Disclaimer: BookLocker competes directly with Lulu. However, BookLocker is very choosy about which books it publishes. When BookLocker rejects a manuscript, it NEVER refers that author to Lulu.com!
It’s only been 5 months since we checked in with Lulu Press / Lulu.com. However, we keep seeing authors ask about them on social media. So, we thought we’d see if they’ve cleaned up their act. Based on the scathing complaints about them online, it appears they have NOT!!!
Keep in mind that having an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website simply means a company responded to each complaint. It does not mean that all of the problems were fixed.
I never pay attention to a company’s responses underneath complaints on third party sites unless the complaint is truly a fake one (and those are pretty easy to spot). And, a customer should never post a complaint to a website without first contacting the company, and giving them a reasonable period of time to respond.
A customer should never feel so frustrated that they have to take their issue to a third party. You can click on the links below, and see the complaints in their entirety, and the company’s responses.
NOTE: We have not corrected the errors that were typed into complaints posted by Lulu’s customers online.
All of the complaints below were posted in just the past 5 MONTHS!
Here’s a small snippet of what’s to follow about Lulu Press / Lulu.com:
“Very poor binding because the pages were not properly glued together and have come undone.”
“I emailed the link to my friends and at least two dozen let me know they could not get through and buy the book.”
“I sent Lulu a completed book and what followed was one of the worst publishing experiences I’ve ever had.”
“I ordered printed proofs several times. None ever arrived.”
“The real problem is this: there is no way to speak to a human being. No phone support. No live help. Everything happens through slow emails that take days between replies while your project is stuck…”
“Then I ordered 50, and the covers came streaked and a completely different color compared to the original.”
“I am very frustrated with the process and will not be using them again.”
“All attempt to make contact with Lulu to see if there is a problem with the order have ended with an AI generated message which has been useless.”
“If l could give zero l would, how can anyone trust this company with their work, if they can not speak to someone, l asked over six times by email for them to call me and or give me a number to call, typical lazy tech company.”
“…when you contact them for a refund or solution, you’re first met with a useless AI response and then, if you’re lucky, a patronizing reply from customer support saying there’s nothing they can do.”
“…the order was delayed and arrived late, completely defeating the purpose of paying for premium shipping. When the books finally arrived, they had serious quality control issues.”
“I contacted Lulu’s customer support over two weeks ago to resolve these issues and have been completely ignored.”
“As an author I had the worst experience.”
“I used Lulu for the first time and wouldn’t recommend.”
“Definitely not what was advertised. Poor quality, very disappointed. Want my money back.”
“But 4 months later and I still have no resolution.”
“I am very disgusted with Lulu and their business practices.”
CLICK THE LINKS TO SEE THE COMPLAINTS IN THEIR ENTIRETY:
Kayla Z (literally posted 4 hours before we started our research):
“They keep increasing their production and shipping times, and in many cases still miss the deadline even when I pay extra for express production and delivery. What’s even worse is that when you contact them for a refund or solution, you’re first met with a useless AI response and then, if you’re lucky, a patronizing reply from customer support saying there’s nothing they can do.”
Ebrahim:
“Very poor binding because the pages were not properly glued together and have come undone. Furthermore, I paid £10.99 for express delivery but the books were not delivered on time. Very disappointed with the overall quality of the book and delivery time.”
Win:
“I emailed the link to my friends and at least two dozen let me know they could not get through and buy the book. I have spent hours trying to help them out. Why do you make it so difficult?”
Richard Leach:
“I sent Lulu a completed book and what followed was one of the worst publishing experiences I’ve ever had. I was told to ‘reformat’ my file but given no clear, usable instructions on what that actually required. That began a long email loop – around nine messages – where they kept sending files back for me to upload. Every time the upload failed. No proper explanation. No real solution. Just another delay. I ordered printed proofs several times. None ever arrived. In the end I cancelled the project – not because the book wasn’t ready, but because the system simply does not work if anything goes wrong. The real problem is this: there is no way to speak to a human being. No phone support. No live help. Everything happens through slow emails that take days between replies while your project is stuck…”
Roni:
“Pure trash! not only do you need to wait 2 weeks for the book, the book is full of issues with white edges and pixels on the cover! I followed their guide completely! looks like an issue with them! colors are dull too on a premium color page!”
Sarah Solberg:
“Reordering disaster. First book came out perfectly. Then I ordered 50, and the covers came streaked and a completely different color compared to the original. I emailed for a reorder and eventually it arrived. The same exact color and a different shape. This has been a ridiculous process that’s lasted over a month and delayed my own personal order. I am very frustrated with the process and will not be using them again.”
