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ArtsCow.com: Photo Prints and Gifts – Part 1 of 2

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Photograph Credit: ArtsCow.com

With a love for personalized gifts, I struggle with the price tag of photo books. A simple book can run upwards of $20 with no bells and whistles. Having used a few different companies to print photo books, I have been extremely impressed with ArtsCow.com because they are adaptable, user-friendly, and affordable!

Adaptable features. To help stretch our hard earned dollars, I use my credits and discounts when purchasing photo prints and photo gifts for family and friends. The photo books are my favorite.  Around Father’s Day, I typically order one book for each child to give to Daddy.

ArtsCow’s photo book options are the most adaptable among Shutterfly, Winkflash, and Snapfish. I can adjust the text, add extra layout options for pictures, and move all the items around on the page. If the layout I need is not available in a template, then I can create my own. I am not limited by a standardized format.

User-Friendly web site. ArtsCow’s web site is very easy to navigate. As with all photo books, this project is time consuming. I spend 4-5 hours creating a book with upwards of 200 pictures. If you have fewer pictures, then you could probably create a book in less than an hour. A great feature is random fill-in where all your pictures are put in the book, and then you can move them around.

Affordable projects. ArtsCow.com often sends coupon codes which need to be validated. Once validated, the credits will stay in your account until either you use them or they expire.

I currently have coupons for free prints from now until August 2013. Though the prints are free, I am responsible for the shipping charges. I have been very impressed with ArtsCow.com’s affordable quality as they have printed our family calendar for the past 3 years, 10+ photo books, prints, and a memory card reader.

Registration

If you are interested in saving on your photo prints and using the services of ArtsCow.com, then register for free.

  1. Go to www.artscow.com. (Note: This is my referral link. By registering through this link, Using Time Wisely gets compensated without any cost to you. Your support of Using Time Wisely is greatly appreciated. For more information on my affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure policy.)
  2. At the top of the page, click on MY ACCOUNT.
  3. Choose REGISTER for a free account.
  4. Complete the required fields, word verification, accept the terms, and JOIN.

Credit and Discount

Once you have joined, you can check your credits.

  1. Go back to the HOME page (just click on “ARTSCOW” in the top left corner.)
  2. Go to MY ACCOUNT at the top of the page.
  3. Login with your e-mail account and password.
  4. On the left sidebar under Members Area, click on the 4th option down, CREDIT AND DISCOUNT.
  5. A list of your free credits will load. As a new member you should have a minimum of 1200 free prints and 3 8”x8” photo books. Now, these free prints will be spread out over most of the next year. Here are the details of the free print credits:
    • Please use the credits between the start time and expire time
    • If you have free print credits in your account already, the new prints credits will be added after them.
    • No more than 100 free 4×6 and 50 free 5×7 print credits can be used per month.
    • Shipping fees are not included
    • Promotion details may change at any time without notice
    • Valid on orders placed and shipped within the globe only (really . . . no shipping to Mercury or Halley’s Comet?🙂 )
    • All credits issued will not be deleted except repeated registrants
    • ArtsCow.com reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time without notice.

Coupon Codes

While you are still at the CREDIT AND DISCOUNT page, add the current coupon code for an additional 600 free prints. This coupon code expires on Monday, August 22. You do not need to order your pictures by Monday, but you must validate the coupon by Monday. The free prints will be tagged on at the end of your current 1200 free prints.

  1. In the VALIDATE BOX, enter AUG11PRTS.
  2. Click the VALIDATE button.
  3. You will receive a message stating that 600 more prints have been added to your credits.

As the credits keep coming, you will be set with free photos for a long time! ArtsCow.com sends out e-mails periodically with coupon codes. Just add the coupon codes to your Credit and Discount page and validate. You will then have the credits when you are ready to order your prints and gifts.

Using ArtsCow.com to order our photo prints and gifts with our credits and discounts has helped stretch our hard earned dollars. In using time wisely, I find ArtsCow.com adaptable, user-friendly, and affordable. In fact, I just placed an order for 3 free 8”x8” photo albums, 10 free 5”x7” prints, and 1 memory card reader discounted to $7.99 and paid a total of $23.15.

ArtsCow.com saves me money (from credits and discounts), energy (searching for promotional codes and other deals), and time (get to adjust and create my own layouts). Come back next week for Part 2 where I will walk you through the process of placing an order with ArtsCow.com. Until then, keep stretching your dollars while using time wisely!

Question: How do you stretch your dollars when purchasing photo prints and gifts?