The problem for publishers is we need to figure out a way to get the money we need from the people who can afford it, while still trying to keep things accessible to those on a budget.
My own approach has been to try and push up our pricing, but also to try and keep cheaper alternatives available. I have actually done a lot of experiments in this regard (and am planning to try some more soon).
For example, we have for a while had the
fire sale on our website -- scuffed and dented (but often VG or better quality, if you were grading it as a collector) items available at a discount. We won't sell these items through the regular channels, because of the damage, but for people to whom price is more important than mint perfection, it's a very good way to save a few bucks. (And the more damaged items -- like the boxful of Touched by the Gods that some UPS driver spilled red soda pop all over -- are REALLY cheap, in that case $4 for a $24 retail item!)
Similarly, when I go to conventions, I bring boxes of the same slightly shelfworn/damaged stuff to sell cheap. At PlatteCon earlier this year, I had a handful of new items at full price, and the rest of the table was two boxes -- one with everything at $10 (even $25-$45 SRP hardcovers), the other was everything at $5. Sales were brisk, probably because of the psychological importance of those price points. It seems like a great thing to do, especially at a college con, where a lot of the attendees are living on student budgets. I also have a bunch of copies of Vampire: The Masquerade (1st edition) which I have been selling for a couple of years at conventions for $5 each -- how's that for cheap entry into the hobby? When I was blowing out 3rd Edition Ars Magicas at $5 each at Gen Con a few years ago, they went like hotcakes. However, it's worth noting that other than core rulebooks, the discounts do not move very much product, however steep they may be. (At PlatteCon, all the core rulebooks in the $10 bin sold; I think I only sold 1 of Touched by the Gods, even with what amounts to a 58% discount.)
I've also been working to develop channels for older and slightly-damaged merchandise to get to the buying public for less -- e.g., selling those same items at a steep discount to retailers who will sell them as used items in their stores or at conventions. Used game sales is not a model that every retailer follows (nor should they), but it's of course a good one for the price conscious consumer. (Any retailers reading who have a used-book section and might like to pick up some items from our "fire sale," drop me a line.)
If people want their games for cheaper, it is possible, and it will continue to be possible. Reality is, it takes a little bit more work -- but it's well worth your time for the savings, if the savings matter to you in your economic situation. (If your time is worth $50 an hour at work, of course, it's not very cost-effective for you to devote an hour to tracking down a deal to save $10 on a D20 book. If you're making minimum wage, though...)
(Oh, we also donate games to charity -- usually the "Santa Anonymous" kind of programs around Christmas.)
Fact is, I'm fairly surprised at how little we sell through the cheap avenues. For instance, I'm amazed that we don't get more Fire Sale orders than we do. Why is that?
My guess is that for all the vocal demands for cheap(er) products, it does not really matter that much for the majority of gamers. Most people fall into one of two groups: (1) Those who will happily buy at full price (because they can afford it, because they buy on impulse in the game shop, because they are impatient and unwilling to wait around to score a deal, because they value their time too much to go looking for a deal), and (2) those who will not buy at ANY price. (Indeed, some of them will not even take it free -- I've gone to conventions to hand out huge piles of free games, and had lots of people say "no thanks.") And then there is a relatively small number of people to whom price matters enough that they hunt down the deals, and their wants are in fact met, and on their budget, most of the time.
So I do care about the low-income gamers, and have in fact made significant effort to make our games available to them at affordable prices -- while not undercutting our effort to get enough money from those who can afford to pay, to keep us in business.
I've had some interesting bargain bin experiences at conventions, from tiny local cons to Gen Con. I have, for example, put completely mint items in the damaged/bargain bin -- and watched people insist on buying the full price one. (Sometimes they look over the "damaged" book, and ask what's wrong with it -- and if they can't find something clearly wrong to justify the lower price, they'll even put it back.)
Product pricing is a very, very strange game.
