To Order, Or Not To Order... By Taryn Sims on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
I tried this new site, www.artscow.com, to order prints because they were giving away free prints. I thought that sounded awesome, so I decided to go ahead and order my next slew of prints from there. I had heard from one of my friends that they used artscow and they ended up stealing their bank account information and using money in their account. She told her bank about it and got her money back, but I went ahead and tried this site using my paypal so none of my information could be stolen.
Well, they did give me free prints, but the shipping was enough to make up for it. I got 50 fre credit prints and ended up paying almost $7.00 for shipping. Not only did it cost an arm and a leg for the shipping, but it took me two weeks to get my pictures.
The prints themselves turned out to be pretty good, but the services were sucky! I don't think that I will be using their services again any time soon!
About The Author:
Artscow Photo prints
Great warning for people who are looking for a printer.
What sort of operation takes great measures to ensure their identities remain a secret? ArtsCow.com closed my account because I addressed the CEO by his real name in their forums. That is right, "Berry" is a made up name, but beware, address him by his real name and your account will be closed. Of course, my account will be reopened if "You need to promise no arguments again on our forum, and don't post our communications or other company details to third parties." This dispute began when I complained about their affiliate program. They offer 200 free prints if you refer someone and they make a purchase. I made 13 successful referrals, then attempted to collect my 2,600 free prints. Well, they have an unpublished policy which states only 50 free prints per size per month can be redeemed. I will have to wait 26 months to get all of my free prints. Their ad says if you refer 100 people you get 20,000 prints, but the ad fails to mention that you must wait nearly 17 years to collect these prints. I should have heeded the earlier warning signs. "Berry" informed me that only exact shipping costs are charged, however the shipping costs are clearly printed on the packaging from the postal service. This was Berry's first lie to me, most of their profit surely comes from shipping. Are you interested in the real names of the people behind this unscrupulous business? Look at their latest annual return here: http://stashbox.org/186130/artscow.pdf This identifies the owners as: CHAI PO YING: Secretary, 4,000,000 shares FU LIANG: 3,500,000 shares LAM YUEN HING: Director, 2,000,000 shares WONG CHUN KAI: 1,000,000 Shares Be aware that this company uses many deceptive business practices and lies to their customers. I do not recommend using them. If I referred you in the past, I am sorry. I have informed the Hong Kong police of the deceptive practices used by LAM YUEN HING et al. and I have requested the open a fraud investigation. If you are also a victim of LAM YUEN HING's deception, I urge you to file a report as well: 1) Fax: 2200 4305 2) Email: pprb@police.gov.hk 3) Web Site: http://www.info.gov.hk/police Additionally, you can file a report with the consumer council: http://www.consumer.org.hk/website/ws_en/complaints_and_advices/how_to_complain/howtocomplain.html Finally, you can report the deceptive activity to Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre in the following ways. call them at 25 266 366 (24-hour) write to them: Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre Hong Kong GPO Box No.: 1000 Hong Kong Reports should be called in or sent by mail, but email for more information: hkedc@crd.icac.org.hk