Lulu Direct

Jan. 11, 2022

I used this app to launch my children's book. It is pretty easy to do as long as you have the video as provided by LULU. I do like having a store besides Amazon (I had major issue uploading my book on that platform, even hired someone to help me, but we couldn't get it to work). I still haven't used this forum to its greatest potential, but I know that there are a lot of ways to boost my book with the shopify store, so that is also great!

Jan. 7, 2022

I am a new author and I have used this app only once. I had a problem connecting the app to my online store. I communicated with Kristen, and she walked me through the process to connect the app to my store. I appreciated the great assistance that I received. My orders can now be automatically fulfilled by LULU Direct. I am looking forward to using this app again in the future.

Nov. 3, 2021

At first I was intimidated by Lulu’s self-publishing platform because I had never published a book and am not proficient in Adobe Suite products which several of the templates require. My customer support expert, Tim S, was fantastic. He answered all my many questions, in detail, within 1-2 business days and was helpful in sending me templates to help me format my book. He even helped prepare my files when I ran into a printing issue with certain images not printing correctly - he helped me understand what the problem was with my file and fixed the issues for me so that my books would print correctly. When I received a damaged book I ordered for myself as a sample, he issued me a refund so that I could get a new sample book clear of shipping damage, which was considerate. He was always professional, positive, responsive, and immensely helpful in the setup process of my book. I am so grateful to have had his support through the file creation process and initial ordering process to help me get my book set up online correctly. I'm proud to now officially be a published author and happy the quality of the books looks very nice. I can't speak to other customer rep experiences at Lulu but Tim S. was 5 stars! Thank you Tim!!

Sept. 17, 2021

L'app funziona bene e non abbiamo avuto reclami sulla qualità di stampa dei libri. Per ora ha solo cambiato nome rispetto alla versione precedente. Rimane il problema che non memorizza, nelle impostazioni, la regione di provenienza del mittente e ha tempi di produzione e spedizione un po lenti per gli standart attuali. Non ci pare che siano disponibili 3.000 formati! Sarebbe utile fossero più complementari a quelli richiesti da Amazon, ci tocca produrre i libri in due formati alla volta.

Aug. 9, 2021

I used the Lulu xPress app with Shopify to publish a commemorative book as an internal fundraiser for my college fraternity. I wanted to remove the "middle man" costs of publishing the book on an online retailer platform. The target audience for this book was very limited, and I wanted the maximum net margin for the book. The solution worked very well and support our project. We experienced an IT issue, and one book shipping issue and Lulu was extremely responsive and timely with resolving those two issues. Otherwise, Lulu xPress app worked flawlessly. Very easier to use and you can view sales in real-time. Lulu Support staff was great in responding to any questions I had. Points to consider when using Lulu xPress App with Shopify. 1. Lulu has responsive and knowledgable customer service support where Shopify really does not; 2. I needed to establish a bank account and U.S. Tax ID number to support your book project with Lulu and Shopify. I did not know this before starting the project; 3. Recommend speaking with an accountant on tax collection and tax payment for your book project. Shopify only collects taxes you specify for your book project and does not pay taxes to municipalities for you; 4. Shopify does an outstanding job of timely paying revenue to you. Shopify transfers funds collected in book sales in 1-3 business days; 5. The integration between Shopify and Lulu Xpress app is outstanding and very easy to implement; 6. Shopify recently made reporting where you have to purchase Shopify Plan $79/month. I needed reporting functionality to obtain transaction-level sales data for my book project. When I created my Shopify page in March 2021, reporting fee when purchasing the Basic Shopify Plan was $29/month.

Aug. 2, 2021

I'm a small (2 product) self publisher of natural history field guides (BYOGUIDES) who was badly burned a few years back by Shipwire. The combination of Shopify / Lulu has allowed me to relaunch my business without the hassle of warehousing and arbitrarily changing Shipwire policies. The Shopify / Lulu interface / model is not 'simple' to understand or navigate initially, especially if you are trying to distribute globally to small oceanic territories as well as the big ones (e.g. North America). So if you are not a web / developer type I would say you should find someone with solid Shopify store building experience before discovering the many rough edges. I would have rate the Lulu App 3 stars but for Lulu tech support haven been STELLAR and patient as we beat a path (together) to the solution I needed for my customers. I am seeing evidence of constant improvement in the APP but there are still numerous rough edges must navigated daily. For example: there are form field character limits in the Lulu world that are NOT surfaced to the customer in Shopify world. Consequently, orders constantly crash because there is one-too-many characters in a field. The SHOPIFY system doesn't tell you this so they need to discovered by manually checking the Lulu app after each order arrives and hand managed through by me and sometimes tech support. It's a hassle but it is getting better as time goes by.... I could go on esp. w.r.t. to having to manually set up multiple freight rates around for every country you MIGHT sell to - this was auto-magic with my previous solution. But the bottom line is that the system is viable and getting better and there is good support. But if your time is worth anything (or you want to go holidays and relax) make sure you partner with a developer with Shopify store building experience and focus on doing a bunch of test orders that mimic who, and where, your customers are - especially if they are outside the US and EU. Finally, Lulu printing itself, while efficient and of excellent quality does have format limitations. For example, a limited selection of paperweights such that everything feels like a coffee-table book when you might need something with more heft for practical purposes. Also, if you coil bind you can not get a straight run of pages and are forced to have a blank page at the front and back of you book. Otherwise great.

