Your opinion matters to us here at Lulu and we strive to improve based on your feedback. As a result, we are taking an important step toward improving your shipping experience as we launch new simplified and standardized shipping options. Effective August 18, you will see four standard options for shipping: Mail (Priority Mail in the case of APO/FPO), Ground, Expedited (typically 2 days in US), and Express (typically 1 day in US). These will be the same options in every country – everywhere, and will help simplify shipping for everyone. If we cannot offer all of the options in your specific location, then you will only see the options that are available to you. Ultimately, this will lead to our launch of better shipping prices across the world on September 1st.
To effectively make this change we need to suspend our Fast-Track Printing options beginning August 18th while we make the necessary changes to provide you with our newly simplified and better shipping options. As a result, you will not see options for Super Fast or Super Mega Fast shipping during checkout. For those of you unfamiliar with our Fast-Track Printing, choosing one of these options allows a book to be printed the next business day (Super Fast) or the same business day (Super Mega Fast), and immediately shipped out using overnight delivery. It is more expensive, but can be a lifesaver when you need your books quickly. If you’re facing a time crunch, and you need books printed via our Super Fast or Super Mega Fast options, then please place your order before August 18th.
Fast-Track Printing will return as soon as possible, but in order to streamline shipping the options will be temporarily unavailable. You can expect its quick return and a reduction in shipping costs very soon!
31 Comments
That’s really great news. I know shipping has been a huge concern for many people. I look forward to seeing how much you guys have managed to shave off the cost of getting the books to the buyer’s door.
Shipping has been rather costly, so this is great news.
This is great news. Let we hope Lulu get also that better service in custom care. We need that for sure. That that will be our visiting card to the world. Now we are wait, wait and wait.
We hope on better times and so better service!
I can see many changes already
This is great news and I had a gut feeling that you guys would listen to the feedback of your customers and sort things right. I look forward to an even better relationship and more confidence in using your service.
Glad to hear that shipping rates will be improved – this has been a concern both for selling directly to customers, and also for ordering books in bulk for resale.
I see that standard shipping to Israel of 25 copies of a 9X6 inchs 313 pages book is only 11$!!!
I just hope this is not a mistake, seems great!
We’re back in business LULU!
Looking forward to more reasonable shipping rates!! Way to go!!
Help! Anyone!
For some months, we have been met with consecutive days such as is currently happening now, where we have been unable to load the Lulu.com or the Lulu.co.uk website so that we might get into our account to order – just comes up with a blank page. Nothing wrong with our equipment, hardware or connection as we can access any other website etc on the internet. Has anyone out there in Lulu Land encountered such a problem or does anyone have a suggestion as to what might be wrong? We have tried emailing support, but as of yet, have had no answer.
Sincerely,
JG
I have thought that you have shipping in various countries and had contracts with overseas instant printers for the sake of saving time and money in the shipping of our products over there in Europe, England, and Asia. If you don’t already do this, I suggest you look into it. Thanks, and good luck.Love, Armand
I think it would be a great improvement. However, I think lulu needs to figure out what its going to do about APO/FPO shipping becuase right now we are having to spend twice the money as everyone else going through the hassle of shipping a book to a friend in the states and then having the item mailed here to deployed soldiers since lulu will not directly ship over here.
JG Messervy-Norman
Never had such problem, I suggest you try other browsers. I have experience some problems with the Chrome browser buy when I switch to IE or mozilla the problem disappears.
I agree with Lena–Shipping Fed-X sometimes cost more than the book. My novel is 611 pages thick–so it’s VERY expensive to ship. The weight of the paper (as Nick pointed out) has a affect on the printing and shipping price. Lets keep these prices as low as possible—Thanks
That’s great news. Thanks Lulu.
The 2 most important improvements Lulu could make are cheaper delivery and faster delivery.
We know we’ve lost a lot of sales because customers have been put off by high shipping charges. There should be no mark-up on shipping and you should ship from all major markets including US and UK to keep costs and delivery times down.
This is a serious problem for me – I used to get FedEx ground delivery to my location, but as of today I no longer have that option.
