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Pay What You Want (But Please Pay Something!)
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7851671" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>DriveThruRPG has the option to offer products for no set fee, but rather <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?pwyw=true" target="_blank">Pay What You Want (PWYW)</a>, in which customers pay whatever they think is appropriate for the product. The concept isn't new; PWYW has been around since performers have busked on street corners. But when it comes to role-playing games, certain PYWY strategies work better than others.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]115661[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/20952230142" target="_blank">Picture courtesy Ron Mader.</a></p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>When PWYW Fails</strong></span></h3><p>PWYW seems like a supremely confident strategy in one's product; if it's worth something, someone will feel obligated to pay for it. That's not quite true, as restaurants have found out. Vegetarian restaurant chain Lentil as Anything <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/tight-arse-diners-cost-pay-as-you-feel-restaurant-4000-in-one-night-could-this-pricing-model-work-for-you/" target="_blank">took a $4,000 hit in one day</a> after customers took advantage of its PWYW pricing strategy. Likewise, a new restaurant in Guiyang China decided to try out PWYW...<a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/chinese-restaurant-pay-what-you-want" target="_blank">and lost $15,000 in the experiment</a>. Another restaurant in China lost over $37,000 <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10480084/Restaurant-confronts-Chinas-moral-crisis-with-free-food.html" target="_blank">using the same strategy</a>.</p><p></p><p>It's easy to look at these failures and assume PWYW is not a viable strategy. But in certain cases and certain circumstances it can work.</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Then There's Radiohead</strong></span></h3><p>PWYW rocketed into the spotlight when when Radiohead released their seventh album, In Rainbows, through the band's website as a digital download using a PWYW system. The band was between labels, so the PWYW strategy was as much a reaction to market forces as it was a marketing tactic. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/radiohead-rocks-pay-what-you-want-case-study-christine-paras/" target="_blank">And the results were undeniable</a>:</p><p></p><p>Since most role-playing game designers are not Radiohead, it's worth looking at another major publisher who has used PWYW successfully.</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>A Tip of the Hat</strong></span></h3><p>Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions <a href="https://www.deadlyfredly.com/2013/06/pwyw/" target="_blank">explained how the PWYW strategy worked for his company</a>:</p><p></p><p>I've released products using the PWYW strategy and they have not nearly been as successful. The one key element to all of the previous examples is that well-known brands benefit from the good will they generate. Start up game designers do not have that good will to begin with.</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>So When Does PWYW Make Sense?</strong></span></h3><p>There are some circumstances where PWYW works. As mentioned above, a previous relationship with the customer is critical -- new customers have no emotional attachment or commitment to pay. But conversely, there's something to be said for giving away something without giving it away for free. This creates the illusion of value. As Fred puts it:</p><p></p><p>This strategy also works when you're trying to sell excess or fill capacity -- a tactic that works for hotels and airlines but not digital products. Because digital products don't usually expire, they stay "on the shelf" theoretically forever and thus aren't nearly as relevant to PWYW.</p><p></p><p>But there is a strategy that definitely works for PWYW, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-behind-behavior/201703/when-does-pay-what-you-want-pricing-work" target="_blank">and that's giving to charity</a>:</p><p></p><p>One of the better known models of this version of PWYW that has been applied to tabletop RPGs <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humble_Bundle" target="_blank">is the Humble Bundle</a>:</p><p></p><p>So can the Pay What You Want work for you? Maybe, if you're a well-known game designer, you're giving the funds to charity, or you want to gain more visibility for your product without making a profit on each sale. But for those designers who can't afford to depend on the charity of strangers, a set price might make more sense.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 7851671, member: 3285"] DriveThruRPG has the option to offer products for no set fee, but rather [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?pwyw=true']Pay What You Want (PWYW)[/URL], in which customers pay whatever they think is appropriate for the product. The concept isn't new; PWYW has been around since performers have busked on street corners. But when it comes to role-playing games, certain PYWY strategies work better than others. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="PWYW.jpg"]115661[/ATTACH] [URL='https://www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/20952230142']Picture courtesy Ron Mader.[/URL][/CENTER] [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]When PWYW Fails[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] PWYW seems like a supremely confident strategy in one's product; if it's worth something, someone will feel obligated to pay for it. That's not quite true, as restaurants have found out. Vegetarian restaurant chain Lentil as Anything [URL='https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/tight-arse-diners-cost-pay-as-you-feel-restaurant-4000-in-one-night-could-this-pricing-model-work-for-you/']took a $4,000 hit in one day[/URL] after customers took advantage of its PWYW pricing strategy. Likewise, a new restaurant in Guiyang China decided to try out PWYW...[URL='http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/chinese-restaurant-pay-what-you-want']and lost $15,000 in the experiment[/URL]. Another restaurant in China lost over $37,000 [URL='https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10480084/Restaurant-confronts-Chinas-moral-crisis-with-free-food.html']using the same strategy[/URL]. It's easy to look at these failures and assume PWYW is not a viable strategy. But in certain cases and certain circumstances it can work. [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]Then There's Radiohead[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] PWYW rocketed into the spotlight when when Radiohead released their seventh album, In Rainbows, through the band's website as a digital download using a PWYW system. The band was between labels, so the PWYW strategy was as much a reaction to market forces as it was a marketing tactic. [URL='https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/radiohead-rocks-pay-what-you-want-case-study-christine-paras/']And the results were undeniable[/URL]: Since most role-playing game designers are not Radiohead, it's worth looking at another major publisher who has used PWYW successfully. [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]A Tip of the Hat[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions [URL='https://www.deadlyfredly.com/2013/06/pwyw/']explained how the PWYW strategy worked for his company[/URL]: I've released products using the PWYW strategy and they have not nearly been as successful. The one key element to all of the previous examples is that well-known brands benefit from the good will they generate. Start up game designers do not have that good will to begin with. [HEADING=2][SIZE=5][B]So When Does PWYW Make Sense?[/B][/SIZE][/HEADING] There are some circumstances where PWYW works. As mentioned above, a previous relationship with the customer is critical -- new customers have no emotional attachment or commitment to pay. But conversely, there's something to be said for giving away something without giving it away for free. This creates the illusion of value. As Fred puts it: This strategy also works when you're trying to sell excess or fill capacity -- a tactic that works for hotels and airlines but not digital products. Because digital products don't usually expire, they stay "on the shelf" theoretically forever and thus aren't nearly as relevant to PWYW. But there is a strategy that definitely works for PWYW, [URL='https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-behind-behavior/201703/when-does-pay-what-you-want-pricing-work']and that's giving to charity[/URL]: One of the better known models of this version of PWYW that has been applied to tabletop RPGs [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humble_Bundle']is the Humble Bundle[/URL]: So can the Pay What You Want work for you? Maybe, if you're a well-known game designer, you're giving the funds to charity, or you want to gain more visibility for your product without making a profit on each sale. But for those designers who can't afford to depend on the charity of strangers, a set price might make more sense. [/QUOTE]
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