D20 Glut Bubble Bursts

[Ulrick]

So there I was, at my FLGS, looking at various d20 titles on the display shelves when suddenly my foot bumps something...

Looking down, I see that its a box--A box full of discounted d20 books from various publishers! Next to it is another box full of discounted d20 books, and next to that box, is another box. And then I find a low shelf FULL of discounted d20 books. Also, I apparently walked past a discounted d20 display toward the front of the store.

I looked through the stuff. There's books and supplements that only a couple years ago people ranted and raved about: Kingdoms of Kalamar, Fading Suns, a bunch of Slayer's Guides, A LOT of Fantasy Flight and Fast Forward Games books... The Hero Builder's Guidebook.

Most of the stuff was $5 or $10.


I just wonder how big of a hit my FLGS took with buying all this stuff and then having to sell it for cheap. About a two years ago I noticed that the store stopping getting so much of the 3rd party items. I can see why.

I wonder what this means for the d20 industry and for local gaming stores.
How many 3rd party companies have died since OGL first started?

For me, the release of 3.0 and OGL first started out as something fantastic. But as the initial good feelings wore off, everytime I went to my FLGS, I was surrounded by a bunch of 3rd party d20 "stuff" that seemed to me be all fluff and no substance. The only exception to this rule IMO, are NECROMANCER GAMES/SWORD AND SORCERY STUDIOS, AEG (esp. "Toolbox"), and AVALANCHE PRESS. Yet each of these companies sell stuff besides d20 materials.

In anycase, I'm glad the bubble burst. Now is the time to buy...its like the Stock Market, or the seasons. yeah.

 

[Crothian]

The Bubble burst a little while back. There were a few companies who folded, many redefined themselves and went with their strengths. Also, some of the FFG stuff they might have gotten cheap as there was a big sale by FFG that had many of their books for 5 bucks to clear out the inventory. Other companies have done similiar things. Take advantage of the sales, there are lots of good products out there.

 

[Psion]

The Bubble burst a little while back.

I was about to say...

 

[Samothdm]

I don't think that this is anything to be surprised about. Remember how expensive and difficult it used to be to get Magic or Pokemon cards?

D&D/d20 isn't in the same collectibles-type market that those CCGs are, but in general, after things are out for a few years, the price drops as new items enter the market. That's just the nature of business.

When "Complete Warrior" from WotC comes out, I think people would expect that the price on "Sword & Fist" would drop.

 

[Turanil]

I would have been glad to be at this FLGS and be able to buy a few things for 5$ or 10$ each...

 

[ukgpublishing]

This is why we opted to publish more than just d20 products. All game publishers should have several product lines to their name to cushion the blow, if support for a particular game slumps.

However, only time will tell if this is just a temporary trend, similar to the ups and downs of MtG I have observed over the years.

John Milner
UKG Publishing

http://www.ukg-publishing.co.uk/

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Well this may only be a regional thing but my local games store bought up a huge amount of 3.0 product shortly after 3,5 came out at a massive discount from their distributer. They had a huge sale selling most of it at 50% off (and still making decent return on it). Now there is still about a 3' long box of stuff left at 75% that occassionally gets picked over anew. At the time of the sale they had most of a display wall devoted to this.

I say count your blessigns and grab some Legend & Lairs stuff

 

[Desdichado]

That exact same thing happened at my sorta friendly LGS -- only it happened like two years ago.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

Sounds like the comic book industry a few years ago.

 

[Vigilance]

Wait... what he's saying is... the d20 Market went way up after 3E... and then it came down some.

Wow. What a shock. Someone call Adam Smith.

I continue to be puzzled that people A) see any downturn in d20 sales as an apocalypse (especially since it went way up after 3.0 and the license) and B) are happy about it.

Like Scribe pointed out... comics went way down... people were predicting the death of the industry yearly... then they went back up a lot... if they go down again... well... thats what markets do... they work in cycles.

Chuck