D&D 5E Will you pay $50.00 for the "standard" PHB?

[the Jester]

Tell us something we didn't already know!

The funny thing is, I'm not even at home, but the reading material in my girlfriend's bathroom at the moment includes the 1e DMG.

 

[Argyle King]

At this point in time, I will not.

However, the price is not the obstacle. All things considered, $50 is pretty reasonable for a 'core' rpg book; especially when you compare how much leisure time and replay value you can get from that $50 in comparison to the unbelievably short campaigns which seem to be the norm for modern video games. The price is not why I say no.

I say that I will not make the purchase because I am not currently convinced that I should buy 5th Edition. I do not believe it is geared toward a playstyle which I prefer; I do not believe I am part of the target audience for the design. At this point in time, I say that I will not purchase the PHB because I do not feel as though the product is something I should spend money on. Likewise, I do not feel inclined to purchase the beginner box.

 

[Jack99]

[Edit - I just thought of something. It's the customs/tariff charges. Because these products are likely printed in China, the certificate of origin would say China, and therefore it does not qualify for NAFTA exemption. The Tariff is probably 18% or so).

As of 4e, WotC's books were still being printed in the US, at least according to posts made by Mr. Scott Rouse. WotC might have changed that since though, but if that is the case, I missed the memo.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

Then we should all agree that this is not about the money and stop creating threads with "$50" in the title.

Years ago, I spent about $100 in a Pathfinder Core Rulebook together with a Bestiary and a Gamemastery Guide. You know what? I didn't care enough about the money to try to sell them, I simply gave away the books to someone who was still interested in playing the game. If you ask me, though, if $50 is a lot of money to spend in a Pathfinder Core Rulebook I'll tell it that even $10 is too much to spend in one of those nowadays.

Much like every other product sold around the world, the price of an RPG book is based in how much the people who want it are willing to pay. Given the chance, Paizo would certainly charge more for those 575 full color pages, but there are some important facts:

- Their product is not new. Pathfinder is D&D 3.75, not an independent game with its own spirit and ruleset, but the ultimate proof of the solidness and staying power of the 3E rules. Cool, but no Numenéra, no D&D Next, no FATE Core. I mean: not mandatory for the real deal (see below).
- The real deal is the adventure path. Paizo people have said in these boards that Adventure Paths are their real business, not rulebooks. If you can afford to reduce your margins in the core game to sell more adventures, from their point of view, that's good business.

Now, let's imagine Paizo charging more for the Pathfinder core, charging what one would expect to pay for a full color hardcover of 575 pages in 2014. They would be risking their main offering, the adventure paths, and also taking the risk that people would simply keep playing their adventures while using other d20 rules, which is not exactly a bad deal for Paizo, but don't advance their business either. WotC has none of this concerns with 5E.

This makes the Pathfinder comparison an unfair one, in my opinion.

Cheers!

Why are you trying to turn this into an argument about the edition?

This is about paying for a quality product. A brand name slapped onto a crappy product does not make me want to buy it. I don't pay for the brand name only.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

Every single game in the used section was bought new. Every one. Very savvy buyers won't buy and return, they buy used,, paying full price only for those games that really, really justify paying the price. Thus, bought-and-returned still supports his point that gamers aren't all that strategic in their purchases. Gamers *WANT*, and want *NOW*.



They aren't the same in detail, but they are the same in an "amusement that gives some/many hours of amusement at a roughly $50 price point" sense.

I know this is off topic, but I was looking at my experience point comments and I noticed that I have two red marks instead of green ones. I also noticed that my title dropped and so did my level? Are we able to give some kind of negative XP to fellow posters? Is this something new and how do I do it?

 

[Savage Wombat]

You know, people who like board games (Arkham Horror for my friends as an example) are happy to pay as little as $50 for a quality game. The publishers of said games have realized that the players are happy to pay more for quality pieces, and don't want to skimp to save money.

I'm hoping the PH is the most expensive book of the three, but I think WotC's money people worked very hard to figure out how much it would cost to get their fans the book they want. And this is the result.

 

[Wulfgar76]

A brand name slapped onto a crappy product does not make me want to buy it.

Clearly this thread isn't about the price of a book at all.

 

[Obryn]

I was going to say "undecided," but screw it, I know I'll get it eventually.

I'd pay $50 if I had to, but I plan on doing Amazon like I do for everything else.

 

[Agamon]

On that side note, it still baffles me that WOTC charges Canadians more money for these things. That made sense fifteen years ago with the Canadian dollar was weaker than the U.S. dollar, but since NAFTA (meaning no customs or tariff charges) and also the decreased value of the U.S. Dollar to the point where the Canadian dollar is worth as much or more than the U.S. dollar on average, it just doesn't make sense to keep charging Canadians more than the U.S. price. It should all be one price for Canada and the U.S..

[Edit - I just thought of something. It's the customs/tariff charges. Because these products are likely printed in China, the certificate of origin would say China, and therefore it does not qualify for NAFTA exemption. The Tariff is probably 18% or so).

Well, speaking of NAFTA and China, I can get something from China far more quickly and at less cost to ship than from the U.S. Not to get political, but NAFTA just seems to be one big screw job to us northerners.

 

[Agamon]

You know, people who like board games (Arkham Horror for my friends as an example) are happy to pay as little as $50 for a quality game. The publishers of said games have realized that the players are happy to pay more for quality pieces, and don't want to skimp to save money.

Actually, $50 was a few years ago. Now it's $90, for games such as BattleLore 2e, Nations, and Caverna. $50 is on the less expensive side for board games these days.