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<blockquote data-quote="shurai" data-source="post: 3518760">Exactly so.&nbsp; I wouldn't expect to ever make money collecting D&amp;D books.&nbsp; I mean, you're buying mass-produced works of fantasy.&nbsp; They have no capital value (that is, you can't use them to generate wealth).&nbsp; The only way noncapital stuff goes up in value over time is if:1) the thing is rare and prone to destroying itself over time (hence, antique cars and antiques generally), or2) there is a finite amount of it on the earth (land, uranium), with no possibility of producing more.D&amp;D manuals are neither, except on the very long term (There are books a century old that you can buy for less than a copy of the PHB).Also, publishers actually depend on the books becoming worthless.&nbsp; The RPG market is pretty much zero-growth, which means that to stay in business publishers have to ensure that consumers are buying new books all the time instead of circulating old ones among themselves.Finally, as some posters have sort of said, D&amp;D manuals are objects of entertainment value only.&nbsp; Economically speaking its in none of our interests to take D&amp;D very seriously.&nbsp;&nbsp; As much as we all love them, economically speaking they're trifles to be bought with disposable income.&nbsp; &quot;Disposable&quot; is meant literally here -- what you're doing when buying D&amp;D products, from a financial point of view (and neglecting whatever therapeutic value the game may have), is flushing your money down the drain.&nbsp; Especially considering how many low-cost alternatives there are.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="shurai, post: 3518760"] Exactly so. I wouldn't expect to ever make money collecting D&D books. I mean, you're buying mass-produced works of fantasy. They have no capital value (that is, you can't use them to generate wealth). The only way noncapital stuff goes up in value over time is if: 1) the thing is rare and prone to destroying itself over time (hence, antique cars and antiques generally), or 2) there is a finite amount of it on the earth (land, uranium), with no possibility of producing more. D&D manuals are neither, except on the [i]very[/i] long term (There are books a century old that you can buy for less than a copy of the PHB). Also, publishers actually [i]depend[/i] on the books becoming worthless. The RPG market is pretty much zero-growth, which means that to stay in business publishers have to ensure that consumers are buying new books all the time instead of circulating old ones among themselves. Finally, as some posters have sort of said, D&D manuals are objects of entertainment value only. Economically speaking its in none of our interests to take D&D very seriously. As much as we all love them, economically speaking they're trifles to be bought with disposable income. "Disposable" is meant literally here -- what you're doing when buying D&D products, from a financial point of view (and neglecting whatever therapeutic value the game may have), is flushing your money down the drain. Especially considering how many low-cost alternatives there are. [/QUOTE]

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