Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greg at FFG" data-source="post: 426857" data-attributes="member: 2866">EN World ate my rant! I posted a long response to this, but I think I previewed and then didn't submit it. I'll try to keep it shorter this time just in case the original reappears from the ether.All due respect Erik, but markets don't work like this. The consumer generally doesn't care or even know what a product cost the manufacturer. He just cares whether or not it's a good value for him, all things considered (how much he needs or wants it, cost and availability of substitute products, etc.). A gamer who decides Oathbound isn't worth $40 to him isn't irrational, he's just making an everyday, ordinary purchasing decision.I find it interesting that we, as publishers, are claiming that our customers are willing to pay more for our products and complaining that our sales are slipping at the same time. This, I would suggest, does not compute.Are prices too low to make good money in the RPG industry? You bet. Sadly, unless you have a really hot, high-demand product, you'll most likely just sell less books if you raise prices significantly. Our customers have shelves full of d20 books, and shelves more to choose from every month. They *will* get pickier about what they buy. If you want to keep your sales up, you better make damn sure it's a good product that your customers actually want *and* that it's available at a competitive price.You won't likely make good money in the RPG industry because it's a weak market based on a tiny customer base that doesn't really need your products to participate in their hobby. From a business perspective, you're not making enough money because *you don't sell enough product* -- not because your prices are "too low." Small market, low demand, real hard to make money. Bummer.Build a solid business within the constraints of the market you've chosen, publish a breakout hit, do it for love rather than money, or do something else. Publishers, editors, writers, artists -- everyone involved in this "industry" is likely to remain underpaid with a very few and notable exceptions.All of this, of course, is just my opinion. Very interesting discussion.GregFFG</blockquote>

Verification