82545 Greenwood St
Creswell, Oregon 97426
541-895-8972
This page was last updated: September 5, 2011
We specialize in publishing phone books in small, rural areas that have been harmed by phone book scams or their local phone book company going out of business. 

1.  Businesses in these areas may have lost a large amount of money. 
2.  This causes a lot of anger and fear about advertising with the next person that comes along.
3.  This may even cause businesses to just say no to all advertising for fear of losing more money!

Saying No to all advertising can severely hurt your business!  If people cannot find your phone number, they will not call you!  Even if you have been in business for 20 years, you still need to do some kind of advertising.  People do not have you on speed dial and new residents don't know you.

If you are in a rural area, larger phone books are most likely not going to be effective advertising.  The large businesses with the big ads are going to cause your small listing to go unnoticed.  Besides, you want to serve your local area residents.  You need to get your business in front of them.

A website is a great advertising tool!  However, if you live in an area with poor internet connection or you don't know how to effectively market your website, it won't help you much either.

Your best option as a small business is to reach your local potential customers by advertising in your small local area phone book.  Small, meaning no big cities in the coverage area.  This book will likely cover several small towns surrounding yours.  It will not be the book that you use as a door stop or as your child's booster seat.  It may be the book that you actually use or haven't used and don't understand it's potential. 

BUT, what do you do if a phone book company scammed you, large or small?

1.  First of all, don't let it go.  If it happened in your area, it could be happening somewhere else.
2.  Document each time you call the company.  If they answer and are working with you, you may
    not be scammed.  If they never answer, you leave multiple messages and they never return your
    call, you are most likely scammed.
3.  Make a lot of noise about it!  Talk to other businesses.  It probably happened to them too.  Call
     your local newspaper and radio station to ask them to investigate.  Contact anyone you can
     think of that can help you stir stuff up.
4.  File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and your state's Attorney General.
5.  Consider taking the company to court.  There may be a local attorney that was scammed too.
    Talk to him/her first about a group court case.

The only way #4 will work is if everyone affected files a complaint too. 
If only a few people file complaints, the Attorney General, unfortunately, won't do anything.
If everyone files one, there is a case to be made.

THE #1 REASON PEOPLE GET SCAMMED IS BECAUSE THEY LET IT HAPPEN AND DON'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP THE PERSON THAT DID THE SCAMMING!!

Basically, if the person successfully scammed you, they will move on to the next victim. 

So, how do you avoid getting scammed?

1.  Do your research.  Do not sign a phone book advertising contract or pay the sales                    person any money until you have determined the following:

a.  Is this a current registered business?
b.  Does this business have a Tax ID Number?
c.  Does this business have a current website that provides me enough
                           information to make an informed decision?
d.  Can I find any other information on the internet about this business, the
                           owner or the sales person that I am dealing with?


NOTE:  A Personal MySpace or Facebook page showing personal photos and inappropriate non-business content is not acceptable business reference even if the business is listed on the page.  It is a red flag if this is all you can find when you search the internet for this business.
 
However, these sites are an acceptable business advertising venue when used strictly for the business in a professional manner.

Do not rely on online free business listing sites to verify the validity of a business.   Every phone number listed as a business winds up on these sites whether they are current good businesses or not.  These listings can also be very old.


A respectable phone book company should be understanding about the fact that you have lost money and are fearful.  They should:

a.  Provide you with a clear contract stating the delivery date of the book and what they
                    will do for you if it is late or undelivered.
b.  Answer your phone calls or return messages promptly.
c.  Offer you an introductory discount.
d.  Offer you to pay part before and the rest after the book is delivered. 

Note: You must pay right after the book is delivered according to the agreement.  Otherwise, you are doing to the new company what the old company did to you.  The company took a huge risk by allowing you to pay after they have delivered.  It costs ALOT of money to create, publish and deliver a phone book.  Do not cost them more money by causing them to have to do multiple billings and phone calls.

If you believe your area may have been scammed and you need more information on this, feel free to email me at jessica@allaroundprinting.net or call 541-895-8972.

Information about advertising & advertising scams.