IngramSpark reviews (2026): what authors praise and complain about
IngramSpark is a real printing and distribution platform that authors use themselves, not a service publisher that handles the book for you, and its public scores are low: 1.9 out of 5 (Poor) from 1,645 reviews on Trustpilot. The Better Business Bureau shows no letter grade, says it is not BBB accredited, lists 122 complaints in 3 years (37 in the last 12 months) and displays a "Pattern of Complaints" alert. Trustpilot shows a claimed profile, notes no recent history of asking for reviews, and says the company replied to 100% of negative reviews, typically within 24 hours, mostly with a standard reply. 91 reviews in the last 12 months. Below are the rating, what authors praise, what some authors report (20 one- to three-star Trustpilot reviews we logged, with dates and links), and what to ask before you use any platform or publisher.
The overall rating, on the day we read it
Trustpilot
1.9 out of 5 · “Poor” · 1,645 reviews on Trustpilot
Read on 16 October 2026. We read the 10 most recent four- and five-star reviews and the 20 most recent one- to three-star reviews we logged: 8 × 5★, 2 × 4★, 1 × 3★, 2 × 2★, 17 × 1★.
Trustpilot shows a claimed profile, notes no recent history of asking for reviews, and says the company replied to 100% of negative reviews, typically within 24 hours, mostly with a standard reply. 91 reviews in the last 12 months.
What authors praise
For some authors it works. Reviewers report:
- A named support agent answered every question and solved the author's problems — “She answered all my questions and helped solved my problems.” (5★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- A children's book reached major bookstores, and support replied quickly — “Ingramsparks got back to me very quickly” (4★, May 2026, Trustpilot)
- Named support agents responded quickly and gave clear instructions — “She responds quickly, communicates clearly, gives clear instructions” (5★, April 2026, Trustpilot)
- A support agent walked the author through the process — “Princess was awesome, walked me through the process” (5★, March 2026, Trustpilot)
- A new writer received strong support after submitting the text (5★, March 2026, Trustpilot)
- Print product praised, slow response time marked down — “Five stars for their print product, three stars for the slow response time” (4★, February 2026, Trustpilot)
- A user since 2019 says the titles now reach a much wider audience — “it has allowed my titles to reach a much wider audience” (5★, January 2026, Trustpilot)
- The author is satisfied the book was made available for sale despite a learning curve — “I am satisfied that my book was made available for sell.” (5★, December 2025, Trustpilot)
- A named agent finally fixed an issue that had taken months — “I was desperate until James helped me.” (5★, November 2025, Trustpilot)
- A patient support agent quickly repaired an account or login problem — “she was so patient and helpful, she quickly repaired the problem” (5★, November 2025, Trustpilot)
We logged 10 four- and five-star Trustpilot reviews from the 10 most recent.
What authors complain about
Reviewers report the following, counted from the 20 one- to three-star reviews we logged. Each line links to the source.
Service after the sale (10 reviews)
- Three months to solve what the author calls a simple issue — “3 months to solve simple issue.” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- A European author could not activate an account and support emails went unanswered — “My emails to support have gone unanswered” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- No response for over a week after contacting support — “it’s been over a week and still nothing” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- The reviewer says support agents barely read the request — “Their customer service agents barely read the request” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- Customer service and the website are described as very poor (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
- The author's account was locked and they could do nothing — “So now my account is locked and I can't do a thing.” (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
- No phone number is listed, so the author cannot speak to a person — “They have no phone number, so you can't speak to an actual person.” (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
- The reviewer objects to being charged to talk to a human for support — “Charging people to talk to a human for support now?” (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
- Slow replies from customer service about an electronic proof — “Why does it take so long for your customer service department to respond?” (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
- Messages about titles in processing go unanswered — “they never reply to my messages.” (1★, August 2026, Trustpilot)
Timeline and delays (4 reviews)
- Still waiting for account verification after three weeks — “Still waiting for verification after 3 weeks.” (1★, October 2026, Trustpilot)
- Titles reported as stuck in processing for three weeks — “My titles have been "In Processing" for 3 weeks” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- Two titles still reported as stuck in processing, with slow support, since August (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- A title has stayed in processing for about two weeks — “the title has now remained “In Processing” for about two weeks.” (2★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
Process not explained (3 reviews)
- A distribution restriction was applied and the reason was not disclosed — “we are unable to disclose the reason for the restriction.” (1★, October 2026, Trustpilot)
- The reviewer says every part of publishing is made harder than it needs to be — “somehow manage to make every part of publishing harder than it needs to be.” (2★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
- A children's book was rejected for distribution and the reason was not given — “they wouldn't tell me why it was rejected.” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
Royalties and sales reporting (2 reviews)
- Payment reported as taking more than 90 days, with fees mentioned — “They take over 90 days to pay you, I'm still waiting.” (1★, October 2026, Trustpilot)
- A former account shows unpaid compensation, with ID verification and a title transfer outstanding — “My former IngramSpark account still shows $29.86 in estimated unpaid compensation” (1★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
Refunds (1 review)
- A small-publisher client finds refunds for faulty printed orders hard to get — “it is actively difficult to get refunds for botched orders” (3★, September 2026, Trustpilot)
Questions to ask any publisher before you sign
- Is this a platform you run yourself, or a service that does the work for you? Ask exactly what you must do and what the company does.
