Cewe Photobooks Stay Well Away!!!!!!!!!

[50D]

Can i just advise anyone to stay well away from this company when ordering photobooks. I have had nothing but bad books sent to me time after time after time. The last 3 books have all come back with pages missing, falling apart, not made properly and in dam righrt appaling condition. The company director also tells me that they are designed for amatures obviously by amatures.

STAY WELL AWAY :bang::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

 

[markta]

Mmmm..not good. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll always use Amazon for my 'tography books, unless they're full price, in which case I'll go to Waterstone's or Borders and get it a few days earlier..

 

[Jimmy_Lemon]

Mmmm..not good. Thanks for the heads up.

I'll always use Amazon for my 'tography books, unless they're full price, in which case I'll go to Waterstone's or Borders and get it a few days earlier..

I think 50D means photobooks, as in books with your photos in, printed by that company

 

[50D]

The company is just appaling. This problem has now been going on for over 6 months, i have dealt with several people who call themselves managers and the latest incident has resulted in them sending me my latest book 4 times each time there has been yet another problem. Why dont i just use another company? well i have been its just that this company cewe have been promising to get it right for me now on several occasions they even promised that after i downloaded the latest version of software all my problems would disapear. How can a company who claim to have so many awards for their books get it sooooooooooo wrong? Pages falling out, images cut off you just wouldnt believe the problems i have been having.

I recently sent them all the mcf files that they asked for showing them that what i was seeing on screen was NOT what i was getting back in book this was backed up with a 60+ page document. More promises of getting it right where thrown at me and now this.

I will upload images later for you all to see and make up your own minds.

The company director tells me im the only one who has complained

You just couldnt make it up i promise this is not over for them i am going to do all i can to deter photographers from using them and i think my photos of the books will do that so off i go to sort it out

 

[markta]

I think 50D means photobooks, as in books with your photos in, printed by that company

Ah, my apologies JL

50D, I'd be interested to see the photobook just to see how bad their service is...

 

[dod]

shifting to suppliers etc

 

[Bawbee]

The company is just appaling. This problem has now been going on for over 6 months, i have dealt with several people who call themselves managers and the latest incident has resulted in them sending me my latest book 4 times each time there has been yet another problem. Why dont i just use another company? well i have been its just that this company cewe have been promising to get it right for me now on several occasions they even promised that after i downloaded the latest version of software all my problems would disapear. How can a company who claim to have so many awards for their books get it sooooooooooo wrong? Pages falling out, images cut off you just wouldnt believe the problems i have been having.

I recently sent them all the mcf files that they asked for showing them that what i was seeing on screen was NOT what i was getting back in book this was backed up with a 60+ page document. More promises of getting it right where thrown at me and now this.

I will upload images later for you all to see and make up your own minds.

The company director tells me im the only one who has complained

You just couldnt make it up i promise this is not over for them i am going to do all i can to deter photographers from using them and i think my photos of the books will do that so off i go to sort it out

If I were you, I'd be very careful of making threats against any company or individual in an open forum like this. If you 'do all that you can to deter photographers from using them' you may be sued for misrepresentation. The first thing you should do is to find out if any others are experiencing the same difficulties or if it is just you.

 

[MisterE]

If I were you, I'd be very careful of making threats against any company or individual in an open forum like this. If you 'do all that you can to deter photographers from using them' you may be sued for misrepresentation. The first thing you should do is to find out if any others are experiencing the same difficulties or if it is just you.

He's not making any threats. And if he has factual evidence to back up his claims, there is not a thing the company can do, no matter how much it upsets them or their business.

 

[Karen]

You know all is lost when companies reort to saying "you're the only one who has complained"

 

[Flashman]

At least they seem to be making some effort (albeit unsuccessfully), too many companies these days would just dump you and not respond to any contact.

 

[hotchef23]

quite agree no threats made, i think in days of old it was called word of mouth.

i for one will steer clear of another misfortune and find others willing to give what they have offered in their contract, which i think in this case is a book of pictures that you can at least look through without pages falling into your cup of tea.

very poor customer service.

on the other hand you could be just a whinger cause you is the only person to complain!!!


word of mouth works wonders in this game, go for it stop others using it to save them the hassle and money that you have no doubt wasted.

