Frequently Asked Questions

Are the stand-ups made out of cardboard?
For our custom stand-ups and life-size greeting cards we use a rigid, weatherproof plastic that is highly durable.  In weather-tests we have had these stand ups outside for years without problem.  We print the image onto white self-adhesive vinyl, and then apply this to the plastic.  At this time we do not offer giant envelopes for the life-size greeting cards.  They are shipped in custom-made cardboard boxes.

Our stock celebrity cut-outs are made from cardboard.  We have the same list of cardboard stand-ups as everyone else as these are the only ones available.  If it's not on the website, we don't have it, and neither does anyone else!  If you would like one that isn't available, we will be happy to make you a custom one, but you will have to get written permission from the celebrity in question.

What is the turnaround time?                                                                                                                      The usual turnaround time for custom stand-ups varies according to season and to influxes of orders, but it is approximately two weeks from the day that we receive your payment and contact you to say that the image is good enough to reproduce for you, to the day that your custom stand-up arrives on your doorstep.  *Remember, if you don't send us an image, we can't make your stand-up for you.  (See more information on this below.)  Turnaround times for cardboard celebrity stand-ups, as seen on our sister site: www.lifesizecelebrities.com, vary depending upon whether or not your desired items are in stock at the time of your order.  While we will ship the items on time there are no guarantees that they will not be delays in receiving your item.  There will be no refunds due to delays in shipping from our express carriers.  Keep this in mind when placing orders that are time sensitive.   

I want to order a custom weatherproof stand-up of my favorite celebrity or character.  
How do I do that? The only way that we can do that for you is if the celebrity gives us a suitable image (photo, emailed image, image on disc) or okays the use of an image of himself or herself, and also gives us express written permission to create a stand-up of him or her.  Please check our website at www.lifesizecelebrities.com to see if we have your favorite celebrity in stock as a CARDBOARD celebrity stand-up.  If not, then please contact the celebrity's management and ask them to send us written permission to make a custom weatherproof stand-up for you.

What do the stand-ups cost?                                                                                                                       The custom stand-up prices vary due to size from as little as $179.  For GIANT greeting cards please select the card of your choice and use the pull-down menu to see the sizes and prices.  For CUSTOM life-size stand-ups of people, pets, etc. please click on "products" and "custom", then use the pull-down menu to see the sizes and prices.  The usual custom stand-up of a life-size person  is just $179 INCLUDING SHIPPING up to a maximum of 72 inches tall by 28 inches wide!  Custom stand-ups of couples or groups that involve more intricate trimming prior to production  start at $169.  Stand-ups over 72 inches tall or 28 inches wide are an additional $75 due to additional shipping charges.  Most of the cardboard celebrity stand-ups on www.lifesizecelebrities.com are $34 (which includes S & H), but some are a little bit more (like Elvis, Kiss, the Hobbit grouping, talking stand-ups, etc.) or a little bit less for the smaller cardboard stand-ups.  Please visit that website and click on "celebrity stand up listing" to view the prices of the various stand-ups.  Also, for inexpensive custom gifts, be sure to click on "Products" and "Custom" to see the prices for the personalized coffee mugs, t-shirts, license plates, and mouse pads that we can make from your photographs.

What is the maximum size my standup can be?
While we can manufacture your stand-up to any size and specifications you desire, the sizing chart below shows the maximum sizes for standard shipping.  The chart of the right shows maximum sizes for the standard $179 price.  

Absolute Maximum Sizes* Height Width 72 44 71 45 70 45 69 46 68 46 67 47 66 47 65 47 64 48	Standard Pricing Maximum Size (over this add $30.00) Height Width 72 28 71 28 70 29 69 29 68 30 67 30 66 31 65 31 64 32
*We can manufacture any size standup but freight shipping charges will apply.

Is the 2-Day shipping really free?                                                                                                                  Yes!  2-Day shipping to a Continental U.S. (Hawaii & Alaska pays additional shipping) destination is included in the price of your custom stand-up.  If you would like to upgrade your shipping, we will do that, but only at our discretion.  (Please see our "Policies" page for more information about shipping.)  If you are shopping around for prices, be sure to ask the competitors what materials they use and if shipping is included in the price of your custom stand-up.  Cardboard celebrity stand-ups are shipped either via ground and that shipping is also FREE to a destination in the Continental U.S. (Hawaii & Alaska pays additional shipping).

