Ever since the era of Digital Cameras and Smartphones invasion and Social Media outbreak, photo prints had been a thing of the past. Gone were the days of going to camera houses with a camera film in a canister on hand to have it printed. Long gone were those negative films you get along with your printed copies. And the art of memory keeping had been forgotten.
After my wedding in June, I had so longed to receive my 10 page photobook that was included in the promo package I setup with my photographer. However, I had to wait for 90 days to get my hands on that said book.
So what I did was, I searched for online suppliers that offer affordable photobook services in the Philippines. I came across several sites with pretty much similar price range. I had no idea Photobooks costs started at around P500 - P1000 for a small square book with minimum number of pages (shipping not yet included). So I decided not to push through with my desire to purchase a photobook just yet because I found it a little pricey.
However, because I desperately wanted our wedding photos to be printed out on a coffeebook style album, I finally decided to give photobooks a try. I searched specifically for Photobook Philippines since I have read a few positive reviews online from Filipino bloggers who were raving about it.
Luckily for me, one of the google search results showed discount coupons/vouchers for sale at Metrodeal. I was so happy because I chanced upon their Photobook Sale that started at P20 (shipping not included though). Yes dirt cheap! It was such an awesome deal.
So I told my sister about it and we purchased 3 6x6 mini square photobooks. Another amazing thing I liked about Metrodeal was that they had lots of payment options. You can pay through credit card, debit card, OTC bank deposits, or through partner payment counters like SM and many more. It was that easy.
Going back to the story, I had let the vouchers sit for a while because we didn't have internet at home yet and I couldn't upload my wedding pictures. So what I did was to just download some of my Photographer's edited photo uploads on Facebook (while I was at work--free internet heehee) and worked with that.
Fortunately, by the end of August, we finally had internet at home and I was able to upload the photos I needed for the photobook. I almost wasn't able to use the vouchers because they were nearing its expiration. Good thing, I was able to complete my photobook 2 days prior to its expiry date.
After I submitted my photobook and paid it using the voucher I only had to pay the P70 paper upgrade (Matte paper) and the P250 shipping fee. So my wedding photobook cost P340 only.
A day after, I submitted another photobook which contained our prenup photos. This time I chose the luster paper and I didn't have to pay for an upgrade. So I only paid for the P250 shipping fee. So my second book cost P270 only.
And so the waiting began. The Photobook site showed production is 2-3 days and delivery will be around 7 days. I was very anxious as I waited for my photobook to arrive that I kept checking my account to see if the order status was changed to shipped.
To my surprise, the photobook arrived sooner than I expected. After 3 days, I was notified through email that my order was already picked up by DHL Malaysia (the photobooks are produced in Malaysia btw) and I was given a tracking number. I looked it up in the DHL site and it showed that ETA is end of the day on September 20. But I didn't wait that long because on September 16, my order arrived right at my doorstep. It was 4 days sooner than expected.
I was so pleased with the fast delivery and I was even happier to see the finished product. The photobook looked exactly as I imagined it. What I loved about it was that the binding was sturdy and didn't look flimsy. The book was neatly bound and the photos were printed clearly (of course it would vary with the resolution of the photo uploaded).
The photos would print darker compared to how it looked on screen so you might want to keep note of that. Another thing to note would be to always keep important shots (faces and details) within the red line and away from that blue line because that was were the pages were bound. I learned this the hard way because even though the online photobook maker had a reminder to keep photos and texts within the red line, I still placed some pics over the red line heehee. (Of course if you chose the layflat type photobook, you wouldn't have this problem).
Despite all those small items I mentioned, I was still super satisfied because the photobook came out to be pretty and was of good quality. And I am totally going to rave about it to my friends and family!
Anyhow, I was very satisfied with my purchase that I actually bought another one just recently, a bigger size this time. I bought the 8x11 medium portrait softcover photobook and I would be filling it with my baby girl's growing up photos.
P.S. The 3rd voucher expired but it was okay since it only costs P20. Shipping fee is paid per photobook and combination shipping is not allowed.
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