Crothian said:
They always do that now it seems. Years ago I was able to get good deals at cons and that was one of the reasons to go, but these days there is little reason to goto cons just to pick books up as you will rarely find a deal. Even the discount booths this year were not that good.
That's funny. I ended up with ~$1000 worth of stuff for ~$400. There seemed to be plenty of deals to be found. As near as i can tell, every booth there was eating the sales tax, so that saves you ~5% right there. Green Ronin had a whole passel of books for $5 and $10. Paradigm had some discounted books. And bunches of other deals that i don't remember right now. Moreover, i found copies of recent-to-brand-new books at Titan Games and Chimera Hobbies for 50% off and better. My friend grabbed Iron Kingdoms, among other things, at half price. I got a copy of Alma Mater, still in original shrinkwrap, for $5. And, among other brand-new books, got Solid! for $10.
IronWolf said:
I would certainly think sales would increase in the dealer hall if there were more deals to be found. I don't really like to pay full price for books and tend to have the will power to not buy unless I feel like I am getting some sort of deal. Now that's not to say folks have to slash their prices to Amazon prices (or other online outlets) to get me to buy, after all instant gratification is worth something, right? But start knocking 20% to 25% off of items or Buy One, Get One deals and the chances of me buying things at the Con go up.
This year I spent very little money in the dealer room. The things I did pick up were mainly items that may not be in the mainstream areas. I had money to spend, but just felt I could get better deals elsewhere. These same sentiments were echoed by a few of my other friends as they wandered the halls.
What, Buy One, Get Three Free wasn't good enough for you? (seen at at least 2 places, one a retailer, one a publisher.) Not to mention the piles of $1, $3, and $5 books? TransHuman Space ($40 book) for $10? There were plenty of deals, if you looked for them. Also, a fair number of places gave you a discount if you bought a lot--save $10 if you bought all 3 books in a series, etc. My friend bought an $18 book and they threw in a $13 book for free. Not to mention the company that was giving away an iPod, no purchase necessary. Dunno how you can expect to beat a free iPod.
Anyway, i'd say there are two reasons to buy at a convention: you can't get it elsewhere (or at least not easily), and/or you want to support the company (since they get more money for a direct purchase). Because, IME, you can often get steeper discounts elsewhere, if you have a little patience.
All that said, think about the ramifications of what you're suggesting. If a book isn't worth cover price to you, then don't buy it at that price. But given that most RPGs are, at best, underpriced to begin with, also don't be surprised if the company isn't around for long if they can't sell their books at cover price. In general, RPG companies price their books quite reasonably--much more cheaply than books with similar production values and costs, and larger markets. If they can't sell them at their current prices, which aren't really high enough for anyone to make a living in the field, the best writers and artists will continue to flee the industry for more profitable fields. Conventions are expensive for companies who are selling--even selling books at full price they often take a loss. For them, a convention is basically an advertising expense. Most of them don't significantly discount their product as much because they can't afford to, as because of any worries about undercutting retailers.
