Outrage at prices

[diaglo]

Damn. I have to go to Gen Con next year.

ditto.

 

[Voadam]

I'm not sure I'm understanding why people are saying if you think a product you would be interested in is overpriced you should only not buy it and not complain about the price. A rational person who thinks a book is overpriced to the point it is not worth it for them to buy will not do so. There is still a valid reason to vent about it or to express your opinion that it is not worth it and say the overpricing annoys you.

Ptolus I'm going to wait for the pdf info before judging.

But Fantasy Flight Games annoys me with the majority of their pdf prices. I like the books of theirs that I have and I was interested in getting pdf copies of the print books that I use and ones I don't have that I am interested in (I've shifted from print to only pdf books now). I bought the few cheap ones they sell but I'm annoyed that everything else is only $.95 less than cover price for the print book. All of them I could get significantly lower than cover price for the print product and they are not competitively priced with similar products for pdfs that I also want.

For example:

I could get a pdf copy of the 64 page elemental lore by FFG for $14 to get a copy and paste version of the print one I bought http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36_37&products_id=503&affiliate_id=17596 . Or I could pay $15 for a pdf version of the print copy of the 200 + page full color monsters of Norrath http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47_65&products_id=645&affiliate_id=17596 that I use a bunch for my high level game. Or $15 for the 200+ page 3.5 Warcraft monster book Manual of Monsters pdf http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47_64&products_id=2235&affiliate_id=17596 to complement my print copy.

Guess which two I plan to use my monthly RPG budget to buy first. Guess which nice one I think I'd have 100 months of more attractive products for that price range to spend my gaming budget on instead?

In contrast FFG's 64 page necromantic lore http://www.drivethrurpg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36_37&products_id=493&affiliate_id=17596 is $5 and I snapped that up when it went from DRM to Watermark pdf format and I'm happy with it.

I am happy with the FFG books I have. I am annoyed with FFG for the not competitively priced ones they offer which I would like to have but will not buy.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Aren't you judging the people who feel like the higher prices are a kick to the gut? There is nothing wrong with complaining about higher prices. And, while you may consider these books "high end" products, there is a direct correlation between "high end" prices and "low end" prices. High "premium" prices usually directly correlate to higher low end prices. Four years ago, the "premium" price of a RPG book was between 40-50 dollars and the low to average price of a RPG book was 15-25 dollars. Now, we have a premium market of $100 and the low to average price of a RPG book is 30-50 dollars.

Complaining about prices is one thing. Doing so in a sensible manner, not buying the book at full price, not buying the book at all, but my opinion is that it's silly to threatened to leave the game, or stop buying everything from a specific person.

I could be wrong of course, but we'll find out as time goes on and... yes, the market does what the market does.

 

[JoeGKushner]

In your list, you missed an obvious one:

Is it because some of you have strictly limited budgets, and every price hike means you're able to buy less and less material for the hobby you love?

That I can understand but that's obsessive-compulsive. Trust me, you don't have to buy every product to enjoy the game.

It also means people should be using their shopping taste more active to find better deals on games including selling old games they no longer play to earn new funds to buy new games. Heck, trading games is another good way to spread the wealth.

Wanting everything and not being able to buy everything.... can't see too much sympathy for that cause.

 

[diaglo]

Wanting everything and not being able to buy everything.... can't see too much sympathy for that cause.

wasn't that the basis of the TCG... esp things like Pokemon?

gotta collect them all

 

[hexgrid]

Complaining about prices is one thing. Doing so in a sensible manner, not buying the book at full price, not buying the book at all, but my opinion is that it's silly to threatened to leave the game, or stop buying everything from a specific person.

But how many people have actually posted such a claim here? Two or three, maybe?

Why bother being offended by it?

 

[ShadowDenizen]

But Fantasy Flight Games annoys me with the majority of their pdf prices. I like the books of theirs that I have and I was interested in getting pdf copies of the print books that I use and ones I don't have that I am interested in (I've shifted from print to only pdf books now). I bought the few cheap ones they sell but I'm annoyed that everything else is only $.95 less than cover price for the print book. All of them I could get significantly lower than cover price for the print product and they are not competitively priced with similar products for pdfs that I also want.

I like FFG alot: they're porbably one of my favorite companies for both RPG's, Board and Card Games. I think their lines are priced reasonably (most of the Midnight suplpements are $15, and I use a littel something out of each of them, so it's well worth the money, at least to me!!)

That said, I can see the point you're trying to make. I get the impression (it may be false, but it's the impression I get) that companies price PDF's depsending on the interest they have in that market. Someone like Malhavoc seems to have a HUGE interest in the PDF market, and thus their stuff is priced competitvely. Wheras FFG doesn't seem to have much interest in the PDF market, and price their books higher, comparable to the print line. Witness Midnight 2E: I found $50 to be a reasonable buy (a little high-priced, IMO, but still reasonable) for a print version, but wouldn't pay that (or even half-that) for a PDF version.

Personally, I have no real interest in PDF's, but I have several decent FLGS's in the area. If I lived elsewhere and didn't have that luxury, I might re-think my buying strageties in regards to PDF.

 

[glass]

In your list, you missed an obvious one:

Is it because some of you have strictly limited budgets, and every price hike means you're able to buy less and less material for the hobby you love?

But why would that cause people to complain about prices of things that by their own admission they wouldn't buy anyway, as was the case in the two recent examples that (I assume) sparked this thread?

(This isn't aimed just at you Umbran, but by all the many people making similar points).


glass.

 

[glass]

But how many people have actually posted such a claim here? Two or three, maybe? Why bother being offended by it?

Because messageboards exist to allow people to express their opinions and debate them with others.


glass.

 

[JoeGKushner]

But how many people have actually posted such a claim here? Two or three, maybe?

Why bother being offended by it?

Wasn't just here. RPG.net and a few other forums just seemed to sprout all the same types of threads at one time.