How I fell in and out of love with Pick and Mix in 20 minutes

[Twin Rose]

You may notice that mouseovers now work on the title of the Pick N' Mix - giving a slightly more detailed description of what it contains. If you want a little more information, let the publisher who made it know!

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well I certainly appreciate hearing back. I know you guys are trying something new and that success is often built in the face of naysayers. I have to admit a mouseover with some additional information allays some of my concerns as a consumer. I still worry about the price point. It is just hard to imagine paying .49 for an item, or a monster. The laws of probability tell me that a monster manual, while having plenty of monsters I hate or rarely use, will be a better value. I suppose I agree that .49 cents is enticing for those looking to try pdfs, but as someone who already buys pdfs I'm not sure it is compelling. Maybe Im not the intended audience for the pdfs though. At .49 cents though I also worry that it sends the wrong message to the audience you make reference to, and that paying such a high price might leave potential customers with the idea that pdfs arent worth the money...

I'm hardly wealthy, but I have a hard time thinking of 49 cents as a high price for, well, anything.

Honestly, if I really felt like a piece of bubblegum right at that moment, I likely would pay 49 cents for it even though I could--at a later date--by several pieces for that price.

I mean...49 cents? it's not "paying such a high price" in any way I consider fair to the term.

It's, literally, a small handful of change that would buy 2/3rd of today's newspaper, almost allow me to park for 20 mins or buy one-half of a bag of chips.

YMMV

 

[BrooklynKnight]

40 minutes of parking and 2 bags of chips here. :-D

 

[Roudi]

As a publisher... my initial reaction is, why bother? After the commission, the pay-out on those things is going to be miniscule. They'd have to sell by the hundreds to even notice. I suppose if I already had a bunch of stuff laying around... but even then it makes more sense (IMO) to just bundle them up into a larger product and sell it for a decent price.

Why bother? If you're a writer like me, then you have dozens of half-completed projects and random ideas just laying around on your hard drive, waiting to be used. I personally don't see Pick N' Mix as a ludicrously profitable venture, but I DO see it as a fast and dirty way to get one's name and company out there. One could do the same with a large number of demos, but at least in this case you ARE getting something back for your work.

Besides, since a Pick N' Mix is entirely OGC anyways, there's nothing stopping you from recompiling your Pick N' Mix releases and selling them as a full book (sans Pick N' Mix license, natch). That way you satisfy the people who want to buy the bits they like, and the folks who prefer bigger works.

 

[TheLe]

If you're a writer like me, then you have dozens of half-completed projects and random ideas just laying around on your hard drive, waiting to be used. I personally don't see Pick N' Mix as a ludicrously profitable venture, but I DO see it as a fast and dirty way to get one's name and company out there.

That is exactly how I see it and hope to jump into the Pick and Mix as soon as possible. Looking at the numbers, it is *not* lucrative at first, but it can be once you release a large number of products.

In my experience it is really about a "balanced portfolio". My $2.00 pdfs do not make alot of profit, but combined with my $5.00 pdfs they even out quite nicely. Customers like choice, and I see Pick and Mix as just another choice for them.

I wouldn't think that a 5-page pdf with no cover for $1 would sell, but I tons of well known publisher do it (not me).

I think Pick and Mix offers a distinct advantage over these because they are all formatted standardly and is very clearly focused. So the customers knows exactly what it is getting. This can only be a good thing.

~Le

 

[Pinotage]

Another useful addition to the Pick and Mix would be to identify the source of the material if created from another source. I'd rather not purchase something only to find it in a source I already own. Take the monsters currently on sale - are they new or do they come from Expeditious Retreat's Monster Geographica books?

Pinotage

 

[JVisgaitis]

I'm hardly wealthy, but I have a hard time thinking of 49 cents as a high price for, well, anything.

Indeed. I don't buy a lot of PDFs and I'd be tempted to get some ideas I can work with for 49 cents each. It won't be something to base a company around, but it is a good idea to get people to notice your product.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Another useful addition to the Pick and Mix would be to identify the source of the material if created from another source.

That's a really good idea. I'd release a bunch of the monsters from Denizens of Avadnu if I can point people back to the original source. I haven't downloaded the Developer's Kit yet, but I'm going to do so as soon as I get home.

 

[Pinotage]

That's a really good idea. I'd release a bunch of the monsters from Denizens of Avadnu if I can point people back to the original source. I haven't downloaded the Developer's Kit yet, but I'm going to do so as soon as I get home.

As long as that doesn't stop you from releasing a full pdf of Denizens of Avadnu one day! Pretty please?!

Pinotage

 

[JVisgaitis]

As long as that doesn't stop you from releasing a full pdf of Denizens of Avadnu one day! Pretty please?!

Its coming and it'll probably be out in December. It's just a lot of work because the files are enormous and we want to incorporate all of the Web Support into it as well.