⚠️ A Warning About AmaZine ⚠️
If you mod, participate in or buy fanzines, please read the following document. Myself and a lot of people who participate in the zine community think that what AmaZine is doing is exploitative and predatory. We think you deserve to know why.
A Warning About AmaZine Disclaimer The contents of the present document are opinions and not statements of fact to be held up in a court of
If you're a contributor, please also make sure to check the document's second tab! You're not alone, and you deserve better.
Regardless of politics and personal opinions on what fanzines are and what they represent for the community, we think zine participants and supporters are entitled to full transparency regarding AmaZine's services, how their money will be used, and what their services mean for contributors.
We also have a lot of doubts about AmaZine's numbers, something is not adding up. Either their claims about being able to source better and cheaper manufacturers are untrue, or they claim money that should belong to contributors in one way or another. Several experienced finance mods have gone over the calculations in this document and confirmed that the estimated production prices I have provided are accurate. If the production prices AmaZine claims are significantly higher, you should demand receipts and supplier quotes.
If you're a moderator who is currently considering using AmaZine for your fanzine, please pay attention to the last segment of the document. Not every zine needs to be a physical zine, and there are ways to use zines for charity without even touching the money. Please consider those avenues!
Thank you for paying attention. Please research fanzine moderators and stay vigilant. Your talents are too precious to be exploited in this way.
Most of the conversation that sparked this callout happened on Bluesky, so to fill tumblr in: there are several zines in production using AmaZine’s services, including the BG3 Tarot Deck, a charity zine that has already raised THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS on Kickstarter. AmaZine charges 15-20% gross revenue of every project for their services. That’s thousands of dollars raised for charity that will instead line these people’s pockets. To say nothing of how they’re deliberately overcharging buyers (including contributors!).
Read the document. The grift is breathtaking. Do not purchase any of the zines associated with this company.
