Another ebook author scam tied to Download Provider

This morning I received notice that my ebook “If I Only Had A Tattoo” was being promoted on a typepad site containing a Download link to fee-for service site Download Provider which, if you read my previous post on Download Provider, has a history of complaints against it.

The description for my ebook contained a bunch of gibberish only good for search engines attracting traffic to this site.

On the site were: a work on Baseball by Peter Morris, William J. Ryczek, Jan Finkel and Leonard Levin; work by Susan Spalding, Armando C. Alonzo, and other authors.

The site containing my ebook, and those listed above, is npioupy.typepad.com/blog/

I don’t know if those authors have given permission to promote/sell their works on Download Provider or through any site run by typepad, but I know I didn’t.

I wrote to typepad and am awaiting their reply to my request for removal of my unauthorized copyrights. You may want to check the site yourself.

UPDATED: On May 19th, 2013, Typepad informed me the offending site had been removed.

Apple fixes price error on humor ebook. Previous price not funny.

It took about one month from the first time Apple was notified of their price mistake for my latest ebook “Buy This Book. Make Me A Millionaire” and reduced it from $1.99 to its correct and original price of $0.99.

I’m proud Apple thought my latest creation was worth much more than I priced it at, but a deal is a deal. As I’m offering the ebook everywhere else for 0.99 I shouldn’t take advantage of Apple’s thoughtful price adjustment, no matter how highly they regard my latest artistic production.

Description of my latest masterpiece:

A perfect gift for someone who has everything, and for those who want absolutely nothing.

What’s inside the book? 23 pages of “Nothing Here But My Thanks”, and now and then an image of a kiss or something similar, images of an animal or animals, some pithy words under the pictures, and some other stuff.

I think the words under the pictures are pithy, but you may think otherwise.

To be completely honest, for it is your money and not mine, (well, not mine until you buy this ebook and then a smidgeon of your money becomes mine, but that is beside the point) inside are pictures of dogs and other animals, which every advertiser will tell you is necessary for bonding the viewer to your product or service.

Bound to become one of the greatest literary works of humor, “Buy This Book. Make Me A Millionaire” is available in ebook format at all fine retailers, even Amazon, which sold a copy within the first couple of hours of it being published.

Also available in PDF format from Smashwords.

Another article on this ebook is here.

Author exploitation

The publishing world is overflowing with scammers exploiting new authors struggling to publish a work, format a work, edit a work, design a cover, or choose between publishing a print book or an ebook or both.

Authorhouse is renown and reviled by authors for scamming thousands of writers out of money. Penquin decided to buy Authorhouse and semi-legitimize the Authorhouse scamming system; same scam, different bull making the manure.

A quick google search on a phrase like “ebook scam” or “publishing scam” (without the quotes) returns enough convincing evidence to warn authors about the various scammers prowling the ebook/book publishing jungle.

One blogger has put together another string of pearls on these scammers, focusing on Penquin books and Authorhouse. His article contains links to sites supporting complaints about companies exploiting authors, as many such bloggers including myself have done over the years, but it is well written and has a goodly amount of comments for new authors to enjoy.

The link to this blog on Penquin, Authorhouse, and author exploitation is here.

Is this another ebook scam hitting authors?

A Google Alert on the weekend led to a site listing my popular “A Christmas Tree For Santa” ebook with an image of ebook cover from Amazon – but no link to Amazon – and a download button opening another site which had a horrendous amount of complaints from people paying money to join the site and download ‘stuff,’ including ebooks, but instead ending up filing complaint after complaint. Is this another ebook scam Amazon fails to address?

Links to complaints about Download Provider: Here, here, here, here, here and others you can find by googling.

Amazon should protect its reputation and its customers by, at the minimum, having a robot check the Internet for reports of scams or unlawful use of covers displayed on Amazon and take some action against perpetrators.

As the Amazon Kindle ebook cover image doesn’t link to Amazon I suspect that no author will earn any money from such a listing. That Amazon allows such behaviour to impact itself and its authors is atrocious.

Authors should google title(s) of their work together with Download Provider and see if their work is also being offered through Download Provider.

If you find your ebooks on Download Provider you might want to contact Amazon and ask them what they are going to do about this issue. (See Amazon contact link and my letter to them below.)

