Sudden - and massive - increase in calendar price?!!!!!!!

[Rory Mackay]

I am ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS with lulu!!!

I have spent weeks and weeks working on my calendar, even creating special artwork for it.

Having just completed it, I notice that the manufacturing cost of both sizes of calendar has increased by at least £2!!!

WHY THE SUDDEN - AND MASSIVE - INCREASE IN PRICE??? We're not talking about just a few pence - but by a THIRD.

It's no longer cost effective for me to sell and market my calendars (or even to purchase copies to give away as presents - it's simply too expensive!).

So, all my time and effort has been wasted.

Thanks a lot, lulu

[Jay Braden]

This does sound very frustrating.

What are the before and after prices, and when was the change?

[sales]

I spotted this too and no indication of the price rise, this makes most peoples calendars quite expensive.
I have stuck with lulu for a long while, and after looking at other publishing costs lulu had the low print order answer, but now I don’t know I will leave my stuff here for sale and produce some more as I have planned.
But I will seek other publishers for large quantity printing.

[Rory Mackay]

The smaller size of calendar went from around £6.20 to a whopping £8.20 while if memory recalls the large size also increased by £2 to £12.74.

I wouldn't mind if it had increased by a little - but by £2?! I'm so gutted - especially as I received my first calendar today and it;s beautiful. So much work put into it.

Is it worth complaining to Lulu?

I'm so angry - not just by the massive increase (heck, a few pence I could understand, but £2 - in this economic climate people simply aren't going to pay large amounts for calendars they can't even see...that's another thing, the previews don't work!). Plus increasing the price at this particular time - when people are probably just beginning to order and sell their calendars is disgraceful.

I'm still so ANGRY!!!!

[Steve Richardson]

The price of my calendar has jumped from £6.95 to £9.55 a 37% price increase and you have to add postage and packaging.

No one is going to buy at these prices - I am so glad I got my order in a couple of weeks ago.

I am new to Lulu but suspect I will not be here for very long.

[peter]

It is not just the price of the calendar that increased. They charge for example instead of 3.95 for Media Mail a solid $5.90 for Media Mail!. We will leave Lulu.com for all new 2009 products....

[Wayne Hills]

It's not just calendars that went up; I just finished a 155 page hardbound book, and the price on that jumped from $40.25 per copy to $49.00, almost a 25% increase. Lulu's increases have effectively priced me right out of the market. If you read the "important announcement" from the head of Lulu, he claims the increases were necessary because of increases in costs "and inflation". I didn't know we had double digit inflation here in the U.S. I also just spent many hours working on three different calendars; the price increase means I will get pennies in profit on them if I price them so they might sell, and the premium calendar I made will not sell - who's going to pay $25-30 for a calendar?
I think we've all been had.

[Jon Marsh]

I wouldn't get too worried about the manufacturing costs, Rory - the cost of posting a single premium calendar to the UK is now quoted as just short of £60. Seems a bit pointless to even bother showing these kind of prices - why doesn't Lulu just say that they can no longer offer this option outside of the US?

[Jeane Trend-Hill]

Not sure if I am missing something here, I've just checked and my calendar price is £9.50 postage to the UK is either £4.50 or £6.87. If I wanted it next day superfast it would be £60 or £70 postage but my last calendar arrived to the UK in 9 days at the basic flat rate.

[Office of Calendar Compliance]

Much of this will be due to the change in the £/$ exchange rate.