How much would you pay for a PDF?

[DragonLancer]

I won't buy a PDF product. I'd rather have a real book on my shelves and I believe that they are far overpriced for what they are.

 

[Psion]

The main reason that publishers who primarily produce print products keep their price point the same regardless of the medium is because they do not wish to damage their relationships with retailers or distributors by being perceived as undercutting the prices on the same content.

I've heard that before, too, from some companies. And even saw some retract discount first run pricing because of it.

But oddly, the publisher who is the main inspiration for this thread is having a fire sale on their printed books for 1/4 or less MSRP, yet are charging nearly full print MSRP on PDFs. It seems to me slashing prices on print books would be more direct competition with Brick & Mortar, if anything.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I'll cheerfully pay up to 75%, if I want the product. I think a measure that more people go by though is price point, not percent of cover price. I prefer pdfs that cost less than $10. I'm much more likely to buy them at that price point. Below $5-6? Even better. Though I have bought pdfs costing more than $10 and will continue to do so. I actually prefer pdf to print for everything except a book that will see heavy use.

 

[GlassJaw]

50% or even less for me. After that, I would rather spend a few more dollars and get the print version.

Another problem for me is that I rarely pay full retail for a book. I usually get my books from Amazon or ebay. So that 50% off the cover price isn't really 50% of what I usually pay. It takes a good and reasonably priced pdf to get me to buy it.

 

[JoeBlank]

I don't have any hard and fast rule, but I would say 50% is a good guideline. As Mark pointed out, the companies setting PDF prices at the book price are doing so for reasons other than our reasons for buying the book/PDF, and I can't fault them for that.

Here are my real-world examples:

1. I paid $7.40 for Morrick Mansion in PDF from DriveThru, and that was before watermarks. But I did it because I was running the adventure in an online game (WebRPG), so it was handy to be able to cut and paste, even if this function was somewhat limited. I would have probably paid more for the PDF, since that is the format I wanted and needed.

2. I will probably buy the Book of Roguish Luck, but it is currently $9.00 in PDF on DriveThru. It comes out next month in book format, and Amazon has it listed for $13.59. This seems like a book I'll want to sit back and read, so I'll just wait for the book form rather than pay about 66% of the book price for a PDF.

That brings up another factor, that of time. Sometimes I am just in the mood to buy and enjoy an RPG book, and PDF has the benefit of instant gratification. The time difference is not as much if the book is available at my FLGS, but that probably means the price difference will be greater. The best value for my money is probably to be found ordering book format from someone online, but that means the longest wait to have to product in my hands. Of course, if I need an adventure to run tomorrow, the PDF format becomes an even better buy.

Echohawk has a good idea of paying a little extra and getting both the PDF and the book format. I think some companies have offered this, especially with print on demand.

 

[Psion]

Echohawk has a good idea of paying a little extra and getting both the PDF and the book format. I think some companies have offered this, especially with print on demand.

Behemoth 3 includes a code for the PDF with the book sale. A wonderful idea that I wish more dual format publishers would embrace. In a similar vein, RPGObjects offers discount on print if you buy the PDF.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Around 50% of what I would spend for the printed copy. maybe a little more depending. But, generally, I don't buy PDFs of stuff that's readily available in print. I look to PDFs for shorter, focused works that are reasonably inexpensive, stuff like Monte's early Eldritch books, or Phil's A Dozen... books. The PDF format for me is perfect for acquiring the pieces to fill in a campaign. I don't find it terribly useful for large sourcebooks and such, and never for rulebooks. Despite (or maybe because of) living and breathing and working with computers for 25 years, I don't use a laptop at the gaming table.

 

[edbonny]

Are they watermarking the Wizards' titles? There are a few I want to own and wouldn't mind the watermark.

- Ed

 

[EricNoah]

50% seems about right to me; and as always it depends on the product.

 

[BryonD]

I voted 50% - 75%.
But my probability to buy would drop off fast at 50%.
I can see going higher than 50%, but it would have to be a really appealing product that I didn't have easy print access to.