International Library of Scams
Posted in Art News by dub| Tags: book scam, international library, picture.com, scam
Those of us who have ever submitted a photo or piece of art in hopes of it getting published can all relate when the possibility of it actually making its way into print arrives. However, there are companies out there that prey on that fact.
Several years ago, let’s say around 2003, I was looking online for a photography contest to enter, merely to try my hand and see how I would make out. Landing on Picture.com, I submitted a piece of work. I had forgotten about entering it when I received a letter in the mail stating that my picture was selected for publication. Naturally I was very excited to the point where the fee for purchasing the book had not shocked me. Taking it a step further, I not only paid for a copy of the book but also paid to have a short biography included in the back of the book. The book title was “Forever In A Moment” (ISBN: 0-7951-5195-0). I mailed in my payment and later on received the book only to be disappointed.
What I received was a book of a few hundred pages filled with no discernable organization and crammed to the brim with photos on every page. Rather than giving each photo breathing room, each page was cluttered with 6 small photos each. Some photos were horrible, such as a man jumping sideways off of a diving board in a backyard pool, a child with his face covered with food, etc.
I felt ripped off and I was ripped off.
I looked up the ISBN and could not find it on any of the major retailer sites. That seemed a bit fishy to me. Yet, I still submitted a few photos online, thinking that alone would not be of any harm.
As of late, I have received several more letters after submitting photos to the site. Most recently was a photo of my daughter which is “scheduled to be printed” in “Tender Imprints” (ISBN: 0-7951-5246-9).
Each time I have approved the photo to be printed but never sent any more money in. Looks as if I was right not to do so. Some research online yielded disturbing results, such as this BetterPhoto.com thread with many, many responses of those who felt they had been ripped off. If you read the entire thread, there are two great links in there that I want to point out.
First, there is this CBC Marketplace article about how odd the contest results were. Aside from the fact that nobody in charge over at ILB had returned comments to the author of the article, there are staggering figure estimates for book profits, which makes me feel even worse that I had sent them some of my hard earned duckets.
Second, and probably equally disturbing, is the Baltimore Better Business Bureau site for the International Library of Photography. At the time I wrote this blog, the BB reported the following in regards to ILB/Picture.com:
The Bureau processed a total of 422 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 422 complaints closed in 36 months, 159 were closed in the last year.
And their marketing machine continues to power onward.
So is the ILB a scam? Are they guilty of false advertising? I would say that they are guilty of false advertising as they stretch the limits of the truth in order to make their products and services more intriguing. The BBB has a helpful article about vanity pitches, which is certainly what Picture.com and ILB are up to. You decide whether or not this is a scam. But like everything else nowadays, do your homework before sending anyone money.
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liz lee says:
the same thing happened to me. i am really glad you wrote this. i just got my letter today. i wanted to get online and see if it was real. and sure enough its a scam.thank you.
Gisela Roesel says:
I sent a picture to a contest September or October 2006 with title: Big Mirror. I payed for a book: Endless journeys and I never received an answer and no book.
Contest was www. picture.com and one letter from
3600 Crondale Lane, Suite 101
Owings Mills, MD 2117
Why didn’t happen anything until now? I will wait 4 weeks or my money back.
I am very serious.
Gisela Roesel
Angie Webb says:
I just got my letter today. I was soo excited to see that they was going to print my baby girl’s picture. But now to find out it is a scam; I’m mad and hurt.
How could they do that to us? Good thing my baby is only 2 and doesn’t understand because if I would have told her and she went to school bragging about it and then found out it was all just a joke. She would be crushed!
Someone needs to do something to stop them before it gets any worse!
Dubtastic | photography, digital art, and other stuff says:
[...] always excited about the opportunity to be published, however, with the ILOP, there seems to be a cloud of mystery hovering [...]
Joyce Shipp says:
Please tell me how to trust any of the places that sound to good to be true, if there is any. I just want to sell some very nice photos of wildlife,birds ect. Thank You for any bit of advice, Sincerely Joyce
dub says:
Joyce,
I believe that doing research on the company is the best way to “trust” them. See what other products they have put out and see what others say about them online. Look into the company itself, call them, email them, etc. If it is hard to find information on them or contact them, there is usually a reason for that.
Tina says:
These are the same people that run ‘The Internatioal Library Of Poetry’…their first scam.
With both of these every thing that gets submitted goes into a book…the only people that buy them are the people who have submitted works to them.
Next comes invitations to attend ‘awards ceremonies’, and credit cards etc. etc.
Run away from this as fast as you can!
tisha says:
i also got the letter lookin up to see my baby pic got a isbn # also and the blah it says and cant find my name our my pic my family was excited to see the pic and be in a book and its a lie that sucks!!! and some ppl say to check out endless journeys it might be in that on sence they said it will be in tender imprints and not there well i cant find it anywhere anyways so thanks for the comments and news and heads up tish….
Fran says:
The Better Business Bureau of Madison Wisconsin has informed me that the former http://www.picture.com HAS WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. The International Library of Photography IS A SCAM. I lost the money I pre-paid for a book They Never Shipped. DON”T DO BUSINESS OR ANY TRANSACTION WITH THE INTERNATIONALY LIBRARY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. They are a rip off.
dub says:
@Fran, it looks like you are right. When you visit Picture.com you no longer get the horribly tacky ILOP website but instead you are directed to Lulu.com, which is a reputable company. If anyone has any more articles or news on this I would love to read it.
janine says:
I was ripped off! My daughter’s photo was suppose to be in a book America’s beautiful babies i never recieved the book. I’am so Mad
Gabrielle Helber says:
A friend gave me a form and urged me to compete in ILP contest. I’m so glad I decided to research the company online and my suspicions were confirmed they are a scam! I thought it strange there wasn’t more information concerning their use of photos. Thanks to all who took time to alert and share their scam experience so the rest of us are spared. In this digital age it is all too easy to scan a photograph and then make a few adjustments in Photoshop and bingo there is a new, original photograph which was actually stolen!
Rebekah Jaensch says:
Oh, Wow do they also steal Pictures???? If they do steal pictures I think I’d Like to bring up a class action law suite if any one else does! They told me my work was Copyrighted in my name??? Is “An Early Morning Feel” Copyrighted by: Rebekah Jaensch? If not I do know at least one person who does know that I took the Picture.
Rebekah Jaensch says:
Parden me The name of the Photograph is “An Early Morning Feeling” I guess I’m angry!!!!
Amber says:
I submitted a photo back in 2007 and said i would be published. i sent the money for a copy of the book and I never got a book. I tried calling at the number on the letter it was no longer in service and havent heard from hem since.