Ptolus at Amazon?

[Varianor Abroad]

I agree. I just think Dwarven Forge is a possible model for these smaller companies. It should be pointed out DF had a substantial market penetration before they went direct.

Just to make a point in reverse, Dwarven Forge has glorious looking stuff that I want for my campaigns! I have never been able to afford it and have never chosen to save up the money, in part because to get a truly nice set will take a lot of investment. Instead, I make my own terrain. Big pain, lotta effort, but I think it's worth it for the few pieces I make. I would still love to have DF stuff. Someday I will. I hope.

But I've never even thought of getting mad at them just because I can't find it cheap. That's just bizarre.

 

[DaveMage]

While I firmly stand by Monte and his decision to help the lifeblood of our hobby, the FLGS (hope I didn't say anything incendiary there ), I did see this:

http://frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=28329

I don't know if FRP will get it, but it appears, judging on what they do, that they order through the hobby channel. If that is the case, then presumably they'd be able to actually offer it at that price, minus the frills of a real (oh, there I go again ) pre-order.

-Talgian

Interesting. FRP is only offering 10% off - they usually discount items by 20%.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Well, I need a discount on a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and a nice set of Sonus Faber Amatis and Levinson amplifiers, then.

You're still misrepresenting what I mean by "need". If you want a Ferrari, but need the price to be 30K, you won't get it. Either way you don't "need" the Ferrari.

If you want something, you save the money for it or buy something else you can afford. It's unfair to say Monte is deliberatly stopping people from getting a discount.

He is specifically not selling to Amazon because of their discount, according to what he said. If Amazon offered the book for the same price, there's no problem with it.

Any retailer is setting their own prices on the book. If my LGS sold a hundred copies at $100 each, you can be sure Monte would be happy with that. He's just taking a stand on the side of the LGS rather than mass-market retailers to sell his expensive product.

He'd rather market to his secondary (after distrib) customer (LGS) than his eventual customer. His eventual customers are the fans that have supported him. If you don't trust White Wolf's website, you can wait for Ebay. Woohoo.

 

[Vocenoctum]

But I've never even thought of getting mad at them just because I can't find it cheap. That's just bizarre.

There are plenty of people that won't buy Ptolus, even at $75. I'm not sure how many people fit in the "will buy it at $75, but not $120" or various price points in between. What people that are focused on the price are complaining about is that the decision was made so that you COULDN'T get that discount.

Plus, as has been stated, plenty of folks prefer Amazon for convenience more than price, or at least in addition to price. Plenty of GR books were/are full retail at Amazon, but I still buy them there because it's easier. They're actually pretty random about discounts on Midnight material, but I still get it there.

 

[Bobitron]

Do people really think the book is only worth $75? I think the real issue here is one of two things: either people just plain won't pay full price, or they don't see that the book and the extras are worth what he's charging.

 

[rpghost]

While I firmly stand by Monte and his decision to help the lifeblood of our hobby, the FLGS (hope I didn't say anything incendiary there ), I did see this:

http://frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=28329

I don't know if FRP will get it, but it appears, judging on what they do, that they order through the hobby channel. If that is the case, then presumably they'd be able to actually offer it at that price, minus the frills of a real (oh, there I go again ) pre-order.

-Talgian

RPGShop.com will be offering it for around $105 or even a specail of $99 when it comes out, plus you get 5% cash back for your next order, plus you get a free $20-30 book swag item.

We just don't do pre-orders. As they are a pain and sometimes delayed very long.

James

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

You have folks that want a discount.

You have folks that need a discount.

No one needs a discount because no one needs Ptolus in the first place. Like all RPG books, Ptolus is a luxury product quite unessential for living.

You also have folks that are quite a distance from a LGS and it's not worth the trouble to drive (assuming car) to it.

You also have the folks that simply like having a book delivered to their home.

You are making it sound as if there are no RPG-specific online stores out there, which is simply not true. I mean, I've preordered Ptolus from a German RPG online store, and I am sure that the USA has a bunch of them, too. The White Wolf Online Store, for example.

No, this is about the discount, and nothing else. You are not forced into a slavish, abusive dependency on your LGS.

 

[Odhanan]

No one needs a discount because no one needs Ptolus in the first place. Like all RPG books, Ptolus is a luxury product quite unessential for living.

You are making it sound as if there are no RPG-specific online stores out there, which is simply not true. I mean, I've preordered Ptolus from a German RPG online store, and I am sure that the USA has a bunch of them, too. The White Wolf Online Store, for example.

No, this is about the discount, and nothing else. You are not forced into a slavish, abusive dependency on your LGS.

Indeed.

 

[Numion]

Do people really think the book is only worth $75? I think the real issue here is one of two things: either people just plain won't pay full price, or they don't see that the book and the extras are worth what he's charging.

The amount of people that will buy any product depends on the price. Obviously more people would buy it at $75 than at $120. The highest price a person is willing to pay for it is the books "worth" for him.

Someone who really doesn't like Ptolus might buy it if it only cost him $20. So, shockingly the books worth for him would be only $20. This is just how people and the market works.

A products worth is what the market will bear. So no, we're not trying slam or undervalue Monte's work. People just have different preferences when it comes to what anything is worth to them. Are you going to fault them for that?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

The amount of people that will buy any product depends on the price. Obviously more people would buy it at $75 than at $120. The highest price a person is willing to pay for it is the books "worth" for him.

Someone who really doesn't like Ptolus might buy it if it only cost him $20. So, shockingly the books worth for him would be only $20. This is just how people and the market works.

I wouldn't quite put it this way. I'd say that lots of RPG books are worth their money, but I simply can't afford to buy them all. So I don't. And my buying decision has little to do with their "worth", but everything with my priorities.

And the RPG market can't really be compared with a regular market. After all, in most industries people produce something because they plan to make a living wage from it. But in the RPG industry, people primarily produce something because they are huge RPG fans, and not because they plan to make a living from it. And this fact makes RPG products a lot cheaper than they would ordinarily be - than they would be if all RPG authors insisted they would be compensated in a way that gave them an income that they would be able to live from.

Most RPG books are too cheap.