Maureen:
Worried. My order placed 10 days ago has not been shipped yet and I have no tracking number. On all previous occasions (and I have been dealing with Lulu for many years) within a few days of the order being placed I have been notified that it has been shipped and I have a tracking number. This time I have not recieved anything but an Order Confirmation which came instantly. All attempt to make contact with Lulu to see if there is a problem with the order have ended with an AI generated message which has been useless.”
“User:”
“If l could give zero l would, how can anyone trust this company with their work, if they can not speak to someone, l asked over six times by email for them to call me and or give me a number to call, typical lazy tech company. Imagine what it would be like to get a finished work or royalties from them, a nightmare l expect, its a same because l had six books to be published, the company l appointed, spoke to me withing 10 mins of contacting them and now my work is being published.”
Jacob:
“My first and last time ordering with Lulu. I placed an order with Lulu in December and paid for their fastest and most expensive shipping option because the books were time-sensitive. Despite this, the order was delayed and arrived late, completely defeating the purpose of paying for premium shipping. When the books finally arrived, they had serious quality control issues. Both books contained random, unintended blank pages at the front and back, making the final product look incomplete and unprofessional. In addition, one of the books had a scuffed and damaged page at the back and was obviously a different-quality paper than the rest of the book, which made the defect very obvious. I contacted Lulu’s customer support over two weeks ago to resolve these issues and have been completely ignored.”
Star X:
Borderline Scam. I was actually excited to have my book printed as a birthday gift but unfortunately made a wrong move to go with Lulu. I ordered on 23/12 and to ensure a timely delivery I choose the most expensive (fastest) delivery method available to me. I was given a delivery timeline of 29/12 – 31/12, but it’s when everything started going downhill.”
Sofia:
“As an author I had the worst experience.
-bad customer service
-horrible printed hardcopies which I needed to pay each time I review and apply changes
-you always talk to a nonsense bot”
Michelle O:
“I used Lulu for the first time and wouldn’t recommend. I used Lulu for the first time this month to print and publish my dads memoir as a Christmas gift. I placed my order on December 7 and was given an estimated delivery window of December 15–17. On December 13, I contacted customer service to confirm that everything was on track and was explicitly assured that the books would arrive within that window. When the order did not arrive by the 17th, I followed up again and was then told that their printers were down and there would be a delay.
The books did not arrive until well after Christmas.”
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU REVIEWS
Richard E
“Definitely not what was advertised. Poor quality, very disappointed. Want my money back.”
Mary L
“They will not bring my 5 books out of retirement. 5 months later and several emails and phone calls, there has been NO resolution.”
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU COMPLAINTS (The BBB doesn’t put names on complaints.)
“I released a book via Lulu press, and I have had nothing but trouble with getting the hardcover version of the book approved for Global distribution (the paperback went through immediately). It was an error on their part, an AI generated response that rejected my hardcover, that after reaching out to them, they said they would resolve. But 4 months later and I still have no resolution.”
“I am very disgusted with Lulu and their business practices. They will say theyre going to call you back in a couple of days or itll take a week and then you dont hear back at all for weeks and weeks and weeks and then theres always another delay.”
“Additionally, all pages appear to be slightly miscut, with a white strip at the bottom of every page. This makes us concerned about trimming accuracy.”
Overall Reedsy rating: 1/5.
“However, it has also acquired a negative reputation for taking substantial cuts of author royalties, forcing many authors to either price their books ridiculously high or to receive no royalties at all.”
“…but if you’re hoping to build a profitable publishing business, its steep distribution fees and poor royalty structure will likely work against you.”
LULU’S OWN DISCUSSION BOARD (They raised their prices again just this month!)
“Well, surprise, surprise! Don’t feel bad, Canada! Yes, the U.S. gets the price increases too. I got the message when I logged in to my Lulu account to look at my projects. There was no email ahead of time about it.”
RELATED
- And, EVEN MORE Complaints About Lulu Press / Lulu.com!
- And, MORE Complaints About Lulu Press!
- Lulu CEO Admits They’ve “Easily Published the Largest Collection of Bad Poetry in the History of Mankind”
- MORE COMPLAINTS about Lulu.com! WHAT the HECK is going on over there?!
- More Lulu Complaints – Thinking Of Using Lulu To Publish Your Book? You Might Want To Read These Authors’ Complaints First! By Angela Hoy
- Complaints About Lulu Are Spilling Onto Lulu’s Own Twitter Page
- LULU CONTINUES TO RECEIVE LOTS OF COMPLAINTS
- Has Lulu Gotten Too Big For Its Britches?
- Lulu Responds to Angela’s Article with Marketing Blurbage, Implies False Accusation about “Accuracy”
- UH OH – PART II! What are Employees of CreateSpace and Lulu Saying About Those Companies?
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