Price of PDFs (Poll)

[mroberon1972]

Oh, and by the way - I have found the script that you made for Fractal Mapper pretty handy, just thought that I'd take the opportunity to thank you in a public forum.

Why, thank you! I was never sure if anyone really found the scripts useful.

If you downloaded the script from the Nbos website, make sure to get the current version from my own. It fixes a couple of bugs that were rare, but nasty.

They seem stable now though...

 

[JoeGKushner]

I like PDFs but find that they are a little too expensive. Not much, just a little. Of course I find some priced just right, most of Ronin Arts for example, but others, especially those that are always 'on sale' or are going to be print products, I just wait for the print products.

 

[DaveMage]

I'm a major purchaser of print products, but I have only downloaded .pdfs that were free, such as web-enhancements.

As to how much I would spend for a 64-pager, the amount would probably be $0 for a new publisher.

For an established publisher, or for a product that has gone out of print and has been re-released in .pdf form (preferably with enhancements), I'd say $4 would be the most (and I'd really have to want the product). Also, if it's just rules-related material (such as new classes, feats, prestige classes), I'm not interested at all.

About the only thing I could see buying in .pdf format (other than what I mentioned above) would be maps or charts that I would want to print out and bring to the table.

 

[pdkoning]

Considering the amount of time it costs to write a decent 64 page pdf. I would gladly pay $5 or $6, if the topic was interesting.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

By the way, you may get a better response if this were in the E-Publishing section. (In fact I recall a very similar question there a few weeks back.)

The Auld Grump, who has downloaded the new scripts.

 

[mroberon1972]

By the way, you may get a better response if this were in the E-Publishing section. (In fact I recall a very similar question there a few weeks back.)

The Auld Grump, who has downloaded the new scripts.

Nope. Then you only get publishers.

I want opinions from BUYERS...

But I did consider it first... Don't feel alone. I just decided it would be like going to an employee meeting to discuss pay rates: You would get a slanted view even worse than what we have already...

 

[Voadam]

I buy lots of pdfs and prefer them to print books (A distinctly minority position).

I usually only buy ones that are $5 or less, usually on sale for significantly less, although I have bought three that were more and received a lot of review copies of ones that cost more.

 

[Squire James]

I think you already have a range in mind, so I'd go for about the middle of it ($6.00 - $7.00). Please note, though, that $0.10 a page is a price for some really good stuff, as compared to $0.01 per page for a paperback novel and $0.12 - $0.15 per page for a hardback RPG book! The quality needs to be more like the latter than the former.

 

[Wombat]

Like many others, all I can say is, "It depends".

Certain magical topics, niche products that no one else has dealt with (I love the Kaiser's Bazaar series, for example), and any product that converts their new spells into AU format will get more of a look-see from me than yet another campaign setting or yet another discussion of the core classes.

I might be willing to spend $10; I might be willing to spend $5; I might not be remotely interested.

Page length, illustrations, or even price do not draw me in -- it is entirely on a topical basis.

 

[Nellisir]

I said $6. My rule of thumb is $1 per 10 pages, rounded down. 64 pages, $6 dollars.

That said, I'd pay $7, possibly $8 for a really interesting product (Book of Templates Deluxe Edition springs to mind -- I bought the original, and couldn't wait for my free upgrade -- so I bought the DE. I'm not a normal consumer, however).

Cheers
Nell.