Contacting Download Provider likely won’t remove any offending image or ebook, if the complaints about Download Provider are any indication. Why?

Download Provider uses a company called ‘Moniker Privacy Services’, which I’ll refer to as MPS, as registrant of their domain. MPS has a such a reputation it made it to Complaints Board, as you may read here. MPS is considered “very shady” by Answers.com

You can do your own google of Moniker Privacy Services and/or Download Provider for additional information.

Authors may wish to google their ebook title or their author name together with cewopier.bravesites.com and see what appears. Do the same with your ebook title or your name and the term Download Provider.

Here is a copy of the Support information I sent to Amazon KDP:

This web page, http://cewopier.bravesites.com/entries/general/a-christmas-tree-for-santa-downloads displays an image of the Kindle cover of my ebook but no link to Amazon. NOTE: site is currently closed following a report of copyright violation. See Update at end of this post.

Instead of a link to Amazon or some other reputable site there is only a ‘Download’ button. Clicking on the ‘Download’ button leads to another site called ‘Download Provider’ which charges a small fee to join their site and use their services.

HOWEVER, Download Provider has a history of complaints as you may read here http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/download-provider-c581143.html and here http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/other-company/download-provider-is-a-scam-and-they-are-thieves-20120316305272.html and here http://www.scambook.com/company/view/30765/DL-Providercom and here http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/download-provider and here http://www.reviewstalk.com/complaints-reviews/www-download-provider-l16906.html

My contacting Download Provider would appear to be useless, judging by the complaints against it, but perhaps Amazon can do something to prevent sites grabbing ebook cover images and using them in the manner described above.

Yours truly,
Ted Summerfield

Here is the link to Amazon KDP support. I clicked on Amazon Programs when the page appeared and typed in “Kindle ebook scam?” in the subject line.

Authors with ebooks listed as available through Download Provider may wish to contact Amazon as well.

My way of thinking is Amazon operates a business and businesses have theft prevention programs. A bookstore owner has security methods to assist in theft prevention and so should Amazon. A bookstore doesn’t ask publishers to keep an eye on their store for anyone stealing something, so why doesn’t Amazon – and other online retailers – provide the same level of service? Why should authors have to police their work entrusted to a multi-billion dollar retail store? Online retailers don’t police their supplies because the product is digital? Give me a break. Theft is theft.

UPDATE: Robin Wolstenholme contacted Bravenet support and reported problem. Bravenet has cancelled the account. Amazon hasn’t responded to my support request.

Parents, Children, Libraries, and Reading

Parents of minor children have a special relationship with libraries. Most believe libraries are very important for their children and provide extra resources that are not

available at home. Parents are also more likely than other adults to use libraries for

services ranging from book borrowing to accessing the internet to attending classes and events – and mothers are considerably more engaged with libraries than fathers.

 This is according to a recent Pew Internet Report by Carolyn Miller, Research Consultant, Pew Internet Project; Kathryn Zickuhr, Research Analyst, Pew Internet Project; Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project; and Kristen Purcell, Associate Director for Research, Pew Internet Project.

You may read/download the full report from Pew at this link.

North Korea cartoon

Author attempts to profit from Boston bombing deaths

One author is attempting to profit from Boston bombing deaths by implying his book has the answers to why the kids did it. Profiting from the deaths in Boston is disgusting to me.

For readers who have been in a coma the past week, the Boston marathon was hit with two explosions resulting in the death of innocent people. It has been implied in the news that the boys were involved in some radical form of Islam.

On Linkedin today, author Avi Perry posted this Discussion: “What is it about Islam that drives people to terror? Read “72 Virgins’ by Avi Perry http://www.72virgins.weebly.com. You will find answers.”

The link didn’t work.

But a quick google on his name returned his book “72 Virgins” for sale on Amazon for Kindle devices at $9.83 and in print form for $19.95. Certainly not an inexpensive ebook or print book.

Avi didn’t specifically mention the Boston bombings in his post on Linkedin, but to anyone breathing the implied connection is there through his use of the word ‘Islam’ during this terrible time for my American friends.

Avi probably isn’t the only author attempting to cash in on the Boston bombings. But couldn’t he wait until all the facts are in, or at least until the funerals, before attempting to profit from these deaths?