D20 Glut Bubble Bursts

[BryonD]

Clever way of saying I look merely 26 years old? You're very kind...

er, yeah, something like that, more or, uh, less.




I just bought Varient Rule Pack 1. Nice little group of supplements and money well spent.

 

[NeghVar]

Ulrick,

Which FLGS - I might be interested in a road trip...?

Thanks!

So there I was, at my FLGS, looking at various d20 titles on the display shelves when suddenly my foot bumps something...

Looking down, I see that its a box--A box full of discounted d20 books from various publishers! Next to it is another box full of discounted d20 books, and next to that box, is another box. And then I find a low shelf FULL of discounted d20 books. Also, I apparently walked past a discounted d20 display toward the front of the store.

I looked through the stuff. There's books and supplements that only a couple years ago people ranted and raved about: Kingdoms of Kalamar, Fading Suns, a bunch of Slayer's Guides, A LOT of Fantasy Flight and Fast Forward Games books... The Hero Builder's Guidebook.

Most of the stuff was $5 or $10.


I just wonder how big of a hit my FLGS took with buying all this stuff and then having to sell it for cheap. About a two years ago I noticed that the store stopping getting so much of the 3rd party items. I can see why.

I wonder what this means for the d20 industry and for local gaming stores.
How many 3rd party companies have died since OGL first started?

For me, the release of 3.0 and OGL first started out as something fantastic. But as the initial good feelings wore off, everytime I went to my FLGS, I was surrounded by a bunch of 3rd party d20 "stuff" that seemed to me be all fluff and no substance. The only exception to this rule IMO, are NECROMANCER GAMES/SWORD AND SORCERY STUDIOS, AEG (esp. "Toolbox"), and AVALANCHE PRESS. Yet each of these companies sell stuff besides d20 materials.

In anycase, I'm glad the bubble burst. Now is the time to buy...its like the Stock Market, or the seasons. yeah.

 

[Vaxalon]

To say the bubble burst implies that there was a bubble in the first place...

Like, someone (besides WotC) was making money on the deal.

Has it ever been wildly profitable? Ever?

 

[Christopher Lambert]

I'm guessing people are seeing it as "natural selection", where only the best survive.

It's not a level playing field, though; good companies might die, especially if they're small and can't afford/don't know how to advertise, while large companies that sell crud could still be alive. It doesn't help that DnD/D20 itself isn't advertised well; I've yet to see a single DnD/D20 commercial on TV, and it's going to be pretty weird if Game Company C suddenly appears on TV, saying "buy D20 XYZ here!"

Most of us are gamers, not publishers, and aren't in a position to know how bad it is for small companies that can make good products.

I wonder if we had a poll about GMs vs PCs. I think GMs would be happier about this.

 

[Belen]

It is a good thing that they are discounting. Most of those items have already been paid for in previous fiscal years. Thus, any items now left are a drain on their resources. You may not be aware of this, but a tax person comes to the store every year and evaluates the estimate worth of their product. They HAVE to get rid of it or keep paying taxes on books that are 30-40 dollars, but are no longer even worth half that.

One thing I helped my friends at the FLGS was to bundle their older gaming products. We started out with too tables stacked with books nearly a foot high. We ended up with just enough to cover the top of one.

Now they are rebuilding the section with new product!

 

[Belen]

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.)

My friends put me in charge of ordering for their d20 section. My favorite publishers are seeing some action.

 

[Mark]

er, yeah, something like that, more or, uh, less.

I thought as much. ix-nay, ixnay

*seemingly nonchalant whistling ensues*

I just bought Varient Rule Pack 1. Nice little group of supplements and money well spent.

Thanks! Glad you like it. I'll be adding a few more bits and pieces of note to that before too long. You're twice the clever one by getting in early while the price was lower. It'll still be worthwhile when more gets added and the price goes up a bit (to account for the extra work involved), but those who get in early get the lower price and free upgrades.

(Now back to your regularly scheduled sky plummet...)

 

[Samothdm]

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.

Huh. They must have been talking about Aero Hobbies in West Los Angeles...

... or Game Zone in Pasadena...

... or All Star Games in Diamond Bar...

... or...

 

[Ghostwind]

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!)

You're neglecting one aspect. Retailers are not ordering as much as they were, primarily because most game stores are run by hobbyists who don't have an effective business plan. In short, they want the distributor to tell them what to order. However, the distributor is no longer serving as a salesman, but rather an order taker. All they want is for the retailer to call them up and place an order so they don't have to work hard at getting the sale. End result, orders are way down for everyone, which does affect how much money the publisher makes. Distributors used to be relied upon to order a minimum 1000 copies of a single product. Today, that number is 500 on a good day and more like 300 on the average. If retailers won't order, then distibutors won't order, so the publisher (and those he contracts) gets hurt the worse.

How is the problem solved? There is no easy solution but one that really helps is to go to your favorite publisher's online store and order direct (just like what Phil said).

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

They're more "The Quintessential Gamestore" though.

128 pages in size, covered in faux leather, and with a high probability of having bare breasts be there when you browze inside.

Interesting business model.