EN World Game Store poll

[Kaji]

I buy a pretty good number of pdfs (I think my total purchases at RPGNow are over $2000), and so far pick n' mix is the only reason I see for shopping at ENGS. I don't like the storefront at all, and the product selection is meager at best (I realize that'll change, but most of the "new" products at ENGS won't be new for awhile).

Pick n' mix is a nice idea, but I'm going to need more than a one-sentence description to really convince me to buy something. It should be a paragraph, or something more substantive -- like a reason why prestige classes are listed under both Classes and Rules Supplements

[edit] OK, the minimum transaction to avoid a fee has been lowered to $5, so that's one black mark erased from my list. [/edit]

Finally, I'm happy with my current pdf store.

Cheers
Nell.

This has it pretty well covered ror me, especially all comments about Pix n' Mix: Cool idea, need more info before buying. I currently prefer rpgnow, but I'd love to support EWGS if they can match the convenience, excellent service, and ease of payment. Exclusive content is a way to draw my attention, but the bottom line here is price and service. Oh, and I ONLY buy .pdf products, I'm an all laptop DM and gamer...

 

[scourger]

Although this thread did prompt me to look at the new ENWorld pdf store, I didn't find what I like there. So, I voted no for shopping there. I buy few pdfs. I really prefer a printed book. A pdf is a nice accessory to the print version. I am considering getting a few pdfs on sale at my source (RPGnow), perusing them (I already believe they will be great based on past play) and using my buddy's laptop with a CD I can burn to help me run the game. I'll just print what I need--probably maps & some baddies. It's a very long-term plan, though, and I likely wouldn't buy if they weren't on sale.

I also try to support my LGS, especially since my FLGS went out of business. The LGS is better than nothing when it comes to being able to peruse some stuff. Sometimes, I like the instant gratification of getting it right on the spot instead of mail order. Special orders are the one area in which I don't trust the LGS. If it's something I really want, I'm better off to get it somewhere else--either a mega-book store or online. Waiting for the LGS is fruitless.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Remember folks, this store is one year old. Most sci-fi TV shows suck for the first few episodes, until they get their feet. Please don't let early errors drive you away from future shopping.

Prevent? no. Check elsewhere first? Every time.

First RPGNow, then Drivethru - RPGNow has given me good service and has earned my patronage. Drivethru did not start with a high minimum purchase (and I refused to buy from them when they only had DRM protection), E. N. put its worst foot forward as its first step, I got as far as checkout, then canceled my order. I have no idea what the blokes who made the decision to have a $20 minimum order were thinking, put it left a lingering distaste.

I may go and purchase something there some day, but it had better be darned special.

The Auld Grump

 

[Morrus]

I have no idea what the blokes who made the decision to have a $20 minimum order were thinking, put it left a lingering distaste.

"The blokes" would be me. Sorry I offended you so much.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

"The blokes" would be me. Sorry I offended you so much.

Offended is too strong a term. Annoyed would be closer. Had I not put together an order of around $15 to discover the minimum at the last instant the annoyance might be lower. But I had no intention of spending an extra $5 just to make the minimum. (Heck, I was not too thrilled with RPGNow's much lower minimum - and I had never made a purchase below that minimum to begin with!) If I were offended I would write you off completely, which I have not done, but other companies have earned a certain amount of loyalty.

The fact that I have gotten excellent service from RPGNow means that a new company has to prove to me to be superior in some way, starting from behind. Drivethru, to a certain extent, purchased a small amount of loyalty with their free releases - which loyalty did not kick in until they dropped the DRM. As a result I check RPGNow first, then DTRPG.

Right now E. N. does not have anything that highly interests me that I cannot get elsewhere. Come out with something that interests me as much as Steam & Steel and I may well reconsider. (Still my favorite PDF purchase, and the main reason that I checked out your store to begin with.) If you want to consider S&S as a benchmark then go for it.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* Spelling and clarity.