 

[lookup]

Just my 2p, I've never used them but I know my brother has bought a lot of photobooks from Cewe and has always been very happy with their service and quality.

 

[50D]

Whilst im aware that many customers may well be happy with their books from this company i am also aware that they have done NOTHING to satisfy me over the past 6 months or so. Now i know its easy to switch suppliers and i have already done that some time ago but this company CEWE asked me to download their latest version and told me things would be much better as they have made changes to their software.

Now this problem had been going on for months and the problems where generally small and niggly but when i start getting excuses and continue to get books with problems these lIttle niggly things all add up and so here i am today still complaining about CEWE photo books.


After downloading their latest software i ordered 2 books one of them being a re-order as the pages had fallen out of a customers book. Both books arrived and both had clear problems with them


Below is the first book with pages clearly coming out

Below back page is not even stuck down

Below second book has my own advert in the back again clearly not stuck down

Now the 3 images below show in the first image how the first book arrived notcice the text is clearly inside the page and readable, this was the first of this order that had to be re-ordered because the pages where falling out. When it was reorderd it arrived as you see it in the second picture clearly the cutter has cut off the pages on the right side of the book and now the text has been cut off the page. The third image is a close up


First book

Second book

close up of second book

Below when the order came back again the book below was not even made straight it is clearly misaligned (is even more noticeable with side view images coming soon)

Below now the second order comes through and i still have the first to compare the front cover with notice the white band on the bottom of the book (both books have been placed on top of eachother for comparison)

Below again after the first book was re-orderd because of pages coming out the second order came through now notice the silver border around the image has clearly been chopped off on the second order.

Now believe it or not all these latest books where meant infact promised to me that they would be quality controlled because of the problems i have been having. So after all these problems you would think that after being on the phone to the general manager and after being promised once again that the order would be re-done and this time it would be quality controlled (personally) you would think that the books (third lot of this order) would arrive in good condition...........think again i will upload the latest problems and pictures tomorrow as i could only upload 10 pictures at a time

This is just one part of 1 order that was messed up i have over 100 emails, a 70+ page document, countless promises of refunds and we will get it right......

I intend to show you and just about every other photography forum the problems i have been having with CEWE PHOTOBOOKS.

This is just the latest episode in this nightmare with CEWE

TO BE CONTINUED...............

 

[Flashman]

Crivens, that does look poor! Email them a link to this thread... that might motivate them to get it right...

In the meantime, I've only ever used Blurb (their software seemed to be the easiest and most versatile to use). Print quality isn't fantastic but it's not too bad either... and otherwise they've been very good. Anybody got any better recommendations?

 

[Ian T]

That is absolutely shocking!!

 

[Trev Rich]

Ooooohhh I was just about to use these..
have made a book offline ready to upload
Best start over using someone else then.
thats shocking

 

[50D]

Trev i can honestly say DONT USE THEM its just not worthy the hassle.

What i have told you is only 1 small part of a massive problem i have been having with them and i will be uploading more pictures of the other books and problems soon. The above is only the last straw. The general manager told me yesterday that they are designed for amatures....i dont know any amatures that would behappy with this kind of service and product. They even had me burn all my mcf files to disc and send them away to them (next day special delivery) so they could find out what the problems where, i was promised they would be reprinted and looked into but again this was just one of many promises they made and never fullfilled. I was even wrongly advised by another (so called manager) that i had the latest software when infact i never

Believe me this is just the tip of the iceburg

Please read my post about CEWE PHOTO BOOKS.
I would hate other photographers to go through the nightmare i have. :bang:

:rules:http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=90217:rules:


More pictures and info to come

 

[markta]

Crikey, that's appalling..

I certainly wouldn't risk using them. Sure people make mistakes, but there's lots shown here, just in one book.

It's not just the photographer being let down, but you then have to explain it to your client...not good I have to say...

 

[kevshore]

As always. I can only speak as I find. I have now had 5 books from them and had excellent service from them. :shrug:
A friend had one book that had a mark on one image. They sent him two replacements free of charge.
On this basis i 'll have to continue using them until they let me down.


Kev.

 

[50D]

Kev i have been dealing with CEWE for over 6 months now and have NEVER i repeat NEVER had or heard of any suggestion of sending free books 2 at a time. Infact i usually have to send the books back, wait for them to inspect them then wait a further 10 days for delivery when the website says 5 days and then they still cant get it right.

