D&D (2024) D&D Pre-orders; this is sad

[Chaosmancer]

this is still 15 years out, no market research today will give you that

So, WoTC is clearly planning on removing print books from stores and going fully digital, possibly within 10 to 15 years... where no market research can possibly tell them whether or not this is a good idea...

IF they don't have the research or the data to say it is a good idea... why would that be their plan?

 

[mamba]

You're wrong. They're working toward making more and more money, however they can

we just established that moving people onto digital is a way to make more money. I agree that they will not abandon print before the loss from doing so is pretty minimal, I just think that they can get there.

Only a short-sighted suit who doesn't know what he's talking about would "prefer" one revenue stream over another in anything beyond a personal preference. Otherwise, it's just Pursue All Means to Money.

they do not prefer it for being hip, they prefer it for making more money off it per dollar spent by a customer

Okay. I don't think anyone who's argued with you has suggested that digital won't continue to grow.

that is not what I said in the part you quoted, I said they would eventually phase out the print mass market and only serve collectors and some holdouts... if you consider that one and the same then we simply agree on what we expect the future to look like

 

[Parmandur]

So since they are not selling the book to a distributer the profit on the bundle is probably closer to $40-$45 so even with the $20 discount since they are the ones selling the book to you direct there profit margin is much higher.

More of a wash than you might think, since selling direct will ear into profits wirh other costs. Selling to a distributor save a lot on logistics.

 

[mamba]

With the caveat that they make more profit per individual unit sold - yes, I'd agree that each PHB sold on DDB has a higher margin for WotC than each PHB sold at my FLGS.

But bigger picture? IDK. DDB cost them a HUGE amount of cash. How much does it cost them annually? I have no idea.

profit per unit sold has to factor in employee salaries, infrastructure etc., otherwise it is not really profit, so I am not sure what you mean by profit per unit here if it does not factor in the DDB costs

 

[FitzTheRuke]

So since they are not selling the book to a distributer the profit on the bundle is probably closer to $40-$45 so even with the $20 discount since they are the ones selling the book to you direct there profit margin is much higher.

Yes, THIS would be why selling Digital/Physical bundles is THE MOST attractive (to them) offer that WotC could come up with. They get ALL the profit.

 

[Oofta]

we just established that moving people onto digital is a way to make more money. I agree that they will not abandon print before the loss from doing so is pretty minimal, I just think that they can get there.


they do not prefer it for being hip, they prefer it for making more money off it per dollar spent by a customer


that is not what I said in the part you quoted, I said they would eventually phase out the print mass market and only serve collectors and some holdouts... if you consider that one and the same then we simply agree on what we expect the future to look like

By "We just established..." are you talking about you and the mouse in your pocket?

 

[Parmandur]

Yes, THIS would be why selling Digital/Physical bundles is THE MOST attractive (to them) offer that WotC could come up with. They get ALL the profit.

My day job involves direct to consumer ecommerce: they obviously like the direct sales, but there are going to be issues with it versus the traditional bulk distribution model that make me doubt they want to abandon the latter avenue of revenue wifher: hence why FLGS get early street date again and special covers(I'm getting my special cover Infinite Staircase in two days!).

Again, revenue streams are not zero sum. Direct physical sales, digital sales, combo direct sales, FLGS sales, bg box store sales..Hasbro knows they can make more sales if there are more opportunities for customers.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

we just established that moving people onto digital is a way to make more money.

NO WE DID NOT.

You've been told over and over - your theory only works if you believe that you can get everyone (or nearly everyone) who would otherwise buy your print books to buy your digital books. The rest of us are telling you: That Can't Happen.

I agree that they will not abandon print before the loss from doing so is pretty minimal, I just think that they can get there.

I do not.

they do not prefer it for being hip, they prefer it for making more money off it per dollar spent by a customer

Well, they also prefer it for being hip. Never underestimate the swindling powers of Tech Bros. See: AI (not all uses of AI, but a LOT of the current buzz around it) and things like Bit Coin.

that is not what I said in the part you quoted, I said they would eventually phase out the print mass market and only serve collectors and some holdouts... if you consider that one and the same then we simply agree on what we expect the future to look like

Not quite. I don't disagree that Digital is likely to grow compared to Print, but I don't think that it's anywhere near your original assertion of a near-replacement. Not in 15 years. No.

 

[mamba]

Why do you think selling the physical books, with say an advert on the last page, is a bad way to market their digital experience and highlight why it is worth buying?

I am not saying it isn't, I am saying they rather have you go digital right away

No, I'm not focused on the next 12 months, I'm looking for the logical plan here. If in 15 years WoTCs plan is that people will buy the digital rulebooks instead of the paper rulebooks... how do they get people who are not looking to buy Dungeons and Dragons to see Dungeons and Dragons books?

how do they get them to buy print today? I don't think they rely solely on impulse buys, and I do not think impulse buys need to be print either. Nothing changes here

If it is a measly 10% that the companies could care less about.... why do they still sell the games in the stores? IF you are right, those games should not exist.

a DVD costs very little to manufacture (maybe $1.50), the code is identical so most of the expense is upfront, whether you create a DVD or not

 

[FitzTheRuke]

My day job involves direct to consumer ecommerce: they obviously like the direct sales, but there are going to be issues with it versus the traditional bulk distribution model that make me doubt they want to abandon the latter avenue of revenue wifher: hence why FLGS get early street date again and special covers(I'm getting my special cover Infinite Staircase in two days!).

I agree - I think that their digital/physical bundles are a smart bump in their business plan. I don't worry that it will replace me.

Again, revenue streams are not zero sum. Direct physical sales, digital sales, combo direct sales, FLGS sales, bg box store sales..Hasbro knows they can make more sales if there are more opportunities for customers.

Exactly - it's a narrow-minded suit indeed that cuts one profit stream for another just because they "like" one more. It either has to be losing money, or be clear that the money spent on it would be better spent elsewhere.

profit per unit sold has to factor in employee salaries, infrastructure etc., otherwise it is not really profit, so I am not sure what you mean by profit per unit here if it does not factor in the DDB costs

Yes, I misspoke. I meant that while I believe that digital profit margins are higher than print profit margins, I don't know if the degree by which it more profitable is as significant as one might expect, based on those other factors.

They pay nothing to have me hand-sell their books for them, for example. They'd have to pay A LOT to get people to DDB from nowhere at all.