D&D General Darksun Adventure sales from Ben Riggs author of Slaying the Dragon

[overgeeked]

On average that's what 2-3 adventures per boxed set sold?

I bought one boxed set and (almost) all the modules.

 

[Zardnaar]

I bought one boxed set and (almost) all the modules.

I did say on average you covered 3 or 4 people who didn't

Or whatever the exact numbers are.

 

[Parmandur]

That is a lot of modules sold for Dark Sun. Over 700,00 units of only 9 modules. I never bought a DS module. Who was buying modules that didn't buy the box sets?

Based on thos numbers, probably nobody. Those numbers work out to less than everyone who bought the box sets bought each adventure, as one might expect.

 

[Parmandur]

On average that's what 2-3 adventures per boxed set sold?

No, actually it's closer to an average of 7, because Dark Sun was just noeth of 100,00 in box set lifetime sales. Which is less than 9 for 100% crossover, but still a rather solid attach rate.

 

[Zardnaar]

No, actually it's closer to an average of 7, because Dark Sun was just noeth of 100,00 in box set lifetime sales. Which is less than 9 for 100% crossover, but still a rather solid attach rate.

Derp couldn't remember the lifetime sales.

But yeah that seems to be a decent attach rate. Darksun fans tend to be fanatics.

My favorite setting

 

[darjr]

Deep couldn't remember the lifetime sales.

But yeah that seems to be a decent attach rate. Darksun fans tend to be fanatics.

My favorite setting

Oh we’ve noticed. Darksun fans being dedicated fans. Not complaining! Not at all.

But we’ve noticed.

 

[Parmandur]

Deep couldn't remember the lifetime sales.

But yeah that seems to be a decent attach rate. Darksun fans tend to be fanatics.

My favorite setting

It shows that maybe there was a flaw in Ryan Dancey's analysis of AD&D sales, dismissing Adventures perhaps too much.

 

[Zardnaar]

It shows that maybe there was a flaw in Ryan Dancey's analysis of AD&D sales, dismissing Adventures perhaps too much.

Well the probably don't care about sakes that low.

And they probably care about adventures sales that were recent eg 1997 vs early 90's or 80's.

 

[teitan]

Possibly it was the cost to produce the adventures Vs the buy in cost that Dancey was analyzing rather than the raw sales numbers. Dark Sun adventures were special format, spiral bound adventures so those higher sales were offset with higher production value that were actual losses as opposed to profits with a lower cost purchase price for the customer. When a product is $7 to produce, they sale it to the distributor for 7.25 because the two departments aren’t talking and the distribution model is a returns based sales mode where the end seller can return unsold product the smaller, small profit margins can be eroded extremely quickly. That awesome $10 flip book adventure module that could have been a high profit, low production cost items (saddle stickers loose cover) becomes a liability with minimal profit impact.

 

[Zardnaar]

Possibly it was the cost to produce the adventures Vs the buy in cost that Dancey was analyzing rather than the raw sales numbers. Dark Sun adventures were special format, spiral bound adventures so those higher sales were offset with higher production value that were actual losses as opposed to profits with a lower cost purchase price for the customer. When a product is $7 to produce, they sale it to the distributor for 7.25 because the two departments aren’t talking and the distribution model is a returns based sales mode where the end seller can return unsold product the smaller, small profit margins can be eroded extremely quickly. That awesome $10 flip book adventure module that could have been a high profit, low production cost items (saddle stickers loose cover) becomes a liability with minimal profit impact.

That and some of those boxed sets were being sold for a loss espicially the more lavish ones eg Planescape.

And we don't know the profit margins on the actual adventures either. Looks like big numbers to us but if they were also sold at a loss.......

Think Dancey was saying a few adventures also sold under 10k or a few thousand. We may not be looking at typical adventures sold here.

2E adventures were also generally terrible so there's also that factor. Maybe adventures didn't sell because they were garbage.