Pathfinder 1E A gripey letter to Paizo

[philreed]

We have checked repeatedly on our vendor's process and use several addresses as "control subs" so we can monitor average delivery time and condition of subscriber copies.

For the home viewers, the above is an excellent way for a publisher to monitor delivery of periodicals. When I used to work in the ag industry we did this exact same thing with out two periodicals -- going so far as to setup control addresses across the country -- and it went a long way toward letting us identify problem regions and correct the problems -- usually before the customers recognized that something was wrong.

I know a lot of people get frustrated when their magazines arrive late (or don't arrive) but I urge you to treat the problem calmly. Magazine publishing is a tricky beast and delivery problems can be just as frustrating to the publisher (who typically has no control over the shipment and delivery of periodicals) as the customer. While I don't work at the Paizo offices I'm condfident in saying that they're working to make the delivery process flow as smoothly as possible.


That out of the way, maybe PDF subscriptions would work for a lot of subscribers. Hey, it's just an idea.

 

[Yair]

That out of the way, maybe PDF subscriptions would work for a lot of subscribers. Hey, it's just an idea.

Erik Mona has said Paizo is not allowed to publish pdfs for products that are not out of print, it's part of their deal with Wizards.

I really like the idea of a European printing subsidiary, it would considerably lower the price of subscription which should allow for more sales. I no longer subscribe due to the long time, great expense, and - yes - missing issues. A European printing would solve at least two of these problems, and has a good chance to ease the third one too (less hassle and distance, less things that can go wrong).
Not that I live in Europe. But it's closer then the US.

 

[philreed]

Erik Mona has said Paizo is not allowed to publish pdfs for products that are not out of print, it's part of their deal with Wizards.

Well, that sucks.

I really like the idea of a European printing subsidiary, it would considerably lower the price of subscription which should allow for more sales. I no longer subscribe due to the long time, great expense, and - yes - missing issues. A European printing would solve at least two of these problems, and has a good chance to ease the third one too (less hassle and distance, less things that can go wrong).
Not that I live in Europe. But it's closer then the US.

I think this could lead to a lot of problems -- including legal and advertising issues. Not that I think it's a bad idea, just that I think the problems are probably too great for a magazine with a low circulation.*


* Yes, Paizo rules in the RPG magazine industry. I'm talking low in terms of "real world" magazines. Unfortunately for us the world doesn't change its rules regarding magazines and publishing based on the size of the industry.

 

[Yair]

Well, that sucks.

I couldn't agree more. It's also absurd, as Wizards is doing this very thing.

I think this could lead to a lot of problems -- including legal and advertising issues. Not that I think it's a bad idea, just that I think the problems are probably too great for a magazine with a low circulation.*

* Yes, Paizo rules in the RPG magazine industry. I'm talking low in terms of "real world" magazines. Unfortunately for us the world doesn't change its rules regarding magazines and publishing based on the size of the industry.

I have no idea of the legalities of the matter, I just hope to see subscriptions being cheaper, more reliable, and with a shorter transit time for European subscribers (and those nearby).
That sounds like a good thing to me.

As an anecdotal evidence, Scientific American is published in Hebrew in Israel, and I'm fairly certain it isn't printed abroad. If it's a language issue, perhaps the European edition can be in British instead of American...

 

[philreed]

I have no idea of the legalities of the matter,

I'm pretty sure Paizo's a US corporation and not an international one. That's got to open up some crazy problems.

 

[ecliptic]

I think Paizo should work with the post office to get cheap bulk tracking numbers for their magazines. I think it would save Paizo alot of money to catch the problem early.

 

[diaglo]

Paizo originally began three years ago as a magazine publisher. As I mentioned in another post, Paizo sends out tens of thousands of subscriptions each month, with only a handful of issues.

well as one of the areas that still keeps getting spanked....

Hotlanta, Jawja, USA

i'd like to say it SuXX.
edit: and again only by Paizo. my first, second, and third class mail arrives from every other source on time.

 

[cmanos]

I had a $1400 PC delivered to a business 4 zip codes away while the minotor got to me perfectly.....

and you complain about a magazine?

Kidding. It's annoying. File a complaint with your postal carrier as well.

 

[philreed]

I had a $1400 PC delivered to a business 4 zip codes away while the minotor got to me perfectly.....

It has been over six years now but a computer I ordered was overnighted to an address four states away. UPD delivered the computer --which was accepted -- and it took me a lot of effort to have them fix the problem.

 

[GentleGiant]

I'm pretty sure Paizo's a US corporation and not an international one. That's got to open up some crazy problems.

Which is why I suggested opening up local branches/offices in e.g. Europe, Asia (Australia? - although I'm sure printing prices would be higher in Australia). You would probably only need two employees in each office to handle local subscribtions and contact with the local printer.
Another possibility would be to team up with existing magazine publishers in overseas areas. Sure it might diminish the return on Paizo's behalf, but if it'll give them more subscribers it's still more income compared to a smaller amount of subscribers because of the higher prices.