Complaint Review: Bookmasters - Ashland Ohio

I cancelled my contract with Book Masters/Atlas Books because they failed to live up to their end of the contract in supplying books to sellers such as Amazon.com with my books (I have proof in writing and supplied it to the president).  I did this in writing on March 11, 2011 and Book Master's continued to bill me for another 10 months even though they were not warehousing any more of my books or selling them.  I had to pay a certified check to Book Masters for $384.90 to get my books returned in March 2011.

Since contracting with them in October, 2010, I have paid them over $2500.00.  In addition, they have sold books and have kept the revenue.  They sent me a check for $100.36....and I have no idea why.  I have continued to request a full and accurate accounting of revenue/expenses regarding my account and they have refused to provide it. 

So in essence, Book Masters/Atlas Books has done the following:

1. They failed to perform according to the signed contract. 



2. They continued to bill me for 10 months after I closed my account due to lack of performance.



3. They made me pay 384.90 to have my books returned



4. Thy have kept all revenues for book sales.



5. They continue to send me monthly bills for providing no services.



6. They believe a contract is a one sided affair - we fail, you pay, no matter what.



7. They have repeatedly failed to provide a full and accurate accounting of my account even after several requests.



8. They have ripped me off for over $2500, and I have no recourse but to sue them.

If you are thinking about doing business with this company, I would think twice if I were you. I have tried to contact former representatives, but they are no longer there...what does that tell you?

Well, it is early September, 2011..almost a year my firm signed a  contract with Bookmasters...what a huge mistake!  We finally had to pay close to $400 to get our inventory back, and after close to a year, we have spent about $2000 to have our book marketed, warehoused, distributed, etc.  And what do we have to show for all this?  No revenue..that is right...not one cent. We have no idea of the costs, revenues, returns, books sold, etc.  It is a big mystery.  If you read this and sign a contract for their services, you have no one to blame but yourself.  

I encourage everybody to check the Better Business Bureau site, as Mr. Truskie suggests.  You will see that Bookmasters currently has an A+ rating.  As a company we try to clearly outline services and expectations within our agreement, which is why I refer back to this document.  I encourage all who are researching my company to do their homework in this regard and contact us directly if you have any questions.  Thank you.

The comments of Mr Wurster confirms my point that Bookmasters (BMI) is unresponsive, overpriced, and ineffective.  They  are more concerned about profits than serving customers, according to Mr. Wurster's own words.  And, Mr. Wurster presents false and misileading facts.  Barnes & Nobel NEVER listed my second edition book, nor did any of the book sites he mentions.  These sites have been displaying my first edition book (2002) which is now out of print.  Mr. Wurster evades the fact that we HAD to finally close the account after we discovered that Amazon.com was not making my second edition book available because BMI did not list it on their account, and we have proof of this from Amazon.  Mr. Wurster keeps mentioning the contract we signed, and we did.  But we thought we were signing with a reputable, competent, and reliable company.  They are still holding my books and demanding $400 for the next 10 months;  $369.90 or $384.90, depending upon the way we pay them, and this is in addition to the $495.00 we paid them up front, in additon to montly bills averaging $150-$170 per month. AND bear in mind, we have NOT received one dollar from book revenue.  Now, if I would have read a report like this and checked out BMI with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), I guarantee we would not be in the mess we are with BMI today.....YOU BE THE JUDGE!

I have read the complaint issued by our customer and believe I can provide a clear and concise summary of why the customer is dissatisfied.

Although Mr. Truskie feels that the fees associated with our services are high, all fees and commissions were detailed in the agreement that he signed with us.  I suggest that Mr. Truskie take some time to review the agreement that he signed and compare it with his billing and I believe he will find consistency between the two.

Through his listing with our trade distribution program, we were able to successfully secure listings with all major book retailers (i.e. Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, etc.).  I have researched and confirmed that his book was available throughout the trade.

The main issue that Mr. Truskie raises is whether or not we were shipping books to these outlets.  We shipped books to Amazon, Ingram, and Barnes & Noble in December, January, February, and March.  The unfortunate reality is that the sales of his book are not enough to cover the costs involved in the distribution.  Since November, the demand for his product has been roughly 50 copies.  This low demand is not enough to sustain any level of profitability.

The $495 that Mr. Truskie refers to is an account setup fee, not a deposit.  This fee covers the design of his webpage within www.AtlasBooks.com and the dissemination of his title information to the book trade.  Both of these items were executed successfully, which is why we cannot refund this amount.

The final issue is the required Termination Period.  The 10-month closing period is required by the major booksellers.  This is a period that they require to return any unsold product.  Throughout this period, BookMasters must maintain the accounting, accept and account for any returns, and report all accounting to the publisher.  As with the fees discussed, the Termination Period is clearly outlined on the agreement signed by Mr. Truskie (a copy of which can be provided if necessary).

Thank you for your time.