D&D 5E D&D product sales numbers on Amazon, etc.

TerraDave · May 27, 2017

happyhermit said:
Just to update;

PHB is at #10 in Canada, #67 in US
TftYP is already down to #1190
Volo's is still up at #747

Tales may have had the highest peak of any adventure, but has not been able to break the pattern.

Volo's has had a really good run. And I expect the new screen and other accessories to do really well.

Demetrios1453 · May 27, 2017

TerraDave said:
Tales may have had the highest peak of any adventure, but has not been able to break the pattern.

Volo's has had a really good run. And I expect the new screen and other accessories to do really well.

The fact that Volo's has had a good run is encouraging, as it will mean WotC will be more likely to release further products in that mold, which would be perfectly fine in my book...

Hussar · May 27, 2017

Another point to think about, the D&D Starter set is hovering in the early 500's right now. That's still bloody fantastic for a three year old product like that.

Even Hoard of the Dragon Queen, which was hardly well received, is still around 6000 (or so). For a module that old, that's bloody fantastic. There seems to be a VERY long tail for sales of these books.

happyhermit · May 27, 2017

Hussar said:
I remember reading that the "wavy pages" thing was more an artifact of how the books are stored - extremely dry, cool places where they are shrink wrapped and then shipped. When they hit natural air and humidity, that's where you get the wavy pages. Leave them on their side a couple of days to "relax" and they should be fine.

For S&G's, I looked it up on my local Amazon (Amazon Japan) and got the following:

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #15,546 in Foreign Language Books (See Top 100 in Foreign Language Books)

Sigh. Now you know why I play online.

I think you are right about humidity playing a big part, I do live in a relatively cool and dry place (in Canada) and have seen few issues.

Wonder if the translated version will make any difference for sales in Japan?

I do wonder about these variations, amazon.ca sales of the D&D books are consistently MUCH higher ranked than in the U.S and from the sounds of things FLGS are doing possibly better, plus there is a good selection at all major book stores.

Hussar said:
Another point to think about, the D&D Starter set is hovering in the early 500's right now. That's still bloody fantastic for a three year old product like that.

Even Hoard of the Dragon Queen, which was hardly well received, is still around 6000 (or so). For a module that old, that's bloody fantastic. There seems to be a VERY long tail for sales of these books.

Yes, it really surprises me that the core and starter set have stayed so high for so long.

Demetrios1453 said:
The fact that Volo's has had a good run is encouraging, as it will mean WotC will be more likely to release further products in that mold, which would be perfectly fine in my book...

Not to mention that Volo's apparently did very well in FLGS with the alternate cover (I actually pre-ordered one which I haven't done for anything in ages). I am sure Wotc is taking notice of the numbers.

TerraDave said:
Tales may have had the highest peak of any adventure, but has not been able to break the pattern.

...

Which might or might not be fine I suppose. What they want is stable and consistent income and lots of people playing them, it seems like the sales numbers are high enough but only Wotc knows that I suppose.

Hussar · May 27, 2017

happyhermit said:
/snip

I do wonder about these variations, amazon.ca sales of the D&D books are consistently MUCH higher ranked than in the U.S and from the sounds of things FLGS are doing possibly better, plus there is a good selection at all major book stores.

/snip

I imagine it's simply down to numbers. The total numbers of books that Amazon.ca sells would be much, much lower than Amazon.com, just because Canada is about 1/10th the size of the States. So, getting a higher ranking in Canada is just that easier simply because the numbers are smaller.

happyhermit · May 27, 2017

Hussar said:
I imagine it's simply down to numbers. The total numbers of books that Amazon.ca sells would be much, much lower than Amazon.com, just because Canada is about 1/10th the size of the States. So, getting a higher ranking in Canada is just that easier simply because the numbers are smaller.

Well, that would also be true for every other book though.

Jester David · May 27, 2017

Hussar said:
I imagine it's simply down to numbers. The total numbers of books that Amazon.ca sells would be much, much lower than Amazon.com, just because Canada is about 1/10th the size of the States. So, getting a higher ranking in Canada is just that easier simply because the numbers are smaller.

1/10th the population, not the size...

But, as mentioned, fewer people would be buying all books. So all sales drop by 90%. It should still be pretty close. But the smaller numbers mean a spike in sales has a higher jump in the ranking.

In general, I think D&D does quite well here. Less firmly religious, longer and colder winters where you want to find indoor activities, a large percentage of the population in urban areas where game stores can thrive, etc. It could be a selection bias, but Canada seems that little bit more geeky and accepting of nerd culture.

Hussar · May 27, 2017

I think it's mostly to do with the spikes. You just have less people buying (mostly) from the same selection of books. When the difference between #1 and #100 is probably only about a small number of book sales, it's a lot easier to jump up ranks.

happyhermit · May 27, 2017

Certainly a smaller market can see larger fluctuations. As far as the PHB in Canada though, over the course of this thread (last 10 or so months) the lowest it has been seen at was #51! At every other point it was in the top 25, and as high as #6. Two days ago it was #10, yesterday #12, today #11, so it really isn't just a case of spiking and falling, it is consistently MUCH higher and never lower AFAICR. The same holds true for the older threads that were locked or lost IIRC.

There are some "classics" that consistently do well, currently in the top 20 are "how to win friends and influence people" and "The Handmaid's Tale" and there are those that pop up for awhile but the PHB seems to be doing better than any of them over time.