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2013-02-11
5/5
"For those that do not wish to read the whole review, let me just say that my recent purchase from Venus Puzzle was remarkable (and I am a pretty cynical person!). The quality of the product and online purchase experience has undoubtedly been one of the best I have ever had. I highly recommend their product.
When I first decided to buy a puzzle as a present I was concerned that I’d get some flimsy paper-thin product of minimal print quality. I did a bit of reading and visited a number of sites online. With no foreknowledge of what to look for I found a bunch of information about the differing quality of the cardboards used and methods of production. During this process I discovered Venus Puzzle.
When I found that they were located in Slovakia I was a bit nervous. Not because of Slovakia itself as a location, but simply due to the geographic distance from Canada. I have has problems with vendors within my own borders and the USA that took ages to resolve, let alone across the Atlantic. If, for example, the item was lost in transit, what remedies would I have? What about the language barrier? (Slovak isn’t one of my strengths!)
Since they took Paypal, I felt there was a level of security there, so I went ahead and placed the order (December 6th 2012). The instructions and submission was simple and painless. The dimensions and desired resolution for each puzzle are clearly given. I finished the picture and cropped it in Photoshop to the proper dimensions and DPI (dots per inch = pixels per inch). After the upload the system ran some preliminary evaluation routine on the file and said it was fine.
Within 7 days the puzzle was on my doorstep in Canada!! It was in perfect condition in a bubble DHL bag and protective box. The ‘actual’ puzzle box was also quite nice. The print quality of the box was very nice and the box itself was excellent quality.
After the holidays my mother (obviously the recipient of the gift and a puzzle fiend) began to put the 1000 pieces together. The actual quality of the image as well as the cardboard itself was noticeably excellent. While the pieces aren’t as huge and the piece shapes themselves aren’t as glaringly different as some puzzles, there is more than enough diversity to make placement obvious (besides – this IS a puzzle – it is supposed to be challenging!).
The ONE mistake I DID make was not realizing that they offered square puzzles as well. Large Puzzles and Square puzzles are both listed in the main menu, but I didn’t look carefully enough and went directly to ‘Large’. Since my picture was well suited for ‘Square’ I ended up with the left and right sides being a relatively solid colour. This isn’t a huge issue, but solid colours ARE fairly challenging! But then that was my mistake. I mention it only so others don’t make a similar error.
When the main part of the puzzle (the square middle section - hehe) was complete, we did notice a slight alignment issue across the middle. To most people this would not have been noticeable, but I am one of these overly critical/cynical types. It appeared to be a slight manufacturing defect, but I wasn’t sure so I contacted Venus via the online form. It was 3pm my time which meant it was 9pm in Slovakia. I frankly expected a reply sometime within a week or so – if that.
To my surprise, they replied within the hour. The representative asked me to forward a picture of the issue (which I did) and within 3 hours of my initial mail, they had indicated that the cutting machine had caused the alignment issue and offered to replace the puzzle at no charge. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I spent 15 years working for a manufacturer (computer motherboards and components) and the policies for replacement were always very burdensome on the customer. They ALWAYS involved return of the defective product even when we knew the issue was legitimate.
I have always considered that the best way to judge a product and/or manufacturer is how customer issues are dealt with. There isn’t ONE manufacturer on the planet that won’t encounter at least some issues – even as minor as a slight slip of a cutting head. A good response from the manufacturer indicates ONE thing. The overall production quality is SO good that they can easily afford to deal with all customer issues in a timely and pleasant fashion.
Although I don’t buy many puzzles personally, I WILL buy from them again. I have many friends who enjoy them and now I have a great place to go to for these unique gifts. I have already mentioned them to numerous people.
So – in conclusion – if you are looking to buy a custom puzzle, look no further. You will not be disappointed. Excellent product, excellent delivery time (internationally) and most importantly, excellent customer service."
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