Price-Sensitive Gamers

[BenBrown]

When it comes right down to it, I'd rather pay $40 for something nice than $20 for a piece of junk.

Sure, I'd love to get the high quality stuff for cheap, but I'll buy things if I can afford them.

bought a lot more before I became a homeowner. the money I was going to use to get D20 modern has become a new garbage disposal.

 

[KnowTheToe]

If I can save 30% on a product, I am going to do it. I have bought many products at a discount that I would not have payed for full price. I find that I have enought books to do anything I really need to, therefore i do not buy them as often. I am waiting for the Kalamar Atlas and will gladly pay full price for it.

The only pricing concerns I have are the same as metioned above. I think it will be harder to get new gamers started when the core books can cost close to a $100. Lets face it, that is a lot of money for someone who just is starting out. The truth is, there is a lot of value in those three books, but if they get too expensive, new gamers may never find out.

I put T20 on my Chrismas List, but I will pay full price for that as well.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

I have a $30 price limit for game related material. I will not spend more than that amount on any one item. If it costs more than $30 I won't buy it until I can find a used copy.

This isn't an income issue, it's a decision. I will not spend more than what I make in one hour for any one gaming product.

I make half that, and I gladly pay $40 for high-quality products. Don't you get much more than an hour's use out of a book?

 

[Maraxle]

I go in phases. My #1 hobby/interest tends to change a lot, so whatever that is at the moment gets the majority of my free cash. The other interests still get some attention, but not as much. About six months ago, when D20 was my #1, I bought a lot, and was less price sensitive. Now that I'm back to video editing as my #1, it gets most of my cash, and I only very occasionally pick up a new D20 book. Music is right up there too, with all the great CDs recently/soon to be released (Audioslave, Nirvana, etc), so I haven't picked up a D20 book in a month or so.

 

[Voadam]

Re: Errm... hmmmm... no.

I seem to be in a minority here.


Also, I'd like to see a D&D core book, taking the basic elements of PHB, DMG and MM and doing it in one book. Sort of like the D&D Cyclopeadia, and then sell that for 20 bucks. But I guess I'll be waiting a long while for that to happen...

Cheers

Maggan

You mean like the free srd which only doesn't include the default greyhawk material advice and examples and the xp chart and rules? I have rarely cracked the DMG, I got all the DMG rules (except for sample NPCs, starting wealth and xp charts) from the srd (and I use my own xp system since I don't like the CR overcome obstacles DMG system).

I'm quite happy with the d20 modern srd and although d20 modern is on my amazon wish list (along with 100 other gaming books) I do not see myself choosing to spend even a discounted cover price for it.

 

[Voadam]

I'm cheap but greedy. I want them all but I don't want to pay a lot for any of them.

I have tons of books, more than I will ever use and I want a ton more. I have disposable income but my innate cheapness stops my splurging and makes me very price conscious. I'd rather get something on discount and I have patience for waiting for things to go on sale. (I waited years for some 2e things I wanted to come out as $5 ESDs even though I had 30% off sale opportunities to get them right away.

 

[Voadam]

I'm also glad I'm getting the $45 penumbra bestiary free, because it is really expensive for an rpg book but I am really looking forward to it. Author copies rock!

I believe it was John Nephew of Atlas-games who was saying that their salta specials do not get much business, I was surprised because half of the stuff I ordered from them in the past was from their Salta Special and I was very happy with the books I got from the deals.

 

[Buttercup]

If the product is something I really want, then I don't care how much it costs. However, if the product is mediocre, or doesn't fit my needs, then I don't want it even for free. My gaming bookshelf is overflowing, so space is a bigger cost than money to me these days.

I would love to see that super-deluxe product that included adventures, counters, maps, props and everything else to take my players from level one to, say, 10. I'd pay big bucks for that.

I'm in this hobby for the long haul, so all of the books I buy will get used, probably many times. Given the cost of many other hobbies, like restoring cars or collecting depression glass, or any number of other things people do with their time and money, D&D is fairly cheap. But even if it weren't, I remain unapologetic about how much I spend on it.

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

I would love to see that super-deluxe product that included adventures, counters, maps, props and everything else to take my players from level one to, say, 10. I'd pay big bucks for that.

I'm in this hobby for the long haul, so all of the books I buy will get used, probably many times. Given the cost of many other hobbies, like restoring cars or collecting depression glass, or any number of other things people do with their time and money, D&D is fairly cheap. But even if it weren't, I remain unapologetic about how much I spend on it.

As the one who proposed that super deluxe product idea last year, I'm certainly glad to hear others chiming in about how they'd want one. I'm still waiting for a publisher to do one (hey John, are you listening?), though given the wait, I might have to go write one myself.

But while the cost of the hobby is low, it's definitely NOT going to be low if you bought every $40 book that comes out! There are more $40 books coming out every month than any person could really buy and still remain under budget.

My other big hobby is cycling. I'm still riding a bike I bought in 1999 --- I'd would be riding a bike I bought 10 years ago, but an accident took care of that... :-(. A new chain and new tires every year run me about $50 total. It's less than what most people spend on RPG products here. However, if you bought a new bike every year, you'd be spending lots and lots of money. The same goes for RPGs. You could spend very little per year (a Dungeon subscription runs about $35 a year), or spend hundreds a month, depending on how disciplined your buying habits are.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'd spend fourty bucks on a great game that was the whole package in one book. As for individual books...thirty is the max I will plop down. But I'm the kind of guy that would by a b&w softcover version of a game even if it was only a few bucks cheaper than the full color hardcover edition.