IngramSpark

I am not sure why so many reviews have completely trashed this platform. A month ago I looked at these reviews and got discouraged from trying it. However, my intuition and advice from other authors I know made me try it. So far I have not had any issues. They have pdfs outlining the process which gives enough clarity. It is simple and straightforward with no expense involved. Overall, it was a smooth and transparent process for me. Can't help but wonder if the bad reviews are from a competitor positioning themselves as an alternative to IngramSpark. I checked them out and yup no thanks I can't afford to pay anymore for my book and their "services" which I could get done on my own. So try it before you get discouraged you people. P.S IngramSpark has not asked me/paid me to write this review. As a customer who has been greatly helped by a platform, I just feel like spreading the good word and share my gratitude. Thank you IngramSpark!

Process is slow, customer support is not helpful, instead just told me to appeal because they denied me distribution for my journal therapy workbook, and the wording is deceiving for getting an ISBN. They made it seem if you didn’t purchase one, you weren’t going to be able to upload your book anywhere else if you used one of their free ones (that’s how I interpreted it). When asked for a refund, since they’re denying distribution, they said it was non-refundable. Lesson learned in my first time experience—would not recommend. I uploaded with KDP and had ZERO issues and my print was actually priced to be cheaper.

Ingram customer service have zero spark. A major obstacle to me getting my book out. Total inability to address the most basic of concerns, a robotic defence mechanism against change, that seems perversely intentional. The printing side of things is actually pretty good. It's the distribution side that treats content creators like dirt.

I ordered one book from this company that I never received. I found that it was shipped to the wrong address. When I contacted the company they would not attempt to locate the order, even when I sent them copies of the order. They insisted that my email address was incorrect (it was not) then they said I need to have an account with them before they could help me. I never had an account with IngramSpark. It was an "Add to Cart" purchase. Even with their Order Number, they said they needed the ISBN number to look up this transaction. I still have no indication that they will re-send the book. Don't EVER use this company...

This company is awful to work with as a children's book author. The customer service is awful, they don't assist you with anything and the colors and printing turns out terribly. I sent out the same exact digital proof to another publishing company, it came back twice as fast as ingram sparks and the colors were perfect and the print was correct. Ingram Sparks said it was my fault that their print didn't turn out well and didn't help me to tell me what needed fixing. But when I sent the exact same thing to a different publishing company it turned out perfect. It wasn't my fault it was this awful publishing company.

I'm an indie author and I've been printing my hardcover with Ingram for almost a year. Aside from the struggle of getting setup on Ingrams platform and them misprinting my book a few times before we got it sorted out everything since then has been fairly smooth. Occasionally I receive a box of books that have minor defects but they always give me a partial return so I can discount those books. I did receive a box of books that were not mine once, they never got back to me so I donated them. I always use their express printing option which says 3 business days, but its more like 5. But better than 10 which is the cheapest option. I also do the middle shipping tier so that my books are insured. Never have had an issue with that. Their customer service, while it could be better, has always gotten back to me within 4-5 business days. Which feels standard to me for such a large distributor. They could also protect the books they ship out a bit more, sometimes they're super loose in the shipping boxes.

You can't talk with a real person unless you pay. The feel of their hardcover books is just weird, part slimy, part sticky, it's like it's trying to be velvety but failing. Not anything I've experienced with a simple matte finish before. Their customer service is abysmal. Cut/paste rote responses not even trying to actually help my individual problem. After doing research, I initially chose them because of their distribution access to libraries that very much excited me for my dad's memoir. I'd MUCH rather contact libraries directly - talk with a very nice librarian about getting my dad's book on their shelves - than deal with Ingram's sparking rage and my desire to smash things. Use Lulu or your own printer instead.

Overall I've had a great experience with IngramSpark. Their dashboard and set up, as a first time user, was very friendly, and they got back to my team in an orderly fashion and some "beginner" questions we had. There was a small printing error on the cover (slight pink tint), that overall didn't inhibit the reader in any way, but still needed to be fixed. IngramSpark not only apologized for the error but they made it right 100% with us. They went over and above what most companies would have done. I would still recommend them for first time users and I'll be using them again to re-order our book.