Products that get your attention?

[JoeGKushner]

So what is it about a product that grabs your attention? Cover art? Publisher? Author? Product use? Cost?

One of the common complaints I heard about the Ennies is that people didn't recognize the products in question and I thought... "Why?" Almost all of the companies have web sites, some of them had samples and other free downloads in addition to other support so what's the missing element?

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

For me the first thing that gets my attention is how useful is if to me. This can be anything from immediate use to simple reading enjoyment. I pick up lots of adventures that I will probably never run, just because I like reading them.

Tied for second would be author and publisher. There are a couple of publishers and authors that I pick up most of what they put out, because overall, I enjoy the work that they do.

Cover art is nice, but I can't say that I have ever bought a book just because it had a nice cover.

Cost isn't usually a factor, until you start getting into the $40+ price range with hardcovers, $25+ for paperbacks, or $15+ for adventures. Then I better really want the book, or it'll stay on the shelf.

As for previews and free downloads, I try to stay ontop of what all the major publishers are putting out, and at least skim most of the previews that they put out. I have a folder on my work PC that I just download previews into and read them during free time or at lunch. There have been several books where the preview made my decision to buy it or not.

 

[Trickstergod]

It's really a number of things.

First, sizable threads on Enworld will typically do it for me, for one. Seeing a four to ten page thread or so on a book, like it seems many of Wizards products will get, tends to grab my attention.

Then company factors in. Sword and Sorcery, Fantasy Flight Games, Privateer Press and other companies that I'm already familiar with will typically find me roaming their sites to find out what they're doing.

Reviews also grab my attention. The Lord of the Night series, the Book of the Righteous, Midnight and so on all came to my attention due to reviews (rather then the recent or various threads that have cropped up in regards to each).

I actually don't get out to gaming stores too often, being rather broke, so typically only head over to one after having my attention called to a product by one of those three factors and wanting to pick up the book or browse through it personally. While there, though, while a beautiful cover may attract my attention to a book, it certainly won't have me buying it unless the book itself is decent. I don't base my purchases off of the cover alone. I'm rather minimalist in what I require out of my books - black and white, soft cover, hey, a lower price is better than a higher one for prettiness - so usually don't get sucked in by that alone.

Also, while an author may definitely help my opinion about a book, I've typically already had my attention called to it for various other reasons.

And, of course, product use is what ranks highest in my actually wanting to buy the book. I don't care who wrote the book, or how well rated it is, if it's not about something I might use or at least be interested in reading, I'm not going to pick it up. So product utility certainly serves to keep my interest once it's been gained in the first place.

 

[reanjr]

I go for reviews from people I know (not personally, necessarily) and respect. Monte Cook, for example. I recently picked up three books due to his reviews (Nyambe, Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, and Cry Havoc). I was not the least disappointed with Nyambe, and the other two were certainly good buys.

If it's part of a line of books I collect (Ravenloft for instance), I will just check general reviews. If there seem to be good reviews all over the place, I will get the book. Really, unless all the reviews are bad, I will get the book. And even then, if the book is part of a series (like the Ravenoft Gazeteers) and one book is bad, I will still get it.

Then there's some things that I just buy. Dragonlance, for instance. When a Dragonlance product comes out, I purchase it. Even if it sucks (which none of them have yet).

And finally, my policy with Wizards is to pretty much buy everything except specific lines that don't suit me. I have the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, but nothing else. I have nothing related to Greyhawk. I have Eberron and would probably purchase geographical supplements, but that's it. And the Sword & Fist, etc. series I became disheartened with almost immediately and stopped buying those. In fact, if it weren't for those books, I would probably still be blindly buying WotC material.

 

[Arnwyn]

So what is it about a product that grabs your attention? Cover art? Publisher? Author? Product use? Cost?

As others have noted, it's a number of things. I like how Cthulhu's Librarian set up his response, so I'll imitate that:

#1) Product use (or, how useful the product is to me). I follow my "80% rule" - I must be able and likely to use 80% of the product in my campaign (current or future) for me to be willing to buy the product. Further, I immediately ignore any product whose emphasis seems to be on "feats, PrCs, spells, and/or magic items". Such a product immediately garners from me a quick dismissal.

#2) Publisher & author. I trust certain publishers and authors to provide me a good product that fits my campaign and caters to my style/sensibilities.

#3) Availability. If I can't look through it at my store, chances are high that won't buy it (there are exceptions - see #4 - but this is rare).

#4) Reviews and/or often talked about at ENWorld. More information is always valuable.

Cost and cover art (and the art in general) aren't even on my radar when considering a purchase.

One of the common complaints I heard about the Ennies is that people didn't recognize the products in question and I thought... "Why?" Almost all of the companies have web sites, some of them had samples and other free downloads in addition to other support so what's the missing element?

Oh, heavens, Joe - you can't be serious. "Why?" Are you kidding me? Just having a website certainly does not equal "automatic knowledge". I certainly hadn't heard of many of the ENnies nominees - and I certainly never saw much of them in my LGS. Heck, I hadn't even heard of them spoken about here at ENWorld - so I wouldn't have been able to check out a website.

 

[MonsterMash]

I tend to find that I'm influenced by publisher, content, personal recommentations and reviews mainly. If I go into a store then cover art can catch my eye, but it doesn't really do much if I look and don't see anything useful in the book.

Price does matter a bit as I'm on limited gaming budget, but for the right product I'll try to get the money together (e.g. the Judges Guild/Necromancer Games products).

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

So what is it about a product that grabs your attention? Cover art? Publisher? Author? Product use? Cost?

For me it's Reviews...

Not all publishers get treated this way anymore, WotC, Green Ronin, and Fantasy Flight Games I seem to buy sight unseen.

 

[Shawn Kehoe]

I tend to buy most of the generic D&D Wizards stuff on general principle, unless I really question the utility. (Arms & Equipment Guide etC)

As for the d20 publishers, I also consider the author and publisher as well. Since I read most of my reviews from webpages, I often don't see the cover art until I am reading the review

-Shawn

 

[JoeGKushner]

Oh, heavens, Joe - you can't be serious. "Why?" Are you kidding me? Just having a website certainly does not equal "automatic knowledge". I certainly hadn't heard of many of the ENnies nominees - and I certainly never saw much of them in my LGS. Heck, I hadn't even heard of them spoken about here at ENWorld - so I wouldn't have been able to check out a website.

This is especially true for products that aren't in the LGS and are only available on PDF like Poisoncraft or Sidewinder Recoiled. But no, I'm not kidding. having a website doesn't equal automatic knowledge at all, but if they have previews, interviews, and reviews of the product on other websites (En World, Silven, d20 Magazine Rack,etc...), it doesnt' equal "automatic claim of ignorance" either. This is especially true for products that aren't in the LGS and are only available on PDF like Poisoncraft or Sidewinder Recoiled.

 

[Arnwyn]

having a website doesn't equal automatic knowledge at all, but if they have previews, interviews, and reviews of the product on other websites (En World, Silven, d20 Magazine Rack,etc...), it doesnt' equal "automatic claim of ignorance" either. This is especially true for products that aren't in the LGS and are only available on PDF like Poisoncraft or Sidewinder Recoiled.

Indeed - and that goes with my #3, actually. If I can't flip through the whole book (no, a cheesy PDF preview doesn't do it for me), then it's likely I won't buy.

But I should have also have added a #5 to be even more clear: I don't buy PDFs, so they would obviously never catch my attention. That could be yet another "missing element".