July 30, 2021

Lulu has helped me create the products of my dreams and seamlessly integrate it into my site! I love how the products are made to order, and have had the greatest customer service experience as well. Shout out to Cary! Highly recommend!

July 13, 2021

I am using Lulu xPress as the print-on-demand partner for my book, Dances with David: 21st-century responses to the Psalms by an eco-spiritual poet, which is available at www.DancesWithDavidPoems.ca. Lulu xPress and Shopify have radically changed what is possible for me as an author. I published my last book traditionally through a small publishing house. I had to order a certain quantity which I prepaid (at cost), then I had to find ways to sell them, such as attending poetry events. This put me out of pocket and limited me to selling to people I could meet in person in my own region. With Lulu xPress and Shopify, I can sell anywhere in the world without being out of pocket for a print run. The books are printed and shipped to customers as the order comes in. My second customer was someone on another continent who saw me on a Zoom meeting - she bought my book without me having to do anything. No payment-taking, no shipping... nice and easy for the customer and for me. With Lulu xPress, I can also offer a variety of price points so I can appeal to various budgets. For $19.90, I can offer a paperback using 60# paper and standard ink; for $46.90 I can offer a hardcover using 80# coated paper and premium ink. There are two other combinations in between, giving me four editions I can offer at $19.90, $24.90, $37.90 and $46.90, depending on what the customer wants. I could never have done this with traditional publishing. Using Lulu xPress also allows me to keep my pricing affordable. If I had chosen to use Lulu's distributing services instead of Lulu xPress and self-marketing, my books would have been twice the price for the consumer, which would have made the whole project a non-starter. I am very satisfied with the print quality of all the various editions, and I feel proud to sell it. So far, the service has been very good as well, with any problems being resolved promptly. Wish me luck, ya'all! And go publish your own book with Lulu xPress!

June 23, 2021

This app is a relatively simple and economical way for a small organization such as ours, to print and ship its books on demand. The customer service rep assigned to us has been amazing--so helpful in providing information and supporting us through any challenges we faced along the way.

May 10, 2021

I used the app to print my cookbook. First, the app is easy to use and they don't charge for changes to your file like some POD companies. The price was so much better than the competition that I was concerned about the quality. However, when the book arrived all doubt disappeared! It was beautiful! I did standard color on premium paper with a gloss cover and could not be happier with the results! I would recommend them for any printing needs.

March 9, 2021

This app is a great all-in-one tool. If you're not familiar with self-publishing, then I would suggest going to Lulu xPress's main website and create your books there before trying to use this integration. It will give you a better understanding. This app will take some time to fully learn, but all the information you'll need is provided. Customer Support is VERY helpful.

March 9, 2021

Lulu has been extremely helpful in setting up our foray into POD and the Shopify integration makes processing these orders simple too. The books are great quality and their customer service team has always been available to guide us and answer our questions.

March 8, 2021

A little slow on actually processing and shipping orders but amazing customer service and high-quality book production.

March 5, 2021

Super easy to use to sell POD books. The customer service is very helpful, and they're always making updates to the app to make it run better. I highly recommend it.

March 5, 2021

LOVE IT! awesome books, great customer service, couldn't ask for a better app. been using the service for over a year now and my customers and wholesale accounts are all happy, and best of all no need for inventory any more!

March 5, 2021

Extremely happy indie publisher here! Last year I launched my first print book which wouldn't have been possible at all without Lulu. Being able to seamlessly ship thousands of books without the headaches of inventory and managing the mail is a huge benefit. We've had some small issues, mostly with a very small percent of orders not being received, but the Lulu customer support has been excellent and responsive about solving these problems quickly and fairly. It's not 100% automated, but it's 99% of the way there, which is good for me!

March 5, 2021

I've been using lulu for over a year now. The quality of books printed at lulu vs. anywhere else is exceptional. What I love most about the app is the customer service. Kristen, specifically, is my most favorite customer service rep I've ever encountered and if it wasn't for her I would not be such a loyal customer! The only problems with lulu and the app are the shipping prices, which are not competitive and not easy to translate to the customer. This is a huge problem that needs to be fixed, but I believe that it is being worked on which is good. I hope it is fixed soon. Still, it does not deter me from using the app as it is very easily integrates with shopify. Also the timing from order to delivery does take awhile too, but again, this is known and something they are working on. I appreciate the open communication and lulu's dedication to continuously self-improve.

March 4, 2021

I used this app to help me sell my book. I went through a self publishing process and when I was ready to go to market, Shopify provided all the tools needed to set up my on line store. I was particularly pleased to receive expert personal attention when needed.

Feb. 11, 2021

This company takes WEEKS just to make the product, and they do not give proper estimations on production time at all. This leaves your customers angry and without the product they ordered. I literally used to make hand-bound books before trying print on demand, and I can sew the signatures and create a fully custom, hardback book in three to four days. I would think a company using industrial machines might at least be able to keep up with that....Find another company.

Jan. 14, 2021

Anytime something has come up Lulu has excellent customer service and they work with you directly (not a robot) to solve your problems.