D&D General D&D Book Prices Are Going Up

WotC announced today that D&D books will be increasing in price this year.

Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants will be $59.99 as a preorder and $69.99 thereafter. These will apparently come as physical and digital bundles, so you won’t need to buy the D&D Beyond version separately.

This space is dedicated to communicating clearly and transparently with our players- even when the topic isn’t particularly fun. Since the release of the 2014 D&D core rulebooks, we’ve kept book prices stable. Unfortunately, with the cost of goods and shipping continually increasing, we’ve finally had to make the decision to increase the price of our new release print books. We're committed to creating high-quality products that deliver great value to our players and must increase our prices to accomplish that.

This will go into effect starting with Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants and new releases after Glory of the Giants. Digital pricing is unaffected by this MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) increase, as digital products don’t need to be printed or shipped. The increase also doesn’t impact backlist titles. While we can’t promise that there will never be a change to the prices of digital products and backlist titles, we have no plans to increase either.

Players who purchase the Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants digital-physical bundle through Dungeons & Dragons store can get the bundle for $59.95 for the entire preorder window, which is consistent with our current digital-physical bundle pricing. After the preorder window closes, digital-physical bundle prices will go to $69.95.

 

[Micah Sweet]

We aren't talking enough about that Phandelver cover....

To be honest, I don't really care about art much. Its not a selling point as far as I'm concerned.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Agreed. Really, WotC should just say that.

What does "that" refer to?

WotC pretty much said most of "that".
Everything became way more expensive. They kept the old prizes for quite some time and are still keeping old prices for old books.

 

[Zaukrie]

To be honest, I don't really care about art much. Its not a selling point as far as I'm concerned.

that was more about what it said....I agree, covers don't mean much. Also, that's on other threads now....

 

[Micah Sweet]

What does "that" refer to?

WotC pretty much said most of "that".
Everything became way more expensive. They kept the old prizes for quite some time and are still keeping old prices for old books.

"If you don't want to pay it, don't buy the book".

Sorry, I thought that was clear.

 

[el-remmen]

Sure, none of thisnis necessary, these are luxury goods. I want them.

I don't remember you complaining about the price, which is to whom my comment was directed. I may also buy one or more of these books once I get to flip through them even though I mostly homebrew/adapt stuff.

 

[Deset Gled]

So if I spend the time to actually find the quote, put a link to the specific part of the livestream video, will it matter to you if someone with RPG publishing experience tells you what he thinks the printing cost is? Are you just going to say "he's got bad blood about WotC, is more of a PF2 supporter, etc.?"

If you are actually interested, I'll take the time and do it. If you're not, then I won't take an hour searching for it.

I'm interested in learning about the actual costs of a book. I'm interested in what that $4 actually covers (number of pages, colors, shipping, manufacturing location, so many other details). I'm interested learning about it from someone with actual RPG publishing experience. There's a lot of good discussion to be had there.

I can't tell you if I'm going to trust the video you're talking about or not. At this point, you haven't even named the podcast. Is it a serious interview, or a comedy show? Is the guy giving a real cost breakdown, or is he making an off the cuff estimate? How much detail does he go into?

You don't owe me (or anyone here) anything. And if you had just shared an opinion like "the books are cheap to make" I certainly wouldn't question it. But if you're going to claim to have detailed, quantifiable facts (like "less than $4"), then it's reasonable to expect the numbers to be backed up with something. Anything. Being able to show your source is the difference between having a meaningful discussion and just listening to an angry fan rant about what the coach on TV should have done to win the Superbowl. Both options are fine, and there's space for both on the boards. But please don't pretend to be the former if you only want to put in the effort of the latter.

 

[MGibster]

You're not only playing d&d at this point but BUYING WotC books? What do they have to do to get you to stop at this point, burn down the entire Amazon rainforest?

For being the best version of D&D in my estimation, I've bought relatively little for 5th edition. I have a few of the campaigns, Xanathar's Guide, and the core books, but nothing else that I can think of.

 

[sevenbastard]

I get it. The higher level you are the more gp you need to earn that xp.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I hadn't heard anything about them doing that (page count increases) but it would be a good idea.

I believe it's a "signature."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

With the low quality paper, substandard binding, and middling amount of content, WotC's books aren't worth half that.
It's not like they're barely breaking even on selling these. It takes less than $4 to print one of these.

As someone who works for a company owned by a hedge fund, "barely breaking even" isn't what their corporate masters care about. They have a target number to hit, even if it's unreasonable -- and even worse, even if it requires unsustainable growth each quarter forever -- and they will hit it, or they will be replaced by people who will.

Is it insane? Yes. Is it incredibly common? Also yes.