Photobooks by Photobooks Philippines

The photobooks and customer service are great but the hidden costs are annoying.

6x6 Photobooks Wrapped in a Thick Paper Envelope

I'm a fan of photo books and am always on the look out for the best ones. (Check out my 2013 review of Fotosnaps here). This review is about Photobooks Philippines and my recent purchase of a pair of 6x6 photo books.

1. I used their offline designer. It's software that you download and it allows you to easily layout your photos and arrange them using templates. I suspect that both Photobooks and Fotosnaps license their software from the same makers because they both look and feel the same, the only difference being the branding.

2. Uploading and paying for the order is a breeze. Plus points for their well design website and the email notifications that inform you on the status of your book.

3. When they let you choose the delivery option, choose carefully because standard delivery will take twenty days and will not even deliver direct to your home. Standard delivery means that they'll send it to the nearest post office where you'll have to pay extra Php100 standard customs fee per package since it's an international package from Malaysia. I don't know about your post office but mine was only open between 8 and 11am from Monday to Thursday so you'd need to find someone to pick it up for you or you'll need to take an expensive day off from work.

Plus if you're ordering more than one book, Photobooks can't bundle them together so you'd end up paying an extra P100 per book.

I guess it's just a matter of proper setting of expectations but I suppose we can't expect them to know our local postal regulations right? If Photobook made the difference between the shipping methods clearer up front then I'd probably bump the rating up by one pawikan point.

Would I order from them again? The standard books I ordered were well made and look like they'd last for a long time on my coffeetable. Knowing how expensive the shipping fees will be, If I ever do order from them i'll just order a single, large photobook with multiple pages instead of multiple small ones.

Rating: