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

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mystic Eye" data-source="post: 1146727" data-attributes="member: 711">I don't think so. I think it is more the economics of it all that is driving this and publishers are HOPING people will buy them at this rate. Statistically, people are, which is not a bad thing for the gaming community. It means more publishers may stay around then leave. Believe it or not, there is a ton of work that goes into every book (probably even bad ones) and the payoff never equals the workload in this industry. A publisher wants to make money at this so they can continue to do what they love as a business. Most are not wealthy from this biz and most never will be.The econimics that drive this are actually simple.Cost of goods versus revenue needs to equal profitability. Publishers are competing for shelf space and retailers would rather give their shelf space to a $50 book than a $15 dollar book.  This is driving the books to be ever higher in quality (hard back, full color, etc) which is driving up the prices. Also driving the prices are deminishing sales.Three years ago, selling 5k of a d20 book was not that hard. The big guys (exluding WOTC which sold a good load more) could sell 20k units or more. Now, that is all but gone (with one or two exceptions that do outstanding of course). The smallest tier of publishers are lucky to break 800 units in sales on a new book release which means they print less. The mid tier selling at best a few thousand units (but not reaching 5k often if at all). This all means smaller print runs that cost more per unit that drive up the costs of goods appreciably. Then you add the higher production quality and wham, a $40-$50 dollar book!One way to drive prices down is to actually stimulate the consumer base to buy more or grow overall. If I knew how to do that in the d20 market right now I would bottle it, sell it to my fellow publishers, and be quite well off.So ultimately, it is the consumer driving the higher prices from the publishers because they are not buying as much but demanding higher quality. I do it too, I am faaaar more selective than I was three years ago. When d20 launched I vowed to have it all. Heheh. I would be in debtors prison if I tried to keep that vow.Of course, while I am basing this on facts I have gathered it is just my opinion. I may be off base here but I doubt it.</blockquote>

Verification