Books Butterfly. Tell us about your experiences.

I used them once, 2 years ago, and will NEVER, EVER use them again. Shady, rude to customers... Just bad.

I've never used them, but the guy who runs the site is one of the rudest people I've ever seen on KBoards, and that's saying something. Plus, any service that guarantees a certain number of downloads/sales is very suspect and suggests they're doing something they shouldn't be.

Books Butterfly should be avoided. They're not going to send you fake traffic or anything like that, more like you'll get no traffic at all. The problem is that it's one of the more expensive promo sites around, and they GUARANTEE certain results which they can't really deliver on a regular basis. The owner is also pretty abrasive and has no problem fighting with customers even in public. Your money can be better spent elsewhere.

Never used them. Saw on Kboards that they are a scam as well as that owner is ridiculous. Some know-it-all with a pompous attitude. Has the nerve to complain about authors bringing issues to the public yet BB never seems to answer complaints when you email them I hear. I wouldn't go with anything that guarantees anything especially if you are in KU. Sites like these might be relying on bots to click books and you can end up in more trouble than it's worth.

I second what Nomen says above. There's no evidence of a scam, unless you call being difficult about getting your refund and unclear about how the terms are applied a scam--and I don't. I just chalk that up to the owner being a jerk and don't use his service anymore. The guy has a lot of knowledge, but he's a blowhard who oversells his ability to deliver, then gets pissed when questioned or when it appears he hasn't delivered.

For a while he was in a unique position and had appeared to break new ground with his guarantees and results--but he fumbled the ball, didn't improve, became less transparent instead of more, and generally missed an opportunity to become a big player by constantly pissing his customers off.

So, caveat emptor. Not a scam, but be warned.

Thanks for the heads up Anarchist! That thread is hilarious. I loved your laughing gif.

To summarize for those who don't want to visit Kboards or in case the thread gets nuked. A rep from Books Butterfly sent out a string of threatening emails to a guy who runs a small site with a reviews section, demanding that all of the negative Books Butterfly reviews be taken down and the contact deets of those reviewers be handed over. The site owner said "absolutely not" to handing over the contact deets, Books Butterfly Rep gets very upset, makes more threats. Site owner removes review section. Books Butterfly rep still not satisfied, sends a threatening email to one of the peeps who had left one of the offending reviews.

Also, here are a couple links that explain that leaving negative reviews is perfectly legal. Reviews can sometimes enter into libel or slander, but the bar is pretty high. As long as you stick to facts and your personal feelings and experience (stating that these are your feelings and experience) you should be fine if you ever do get sued. But most of the time you won't. I haven't heard of Books Butterfly actually suing anyone yet, so far, they appear to be all bark, no bite.

nbcnews.com/business/consumer/yes-you-can-post-negative-online-review-says-congress-n693001

practice.findlaw.com/practice-guide/online-reviews-and-defamation.html

I'm leaving out the http code so that the viglink won't take over and hopefully those who have trouble with links can just copy/google and find them easier.

I would never use them, because of the way the owner treats authors who are unhappy with the service (honestly, some of his rants are appalling) and because the refund isn't money back, but another promo. I mean, seriously? If the service was a bust the first time, why would more of it be acceptable compensation?

I've just finished reading that thread. He is really going off the rails...wow.

And the playroom has been locked for the night so that the little girls and boys don't accidentally fall and hurt themselves while no one's watching. Awwwwe

What are the odds someone too cheap to refund customers their money after he's guaranteed results would spring $$$$ to have a lawyer on retainer?

No chance. And no one should be afraid of them, in my opinion.

And it appears the thread is going to stay locked. Though, to be completely honest, after pages and pages of the BBF rep feeling the need to respond to every single poster, and the insistence that sometimes there is no choice but to be unprofessional (da fuq?), I'd say that there really isn't anything more that needs to be said. Anyone who's still willing to do business with BBF after that trainwreck can't be helped.

I hope the Books Butterfly people do not find their way here.

It doesn't take hunting--Google Alerts or Mention will bring it to their attention.

But, there's nothing that says we have to allow the guy to rant here. He's not an indie author, not even an author, and I don't see we have any obligation to engage with services that the community thinks are shady or problematic. I mean, we wouldn't allow the known bad vanity publishers like Author Solutions to come here to try to defend themselves, or perhaps more apropos, we wouldn't allow G-crave or Warrior Forum people to pitch or defend themselves--they've already been convicted, so to speak, by plenty of evidence. Free speech is great, but it always has to be defended against the equivalent of falsely yelling fire in the cinema.