Ranger REG
Explorer
And people make it seem like it's the end of the world. Bah!
D20 Glut Bubble Bursts
- Thread starter Ulrick
- Start date
Akrasia said:
Important Note: Companies that you think are thriving are probably 90% likely to be quietly suffering. The current distribution system is not good and is not good for most publishers. If there's any publisher that you want to see around tomorrow -- or next week or next year -- take a little time and money and order something directly from their website.
I did this very thing with two publishers over the last week. I knew my resolution to not buy any new books wouldn't last.
(I'm talking about print publishers here, BTW.)
Akrasia
Procrastinator
philreed said:
Sorry. You're probably right. The perspective of people (like myself) who regularly visit sites like this one and RPG.net, and often order on-line, is probably not a very good one on the basis of which to make generalizations.
For my part, all of my (limited) money these days goes to '3rd party' publishers.
Stone Angel
First Post
Yes we have table full of discounted stuff at my FLGS. I assume that the biggest reason for most of the flop was just a flood of material, which is why many DM's only allow only WoTC products in their games just for continuity.
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
Tav_Behemoth
First Post
Ulrick said:
What it means for the d20 industry:
The publishers of those books have already gotten paid; they sell books to the distributor. What happens to the books after that point doesn't matter. (Book stores, as opposed to hobby stores, are a different story; a bookstore can return a book it doesn't want any more, at which point the publisher has to give them back the cost of the book. Ouch!)
What it means for your local gaming store:
Good for them! Having things on their shelves that doesn't sell costs them money, and prevents them from stocking stuff that will sell. At the Gen Con So Cal "industry insiders" panel, people were talking about local stores that never, never take anything off the shelves, or discount it even when it's obviously out-of-date (like PC games from 1990, for example). The joke was that having a fire in the store would be the best thing that could happen to the owners.
Tav_Behemoth said:
Not always true. If retailers don't sell product they sometimes don't pay the distributor . . . this isn't always true but it happens. And some distributors don't pay manufacturers or consolidators unless the manufacturer has an in-demand item (such as a very popular CCG or CMG). It's a nasty trickle down effect that impacts the mid-size and small-size manufacturers the worst.
Also, if a retailer is forced to put a ton of books from one company on clearance there's a very good chance they'll either stop ordering new product by that company or be very selective in the future.
Keeper of Secrets
First Post
My game store has the stuff discounted, too. Boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. The saddest part aboout the whole thing is that even at 5 bucks apiece I did not have much interest in what I saw. A huge book on some kind of race like goblins or flinds just does not grab me.
A majority of that stuff has been available at my store for about a year and that same stuff is still there. At some point they will just start giving it away.
A majority of that stuff has been available at my store for about a year and that same stuff is still there. At some point they will just start giving it away.
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
In Chicago, Gamer's Paradise(s) has been doing this for years. I've bought many a thing at their store on the cheap. Something Wicked is another store, in Evanston, that does this. About the only one that doesn't reduce it's inventory this way on a regular fashion is the good old Games Plus. They're more "The Quintessential Gamestore" though.