I called and left a message 3 hours ago and no one has called me back!  Why?                       We apologize, but at busy times of the year (holidays and especially the months from October-March) we are often swamped with online orders, emails, and telephone calls.  As you can imagine, creating your stand-ups and shipping your order takes precedence over everything else.  We do our very best to return all emails and telephone calls, but due to the high volume of incoming questions, it sometimes it takes us as many as 2 to 3 days to return a call or answer an email.  The answers to virtually all of your questions are on this website on this page and on the "Policies", "Products", "Custom", and "Contact Us" pages; and on www.lifesizegreetings.com on the "Celebrity Stand-Up Listing", "Policies", and "Contact Us" pages.  Please know that should you email us or telephone us, we will definitely do our best to get back to you, but it may take some time for us to do that.  We truly appreciate your patience, and your patronage!

What is the quality of the printing?
This all depends on the quality of the original.                                                                                            With a good photo the quality of the final print is FANTASTIC.                                                                      If you're sending a physical photograph please make sure that it is a crisp, clean image (not blurry, covered in scratches, or shot from miles away).  5 x 7s and 8 x 10s are super.  Our mottos at Lifesizegreetings are "Size Really Does Matter" and "Bigger Is Better!"  

Please do not send poor quality images, grainy images, images shot from a long distance away, stained images, ripped or torn photographs, faded photos or old Polaroids of poor quality, or other poor quality images.  Also do not cut your photos if you are sending them to us, just inform us of who you want in the photo.  If we think your image will create a poor standup we will email you to let you know before we start production.  If it is the only photo you have and you want us to proceed we will do our best but we can't work miracles.

(If in doubt, email us your image and our production staff can take a peek at it for you.)  Our production staff reserves the right to refuse a photo based on quality.  Why?  Because we only want to produce the best quality custom weatherproof stand-ups possible, but most important of all...we want you to be thrilled with your stand-up! 

Photos and custom artwork.  How do I know if my photo is good enough?
"If shooting your image with a digital camera, make sure that the camera is 4 megapixels in quality or better. It is important that your image conforms to all of the detailed the specifications listed here. Should you choose to send an image that does not conform to these specifications, you are solely responsible for the quality of your stand-up, as the quality if the stand-up is based solely on the quality of the image that you submit. The stand-up will be an enlarged photo quality stand-up of your image. The enlargement process will not alter you image in any way other than in size. (i.e., when we utilize your image to create a life-size stand-up, the process will not render your image crisper, cleaner, or alter it in any other manner, it will simply enlarge it and then we will mount that image on 1/2 inch thick sign material  and will do a profile cut around your stand-up.)

The easiest way to tell is to just email us a copy in the highest resolution possible and we will tell you if we can use it. 

If you are using a scanner and need to scan a real photo we recommend scanning a photo at about 1200dpi at the largest size possible.

Do not cut your photos if you are sending them to us, just inform us of who you want in the photo.

Also, the format of the photo is also important.  A profile shot with the subject is much better than a landscape shot from far away.

Poor Photo	Good Photo
Very low resolution (640 x 480) Lots of .jpeg compression 'noise' Subject in middle far away & hidden in shadow	High resolution (2000x3000) No compression noise Subject close up, shot vertically filling the frame Good sunlight illuminating the face

If you have ordered any custom photo products, then we need the photo to produce them for you.  Once you have completed your order you will be sent an email outlining how to supply us with these images.

We can accept files uploaded to our server as .jpg, .tiff, .eps, .psd (Photoshop), .cpt (Corel), bmp, &.pdf.  Please ask before sending any other type of file.  Should you be supplying your own design we can also take it as a vector art file (.ai or .cdr).

If you are scanning your photo to send it to us, it is important that it is the best quality possible as the better the image, the better your final product will be.  If you have any doubts about the quality of your scan you can send us the original photo, negative or slide and we will scan it.  This will delay your order a few days until we receive the photo.

