Does WotC have a new printer?

[Mark]

I saw a number of them at a couple of stores and they didn't seem cheaper in any way. Has anyone had one that actually came apart yet?

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

Binding looks fine to me

Have you actually held them up side by side and compared them?

You say it looks "fine". But does it seem the same. If not the same, then are the new bindings better, worse, or of equal quality to the old bindings?

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

I saw a number of them at a couple of stores and they didn't seem cheaper in any way.

Which books?

I for one didn't notice any real difference with Lords of Madness.

But DMG II, Waterdeep, and Heroes of Battle are definitely of lower physical quality than previous comparable WotC books.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Which books?

I for one didn't notice any real difference with Lords of Madness.

But DMG II, Waterdeep, and Heroes of Battle are definitely of lower physical quality than previous comparable WotC books.

In the sense that they "look" lower quality?
I compared DMG2 to my PHB, they look different, but no worse. Only time will tell really, but why are folks complaining if there hasn't been a problem?

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

...why are folks complaining if there hasn't been a problem?

The fact that the books no longer feel like high quality volumes *is* a problem--and a big one.

 

[BWP]

The fact that the books no longer feel like high quality volumes *is* a problem--and a big one.

... because ...?

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

... because ...?

Well, if I have to spell this out:

I am a customer.

I used to like the books and have a positive feeling toward them.

Now, I don't like them anymore, and feel cheated and disappointed.

I have now passed over two WotC books that I would have bought if they felt better (Heroes of Battle, DMG II).

That's pretty obviously a problem.

I frankly don't understand how you could interpret that as not being a problem. Does a book have to actually come apart at the seams before you would label it a problem? I would think that customer disappointment and anger, and decreased sales, constitute a problem.

 

[IronWolf]

I saw a number of them at a couple of stores and they didn't seem cheaper in any way. Has anyone had one that actually came apart yet?

Just to add my two coppers... My copy of Heroes of Battle feels different from some of my other books, but I guess I wouldn't classify it as cheaper - just different.

 

[BWP]

That's pretty obviously a problem.

It's pretty obviously your problem. It can also be considered a problem for WOTC, although the loss of a single customer probably doesn't constitute a big problem for them.

Since no-one has posted any evidence of the books crumbling to dust at the merest touch, or even developing loose pages after heavy handling -- and there isn't any reason to suppose (yet) that either of these things are actually likely to occur -- it isn't obvious to me that your over-reaction (IMO) is a problem for any of us.

 

[Catavarie]

I look at it like this, WoTC already charges, IMO, outrageous amounts for books when compared to books from other publishers with similar content are half the price or less, so if they start to print the books in "Higher quality" then they will simply raise the prices further, I have Paper back RPGs that are 20+ years old and they have held up just as well, if not better than my AD&D books, and I've use them all equally, I rifle through the pages, I broke the bindings on them each the day I bought them, and used them all religously. So just because something "feels" cheaper doesn't necesarily mean taht it won't withstand the test of time, personally i'd love to see WoTC switch to paperback format if they'd drop the price along with it. But thats just me.