Mongoose - Disappointed

[Cergorach]

There were 3 titles on his shelf that were hardback. One of the Encounters and Lairs and another was Strongholds and Dynasties, there was another but I forget what the title was. All three titles were pretty haphazard in their construction. Compared to some of the cheaper titles on the shelf even. The state of the US dollar shouldn't really be an excuse when it comes to the poor quality of the construction of the books. Regardles of the content 35 dollars is rediculous IMO, gotta draw the line somewhere I guess.

I've got a lot of D20 books on my shelf that cost $40+ and worth it!

The Book of the Righteous (Green Ronin) $40 B&W. Great book!
Traveller T20 (Quicklink) $45 B&W. Worth it's price.
Stargate SG-1 (AEG) $50 Color. Nice, good use of the Spycraft rules set.
I have lots and lots of B&W $35 D20 hardcovers, these seem to me like the standard price for a D20 hardcover.

I'm most certainly not a big Mongoose fan, on the contrary, i feel that a lot of their books leave much to be desired for. But...

Right now i have Classic Play Book of Strongholds & Dynasties and of Dragons in front of me and they are actually pretty well constructed (no warping with each of the three copies i have here). I actually bend the covers backwards and shook the book pretty hard (not your general book abuse) and it looks that the binding didn't 'crack'. Paper quality is also pretty good. I have to say that i appreciate the B&W Mongoose books a lot more than their color books...

The Mongoose books might not be up to spec compared to WotC, but whose RPG books are? If you want a book about dragons, buy the Draconomicon at $40, if you want more material on dragons, go for Classic Play Book of Dragons. The same goes for Strongholds & Dynasties. I think of them as supplementary to the products released by WotC (atleast the Classic Play books).

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I have Strongholds & Dynasties right in front of me as well. On mine the binding is indeed warped - I was there when it got warped by some idiot who sat on my book bag, then managed to damage the bag itself when he pulled it out from underneath his butt without getting up...

Despite being bent into a curve by the fat slob the binding held. That is not a bad binding.

The paper is non glare, chosen perhaps for utility rather than appearance, but still good quality paper.

So rant on, I now know how much you are worth listening to.

The Auld Grump

 

[Mystery Man]

So rant on, I now know how much you are worth listening to.

The Auld Grump

Same to you.

 

[Ranger REG]

There were 3 titles on his shelf that were hardback. One of the Encounters and Lairs and another was Strongholds and Dynasties, there was another but I forget what the title was. All three titles were pretty haphazard in their construction. Compared to some of the cheaper titles on the shelf even. The state of the US dollar shouldn't really be an excuse when it comes to the poor quality of the construction of the books. Regardles of the content 35 dollars is rediculous IMO, gotta draw the line somewhere I guess.

They don't price each book by the condition they are in. Obviously what your FLGS got in their shipment of Mongoose books are defects. It happens. Again, if you purchase the defect (of which I don't know why), tell your FLGS and let them handle the matter.

If they can't, then use the above email that Mongoose_Matt offered.

P.S. What is wrong with me?!?!!! I'm being helpful again!!! How can I be a condescending, arrogant, unkind villain when I'm this way?!?!!!

 

[Mystery Man]

They don't price each book by the condition they are in. Obviously what your FLGS got in their shipment of Mongoose books are defects. It happens. Again, if you purchase the defect (of which I don't know why), tell your FLGS and let them handle the matter.

I brought it to his (the owner's) attention, he was pretty uptight. We'll see if he does anything about it, though. That being said, I'm still not paying 35 for it, that's just way to overpriced. I'm starting to notice a trend among publishers regarding this. I mean, I'm really one of the most open minded guys you'll meet. I'm all for free enterprise and everyone being able to make a buck. So when you've got a guy like me starting to complain about the price of a book.....

Look, you've got this gaming store owner now with a ton of boat anchors, or door stops if you will, sitting on his shelf that are so damn high in price there is no hope of anyone buying them. What's he going to do when you have online companies willing to charge a significantly lower price for the same book? He's going to stop carrying that line or go out of business. It's just getting rediculous.

 

[Scorpio]

Perhaps you need a less 'expensive' hobby....

 

[Crothian]

Look, you've got this gaming store owner now with a ton of boat anchors, or door stops if you will, sitting on his shelf that are so damn high in price there is no hope of anyone buying them. What's he going to do when you have online companies willing to charge a significantly lower price for the same book? He's going to stop carrying that line or go out of business. It's just getting rediculous.

Except that people are buying them from the game stores. And online compnies have been undercutting stores for years now, but that has nothing to do with the price of RPG books.

You started complaining about the warped books. The owner of Mongoose comes by and politely informs you of a few ways you can handle the situation. Now, your complaining about the prices of the books and claiming to be open minded. Books have been priced around 40$ for some of them for a few years now. So, it seems odd that you are only pointing at Mongoose for this. Now it just seems you are trying to complain for the sake of complaining.

 

[Scorpio]

Yep, I think this thread has run it's course.

 

[Mystery Man]

Now, your complaining about the prices of the books and claiming to be open minded.

Actually I started by complaining about the price of the books. See this hobby has us so poor we cant pay attention!

Yep, I think this thread has run it's course.

Yup. I'm done but people keep replying.

 

[froggie]

Class Act

Matt and the boyz will certainly take care of you if there are any defective copies. We lost most of our profits on Tome of Horrors due to the same thing. Rather than smash Mongoose (or us!), ask and ye shall receive. We are all very concerneded about the quality of our productrs. Matt and the MGG boyz set a very high standard too.

Be civil, call Matt (or email him), and I bet your problerm gets solved.

Bill Webb
Necromancer Games