Just check your 5 books over and look at the borders (if you created any) and see if any of them join up or are missing from the pages completly. My books almost NEVER come to me as i see them in the preview.

I have had glue blobs applied to some pages, ink spots right in the centre of wedding books and even a red ink smudge right across the brides face in 1 book. Oh and by the way the general manager sounded almost peed off when he said to me in a sarcastic tone

"so you buy our books from us and sell them to your clients for hundreds of pounds"

He obviously asumes little grannies are uploading a few pictures of the grand kids and does not think that photographers use them to sell to clients (no offence grannies)

He also does not seem bothered one bit that over 1 month later my clients are still waiting on my latest book despite the fact that they have now sent me 3 copies all of which are useles.

Like i said this is just the tip of the iceburge and more pictures and facts will be shown to as many people as i can possibly show in order to get the FACTS about my books across.

:bang: :bang: :bang:

Please read my post about CEWE PHOTO BOOKS.
I would hate other photographers to go through the nightmare i have.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/for...ad.php?t=90217

 

[Bowsa]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new around here, although I have been using Cewe for photobooks prints and gifts for a long time. put god knows how much money through them, and 99.9% of the products i have received have been spot on.

I did have a problem with one of my orders, which was refunded and reprinted as a gesture of good will. So I am more than happy with the service that they have given me!
end of the day problems occur and from my experience rarely with em. when it did they sorted it for me

just my 2pence but hey you gotta make your own decisions

Take care all be back soon

 

[50D]

mmmmmmmmmm


kevshore and bowsa seem to have a very similar problem with puctuation and grammer not that im perfect far from it but i do spot a multiple id poster now and again

cewe staff maybe

as promised more pictures and info coming some time today

 

[hotchef23]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new around here, although I have been using Cewe for photobooks prints and gifts for a long time. put god knows how much money through them, and 99.9% of the products i have received have been spot on.

I did have a problem with one of my orders, which was refunded and reprinted as a gesture of good will. So I am more than happy with the service that they have given me!
end of the day problems occur and from my experience rarely with em. when it did they sorted it for me

just my 2pence but hey you gotta make your own decisions

Take care all be back soon

didnt happen to type this on a work computer with the same keyboard as another fairly new member of the forum?

me thinks there might be a slightly offensive rodent somewhere in this thread.

me thinks that pictures speak a thousand words and the pictures of the books far out weigh the two entries prasing the books!

 

[50D]

hotchef23 glad someone else noticed this i was thinking i was paranoid but it does seem a bit similar doesnt it

Now then back to business as promised more pictures and info. Please excuse my bad image enhancing or de-enhancing as the case seems as my laptop has just gone so had to use the other halves who has only got psp7 ages since i used that:shrug:


Picture below shows a red ink smudge across the brides face (circled in black) this looks a lot worse when looking at it in hand and i only took these pictures quickly in front of the window but never the less still obviously there

Image below is the front cover of another book and this strange band at the bottom appears in a few of my books (gladly show you these images in further posts to come)

Image below was the third time this book had been sent to me, after several discussions with the so called customer services manager who turned out to be a team leader and a heated discussion with a guy from Germany who i am led to believe was a senior member of the company this book was PROMISED it would be individualy quality inspected before it left the lab. Now how anyone could miss a grey ink spot this size is just beyond me

Same wedding book below and with the same old problem of images with borders. When you preview this on screen everything looks perfect yet when it arrives images are not aligned properly, borders join up with other borders.....again this problem will be shown in further posts

We are still at the tip of the iceburg by the way and there are lots more images to come and even more information, excuses and problems with the books i have been getting back from CEWE.

