IngramSpark Hardback Review - Alternative Self Publishing Platform - Never Expected This

About this video

(Summary based on the Arabic caption track.) Dale unboxes and reviews an IngramSpark hardcover — a book by author Jordan Ring, ordered through the Amazon marketplace at the suggestion of his friend Rob Archangel — judging it on quality, delivery time, shipping, cost and profit rather than content. He notes IngramSpark is owned by Ingram Content Group, is related to Lightning Source, and is largely responsible for expanded distribution through KDP Print, giving wide distribution for paperbacks and hardcovers. Amazon shipped the book in a bubble envelope instead of a corrugated cardboard box, which he criticizes, though it arrived undamaged in only two days via Prime with no shipping cost. Jordan Ring told him the book sells for $19.99 with profit of about $5 per book, but that direct IngramSpark shipping and handling was $17.66, which Dale calls absurd. On quality he praises the matte finish, the glossy comparison copies, and the interior print, noting no page warping like he had seen with Lulu.com or Barnes & Noble Press, though the test book was not image-heavy. He warns IngramSpark has a higher barrier to entry: a $49 upload fee, roughly $25 or $29 for re-uploads, possible coupons, a fee waiver he attributes to a partnership mentioned for ALLi members, and the requirement to bring your own ISBN, with separate ISBNs needed for hardcover and paperback editions.

Key takeaways

• IngramSpark hardcover quality impressed Dale, with a matte cover, clean interior print and no page warping seen in the test copy
• The reviewed book sold for $19.99 with about $5 profit per book, according to its author Jordan Ring as reported by Dale
• Direct IngramSpark shipping and handling was $17.66 for that book, while the Amazon Prime order arrived in two days with no shipping cost
• IngramSpark charges a $49 upload fee and roughly $25 or $29 for re-uploads, unlike free uploads on KDP Print, Lulu.com and Barnes & Noble Press as described
• Authors must bring their own ISBN to IngramSpark, and a hardcover needs a different ISBN from a paperback edition

Episode details: published April 6, 2019 · 11:10 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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