I've only made one, and that was about 10 years ago. I cannot suspect they are no longer in business or I would have gotten ads from them. It is possible they were swallowed by Snapfish or Shutterfly (that would include Costco's Photo - I did use them but don't know if that included the books). I've only done one mug with Snapfish and it was terrible, so I am not likely to go there for anything. I found this NYT Wirecutter article and they recommend Mixbook.

I have used Shutterfly in years past and have been happy with them. However, if you have a lot of photos to deal with, their new process was not as easy to use last year when I was trying to make a book.

DD and I had a lot of photos between us from a trip to Italy. Trying to upload and arrange them all was more tedious than I recalled. After a couple of attempts, I realized there was an option for them to arrange the photos for me on pages. So I took that option, being careful to upload them in chronological order. Within a couple of days they send you a proof copy to review. I think I made 1 or 2 small changes and added a couple of text boxes. They sent the final copy for review with some other questions about binding, cover shot, etc. and it was done! DD was thrilled with it and very surprised.

I had a coupon for a good percent off, so i ordered one for myself too.

I've made numerous Shutterfly books for our grandchildren. When DD married, I used Mixbook for a higher quality keepsake. I've been happy with both companies.

I am long overdue to make the last grandchid another 8x8 book. I got smart with her and use the same book format (color, etc) and no more than four photos on a page. Although the last two pages I usually do ten to a page, putting screenshots of texts DD sends me (something grandchild did or said).

Just as a warning when using Shutterfly, if you remove a photo from your account, it no longer shows up in the book preview. Also, some of their updates might change something in a previous book, which is only a problem if you want to share, download or print another copy.

I have made about 15 books, I think, using Shutterfly. I find it easy to do and they have all turned out as expected.

Another Shutterfly user. I looked at changing to Mixbook when I made the last books and forget why I didn't go with them. I think it was too big of a learning curve with their software and it seemed to confusing after being used to the relative simplicity of Shutterfly's.

We use Shutterfly too, though we have since switched to slideshows because we enjoy those more.

The last time I did a book I chose all the bells and whistles and it was $300. That was a surprise!

I always use shutterfly for my photo books. I find them to have good quality and the best options for flexibility when designing each page which is most important to me. I want it to look exactly like I want.

Price is a consideration. I am making 3 books, one for each child. At $300/book, you’d have to scrape me off the floor!

Shutterfly is currently running a sale…unlimited free pages and 40%. Based on price and recommendations here, they are the front runner at the moment. DSIL is WFH today. I’m going to start and when he breaks for lunch, we can look at it together.

Bbstx, mine was around $250, with the extra book around $200, but it one of the very large books with a lot of pages. The smaller books are way less than that. It totally depends on the size of the book, # of pages and hard or soft cover.

Yes. My three that I did recently were large, hardcover, and had a feature where the image can span 2 pages without losing any image in the middle (they explain it better LOL!).

@bbstx, that offer from Shutterfly is a pretty basic one. I am sure as the holidays approach and Black Friday, you will be able to match it. Don't be in a big hurry to submit a book just to get the deal. Also Shutterfly is on Rakuten, I think I got an extra 15+% back in a special deal lst holiday season.

Take your time to complete your book and keep checking back for a better deal.

A really easy way to make a travel photo book is to use theFindPenguins travel blog app during your trip. Afterwards it's easy to turn your photos and text into a book.

I signed up for Rakuten eons ago. I can never remember to use it. Looks like I’m missing out!

Ha! Mine would be higher if I had not forgotten about it when I purchased a new laptop. I didn't activate for months! For me, living in rural areas, it has been easier to order online. I also do not like in store clothes shopping, and neither does DH. I have only been in a clothing store once in the past 4+ years. It's been even longer for DH.

From last September, I made an 8x11 hard cover photo book with 39 pages ... not lay flat... from Shutterfly for about $100.