3.5 Discounts (Forked Thread: New 3.xE Products in 2009)

[GQuail]

Forked from: New 3.xE Products in 2009

So basically it looks like if you want new 3.xE stuff, Paizo plus a small smattering of other publishers is what you have to choose from. Interesting, but not really that surprising.

Thankfully I think I have more than enough 3.xE stuff to keep my game going for several years. The heavy discounts offered on a lot of 3.xE products has definitely helped me to get a lot of bang for my buck.

I don't want to divert this thread but I wonder how this compares to what is being published for 4E (outside of WotC products)?

Olaf the Stout

I've been waiting for heavy 3.5 discounts because I'm still running a game and thought that now'd be a great time to finally get some books I was never psyched enough about to pay full price - such as most of the Complete series, and perhaps those Monster Manuals I'm missing.

However, that simply hasn't happened at my FLGSes. Only in the past couple of weeks have I seen any discounts being offerend, and it's mostly been to Eberron and Forgotten Realms products - I think Heroes of Horror and Heroes of Battle were also discounted, but I already own them. Meanwhile, most 3.X books remain at more or less the same price they were before.

I know there were clearouts to do with the D20 license being revoked online (I picked up some stuff from Goodman Games) but I've been actively looking for WotC books near me to come down in price, and actually been quite surprised that it simply hasn't happened - and while I've not checked the third aprty books as thoroughly, they don't seem radically discounted either.

Is this a local oddity? Are 3.X books, both Wizards and 3rd party, dropping in price at your local stores since the release of 4th Ed, and if so since when?

 

[Psion]

My LGS hasn't discounted books, even old shelf worn coppies that have been mangled by having bodies of 40k players playing at the too nearby table press against them. But then, I rarely have seen tempting discounts on backstock from them. (shrug)

 

[DaveMage]

When 4E was first announced, there were a number of 3.x books on sale at amazon (mostly from their partner shops) at less than $5 per book.

Now, however, if you want the 3.5 Player's Handbook, you'll have to pay $30+. It's really odd, but prices on "official" 3.5 stuff are increasing. E-bay has some good deals still, but they are becoming fewer and fewer, and a lot of 3.5 stuff is now only available at above the original price. (Do a search for Iron Kingdoms stuff that was created for 3.5 and see what I mean. )

 

[Crothian]

Iron Kingdoms is different though from WotC 3.5 books since it was a smaller print run and a specialized setting. I've found my local half price book store is the best place to get discounted books, though the selection is slimming.

 

[Desdichado]

I've noticed that too; it's actually more expensive than when they were new to get a lot of that stuff.

Luckily, the scope of what you can still get is limited and it ain't growing, so you can whittle away at it over time.

 

[dmccoy1693]

My understanding is that if the publisher has the book, they have to pulp it by the end of '08; if the book is at any point in the supply chain (i.e. at a FLGS) it can be sold indefinitely.

Thing I find funny is that my FLGS has a sign up basicly saying please support your FLGS over going to ebay or amazon (and yes, it actually did list ebay and amazon). I saw they had a ton of old 3rd party material, all at full price and many as old as 2001 or from companies like Fast Forward. I asked them if they were discounting any of it and they said, "No." They claimed that it was "even more in demand." (no, I'm not kidding). I bought one book out of pity and then went on ebay and amazon for my shopping.

If they even knocked off 10%, I would have bought a decent amount. I have a feeling that in a few years, those books will still be back there.

 

[freyar]

I think most of the 3.X WotC stuff at my FLGS is still full price (I haven't paid too much attention to that, since I've been more concerned about 3rd party stuff that might vanish more quickly). The 3rd party books run the gamut from full price to 50% off or so (though most are at least marked down to the USD price, unlike the price gouging at normal book stores). The thing that's weird is that they're just storing a lot of stuff in the back, so I don't know how they think they'll sell it. OTOH, I did get a copy of the Book of Fiends for fairly cheap by asking -- if it had been on the shelves, someone probably would have picked it up in the last few years.

 

[3d6]

Talking to the FLGS owner in my area, I learned that 3.5 sales had a spike after 4e came out, as all of the groups who weren't making the switch tried to buy up all the out-of-print stuff they could before it was no longer availible new.

 

[Voadam]

My two closest LGS are waldenbooks and borders. The borders is closing down and has none. Waldenbooks has one full price copy of the Dragonlance Campaign Setting and nothing else for 3.5.

I noticed on Amazon last year when the 4e anouncement came that there were dozens of 3e/3.5 WotC hardcovers on sale for $0.01 plus 3.99 S+H so $4 each. I got my brother five or six Eberron books for his birthday. No longer the case. The huge stockpiles of oversupply have moved through the system I think.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

At my local used book stores, they were each flooded with 3.5 books right after Christmas.

However, if you're looking for 3.5 books for under 1/2 off, you may have missed the boat on that one.