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

[mamba]

But those sales DO happen. That Revenue DOES come in. It may not be their primary method of spreading the game, but it does exist. You are claiming they will cut it off... for no discernible reason except that eventually, maybe that will increase profits. Somehow.

I am claiming the same holds true for digital sales, so it is a wash

Firstly, why are you assuming that they won't sell? You've continuously made it sound like WoTC will choose to stop selling them, not that they are having problems selling them.

I am not assuming they won't sell, I am making a case that Walmart and others just absorb so much product before it needs to sell before they order new ones. So WotC gets a headstart of maybe 100,000 books in the pipeline over digital, but they cannot produce something that isn't selling in either case and the pipeline buffer is not enough to make these 'guaranteed sales' important

But it does make it a lot harder.

I disagree, the book is cheaper, so that already lowers the hurdle for impulse buys. It also is more convenient, thereby creating more opportunities for them, since you do it from your home and do not have to go to a store first.

Most of my impulse buys are made in front of the PC, but I realize that this is not much of a sample size Would be interesting to know whether anyone has a study on this

 

[mamba]

So sell only some of their product to some of their customers instead of more of it to more of their customers,

in a way, but the customers being left out are 1) a small percentage and 2) might very well break towards moving to digital and that shift resulting in almost the same gross for reduced costs, resulting in a bigger overall net profit

We clearly are not at the point of 1) yet, hence the timeline, but I would expect WotC trying to get there

Sure Mamba, if they make a product that is so amazingly popular and good that the entire DnD community completely abandons the wooden the table to play exclusively digitally then they might stop printing physical books for people to buy.

at least we agree that the conditions for this make sense and only disagree about their probability

 

[occam]

it really isn't, they have a higher profit margin on digital. @FitzTheRuke agreed with that too, but I guess you conveniently ignored that part while believing the parts that agree with you

I doubt anyone disputes that digital products likely have a higher percentage profit margin. But profit margin in dollars is what counts. If we assume something like $25 gross profit on a $60 physical book, then do you know that WotC accounts for $5 or less on cost of goods sold for a digital book? No, you don't, and neither do I, nor does anyone else posting to this thread.

 

[mamba]

I doubt anyone disputes that digital products likely have a higher percentage profit margin. But profit margin in dollars is what counts.

fully agreed up to here.

If we assume something like $25 gross profit on a $60 physical book, then do you know that WotC accounts for $5 or less on cost of goods sold for a digital book? No, you don't, and neither do I, nor does anyone else posting to this thread.

if the profit margin is higher on digital (which we both seem to agree is the case), and WotC gets gross $25 from print and also $25 from digital (there it can even be $30, depends on the book). then WotC gets more $ per unit from the digital book too, that is simple math...

WotC gets more $ per digital book than per print book, that is the point

 

[Parmandur]

fully agreed up to here.


if the profit margin is higher on digital (which we both seem to agree is the case), and WotC gets gross $25 from print and also $25 from digital (there it can even be $30, depends on the book). then WotC gets more $ per unit from the digital book too, that is simple math...

WotC gets more $ per digital book than per print book, that is the point

Even if you get a higher per unit profit margin from something that sells 20,000 copies, doesn't mean you stop selling thr prodict that sells 100,000 copies.

 

[Chaosmancer]

At least we agree that the conditions for this make sense and only disagree about their probability

You know what, you've convinced me Mamba. I will now fear and despair the day that WoTC makes an amazing product that I absolutely must buy. I will be forever on guard and hope their products are mediocre, nay, terrible! So that we never are tempted into a future where they control our purchasing ability because they have made a singularly amazing product that everyone loves and wants to use.

 

[occam]

if the profit margin is higher on digital (which we both seem to agree is the case), and WotC gets gross $25 from print and also $25 from digital (there it can even be $30, depends on the book). then WotC gets more $ per unit from the digital book too, that is simple math...

WotC gets more $ per digital book than per print book, that is the point

No, we don't agree that the dollar profit margin is higher on digital. The point is that we don't know if the profit margin on a $30 digital book is $25, or higher than that, or lower than that, nor do we actually know what the profit margin is on a physical book. Either one could be higher or lower.

It isn't simple math if you don't actually know the numbers. And you don't. None of us do.

 

[mamba]

Even if you get a higher per unit profit margin from something that sells 20,000 copies, doesn't mean you stop selling thr prodict that sells 100,000 copies.

of course not, at no point did I say that

 

[Parmandur]

of course not, at no point did I say that

But thar ia why print isn't going anywhere, and why WotC continues to cultivate FLGS sales: they can make a lotnof money in print, and that is not changing...ao they won't stop.

 

[mamba]

You know what, you've convinced me Mamba. I will now fear and despair the day that WoTC makes an amazing product that I absolutely must buy.

I never said anything about how you should react or why. I see no reason to change my buying behavior, and clearly you do not see it either since you do not even agree with what I am saying, so this is just some BS response instead of just letting it rest