Tammi N.

So, here's the thing: If your trip is set in stone and you're ok with having ZERO flexibility and you want to save a marginal amount of money - go ahead and use Hotwire, Expedia, Travelocity or kayak or whatever 3rd party site to book your stuff. However, if anything comes up (delayed flight, change of plans, car rental change) there's zero flexibility and you'll lose money.
I booked a rental car for a vacation in Vegas, but my flight was delayed by 3 hours so I didn't arrive to my destination until after the rental car counter was closed. Had to uber to my hotel and then back again the next day to pick up the car. Contacted Hotwire for a refund for the day I didn't use and they said there were no refunds. I saved MAYBE $15 by booking through Hotwire instead of direct with the car rental company, but lost out on more by not getting refunded for the day I didn't use and the uber costs.

Lesson learned. Never again will I use a 3rd party "bargain" site like Hotwire.

Editor of a startup photography magazine here. Magcloud was not our first pick for paper quality, but the option for readers to purchase direct and have it drop-shipped, in addition to their low quantity orders was appealing for a startup with limited funds.
We ordered 100 copies of our first issue (to the tune of $1700) and they came with a distinct blue color cast. After going back and forth with CS for over 2 weeks (via email, because no direct phone #), sending multiple photos of the original proof (that was correct) compared to the blue ones, they're telling me they need me to fan out all 100 magazines and take pictures of every single one before they'll reprint. Seriously? Because the 10 photos and samples of 5 wasn't enough.
Meanwhile, $1700 down the toilet. Sub-par printing on a photography magazine is kindof a dealbreaker, but the lack of customer service is the ultimate death knell.