Price-Sensitive Gamers

[reddist]

I'll add another chip to the pot...

The hobby shop I do my shopping at is independently owned and operated. They are unable to offer many sales, so just about everything I buy there I buy at the MSRP. However, because they ARE independently owned and operated, and have become relatively good acquaintences over the last few years, I'd far rather give my money to them, for full price books, rather than taking advantage of 30% discounts from monsters like amazon or ordering through B&N.

I've also started ordering from Morrus' shop as well. I guess I'm not PRICE sensitive, I'm RETAILER sensitive.

-Reddist

 

[National Acrobat]

I'm cheap, I admit it.

Yeah, I am price sensitive as well. I admit it, there are very few times at this point in my life that I will pay full price for something if I don't have to. The last exception to that rule was the Traveller D20 Book, but that was well worth it. I run a Star Wars and an Occaisional Traveller Campaign and the book is great for both. As a husband and father of two I have a mortgage, car payments, etc. Gaming is a hobby, albeit a sacred one, that I have had for years. When I was much younger I could afford to buy whatever and not worry about price. Now I do, so I am very selective. If I can get it somewhere for cheap (Amazon or Ebay) then I will. Otherwise, I'll probably pass.

 

[mmadsen]

Re: Re: Price-Sensitive Gamers

My opinion is that there is very little price sensitivity within each combination of product class and price range, so publishers might as well price at the top of the range vs. the bottom of the range - they will net more money virtually every time, without losing many (if any) actual sales.

(Before I say anything else, I'd just like to say that I love it when you contribute to threads like this, Ryan. It's nice to get a dose of business reality.)

Although I presented myself as a price-sensitive gamer, I think I agree with this basic point. If a product costs $29 or $24, the five-dollar difference has little effect on sales, but a huge effect on revenue, and a really, really huge effect on profit.

A 50% discount, on the other hand, does have a huge effect on sales, but it's not a sustainable strategy, selling at half the market price.

I further believe that there is a large, untapped market for even more expensive products which cater to people who have the disposable income to spend provided that the higher priced "premium" items live up to their price points.

It sounds like someone should try to put out deluxe boxed sets, like TSR did in the late 80's -- only they should charge premium prices that would make a profit.

Finally, I believe there are cheap, low price point items which serve as gateway products, bringing new people into the hobby. These products are typified by not relying on hobby game or comic book stores as their primary point of sale - people who shop in those locations are already vested in the hobby and don't need the low price points to induce purchases.

Can anyone besides WotC get an RPG product into a non-specialty store? If a d20 publisher wanted to put out something like the D&D Adventure Game, something that might bring in new players, how could they go about that?

 

[Balgus]

reddist:The hobby shop I do my shopping at is independently owned and operated. They are unable to offer many sales, so just about everything I buy there I buy at the MSRP. However, because they ARE independently owned and operated, and have become relatively good acquaintences over the last few years, I'd far rather give my money to them, for full price books, rather than taking advantage of 30% discounts from monsters like amazon or ordering through B&N.

That is how i am. I had a game shop go under a while back. I spent a lot of time there, and he was really nice. He gave me discounts every now and then just to tell me that he appreciates my business. really cool guy. But what can i say, rent put him under- and Amazon and other net based owners who can operate out of their garage without theoverhead cost just undercut him.

When he finally did put his stuff on sale (liquidate) he saw me there every day- getting stuff that i THINK i MAY use. On the last day before he left, he GAVE me whatever he thought i might want.- like Creature Collection 2, RR, Creatures of Rokugan, and old Dragon issues. Damn I am gonna miss him.

Haven't bought much since...

 

[Balgus]

hehe- ofrgot about the point of my post- got so emotional about the FLGS going out of business that i forgot to mention what i posted for:

I think it has more to do with relative usefulness than with price. I, personally like monsters, so every monster book that has come out, I snatched up (i did not buy monsters of rokugan because it wa snever on the shelves- it arrived when he was closing shop).

