EN World GameStore Closing

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

No, there isnt the possibility to introduce a new OS now because there's not a very competitive environment in that field.

I do not however, think that's the case in the situation we're currently discussing.

I think what allowed DTRPG to succeed to the level it did was exclusive publishers. They offered something no one else did, not even RPGNow.

In other words, they simply competed at a high level.

RPGNow offers a fantastic service and they offer it well. No one said competing with them would be easy. But someone (DTRPG) came up with an idea and I don't think there's any artificial force in the PDF marketplace right now to stop SOMEONE ELSE from offering something no one else does.

Maybe it's lower prices, a slicker interface or something no one has ever thought of.

My point is, there's no ARTIFICIAL forces to hinder competition, which is my definition of a monopoly.

There are NATURAL forces hindering competition.

Those natural forces are that there's a company in the market (OBS) that does a damn fine
job of delivering PDFs.

That's my take anyway.

Chuck

I think we're just going to have to disagree that we're viewing the situation from different angles or we'll just keep going around and around because I disagree with some of your points even here, which is just going to keep us going. This would be a great discussion to continue having over a few beers and a game of pool, but I don't see it otherwise going anywhere on here for either of us, no?

 

[madelf]

Actually, the contract does allow OBS to take over as the entity:

13. TRANSFER OF RIGHTS. This Agreement shall be binding on any successors of the parties. Neither party shall have the right to assign its interests in this Agreement to any other party, unless the prior written consent of the other party is obtained.

OBS is the successor of MDC, thereby making the transition from MDC to OBS legit.

Uhmm.... read the second sentence in that clause again. 'Cause it sure sounds to me like they were supposed to have my permission in order to "assign its interests in this Agreement to any other party".

OBS is not MDC. OBS has been presented as a new jointly held company formed by the owners of MDC and DTRPG (or whatever company runs it, rather), not just a continuation or subsidiary of MDC. It's not even just a transfer of the existing MDC company to a new owner (so far as I can tell). It looks to me like a transfer of "interests" from two existing companies to a new single company. Among them an interest in my products, assigned without my permission . Doesn't sound quite right to me.

So I suppose if you want to file a grievance or legal dispute, head on over to Wisconson

Soo not worth my time.

Nothing more than a minor annoyance. (And an additional tick on the list of things that make me shake my head and wonder about some people)

 

[Paradigm]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure mine does too. I'm not ticked enough to dust it off and call a lawyer, but it does annoy me slightly that they just transferred all my products to another site without giving me time to consider whether I wanted them to (enough that I was compelled to call BS on the idea that they gave full notice of impending changes, anyway).

I am not a lawyer, but my business education indicates that OBS is the same entity as MDC because OBS was formed by a merger that includes MDC. If this were not the case, nobody would buy or merge with anybody ever.

 

[Paradigm]

There is a concept/assumption running through this thread (and other threads) that this merger will mean higher prices on PDFs. That conclusion is at best hasty and at worst, harmful to all involved.

I haven't spoken to every PDF publisher out there, but I can tell you that Paradigm Concepts has no intention of increasing prices and I hardly think we are unique in that aspect. Unless there is no increase in sales from the merger, AND there is no movement to other sites with lower commission, AND we don't realized significant sales when our own storefront goes live, we may reexamine that decision, but I find the above to be unlikely.

 

[direpress]

There is a concept/assumption running through this thread (and other threads) that this merger will mean higher prices on PDFs. That conclusion is at best hasty and at worst, harmful to all involved.

Seconded. Dire Press will not be increasing prices. We've done the math and its just really hard and makes our heads hurt. Why can't it be easy like calculus?

 

[Yair]

There is a concept/assumption running through this thread (and other threads) that this merger will mean higher prices on PDFs. That conclusion is at best hasty and at worst, harmful to all involved.

In the short term, the increased rates (not the merger itself, just the rates) will result in some publishers (Phil Reeds, for one) increasing their prices - and others (like Paradign) not. That's not an assumption or concept, that's (at this point) pretty much a fact.

In the longer term, it all depends on the degree of optimism. If the sales volume incresaes sufficiently (by over 40% for ENP, for example), the publishers will make the same profits at the same wages and prices so there is no cause to alarm. If the sales don't increase to that extent, then the increased rates will result in a) increased price, and/or b) lower profits (hardly possible in this market), and/or c) cheaper wages for employees such as artists - that's such a simple matter of economics that even I can make this prediction. All these changes spell out one thing - the consumers buy less for the same price, so the new rates stagnate the growth of the market.

