Let's talk about printing & shipping RPG books

[FitzTheRuke]

Yup, $50 in 2014 is $63 now, so the new pricing isn't even keeping pace with inflation numbers.

While that's true, $50 each for the core books was pretty steep in 2014. I mean, compare them to the 4e books, that were $40 each in 2008, or $50 in today's money. A loss-leader to be sure, but then, so are the 5e books, just not as "generous" of a loss-leader. Until now, that is. Now the 5e books are priced the same as the 4e ones, in relative money. (Until they raise the price, which we all know is about to happen).

 

[ART!]

The paper glued to the inside covers that typically are also a separate page before the content of the book starts. If they're not printed on, they're often in a different color from the rest of the book, to make it look a little dressed-up.

Printing is printing, obviously, so the inside front and facing page is essentially 2 pages of printing. On top of that there's going to be a fee for binding/affixing it. Multiple that by 2 for the inside back cover and facing page. Multiply that by your print run.

We don't print hardcover books where I work, but it can't be cheap, and since some publishers don't put anything there, I assume it costs enough that just the hardcovers alone cost plenty.

On soft cover (paperback) books, printing on the inside covers is going to cost twice the price of printing on just the outside.

This kind of thing adds up real fast. Most publishers probably aren't doing print runs big enough to get really good price breaks, so these kinds of extras aren't worth it. But for bigger print runs with bigger price breaks, these extras become less cost-prohibitive.

 

[darjr]

What is "2023 D&D5e"? There is no new core books in 2023. Is this just what the 2014 5e core books are "worth" in 2022 USD? Because that ought to be exactly the same as the 2014 books in 2014! They're the same books at the same price!

He’s basing it off what WotC said the price increase will be, for the 2024, I think.

 

[Parmandur]

While that's true, $50 each for the core books was pretty steep in 2014. I mean, compare them to the 4e books, that were $40 each in 2008, or $50 in today's money. A loss-leader to be sure, but then, so are the 5e books, just not as "generous" of a loss-leader. Until now, that is. Now the 5e books are priced the same as the 4e ones, in relative money. (Until they raise the price, which we all know is about to happen).

I think in 2014, they abandoned the loss leader approach entirely, amd it worked. To get everything in the 2014 PHB, I will note, one would have to have bought three books (PHB1, PHB 2, and PHB 3), which would be more than $50.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

He’s basing it off what WotC said the price increase will be, I think.

But they haven't announced the price of the 2024 CORE books, AFAIK, just the price of the upcoming releases like Bigby's and Phandelver. We can HOPE they'll be the same, but they're also almost TWICE THE SIZE of those books.

 

[darjr]

But they haven't announced the price of the 2024 CORE books, AFAIK, just the price of the upcoming releases like Bigby's and Phandelver. We can HOPE they'll be the same, but they're also almost TWICE THE SIZE of those books.

Ugh.

Sure.

 

[darjr]

@FitzTheRuke I've asked him.

 

[Parmandur]

But they haven't announced the price of the 2024 CORE books, AFAIK, just the price of the upcoming releases like Bigby's and Phandelver. We can HOPE they'll be the same, but they're also almost TWICE THE SIZE of those books.

Given all the factors, it's a reasonable assumption, as WptC announcement of their change after a decade spoke of this being the price for new hardcovers moving forward.

 

[darjr]

Also I just realized I posted this in the wrong thread. brrrrr

 

[FitzTheRuke]

@FitzTheRuke I've asked him.

Ah thanks. If he means "2024 Core" (based on the assumed $60) then it makes sense.

Given all the factors, it's a reasonable assumption, as WptC announcement of their change after a decade spoke of this being the price for new hardcovers moving forward.

Yeah, I think that they'll be $59.95, but I don't know it. I'm not 100% sure that it's actually been decided yet.

Keep in mind that this is the same company that raised the price on Magic on nearly every set that came out for three years, and they're trying to do the same thing - desperately raise the company's stock value, at the expense of their customer base.

One of the reasons that I'm so critical of the price hike is not that I think that it - by itself - is a terrible thing. Like many have said, holding the price steady for 10 years was a pleasant surprise. BUT... I'm worried that it means the end of the VERY SMART BUSINESS mentality that I believe is (among other factors) a big part of 5e's success story. IF it turns out to just be a single necessary increase, it'll be fine. OTOH, if it's the start of some new initiative to turn "print" into "high-end luxury items", well... that would be BAD. Time will tell.