DM's Guild: What Do The Customers Think?

The DM's Guild has been around for a couple of months now. There have been lots of threads about it from the seller's point of view discussing all manner of aspects of the site (if you're thinking of selling there, there are tons of advice and discussion threads right here on EN World, covering things like price, art, folks sharing how much they've made, and so on). There haven't been quite so many from the customer's point of view, though. So what are your overall impressions of the DM's Guild, now you've had chance to get used to its offerings? What do you think of the products all these new publishers are offering? Are you using DM's Guild more or less than you were a month ago? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

[Jabborwacky]

It's a nice, professional looking website whose professional appearance happens to be a double edged sword for its intended purpose. I think it succeeds at making buyers interested in looking through the available products, although the quality of products vary much to the same degree games once did on Valve's Steam store. Some quality assurance would go a long way to improving sales at the site.

 

[Coreyartus]

They desperately need a less generic review system. What works for Amazon doesn't work for everything. And they need a search mechanism that has more topical search options rather than the few they have and keywords. I feel the website itself undermines the capacity of consumers to use it beyond impulse purchasing because you can't do much more than browse through broad "shelves" of product you can't "open". In lieu of that capacity (which can never happen because digital) they need to supply more options for consumers to more articulately find what they're looking for.

 

[Jacqual]

I also think it is nice, and I have grabbed some of the free stuff. But the stuff I want to buy isn't on there and I cannot see why they will not add the core books as PDF's I would pay up to 20.00$ for a copy of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual and the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide. I have all those books as a dead tree version but would love an e-version for going on the road.

 

[Queer Venger]

everyone's a critic...
In one of the recent D&D podcasts Shelly Mazzanoble says to be kind in your critique, lest it be used to discourage people from sharing their contents. I love DMs guild. Its one of the most innovative things to happen to table-top D&D. I don't mind that every product isn't stellar, or that it isn't *official* or even written by lead designers or writers, I mind that average folk, people like me, are putting up their hard worked ideas on a forum for others to use, borrow, buy. Innovation is the hearts-blood of D&D and this gives it an open virtual depository. I've picked up:

Critical Hits
15 new backgrounds
Al-Qadim archetypes
5e Player Cheat Sheet, (excellent for new players and convention games)
Epic Level Handbook, (one of my favorites so far)
Drizzt's Armory
Frozen Castle

Ive also downloaded a ton of pre-gen characters.

 

[aco175]

The biggest issue for me (so far) is storefront navigation and the way in which product lists are sorted.

For example, I haven't been able to see a way to just search for adventures. This seems pretty fundamental. (Is there a way to do this that I'm just missing somehow?)

There is a way to sort through looking for modules. Under Product Type, click on Sourcebooks and then Adventurers. You can even further refine it by levels.

 

[Henry]

I love the idea, but unfortunately it's come right at a time when I haven't DMed due to work schedule for at least five months now, so I don't have nearly as much call for products now. I doubt I'll even buy Curse of Strahd for some time to come, much less DM Guild.

Hopefully it will continue to increase steam, because by this summer when I'm probably back to buying stuff, perhaps there's enough time for more involved projects to be offered. Honestly, it's only been around for two months, I don't expect to see seriously in-depth developed products for a few months yet.

 

[77IM]

I keep forgetting to go visit the site. They need a weekly or even monthly newsletter like Paizo sends out. I still skim through that Paizo newsletter even though I haven't bought anything from them in at least five years.

 

[ddaley]

I have to agree with this. I have bought a few things from DM's Guild so far. I think the sellers should take a look at how creators are describing things on kickstarter. I have spent A LOT of money on RPG projects on kickstarter, because they get me interested in their projects. I WANT to support people who are talented enough to create interesting material. Show some excitement about your product. I am not necessarily talking about a preview, but a short description of what excites you about your product. Take my money!

Also, not enough of the products have reviews and/or ratings yet. I like to read what others have thought about the material. I may be looking for something different than what the reviewer was looking for, but it is nice to see what others liked and didn't like about the material.

...

My biggest concern was that I felt I was buying largely sight unseen, which caused me to spend less than I might with a larger view of what I was getting. I don't regret my two dollar purchase, but as I didn't really get any use out of either thing I bought, I probably would have been disappointed if I had spent four or five dollars.

But I'll definitely purchase some other things, as long as they are at a low enough price point as to be an impulse purchase that I won't care if they don't work out.

 

[Giant2005]

I keep forgetting to go visit the site. They need a weekly or even monthly newsletter like Paizo sends out. I still skim through that Paizo newsletter even though I haven't bought anything from them in at least five years.

Sadly, it seems that Unearthed Arcana is taking that role.

 

[ddaley]

This is a great point. It would be nice if they sent out a "What's New" and "What's Popular" etc e-mail. I still read through the Paizo e-mails as well and have been tempted to buy things... I am sure I would have if my group were willing to play Pathfinder again.

I keep forgetting to go visit the site. They need a weekly or even monthly newsletter like Paizo sends out. I still skim through that Paizo newsletter even though I haven't bought anything from them in at least five years.