- How do you reach a person when something is stuck: a phone number, a live chat or a ticket form, and what is the usual wait?
- What happens when a title is rejected or restricted for distribution? Will you be told the reason, and who can you ask?
- Who owns the account and the ISBN, and what does it take to move a title to another account or platform later?
- How are you paid, how often and from what, and where can you see each sale yourself?
- What fees apply to a revision, a proof or a re-upload, and are they listed before you pay?
- If a printed copy arrives damaged or wrong, who pays to replace it and how do you claim?
- How long does verification and processing normally take, and what is promised in writing?
How we handle each of these
We are a competing publisher, so weigh this accordingly. These are the points above where our own pages already say what we do:
- Royalties and sales reporting. You publish on your own Amazon KDP account, so Amazon reports and pays you directly, and you can check every sale yourself. Our packages: 100% royalties and all rights stay with you
- Refunds. Our refund policy is in writing before you pay. A refund can be requested before any work has started on your project; once work has begun, payments are non-refundable. We would rather you know that up front. Our refund policy
How this was researched
- We read the reviews of IngramSpark on Trustpilot on 16 October 2026, and logged each review we used: its stars, its date and a theme, with a short paraphrase in our own words.
- A quotation, where we use one, is under 15 words, in quotation marks and linked. We do not edit reviews, write them, or ask for them to be written.
- Sources read so far: Trustpilot. We will add others and update this page, and the date above.
- We describe what reviewers report; we do not claim it is true of every author, and we have not tested the company's service ourselves.
If anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
Frequently asked questions
Is IngramSpark legit?
It is a real, long-running printing and distribution business. Its Trustpilot profile is claimed and shows 1.9 out of 5 from 1,645 reviews, and Trustpilot notes it has no recent history of asking for reviews. The BBB shows no grade, says it is not accredited, lists 122 complaints in 3 years and displays a "Pattern of Complaints" alert. Both were read on 16 October 2026. Some authors report problems, listed on this page with dates and links.
What do authors praise about IngramSpark?
Of the 10 four- and five-star Trustpilot reviews we logged, authors praise individual support agents who solved a stuck problem (sometimes after weeks or months), the reach into bookstores and libraries, and print quality for experienced users.
What do the unhappy authors complain about?
Among the 20 one- to three-star Trustpilot reviews we logged, the themes reviewers report most are service after the sale (10), timeline and delays (4), process not explained (3). They describe support that does not answer, no phone number, titles stuck in processing and distribution refusals with no reason given. On the BBB, the recent complaints we read add title transfers, shipping failures and late royalty payments.
Is IngramSpark a publisher?
IngramSpark describes itself as a platform for printing and distributing books. You prepare and upload the files yourself and the company prints and distributes them; it does not edit, design or manage the book for you. That is why many reviews are about account set-up, processing and support rather than about a project team.
How is Harmony Publishing different?
We are a competing publisher, so weigh this accordingly. What we can point to: you publish on your own Amazon KDP account and keep 100% of your royalties and rights, and our refund policy is in writing before you pay. Each is linked on this page.