BookTailorReviews of booktailor.com

I ordered a personalised book on 24 February and paid extra for express delivery (5–7 working days), as it was intended as a birthday gift. What followed was a very frustrating and poorly handled experience from start to finish. The delivery information at checkout is unclear and misleading. It suggests a 5–7 working day delivery timeframe, but does not clearly explain that production time is added on top. As a result, the book did not arrive anywhere near the expected date and completely missed the occasion it was ordered for. On 4 March, I contacted customer service to check the status of my order. I was told that it would be shipped within the next 36 hours. Later that same day, I received a “your book is on its way” email with a UPS tracking number. However, when I checked the tracking the following day, the parcel had already been returned to the sender for unknown reasons. The first shipment never reached me. UPS marked the parcel as “receiver unavailable” and returned it without leaving any delivery notice. The explanation I received from BookTailor was confusing, including a statement that the book had somehow “got lost.” When I contacted customer support, the responses were dismissive and defensive rather than helpful. I was told that the delivery timeframes were “clearly stated” and that they had never received complaints about this, which did not reflect my experience or what is shown at checkout. As the birthday had already passed, I requested a refund on 10 March. The company did issue a full refund (which I received shortly after), and also reprinted and resent the book, which I appreciate. However, the replacement delivery was again unnecessarily complicated due to a “signature required” service. The parcel could not be left, and I had to collect it from a pickup point - despite no ID or signature actually being required at collection. At no point during this process was there any apology or acknowledgement of the inconvenience caused, despite the missed occasion and multiple issues. The book itself is fun and well made, which is the only reason this is not a lower rating. However, the overall experience - from misleading delivery expectations, to failed delivery, to dismissive customer service - was disappointing and stressful. I would not rely on this company for time-sensitive orders.