Part 3 coming soon

 

[50D]

Part 3 done really quickly

Image below

aggghhhhh that strange white band again that CEWE cant explain or wont explain

Image below those border images still happening (notice the borders have joinjed up on the image to the left) this does not happen when you preview and preview is all we customers can go on, if it looks fine on your screen then it should arrive looking the same...I clearly leave a gap between images but they just arrive joined up (again i have sent mcf files to CEWE to let them see what i see on my screen and what i get in book) to this day they have yet to answer my questions infact they asked me to send them the files so they coulod investigate i had promises of printing the books out and comparing them with the mcf files but again they where just cheep words and NOTHING EVER came of this (emails explaining this will be posted here for you to read soon)

Image below i have put an arrowe showing you the picture that was meant to have an opacity of around 70% that i had set, i had checked the box which disables automatic image correction within their process but this image came back in black and white, as usual no answers where ever forwarded as to why

Image below was the first order of this wedding book notice the damaged corners that look a tad unsightly and it seems the ink spot splattering fairy has been at it again

Image below is another book and this is the front cover notice the few mm image at the top...well this is actually the image that is on the front cover it seems that CEWE have decided to print part of it again right along the top of the book

Thanks for looking and reading and part 4 is coming soon. Please do comment

 

[MisterE]

Have you gone down or contemplating the Trading Standards road to secure refunds?

 

[lookup]

I think the mods can track IP's and tell if the same person or people in the same office are posting. My post was genuine, my brother loves them but then again maybe he's not to fussy about quality.

 

[kevshore]

50D, I'm on holiday with my family at the moment, so using my phone. That was a very good distraction tactic you used there. I have of 500 posts on here. You have 35ish. Take the time to check my profile and read my posts and you will soon find out who i am. I have no connections with Cewe or the other poster. I simply did as i stated. I speak as i find. I am sorry that it doesnt fit in with your slagging session. But hey ho. Please dont start on me because I have had good service. If you wish to take this further, lets do it by pm on my return on Sunday. I hate using my phone for this. It takes forever. Kev.

 

[50D]

I think its you Kev who has now turned this into a slagging session:razz:. I have no interest in how many posts you have made nor do i find it more or less of a concern if you have 500+ and i only 30+ its of no relevance whatsoever.

Now i suggest you take a chill pill and relax with your family on holiday. Like you Kev i simply speak as i find and if i find CEWE photobooks to be a complete pain in the backside i will publicly display my findings along with images for proof if thats what you call a slagging session then so be it:shrug:

"That was a very good distraction tactic you used there."

Not at alll i simply found it similar as did other members

Have a nice holiday

 

[Hopkin Green Frog]

I think its you Kev who has now turned this into a slagging session:razz:. I have no interest in how many posts you have made nor do i find it more or less of a concern if you have 500+ and i only 30+ its of no relevance whatsoever.

Now i suggest you take a chill pill and relax with your family on holiday. Like you Kev i simply speak as i find and if i find CEWE photobooks to be a complete pain in the backside i will publicly display my findings along with images for proof if thats what you call a slagging session then so be it:shrug:

"That was a very good distraction tactic you used there."

Not at alll i simply found it similar as did other members

Have a nice holiday

Hmm. I think Kev has a point. You started dissing his punctuation and openly accused him of being a fake because he didn't agree with you, as far as I can see. If you'd treated me that way I'd have been livid.

You really seem a bit obsessed with Cewe photobooks, why not just take your business elsewhere? When you consider the additional valuable man-hours you've spent complaining about them on here in multiple threads, taking photos of the books you're not happy with, talking to Cewe themselves, getting other options etc... you still have a client waiting for their photobook, so surely that should be your prime concern.

It's a shame that you have had a hard time with this company, but other posters seem ok with them - maybe you were just unlucky?

 

[50D]

Hmm. I think Kev has a point. You started dissing his punctuation and openly accused him of being a fake because he didn't agree with you, as far as I can see. If you'd treated me that way I'd have been livid.

You really seem a bit obsessed with Cewe photobooks, why not just take your business elsewhere? When you consider the additional valuable man-hours you've spent complaining about them on here in multiple threads, taking photos of the books you're not happy with, talking to Cewe themselves, getting other options etc... you still have a client waiting for their photobook, so surely that should be your prime concern.

It's a shame that you have had a hard time with this company, but other posters seem ok with them - maybe you were just unlucky?

I think you seem to be getting a tad confussed m8 i mentioned the similarity between the 2 posts and the punctuation thats hardly dissing it is it and i didnt call him a fake because he disagreed with me and if i had treated you that way you would of been livid would you? oh well.

