Being in graphics I frequently find myself on the look-out for cheap(er) ways to get stuff printed. If things need to be really good and well-produced, I of course turn to a local offset printer for the best results. If, however, it’s more about the quantity/price and not the quality, I try to find the best price/result balance.
I have a good number of options on my list, and one of them is (or used to be) Vista Print. I had never used them before, but I know a few who have, and I probably would’ve tried them out at some point, had I not come across a post in a forum the other day.

And sure, after doing a bit of research, there were a good number of links that were warning about Vista Print’s affiliates that would charge credit cards without authorization.

I tried a few things myself, went all the way to payment terms in the order process (without actually ordering), and read through the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy several times. In the ordering process there are about six pages with additional optional orders, subscriptions, and discounts, but there’s nothing sneaky or secret about those: it’s clearly stated, if you check this it’s free the first month (or whatever period), after that it’ll cost. They are just an obligatory annoying path through check-out and you need not select any of those.
I really can’t find anything that would give someone the option to check or uncheck a box for Vista Print’s affiliates to add some monthly subscription to the order you’re placing or anything along those lines, so it’s a really dubious case. Or then I really do read before I click accept. I’ve been mentioning that already before in this blog.

Obviously I unchecked Vista Print from my list of possible printers. And I’d advise everyone who has or will do business with Vista Print to be very cautious and READ. Read carefully!