EN World GameStore - To answer some publisher questions...

[jmucchiello]

The important thing is not why ENGS wants to charge in such a way, only whether that charging structure is suitable to you. In your case, it is clearly not, which is fair enough and I wouldnt dream of arguing with you about it - your decision entirely. In some cases, as has already been proved, it is suitable, and those publishers are signing up.

And originally I had no intention of discussing why I chose not to sign up. But Chris' , I guess, misinformation elevated my wonder about what was really going on behind the scenes. I hope no one takes this the wrong way but if someone involved in the business doesn't know how things are structured perhaps they shouldn't make inaccurate postings in public forums. I really didn't believe ENGS was using the fee for bandwidth but since Chris said it twice I had to call him on it in the hopes of getting a clearer view of reality.

In any case, good luck. Maybe someday it will be worth my while.

 

[Nellisir]

I wouldn't say so, not entirely. There's actually a few reasons. One thing I'm hoping to add as an added value is a MUCH more customizable publisher page - one that basically can become a sort of web page for publishers. This isn't a barrier for small publishers, this should be a boon for them, if they can't afford their own domains and sites.

I have to blink and echo JMuchiello here. I would be, at BEST, a hobby publisher, with almost no knowledge of websites and domains, and I can set up something for far less than $99. It might not be superslick, but it'd work more than well enough for most small publishers.

Additionally, I don't pay for something you're "hoping to add". I don't build a house and tell the homeowner, "well, give me $500,000 and hopefully we'll find a tile guy". The setup fee should come with a list of established services. If you add more, raise the fee then. Call it an incentive for early signup.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'm planning on signing up as a pubilsher, doing my own from-scratch PDF files along the way. I've got a few questions. I guess this would be the place to ask them?

Many of them have to do with Pick-N-Mix, which is where I plan on doing a lot of stuff.

#1: When using the color-coded system, what takes primacy? For instance, psionics is supposed to be violet -- but if it's a psionic monster? Or a collection of psionic feats? Or an NPC using a psionic class? Should they all be violet, or should violet be for "powers" like spells are blue?

#2: Is there a color for races, or would you prefer those in monster format, with the racial information in a sub-heading?

#3: Any chance of getting Word-formatted templates?

PS: As far as the descision of where to publish goes, for me, it's quite simple: something integrated with ENWorld is a name I can trust and an audience who will hear about my products. $99 is totally worth the level of exposure and brand recognition that ENWorld can give me, however they're going about doing the internal structure. As long as I can deliver my product to the eager hands of consumers in an expedient fashion, exactly HOW they do that is something I'm completely comfy letting them worry about.

 

[Twin Rose]

PS: As far as the descision of where to publish goes, for me, it's quite simple: something integrated with ENWorld is a name I can trust and an audience who will hear about my products. $99 is totally worth the level of exposure and brand recognition that ENWorld can give me, however they're going about doing the internal structure. As long as I can deliver my product to the eager hands of consumers in an expedient fashion, exactly HOW they do that is something I'm completely comfy letting them worry about.

Later this week, we'll be announcing further advertising opportunities are reduced rates for ENGS publishers. The activation fee is truly going to be giving added value as time goes on, and I think people will find it all to their liking.

 

[Bardsandsages]

Later this week, we'll be announcing further advertising opportunities are reduced rates for ENGS publishers. The activation fee is truly going to be giving added value as time goes on, and I think people will find it all to their liking.

Currently, I can buy banner advertising for $10 for 10,000 impressions (that is, when my e-mail actually gets through...but that's another story entirely). So suppose as an ENGS publisher it's half price. I'd still have to advertising 20 times in order to break even. And can said reduced fee advertising be used for products not listed on ENGS? Because if the answer is no, the $99 still isn't justified, because you're just encouraging publishers to reinvest into your store anyway.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Currently, I can buy banner advertising for $10 for 10,000 impressions (that is, when my e-mail actually gets through...but that's another story entirely). So suppose as an ENGS publisher it's half price. I'd still have to advertising 20 times in order to break even. And can said reduced fee advertising be used for products not listed on ENGS? Because if the answer is no, the $99 still isn't justified, because you're just encouraging publishers to reinvest into your store anyway.

Perhaps I'm thinking WAY too long-term, but I see it in this way: $99 today will make me more than $99 by the time I'm done with it.

Isn't that, whaddatheycallit, an investment?

 

[Twin Rose]

Perhaps I'm thinking WAY too long-term, but I see it in this way: $99 today will make me more than $99 by the time I'm done with it.

Isn't that, whaddatheycallit, an investment?

That's exactly what it is. The activation fees that we're collecting now, in addition to helping pay for the server costs, is helping us to propogate the links, get advertising out, and generally help the ENGS grow much faster than would normally be expected from a start-up etailer.

It is, of course, still a slow growth but every day does in fact bring growth. Customer loyalty is already forming (as evidenced by a couple of threads on these very boards), and the ENGS has a full-time programmer, as well as a couple of part-timers and a graphics designer working to make it better. New features are added almost daily, and there's full-time support to help people along their way.

None the less, I'm confident that the site is growing at a steady pace, and will continue to do so

 

[jaerdaph]

I have a customer question. Is the EN World Game Store on a secure server?

The reason I ask is that I want to order something, but I'm asked to enter and submit my credit card info before I can see that little yellow lock icon in Internet Explorer that lets you know you are on a secure server. I'm just not comfortable doing that without seeing that icon first.

 

[Twin Rose]

I have a customer question. Is the EN World Game Store on a secure server?

The reason I ask is that I want to order something, but I'm asked to enter and submit my credit card info before I can see that little yellow lock icon in Internet Explorer that lets you know you are on a secure server. I'm just not comfortable doing that without seeing that icon first.

The store itself is not. However, your transaction information is NOT stored or handled on EN World at all - it is handled entirely on a secure server. The information we get back from this secure server is a transaction number, and information about the AMOUNT of the purchase. There is no way for us to gleen your information from it in any way. The entire submission and storage is handled off-site. The only way we can check any details about the transaction (such as name, etc) is to log into this server.

Edit to clarify: Even logging into the secure server, noone from the ENGS has access to the actual credit card number, expiration date, or any other financial details - only name, and address where applicable for tax purposes.

 

[Bardsandsages]

Perhaps I'm thinking WAY too long-term, but I see it in this way: $99 today will make me more than $99 by the time I'm done with it.

Isn't that, whaddatheycallit, an investment?

No, its a high fee up front I shouldn't have to pay, particularly when the storefront reserves the right to change and/or cancel my ability to use the storefront at any time (unless that user agreement has been changed over the last week). Perhaps later when all the promised features are explained my opinion would change. But they don't exist yet. Until then, it's just an arbitrary fee.