Cost of D&D Editions, then and now

[delericho]

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE

So, the new price for D&D books going into the revisions is $60. So it will cost $180 MSRP to get all three core books as of next February.

With inflation, the 2014 MSRP would be $65 per core book, so a complete three book set in 2014 was $195 in today's money.

Inflation has been pretty wild these last few years!

It's interesting that the cost of the core game has remained relatively static, adjusted for inflation, across all these years, even as production quality has gone up. And it's also good, despite the sticker shock of the new price, that WotC have actually gone for a below-inflation increase this time.

And, despite all that, core rulebooks are absurdly good value at almost any cost (assuming they're for a game you'll actually play, of course).

 

[Parmandur]

Inflation has been pretty wild these last few years!

It's interesting that the cost of the core game has remained relatively static, adjusted for inflation, across all these years, even as production quality has gone up. And it's also good, despite the sticker shock of the new price, that WotC have actually gone for a below-inflation increase this time.

And, despite all that, core rulebooks are absurdly good value at almost any cost (assuming they're for a game you'll actually play, of course).

On average, most things in the economy are actually fairly static when you look at inflation adjustments (exceptions recently are TVs, which are ludicrously cheaper than theybused to bewhen accounting for inflation, and housing which has gotten painful).

WotC wants to maintain a profit margin no doubt, but theyvalso have a vested interest in keeping the cost barrier to entry low, because their primary audience is teens.

 

[Alphastream]

Their costs have increased substantially. Far larger staff, printing costs are far higher, distribution far more expensive.

 

[pawsplay]

Paper has been permanently more expensive since the early 2000s, because of drought, economics shifts, and changes to the availability of trees.

 

[Meech17]

I wonder if we should also consider Amazon into this though. One thing that happened between the launch of the 5E books and now was WoTC started distributing online. While the MSRP may have been $50, I know for much of it's life it was available for less than that. CamelCamelCamel shows a first party(Shipped and Sold by Amazon) New listing historic low price on the PHB of just over half of MSRP at $26.10 I recall seeing it pretty consistently around $30-$35.

I love my LGS but I don't think I'll be able to convince myself to buy it there for likely $65, when I can wait a few months and purchase it online for probably 10-20% less.. And likely a year later for an even larger discount.

I know this thread is to track MSRP, but does MSRP really mean anything when WoTC no longer really follows this?

EDIT: Funny enough. I posted this comment after only reading the first two, and then the last page. Turns out users 10 years ago were wondering about the same things on pages 3,4,5.. I guess that's what I get for posting before reading.

 

[Osgood]

I wonder if we should also consider Amazon into this though. One thing that happened between the launch of the 5E books and now was WoTC started distributing online. While the MSRP may have been $50, I know for much of it's life it was available for less than that. CamelCamelCamel shows a first party(Shipped and Sold by Amazon) New listing historic low price on the PHB of just over half of MSRP at $26.10 I recall seeing it pretty consistently around $30-$35.

I love my LGS but I don't think I'll be able to convince myself to buy it there for likely $65, when I can wait a few months and purchase it online for probably 10-20% less.. And likely a year later for an even larger discount.

Other than the odd set of miniatures, I've managed to avoid buying gaming stuff on Amazon. But since I used D&D Beyond, their physical digital bundles have been what's kept me from buying at the LGS. I imagine I will do the same for the new core rules--the savings is just too good over buying them separately. Now when they put out a special cover version, that may get me to the store--If it's a good looking cover (I feel like they've been hit and miss after the first few they did).

 

[Parmandur]

I wonder if we should also consider Amazon into this though. One thing that happened between the launch of the 5E books and now was WoTC started distributing online. While the MSRP may have been $50, I know for much of it's life it was available for less than that. CamelCamelCamel shows a first party(Shipped and Sold by Amazon) New listing historic low price on the PHB of just over half of MSRP at $26.10 I recall seeing it pretty consistently around $30-$35.

I love my LGS but I don't think I'll be able to convince myself to buy it there for likely $65, when I can wait a few months and purchase it online for probably 10-20% less.. And likely a year later for an even larger discount.

I know this thread is to track MSRP, but does MSRP really mean anything when WoTC no longer really follows this?

EDIT: Funny enough. I posted this comment after only reading the first two, and then the last page. Turns out users 10 years ago were wondering about the same things on pages 3,4,5.. I guess that's what I get for posting before reading.

I mean, that's Amazon doing that (Target usually has the same price), not WotC. WotC own direct sales match MSRP, Amazon is taking the hit themselves from their own margin. WotC gets the same cut from Amazon and FLGS.

But, yeah, comparing the apples of 2024 releases to the oranges of releases in the 70's and 80's, the average cost to the consumer is more likely to be $30-$40 per book, which is a ludicrously lower cost factoring in inflation.

 

[GreyLord]

Inflation has been pretty wild these last few years!

It's interesting that the cost of the core game has remained relatively static, adjusted for inflation, across all these years, even as production quality has gone up. And it's also good, despite the sticker shock of the new price, that WotC have actually gone for a below-inflation increase this time.

And, despite all that, core rulebooks are absurdly good value at almost any cost (assuming they're for a game you'll actually play, of course).

Well...generally.

Those early 1e books could take a beating like no other book has been able to since!

 

[MerricB]

Well...generally.

Those early 1e books could take a beating like no other book has been able to since!

My poor DMG still split in two... (after many, many years of use).

Unearthed Arcana though... didn't last a week!

 

[GreyLord]

My poor DMG still split in two... (after many, many years of use).

Unearthed Arcana though... didn't last a week!

Unearthed Arcana was a later 1e book. I'm talking the original printings of the PHB, MM, and DMG. Those things were beasts!

I've heard that they were printed by the same people who made school textbooks (that would also get beat up by students carrying them around) or something like that which is why they could take so much damage.

I have one MM that has a cover so fragged around the edges and beaten to heck and back, but the binding is still strong and the pages still there! The cover is like it was in a hurricane, then an explosion, and then smashed under a train for good standing, but inside it still is great!