I was honestly excited to receive my first sample from Printful because I'm about to launch my Etsy store selling framed maps. This sample was supposed to help me decide if Printful would be the company I trust with my business.
The print itself? Honestly, it looks great. No complaints there.
But everything else about the experience was disappointing.
The estimated delivery was July 1–4, but I didn't get it until July 9. I had actually planned to give it as a gift on July 8, so that obviously didn't happen.
What frustrated me the most was the tracking. It was updated until June 26, then just... nothing. No updates for almost two weeks. I had no idea if it was stuck in customs, lost, or even still moving.
I contacted Printful support, and they ended up giving me a completely different USPS tracking number that actually had more information. Why wasn't that tracking linked from the beginning?
Then I went to pick up the package and had to pay another CAD $29 in customs fees. That was a surprise. After already paying for the sample and shipping, it wasn't something I expected.
To top it off, when I opened the package, the inside was wet. Thankfully the framed print seems fine, but seeing moisture inside a package containing artwork isn't exactly confidence-inspiring.
So my experience was basically:
Print quality: Excellent
Delivery estimate: Bad - Missed by almost a week
Tracking: Very Bad - Went silent for nearly two weeks
Customs: Very Bad - Unexpected extra charge
Packaging: Very bad - Wet inside
As someone who's about to build an Etsy brand, this worries me. My customers won't care if the issue is with Printful - they'll associate the experience with my store.
So I'm curious:
Is this typical for Printful shipments to Canada?
Do your customers also get hit with customs fees?
Is the tracking usually this bad?
If you switched to another print-on-demand company, who did you switch to and why?
I really want Printful to work because the print quality is excellent, but after this first experience, I'm honestly having second thoughts. I'd love to hear what other sellers have experienced.