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<blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 2923164" data-attributes="member: 13098">Just to pipe in here.&nbsp; Ptolus is going to be a limited run print.&nbsp; Monte has said that from very early on.&nbsp; To me, that sounds like a collectible item.&nbsp; Given the stated production values, I don't think it is an unreasonable presumption on my part.There is a lot of buzz over the death of the FLGS and how Amazon.com has contributed to that.&nbsp; Monte has also stated very early on that he was not going to offer this through the book trade channels.&nbsp; None of this is really news, it is just brought back up by the listing on Amazon.com.There is also a lot of buzz on how non-WotC d20 RPG books are being treated more like trade magazines.&nbsp; Distributors order once and never replenish.&nbsp; Effectively, these books are no longer in a backstock channel.&nbsp; If you don't get the copy that your FLGS ordered, then the FLGS might not even be able to restock the product.&nbsp; I can understand a certain amount of frustration from folks here.&nbsp; But let's take a look at some of the stated realities that have come up on the boards in the last year and a half.&nbsp;&nbsp; Reality:&nbsp; A certain segment of the market buys collectible products because the financial limitations for that segment are higher, or non-existant.Reality:&nbsp; The FLGS is becoming reluctant to stock high value items that will immediately be sold cheaper at Amazon.com.Reality:&nbsp; The FLGS is still a really good place to actually sell collectible items.Reality:&nbsp; The hobby distribution channel is a bottleneck to backorder replenishment.&nbsp; As a result, that first sell through the channel is likely all that you will sell.&nbsp; Backstock will eventually be liquidated after sucking up cash flow for a while.What I see is Malhavoc taking a chance on playing to the market realities.&nbsp; Monte is creating a book that won't rely on backstock replenishment to reach the ROI for the project. Do I necessarily like that?&nbsp; Not really.&nbsp; But that isn't because I dislike the way Monte is approaching it.&nbsp; I dislike that apparent market realities seem to make this a creative solution to what is happening.&nbsp; I hope Monte's plan is successful.&nbsp; If it is, there may be other options available to other publishers that are leaving the market entirely.&nbsp; It still sucks for those people that cannot easily afford to make this purchase.&nbsp; But eventually some copies will show up on EBay.&nbsp; There will be the secondary market of used product.&nbsp; There will still be opportunities for PDF sales.&nbsp; It won't completely go away.&nbsp; You just won't be able to find the full collectible package sometime after it is released.&nbsp; Of course, that has been happening to me at the local FLGS for years now with all sorts of D20 product.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BSF, post: 2923164, member: 13098"] Just to pipe in here. Ptolus is going to be a limited run print. Monte has said that from very early on. To me, that sounds like a collectible item. Given the stated production values, I don't think it is an unreasonable presumption on my part. There is a lot of buzz over the death of the FLGS and how Amazon.com has contributed to that. Monte has also stated very early on that he was not going to offer this through the book trade channels. None of this is really news, it is just brought back up by the listing on Amazon.com. There is also a lot of buzz on how non-WotC d20 RPG books are being treated more like trade magazines. Distributors order once and never replenish. Effectively, these books are no longer in a backstock channel. If you don't get the copy that your FLGS ordered, then the FLGS might not even be able to restock the product. I can understand a certain amount of frustration from folks here. But let's take a look at some of the stated realities that have come up on the boards in the last year and a half. Reality: A certain segment of the market buys collectible products because the financial limitations for that segment are higher, or non-existant. Reality: The FLGS is becoming reluctant to stock high value items that will immediately be sold cheaper at Amazon.com. Reality: The FLGS is still a really good place to actually sell collectible items. Reality: The hobby distribution channel is a bottleneck to backorder replenishment. As a result, that first sell through the channel is likely all that you will sell. Backstock will eventually be liquidated after sucking up cash flow for a while. What I see is Malhavoc taking a chance on playing to the market realities. Monte is creating a book that won't rely on backstock replenishment to reach the ROI for the project. Do I necessarily like that? Not really. But that isn't because I dislike the way Monte is approaching it. I dislike that apparent market realities seem to make this a creative solution to what is happening. I hope Monte's plan is successful. If it is, there may be other options available to other publishers that are leaving the market entirely. It still sucks for those people that cannot easily afford to make this purchase. But eventually some copies will show up on EBay. There will be the secondary market of used product. There will still be opportunities for PDF sales. It won't completely go away. You just won't be able to find the full collectible package sometime after it is released. Of course, that has been happening to me at the local FLGS for years now with all sorts of D20 product. [/QUOTE]

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