 

[genshou]

Boy, it really must suck to be all of you. I print all my .PDFs for free.

I'll buy from ENGS for as long as E.N. Publishing continues to put out products that I want. From the look of things, I'll be buying from ENGS for a very long time...

 

[Steverooo]

Market Research:

Are there actually any major online vendors of any sort who accept cheques or money orders?

Yes!

I honestly thought anyone with any internet connection would also have a credit or debit card at least.

No. No reason ties the two together. Internet access does not require Credit/Debit cards.

===

Interested in doing a little Market Research, anyone? ENWorld GS' customers will, initially, be almost exclusively ENWorld members... Go back through the totals on last year's donations (to the Server Fund Drive), and see what percentages of the totals came in through PayPal, Credit Cards, Debit Cards (if any), and Checks or Money Orders... That data would give you a better idea of just how (un)important handling them is. Then you would have a valid basis to conclude upon.

Okay, here we go!

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=1871320&postcount=414

42 out of 375 donators, or 11.2% used checks or money orders to help save ENWorld. So, it seems reasonable to me to assume that, by failing to accept checks and money orders, the ENWorld Game Store can kiss APPROXIMATELY 10% of its POTENTIAL business goodbye!

Again, I will offer you the use of my pocketknife as a quicker alternative. It's something to think about, anyway...

Want more data? Can someone with the Search function look up the "Save ENWorld" thread from a few years ago? I don't know if there was a checking address used, then, or if there was a breakdown by checks & money orders vs. PayPal and other methods, but there MIGHT be... It's worth looking into!

Also, if you don't know about ARC, it's an alternative, sort of "electronic checking". It might be worth looking into, as well. Most banks can at least do international money orders, so that's another possibility.

 

[Nellisir]

Post removed for, y'know, whatever. No point to it.

 

[Umbran]

I don't buy pdfs often. I don't like reading off a screen, and I don't like the expense of printing after the expense of pruchase. As a final nail in the coffin, I don't have a computer to use at the gaming table, and I feel that the usefulness of a product is greatly limited if I cannot have it in its entirety for reference.

Having said that...

Wow, lots of people here really aren't interested in trying something new, are they? Even when it supports something they like and use frequently. That's a shame.

I can understand loyalty to a FLGS. And I can understand loyalty to one particular physical storefront over another. But loyalty to one electronic retailer over another? It isn't like the EN World store is any more difficult to reach than RPGNow. What can they be doing that gets your loyalty? They let you download a product. Okay, so does this store. What's the big difference? How does that difference outweight support for a place you already use regularly?

Paypal use? That I can see, as they have a bit of a sordid history as middle men. What else?

And, Auld Grump, can you explain your logic? Having seen a policy, you put this store on the bottom of the list. This I can understand. However, the store remains at the bottom even though you know the policy changed? The thing that put them there is gone, but you still won't change your mind? Why the inertia?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

And, Auld Grump, can you explain your logic? Having seen a policy, you put this store on the bottom of the list. This I can understand. However, the store remains at the bottom even though you know the policy changed? The thing that put them there is gone, but you still won't change your mind? Why the inertia?

Simply put - that Morrus had an unreasonable minimum there in the first place was a mistake that would have taken very litle foresight to prevent - looking up the grumblings on these very boards when RPGNow instituted a minimum order (and one that was less than half of the E. N. one) for example. It was, to my mind at least, a stupid mistake to make.

Drivethru was at the bottom of my list for quite some time because of DRM protection, even after they got rid of it. But they have had enough specials (such as the occassional free offering, beyond the usual free handouts) that they get a second glance, mostly for those companies that are not carried by RPGNow.

So, the question that I ask myself, why bother switching? So far E. N. has nothing that stands out aside from annoying me with the now defunct minimum order. This may change, but has not as yet. There is nothing to balance that first bad impression.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* And obviously I was willing to 'try something new'... and found out why not.