you get a $40.00 Photo Restoration and Retouching book for free, and, if you wish, with any purchase, you can add Corel Paint It! to your order for only $10.00 (normally $39.99).  that's what I did yesterday.    But, they also gave me free shipping (saving me another $9.99 - if you don't get it automatically, sign up for their emails - you may need that link).  The piece de resistance I am giving you, however, is the code I used to get $20.00 off my order  BONUSBUCKS20. 

So, instead of paying almost $200 full price when you add in shipping, I am paying $49.99 total for all of the above.  Hurry, though, the sale, I believe, only runs through August 15.

Have fun!