Sunday 3 February 2013

Follow Up Posts on PhotoBarn




There are numerous businesses on Etsy that offer pictures transferred onto wood.

In the past, I published a few posts about a company called PhotoBarn.  As this blog is called The Honest Shopper, I feel compelled to follow up on those posts with some brutal honesty.
Yes, the pictures printed on wood look cool, and are a great idea.  They were not PhotoBarn's idea; there are actually loads of other companies that do the same thing, and PhotoBarn owners got the idea from a friend who showed them a tutorial on YouTube.

The reality of ordering from PhotoBarn is that most orders are delivered extremely late, some people never received their orders at all, mistakes are common, and the products often don't live up to expectations.  There is absolutely no concern for the environment.  Heaps of wood (not sustainably sourced, just chosen for the low price tag) get piled up and wasted, and there's not even a company recycling policy, so paper and cans just get tossed out with the normal trash.  The company itself is fraught with problems.  This isn't an expose, so I'm not going to get into all of the details here, but it is a company that I will not have any more association with.

Disclaimer: I have not had any dealings with PhotoBarn in several months.  I find it hard to believe that they have drastically improved since then, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and admit that it is possible.

Please help: I would LOVE to hear from any of you that have placed orders with PhotoBarn.  It is easy to find PhotoBarn created reviews and promotions on the internet, but there aren't many objective customer reviews available.  I would really appreciate it if you would help post your experiences here so that future shoppers can get an honest look at what to expect before ordering.

Options: If you love the idea of having your pictures on wood, you can actually do it yourself for a lot less money.  It is a little time consuming, but it's also not difficult.  There are also some other, far better companies out there that offer basically the same products.  Woodsnap, for example, is a far more ethical company that only uses sustainable wood and inks.

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