Like the core books- even if they were $50, i bet DND players would snatch it up without really thinking about the price.

But the modules, only DM like those, and the Quintessential X- only certain classes are alluring.

I look at a product and ask "how much do i need/ want it?" If i want it- i will get it no matter the cost. If I need it- then i need it. For supplementary stuff, how much would i use it compared to price ratio. high usage:low price- go get it. low use:high price- forget it.

 

[mmadsen]

Price sensitivity goes two ways. Most people have commented on whether they'd continue to buy products at a higher price. Would you buy more products at a lower price? Much more?

I wanted to repeat this question. Would you buy more products at a lower price? Much more?

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

I wanted to repeat this question. Would you buy more products at a lower price? Much more?

For me?

No.

I buy what interests me.

If a book I really want is 35$, I will pay 35$. If it's 50$, I will pay 50$. If it costs 100$, it better be something I really want, but if it is, I will pay 100$.

In other words, I buy based off interest, rather than price.

If every book in the industry suddenly dropped in price by 50%, my buying rate would increase by maybe 10%.

Patrick Y.

 

[trancejeremy]

I wanted to repeat this question. Would you buy more products at a lower price? Much more?

There's at least 50 d20 books I want to buy, but can't afford. That's just ones I really want. There's probably 2-3 times that that I wouldn't mind having.

That's the thing about d20. 50 books that I really want that have come out in the last couple years (and add that to the 50-60 d20 books I have). By comparison, I have just about the whole West End Games Star Wars product list, and that's only about 6-70 books over a 10 year span or so.

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

I have to admit that I bought stuff that I otherwise wouldn't because they were cheap, rather than because they were things I was dying to have. For instance, I bought the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting at $20 on eBay (shipping included), when I wouldn't have paid $40 for it. I bought Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil on eBay for $16, when I wouldn't have paid the $27 on the cover.

But I don't see why an individual publisher would price lower rather than higher. Look at how much discount it takes for me to buy something, and you'd realize that adding a few bucks to the cover price wouldn't have affected my decision at all.

 

[MThibault]

Re: Re: Re: Price-Sensitive Gamers

Can anyone besides WotC get an RPG product into a non-specialty store? If a d20 publisher wanted to put out something like the D&D Adventure Game, something that might bring in new players, how could they go about that?

I believe Bastion Press is distributed to the book trade as well as the game and hobby trade and I'm certain that I've seen Green Ronin and Kenzer and Co. products in Chapters, here in Canada.



Also,

Ryan doesn't mention (although I'm sure he is well aware) of the strategy of differentiating your product by creating a premium version that no one really wants. I wish I could remember the name of this strategy, but my HBR collection is at the office.

Basically, if your solid mid-priced vacuum cleaner isn't selling then introduce a premium vacuum cleaner to the market and put it on display next to the cheaper one. Sales for the mid-priced product will increase immediately and significantly.

I think that WizKids is using this strategy with their Marvel Heroclix Premier Edition. It is $10 more than a starter pack, and you get a proportionally sized product for the price, but I'm sure that it mostly acts as a billboard on the shelves for the cheaper Starter and Booster packs. It is something that people look at, maybe consider, then feel good about making a sensible choice when they buy the cheaper product.

A $100 RPG product might fit that bill too. Sorry, $60US. I can't get used to Farenheit or US$... So a $60 or $80 product hits the shelves, it is the Scarred Lands Omnibus. It has 3 hardcover books, the gazetteer and an adventure (or one of the city supplements) all in a nicely embossed box for the bookshelf. If you make sure that it is on the store shelf near the individual products you may or may not make a ton of money off the omnibus, but your sales of the individual hardcovers and softcovers is probably going to jump significantly. And if you price the omnibus right, it might just make a few bucks off the relatively low number of units sold.

I would love to see something like this. Just don't call it a 5th anniversary set, that sounds like a money grab.

Cheers