40 Dollar Cap?

[Psion]

It's a free market. If you are serious about not wanting to see the price go up, then buy from the companies that put out 256 page hardcovers for $25 dollars instead of those that put out reduced sized hardcovers for 40 dollars, and buy from the companies that put out 128 page softcovers for 20 dollars instead of those that put out 96 page softcovers for 25 dollars. (Yes, these are real figures.)

But if you bitch-then-buy, there is no reason for companies to listen to you. The proof is in the pudding.

 

[Wicht]

I don't do this for Kalamar produsts because I really enjoy them and can't find them discounted, but after I get the Atlas, I can't see spending more than $30 on a product.

I am very interested in what Kenzer is going to do after the atlas to try and get my money.

 

[shurai]

Markets respond to their consumers, like little puppies. If you're soft on them by buying low-quality, expensive shlock, as most of the d20 material seems to be based on my observations, then the market will continue to produce garbage.

On the other hand, if you only buy good stuff, and make up a lot of your own gaming material (let's face it, how hard is it to make up a whole setting? WotC got 11,000 entries or something like that, didn't they?), and refuse to pay high prices, then the market will respond.

I myself bought the core rulebooks, and that's all I'll ever need to run and play the game. I bought S&F way back when it first came out, and frankly I was so disapointed I decided right then and there to never buy another WOTC supplement unless I read it first and it really impressed me.

But for companies to respond, we have to do it together. Don't give in to the tyranny of habit! Don't just buy the next splatbook because you think you're supposed to, or because you want the whole collection. What, is the game more real when you're playing a WotC-sanctioned consensual dream?

-S

 

[Crothian]

Markets respond to their consumers, like little puppies. If you're soft on them by buying low-quality, expensive shlock, as most of the d20 material seems to be based on my observations, then the market will continue to produce garbage.
-S

Except many people like myself think the there are many high quality d20 books and we buy them. I can afford them so I support the high cost of books. I can usually find them cheap by waiting a few months or ordering in bulk, but the result of a sale is the same.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Re: d20 stuff

dont want $50 books. honestly, much of the cost would be art (and the color printing art requires) and i dont like art that much. If i want an art book i'll buy one from an artist.

Bingo!

Yet people like the art in their game books. The one public market survey of the industry showed that 80% of RPG purchases were impuse buys and those impulse buys were made largely on the cover art.

I believe the same survey showed that your average person inclined to buy RPG products regularly paid $40/month on average. That's probably the reason for the $40 books.

 

[GILGAMESH]

But if you bitch-then-buy, there is no reason for companies to listen to you. The proof is in the pudding.

100% agree! You can't beat this logic!!!!

 

[Ashtal]

I have to chime in here with "but I like art!"

There's a fine line, of course, but the right kind of artwork can really convey the theme, mood and, for lack of a better word, 'style' of a game better than any back-cover blurb can. When I find art I like, it resonnates, and I envision the game world in those terms.

Not that it has to be art-apalooza or anything, but the right kind goes a long way in helping to convey the gist of a game. For me, anyways; YMMV.

 

[Ulrick]

I've never paid the $40 for these expensive books. And I don't plan on paying. I get most of my books a helluva lot cheaper online and with free shipping. I bought the FRCS for about $25.

I refuse to pay full price for these over-priced books. There are a few 2ed books sitting on my shelve that give me "buyer's regret" when I look at them because I paid full price for crap.

I don't usually go down to buy stuff from my local hobby store anymore unless its from some 3rd party publisher that I can't find online...and even that's been few and far between.


Ulrick

 

[JohnNephew]

Are there any d20 books that have broken the "cap" of $39.99? I was looking through the books of various publishers, I couldn't see one.

It appears that the Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary, in December, will be $45, though the details are not yet finalized.

Yep, it's a lot. But then, it also looks like it will be 352 pages (at least), hardcover, and will stuff in something on the order of 205,000 words. And we're paying all those writers 4 cents per word. (Some folks who publish less expensive monster books, and are much larger companies than we are, are also paying their "open call" writers 25% less.

 

[Storminator]

Markets respond to their consumers, like little puppies. If you're soft on them by buying low-quality, expensive shlock, as most of the d20 material seems to be based on my observations, then the market will continue to produce garbage.

On the other hand, if you only buy good stuff, and make up a lot of your own gaming material (let's face it, how hard is it to make up a whole setting? WotC got 11,000 entries or something like that, didn't they?), and refuse to pay high prices, then the market will respond.

I myself bought the core rulebooks, and that's all I'll ever need to run and play the game. I bought S&F way back when it first came out, and frankly I was so disapointed I decided right then and there to never buy another WOTC supplement unless I read it first and it really impressed me.

But for companies to respond, we have to do it together. Don't give in to the tyranny of habit! Don't just buy the next splatbook because you think you're supposed to, or because you want the whole collection. What, is the game more real when you're playing a WotC-sanctioned consensual dream?

-S

Sometimes the market responds by having everyone go out of business. Let's face it, game publishers don't make a lot of money. Squeeze too hard and they find other jobs.

But beyond that, I don't share your opinions on the products available. I see absolutely no reason to punish myself (ie change my buying patterns) to suit your needs. That's the beauty of free markets. We both get to vote with our money, and neither of us gets to impose our choice on the other. God bless capitalism!

PS