CreateSpace, which until last week was CustomFlix Labs, a company founded in 2002 and acquired by Amazon in 2005, today launched a print on demand book publishing service. The newly minted CreateSpace service line-up now includes print on demand books, DVDs, CDs, direct download video, audio books, and HD DVDs (Blu-ray coming soon). This puts Amazon in direct competition with Lulu, and to a lesser extent CafePress.
The implications of this announcement for Lulu could be large. Until now, Lulu has been, to my knowledge, the only print on demand publisher that offered books, CDs, and DVDs with no set up fee and offered syndication to sites like Amazon.
Where it really gets tricky for Lulu, is that Amazon offers a guaranteed way for publishers into Amazon's catalog. Books published via third-party POD publishers were never guaranteed to get a listing on the Amazon site, though most books listed in the Books in Print catalog tend to get picked up by Amazon according to Lulu. CreateSpace also offers customers automatic extras like Amazon's Search Inside! this book feature, and IMDb listing eligibility for DVDs.
CreateSpace beats Lulu on price as well, and doesn't charge for ISBN numbers for books (required for books to be sold on Amazon and listed in the Books in Print catalog) and UPC numbers for CDs and DVDs. Lulu, however, still offers far more printing options (such as hardcover and saddle stitch bindings), and offers the potential of selling products through Amazon competitors like Barnes and Noble -- something that I tend to doubt Amazon will help authors with.
Lulu was one of the companies I had marked in my mind as being ripe for acquisition by either Amazon or eBay. Amazon, it seems, has decided to build instead of buy by relaunching their CustomFlix site as a full-service on demand media publisher.
Via WebProNews.
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Lulu allow book authors from all over the world where as Createspace only allow US authors due to "tax reasons". I'll continue to use Lulu because of that. Note also that Lulu have a European hub which get the books/dvd's to european countries much faster than having to be shipped from the states.
Posted by: Dillon Thomas | August 8, 2007 6:23 PM
I really like how Amazon is diversifying their portfolio or offerings.
Posted by: Dee | August 8, 2007 9:38 PM
I work for Lulu, and speak for the company when I say we are always happy to be a part of the self-publishing conversation. After five years in this space, we pride ourselves on the quality and variety of our options for our creators. Our offerings are localized for six different languages, with worldwide printing and shipping capabilities. We have two different ISBN offerings: "Published by Lulu" and "Published by You;" the latter is an exclusive deal on Lulu that allows the creator to retain full publishing rights. Authors with an ISBN have their books listed in the largest book databases worldwide (and are also on Amazon.com). Most importantly, Lulu empowers our creators to profit from their content with an 80/20 revenue split. The creator sets the revenue and keeps 80% with Lulu getting 20%. We offer a wide selection of trim and paper options, offer both casewrap and dust jacket hardcover books, and accept a variety of file types. Additionally, we have a content rating system and protect the privacy of our creators by not making their contact information public. We welcome the challenges of this growing market because it pushes the industry forward and ultimately benefits creators.
Posted by: Robin | August 9, 2007 9:14 AM
I also see CreateSpace in direct competition with LuLu. Currently Amazon is somewhat limited in their options for book size and style. It does allows authors to provide their own ISBN and company name and it is probably only a matter of time before they offer listing on Amazon international sites at extra cost (if the U.S. service is successfu). One concern is that wholesalers or other big book buyers will not be interested in purchasing books thru CreateSpace because they get zero to very small discounts. This may or may not be a concern for indie authors.
Posted by: Linda Austin | August 22, 2007 3:34 PM
I went on the createspace site and did not see any restrictions for international publishers, though you need to be registered with the IRS for tax purposes, same as lulu ... Being in Australia I'm still weighing up my options.
I like that createspace have the option for a landscape color interior book. If lulu had this option, I would have done my book with them already.
Posted by: Diana | September 4, 2007 5:09 AM