Since I'm pessimistic regarding OBS' ability to expand the market to such an extent, I think prices will increase (or quality decrease). I also think the rates will be lowered in due time, as those running OBS will be wise enough to do what's best for them and the market. I think they're overcharging, and will benefit more by charging less in the future.

The merger itself has so far, as far as I can see, resulted in the withdrawl of one company (Atlas Games) from the sites and led to the realization in others that they need to diversify their channels of profits so as to be less dependant on any one vendor. It has not, as of itself, resulted in higher prices.

Of course I'm not a publisher, or a buisnessman, I could very well be wrong. I hope I'll be proven wrong, and the market explodes and everyone becomes millioners.

 

[seasong]

Full Disclosure: I run e23. I am a soulless corporate drone. I want a cut of your fans' money. On the other hand, I'm also a fan - I've bought books from my competitors and I try to support my favorite publishers, wherever they may sell.

Still...

OBS is a monopoly? I suspect Amazon's ebook and e-doc program will be surprised to hear that. Granted, their ebook selection is pretty lame, and their publisher interaction can only be described as glacial for anyone in a niche... but OBS is not a monopoly. Not by market share, not by competitive advantage.

And while they're bigger than e23 (and some others), e23 doesn't really feel squeezed by OBS - we sell to a different audience, and so far, nothing OBS has done seems likely to take that audience from us.

And the fact is, a decent percentage of OBS' audience isn't OBS' audience. It's direct marketing from the publishers - and the publishers decide where to send that audience. Among the many alternative places to send your portion of those sales, there is e23, Lulu's download program, Amazon, and numerous other sites.

Publishers have reasonable choices. Customers have reasonable choices. It's not a monopoly.

 

[madelf]

I am not a lawyer, but my business education indicates that OBS is the same entity as MDC because OBS was formed by a merger that includes MDC. If this were not the case, nobody would buy or merge with anybody ever.

You're probably 100% right.

I still think it was rude (legal or not) to make the transfer and put product up on a new site without giving a decent amount of time for people to consider the situation and decide how they want to proceed. But I'll get over it.

 

[Bardsandsages]

What is a monopoly?

In standard economic theory (see analysis above), a monopoly will sell a lower quantity of goods at a higher price than firms would in a purely competitive market.

I don't see OBS deliberately limiting the quantity of goods. In fact, the new store will have more products that the individual stores had.

Primary characteristics of a monopoly
Single Sellers
A pure monopoly is an industry in which a single firm is the sole producer of a good or the sole provider of a service. This is usually caused by barriers to entry.
No Close Substitutes
The product or service is unique in ways which go beyond brand identity, and cannot be easily replaced (a monopoly on water from a certain spring, sold under a certain brand name, is not a true monopoly; neither is Coca-Cola, even though it is differentiated from its competition in flavor).
Price Maker
In a pure monopoly a single firm controls the total supply of the whole industry and is able to exert a significant degree of control over the price, by changing the quantity supplied (an example of this would be the situation of viagra before competing drugs emerged). In subtotal monopolies (for example diamonds or petroleum at present) a single organization controls enough of the supply that even if it limits the quantity, or raises prices, the other suppliers will be unable to make up the difference and take significant amounts of market share.
Blocked Entry
The reason a pure monopolist has no competitors is that certain barriers keep would-be competitors from entering the market. Depending upon the form of the monopoly these barriers can be economic, technological, legal (e.g. copyrights, patents), or of some other type of barrier that completely prevents other firms from entering the market.

Singer Seller: This is obviously not the case. e23, Paizo, Lulu, publisher storefronts, DBB, and other outlets do exist.

No Close Substitute: Again, there are several other means for PDFs to be marketed. While argueably OBS will have the best option, it is by no means the only.

Price Maker: While some are lamenting that the merger will force them to raise prices, these prices will not become fixed across all sales avenues. In fact, there is no legitimate reason to raise prices, as it will drive consumers to other outlets. In a monopoly, the company monopolizing the market will often artificially undercut competition in order to eliminate it. Since the publishers set the prices, this is not possible.

Blocked Entry: There is nothing to stop someone else from forming their own sales outlet. Irate publishers could easily form a collective to compete against OBS.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

Fat Dragon Games will not be raising prices on our existing product catalog. After reviewing the OBS merger for the last couple of days and discussing it privately with several other publishers, we feel that the merger will generate more sales over the long term that will make up for any slight decrease in our profits. Our PDFs are still generating a higher profit margin than our physical products in distribution due to the higher discounts distributers and consolidators demand, so we see no reason that the rate increase on PDFs should be passed along to our customers.