Now you say i seem a bit obsessed with CEWE and why dont i just take my business elsewhere? well if you care to read this thread properly you will see that i have already mentioned that i have done that and as for my clients still waiting for the photobook and that should be my main concern..i have already produced other books with other suppliers and so i am not wasting my time on all that you suggest.

you to need to take a chill pill m8 its a forum for discussion and if you dont like what i discuss then dont read

oh and you say maybe i was just unlucky? thats just daft to suggest that even after the few pics ive posted here. Its not even about unlucky its about bad business, bad products, bad customer service........unlucky? no way

 

[Hopkin Green Frog]

I think you seem to be getting a tad confussed m8 i mentioned the similarity between the 2 posts and the punctuation thats hardly dissing it is it and i didnt call him a fake because he disagreed with me and if i had treated you that way you would of been livid would you? oh well.

Actually, if you'll allow me to quote you:

kevshore and bowsa seem to have a very similar problem with puctuation and grammer not that im perfect far from it but i do spot a multiple id poster now and again

Saying someone has a problem with punctuation and grammar (when they plainly don't, by the way) might be considered a little offensive, yeah. You then compound that by suggesting that Kev, while simply responding to your post, is a liar who is using multiple accounts to undermine you. Hardly fair, I think.

I have no interest in how many posts you have made nor do i find it more or less of a concern if you have 500+ and i only 30+ its of no relevance whatsoever.

It's relevant because on an internet forum posts = credibility. Someone with 2 posts could quite likely be an account created solely for the purpose of participating in a single thread. An account with over 500 posts is a fairly well established member of the community, who has participated in quite a lot of threads.

Not at alll i simply found it similar as did other members

Did they? I read the whole thread, and it didn't look that way to me.

Now you say i seem a bit obsessed with CEWE and why dont i just take my business elsewhere? well if you care to read this thread properly

(I have done)

you will see that i have already mentioned that i have done that and as for my clients still waiting for the photobook and that should be my main concern..i have already produced other books with other suppliers and so i am not wasting my time on all that you suggest.

Hmm ok then. Another quote, I think:

He also does not seem bothered one bit that over 1 month later my clients are still waiting on my latest book despite the fact that they have now sent me 3 copies all of which are useles.

you to need to take a chill pill m8 its a forum for discussion and if you dont like what i discuss then dont read

Or don't publish in the first place, if you're just going to badmouth people who disagree with you. Perhaps a "chill pill" of your own might help?

oh and you say maybe i was just unlucky? thats just daft to suggest that even after the few pics ive posted here. Its not even about unlucky its about bad business, bad products, bad customer service........unlucky? no way

So demand a refund. I don't understand why you keep persevering with the company if they are such a problem, and when other users seems perfectly happy with the product.

 

[who?]

I have to agree with Mr Frog.

I suggest you get a refund and move on. Life is too short.

As to your unpleasant manner with KevShore. Kev has been a member for rather longer than you and has made a significant number of posts on diverse subjects. Note the contrast with your constant slagging off of your supplier which must equate to 90% of your posts. The constant bumping the slag off thread to the top of the list is also rather irritating.

And I suppose I should say that I have no connection with any photobook company.

 

[50D]

Hopkin im not even going to bother replying to your quotes but i will say this if i have had a bad time with CEWE photobooks then i will do my best to let other photographers now my experience weather you like it or not.

I have moved on (as i said) and suggest you do to and stop fighting other peoples battles for them. I was not the only one who thought it was a tad sus and my point was and still is to show just how bad my service has been from this company if you dont like what i read or the way i put it thats your problem m8 and i can tell you, you are WRONG when you say

"Saying someone has a problem with punctuation and grammar (when they plainly don't, by the way)"

READ IT AGAIN AND THEN TELL ME THIS IS CORRECT :nono:

"Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new around here, although I have been using Cewe for photobooks prints and gifts for a long time. put god knows how much money through them, and 99.9% of the products i have received have been spot on.

I did have a problem with one of my orders, which was refunded and reprinted as a gesture of good will. So I am more than happy with the service that they have given me!
end of the day problems occur and from my experience rarely with em. when it did they sorted it for me

just my 2pence but hey you gotta make your own decisions

Take care all be back soon "

Now sod off and stop being a pain in the arse m8 500 posts+ or not if you dont like what i say dont read

 

[IanC_UK]

Im closing this thread, you have made your point about them not delivering what you ordered, but attacking other long standing members because they dont agree with you is just not on !