Game book pricing

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Seems pretty reasonable to me as well.

While on a price-per-page basis, the cost of the module may seem expensive, I'm fortunate to be in a situation where $5 isn't that big a deal. I won't necessarily buy all of them, but if a chance to game came up on short notice, or if I've been really busy, I'd drop $5 in a heartbeat for a decent module that would last an afternoon.

 

[GMSkarka]

You're not going to get a consensus on this question. Ever.

Some folks will find it reasonable (or even cheap), and others will find it too expensive.

Most gamers who complain about prices generally have no idea of the costs to produce, or the fact that publishing costs have grown exponentially over the past 30 years, while the retail prices in the RPG business only started reflecting that in the past few years.

 

[Quasqueton]

AD&D1 Player's Handbook (circa 1980) = 128 pages, hardback = $12

AD&D1 White Plume Mountain (circa 1980) = 16 pages = $4.50

Quasqueton

 

[Ranger REG]

Assuming you wanted/needed it for your game, is $12 a reasonable price for a 128-page D&D book? Is it low, too high?

For an e-Book PDF, just about right, if you want to make a healthy profit.

How about $4.50 for a 16-page D&D adventure module (printed)?

Only if you fold the 16 pages in half, making it 32 booklet pages.

 

[pogre]

Assuming you wanted/needed it for your game, is $12 a reasonable price for a 128-page D&D book? Is it low, too high?

Too Low.

How about $4.50 for a 16-page D&D adventure module (printed)?

About right.

 

[Darkness]

Assuming you wanted/needed it for your game, is $12 a reasonable price for a 128-page D&D book? Is it low, too high?

Quite cheap, IMO.

How about $4.50 for a 16-page D&D adventure module (printed)?

I suppose it's about okay, but I'm not likely to buy a 16-page adventure module in any case.

 

[tetsujin28]

Both of those seem reasonilbe if not a little cheap.

Yep. $12 for the page count listed is a good bargain.

 

[IronWolf]

Assuming you wanted/needed it for your game, is $12 a reasonable price for a 128-page D&D book? Is it low, too high?

I think $12 is reasonable to a touch on the low side...

How about $4.50 for a 16-page D&D adventure module (printed)?

This one is probably be about right, but I had better think it is a good adventure module to pay that for it. I probably wouldn't take a risk on this one unless I had heard several good things about it.

 

[philreed]

AD&D1 Player's Handbook (circa 1980) = 128 pages, hardback = $12

AD&D1 White Plume Mountain (circa 1980) = 16 pages = $4.50

How many years ago is that? 25 years. What did paperbacks cost in 1980? What do paperbacks cost in 2005? Showing prices that are a quarter century old mean nothing.

128-page books are between $20 and $25 these days. 32-48 page books are $10-$14.

Why isn't this in the publishers forum?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not to mention, it depends on the quality of the product and whether there's a market for it.

$12 for 128pgs of garbage is too much- but if its 128 pages of pure genius with full color art etc., you might want to be charging $45. Or more.

And you may have written a FREAKING GREAT 16 page module, but if it covers the same conceptual ground as 5 other modules out there, it may not sell even at $2, much less at $4.50.

The problem is, of course, you can't find the right price until you actually put it in the market.

Unless you consider test marketing the product.

You could poll your friends, do some playtesting...

You could even post some samples online and see what people would be willing to pay for each sample.

Heck, you could even try selling the product in a Dutch Auction. (A Dutch Auction is when a product is released, a price is set, but that price falls by set increments over a set period of time. The risk is that the product may no longer be available at the price you're willing to pay, having been bought up by purchasers with a higher price in mind. It was named for the method in which Dutch Tulip selling companies sell their bulbs.)