If you are sending us your photo, please send it to:  Life Size Greetings, 9144 Gall Boulevard, Zephyrhills, FL 33541 and include a copy of your invoice with it.  We will return your photos with the completed stand-up.  Please remember to put a label with your name, telephone number, address, and selected stand-up size on the back of your photo.  We recommend that you UPS or FedEx your image to us, as we cannot be held accountable for the vagaries of the Post Office.  UPS and FedEx will provide you with a tracking number and are very reliable.

***Please understand that if you want a custom life-size stand-up, you need to send us an image/photo (via email or snailmail), unless you have made arrangements with us to have us purchase a stock image for you. 

**We receive oodles of orders, and it's just not possible for us to chase after folks who may have forgotten to send us an image.  Always check in with us at least a few days after you send us your photo to make sure that we have it.  Also...

*We will email you to say "your photo is fine and we'll start creating your stand-up" or "we need a better quality photo from you."  If you don't get an email like that, then we don't have your image and your order is on hold.  (We will send you an email to confirm that your credit card is "good", but that's NOT a confirmation that we have received your photo and that we have begun to work on your custom order.)

How do I order?
Life Size Greetings has designed a site and an ordering system aimed at making your shopping experience as simple and enjoyable as possible.

Ordering is simple.  Just browse to the page with the product you would like to order.  Once at that page follow these steps:

Select the size of the standup you would like to order. Type any additional information, such as names, dates, etc. into the boxes provided. Click on the "Add this to my cart" button and you will be taken to the shopping cart screen. Select Size Giant Size Spirit of America - $149 4' Spirit of America - $99 2' Spirit of America - $69.00 Family Name   If you leave your family name blank the caption will just read 'From Our Family

On the shopping cart screen you can update quantizes of the products you have purchased, or empty you cart. To return to the rest of the site you can click any of the links at the top of the screen.  The 'Products' link will take you back to the product listing to choose something else. If you are ready to check out, click the 'Secure Checkout' link below the shopping cart.

Type in your email address. If you are a returning customer you will be asked for a password.  Type in the password you set up on your last visit and the cart will retrieve your billing and shipping information.

If this is your first visit, you will be asked for billing and shipping information.  Please fill in the all the fields as completely as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays in processing your order.  When you are done, press the 'Submit Form' button at the bottom of the page.

On the next page you will be given the opportunity to make any revisions to your billing and shipping details and select the type of shipping you would like.  Due to the size of some of the items they will ship at oversize 2 rate but you will be able to see the actual shipping charges at this screen.  Click 'Proceed' to be taken to the next screen

On the next page you will be able to enter your credit card number, type and expiration date and see you final order total including any sales tax      (if you are having it shipped to Florida).  To complete your order, you MUST press "Complete Order" at which point you will be given an order number and an invoice to print for your records.

You placed your order but the screen reads "Empty Shopping Cart."     Occasionally our server experiences a harmony blip and makes it difficult or impossible to place an order online.  Another possible cause of this problem is that you may have a cookie file that is fouling things up in your computer system.  If that is the case, the only way to place your order online is to locate the offending file and delete it.          Please feel free to contact us to place your order via telephone!

Life Size Greetings makes custom cut-out stand-ups and standees from your photos.  We also make giant greeting cards for all special occasions.  Our custom cut-out stand-ups and greeting cards NOT MADE FROM cardboard and are weatherproof and can be used for outdoor Christmas decorations, indoor Christmas decorations, Xmas decorations, outdoor Halloween decorations, indoor Halloween decorations, Easter decorations. We also make giant birthday cards, life size birthday cards, anniversary cards.  Our anniversary stand-ups make great customized anniversary gifts that everyone will love.

If you need a cardboard cut-out stand-up of your favorite celebrity check our our celebrity cardboard stand-up site at www.lifesizecelebrities.com

We can make custom cut-outs and stand-ups for all occasions including: New Year's Day, Lincoln Day, Lincoln Day, Lincoln Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, anniversaries, retirement parties, new homes, engagements, weddings, divorces, and more!

FAQS about Custom Stand-ups from Your Photo!