The expedited and express prices are prohibitively expensive. What should I do now? Wait until September and hope the price goes down?
Speed isn’t an issue (though I’ve been waiting for over 12 days now from the time my proof hardback was shipped). Cost most definitely is. Does anyone at Lulu seriously think that customers will pay $80 shipping for a $20 book? Come on – let’s have a little realism in the future pricing.
One more thing – hope you’re still reading this thread!
The cost of shipping two books should not be twice that of shipping one, or (heaven help us) the cost of shipping 10 books should not be 10 times the cost of 1 (to be fair, that seems to have disappeared with the new options).
I honestly think that the cost of the box and packing, paying someone to print out and affix the invoice, placing the book in the box and sealing the box should not be more than $5 (I’m being quite generous, I think). If 10 books have to go in the box, that’s the same cost.
Shipping should not be a profit center – so just add the handling charge to the shipping charge – which by USPS, even when it’s EMS, is quite reasonable.
But $90 for one $20 book to be dispatched Express (at 10 copies, the price per copy actually comes down to less than a single mail copy)? Come on – can we all live on the same planet? I hope the new prices are something closer to reasonable.
But right now, I’m waiting to see what September 1 brings before I order any more from Lulu, because right now, it’s cheaper for me to tell friends to order from Amazon than it is for *me* (with author’s discount) to order from Lulu for them.
Hugh,
Can I ask where you are located? I might be able to get you a better idea of what you can reasonably expect moving forward.
I think this is a great idea.
Nick, my first order for 30 books was placed on a Wednesday – I was astonished they arrived a few days later on a Saturday AM. Raleigh to upstate NY.
I just tried to order 100 books and was only given the option of expedite or express. Mail or ground was not an option. The two options you now give for bulk orders is outrageously expensive. Simplifying maybe easier for you, but you’ve now made my book unprofitable because of only offering the most expensive shipping on bulk items.
My book business is now dead with you.
No, I will not pay a flat fee per year. Make this an option for people, not mandatory.
Coleen,
It would not be mandatory, it would be an option.
It is september first…..can someone update this blog and let us know when the actual changes to the shipping costs will occur? As of 9 pm est … they are still as ridiculous as before. Thanks.
What is happening with the shipping costs? The only difference I’ve noticed is that they have changed from about 6 euros to 8 euros for shipping a softcover book to Sweden. Do I only see the shipping cost changes if I select a different currency? At least in the past, I noticed that different currencies attracted completely different shipping costs, e.g. 6 euros = 27 US dollars = 12 British pounds (or something similar).
Since I’ve started with Lulu, shipping costs have done nothing but go up for the way I buy (bulk and redistribute myself, or ship to campus bookstores). First the free shipping deal went away, and now the option of Media Mail has vanished. It’s costing about $4 a copy to ship an $11 book (in quantities of 10-20) and that’s after the new, “improved” pricing.
The other problem is that many stores have commercial accounts with UPS or FedEX they want to have books shipped by, so as to get discounted rates. That option isn’t available with Lulu.
I recently shipped a single copy of my book through USPS – Media Rate for $2.38 Buying from Lulu that same cost is nearly 3 times higher. That increase cannot be in the packaging and handling. I agree that it seems Lulu is using shipping as a profit center. Shipping cost is definately a concern.
Hi Donnie,
Do you mind telling me where you’re located?
Erhm… Indeed, the shipping options got “simplified” – now, from Western Europe, I seem to have “Express Shipping” as my only choice. Which wouldn’t have bothered me if it hadn’t nearly doubled the shipping costs compared to the previous situation.
Any comment on this, Nick? Is that going to change?
Lauwenmark,
May I ask where you’re located? Once I know more about the situation I can try to get you an answer from our shipping specialists.
Of course, you can. I’m located in Belgium, but I’ve heard the issue was similar in France and other parts of Western Europe.
On the community forums, it has been answered that the shipping fees were lowered when buying one book at a time – ok, but that doesn’t answers concerns of many authors who were previously buying many copies at the same time (and there are many occasions in which such ‘bulk’ orders are useful – when presenting/selling your book at a local convention, for example). Anything to say about that issue?
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