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Post by tdenmark on May 6, 2020 19:29:46 GMT -6
I just tried to "purchase" the Tombstone RPG (a free PDF) and see that Lulu updated their website. I've always felt the shopping experience there left a lot to be desired and thought it badly needed an update. Somehow the update has made it terrible! I'd noticed the sales of my RPG's and stuff on Lulu had gone down over the past few months. I figured it was just because the product line was getting stale and I hadn't promoted or posted anything new on there. Now I think it's because they've made the customer experience awful. Anyways, sorry for the rant. Does anyone prefer the new Lulu over the old? |
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Post by Vile Traveller on May 6, 2020 21:39:59 GMT -6
Nope. I suspect it's part of the trend to turn all websites into something that works on your smartphone. I think there's a lot of fixing to be done before this is usable again - this may be what finally gives me the impetus to move my PoD to DTRPG ...
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Post by bigjackbrass on May 7, 2020 4:38:22 GMT -6
There were numerous reports that the update had actually removed quite a number of product pages and links, so some people found that potential customers had lost all access to the products. The update has clearly not gone well on more than aesthetic levels.
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Post by thegreyelf on May 7, 2020 5:31:51 GMT -6
Yeah, Lulu's new interface is freaking HORRIBLE. They made it worse in every single way. This "big upgrade" is exactly what happens when companies randomly decide they're going to fix things that aren't broken to begin with. They removed a shedload of options that people actually used, and gave absolutely nothing in return, then replaced their entire interface with one that's non-intuitive and the antithesis of user friendly. It's not just disappointing, it's an outrage to those of us who have used the service for years. It's like they're actively TRYING to bankrupt themselves.
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Post by thegreyelf on May 7, 2020 5:33:23 GMT -6
Nope. I suspect it's part of the trend to turn all websites into something that works on your smartphone. I think there's a lot of fixing to be done before this is usable again - this may be what finally gives me the impetus to move my PoD to DTRPG ... DTRPG isn't much better; trying to get your products to meet their "standards" for POD is nothing short of a nightmare unless you've got a professional layout/graphic designer on staff. |
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Post by tdenmark on May 7, 2020 6:18:14 GMT -6
Nope. I suspect it's part of the trend to turn all websites into something that works on your smartphone. I think there's a lot of fixing to be done before this is usable again - this may be what finally gives me the impetus to move my PoD to DTRPG ... DTRPG isn't much better; trying to get your products to meet their "standards" for POD is nothing short of a nightmare unless you've got a professional layout/graphic designer on staff. DTRPG is good for PDF's and downloadables. Horrible for Print on Demand. Every part of the experience from preparing and uploading your file. Waiting forever to get approval and half the time getting rejected for some arcane reason. Then when your proof copy finally does arrive weeks later the quality is far inferior to Lulu and other POD sources, and half the time again there are problems with the proof that have to be fixed, re-uploaded, wait for another proof, until finally months later you can mark your book for public sale. Each time you're paying for the proof and shipping which can be more than what sales will add up to. At least with Lulu the books are of decent quality, generally. My favorite quality POD is SmartPress, but they don't have a store front for selling books. You have to order a batch and sell them at conventions. |
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Post by thegreyelf on May 7, 2020 6:29:32 GMT -6
DTRPG isn't much better; trying to get your products to meet their "standards" for POD is nothing short of a nightmare unless you've got a professional layout/graphic designer on staff. DTRPG is good for PDF's and downloadables. Horrible for Print on Demand. Every part of the experience from preparing and uploading your file. Waiting forever to get approval and half the time getting rejected for some arcane reason. Then when your proof copy finally does arrive weeks later the quality is far inferior to Lulu and other POD sources, and half the time again there are problems with the proof that have to be fixed, re-uploaded, wait for another proof, until finally months later you can mark your book for public sale. Each time you're paying for the proof and shipping which can be more than what sales will add up to. At least with Lulu the books are of decent quality, generally. My favorite quality POD is SmartPress, but they don't have a store front for selling books. You have to order a batch and sell them at conventions. This. 100% this. I'll need to check out SmartPress. |
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Post by bigjackbrass on May 7, 2020 8:10:41 GMT -6
And an email has just arrived:  |
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Post by asaki on May 7, 2020 13:01:46 GMT -6
I don't remember what their site was like before.
I grabbed a few free things last night, it wasn't too bad...just had to wait a few minutes for the download links to arrive in my email.
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Post by DungeonDevil on May 7, 2020 21:55:16 GMT -6
My own stuff is still up, and the page doesn't look all that different (that I can remember). I'm gonna be publishing three books by the end of the summer (2 RPG, 1 wargaming), and I'll report back if the upload-n-format procedure is better/worse/same.
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