Troll Wizard said:
Well so much for competition...
I'm not sure if there ever really was any competition in the vein that you imply existed. Certainly not directly for the end user/consumer, though it was true for vendors getting varying rates depending on who they used to distribute their electronic products. And it is also true that some vendors, all of whom will be paying the newly merged eTailor a larger percentage, will pass their increase on to the end user/consumer. But, since eTailors never actually buy "stock" of electronic products nor set their own prices, there was never really competition in the traditional sense as seen between, say, one brick and mortar retail outlet to another, or even online retailer who hold physical stock in warehouses.
It has been suggested by the future new conglomerate that the merger will incite an increase in sales to more than make up for the increase in the percentage but whether that will actually be the case remains to be seen. I doubt it will be the case but the decrease in the time required for the vendors to manage several outlets, with uploads and linking and PR might be worthy of a slight increase.
The telling factor, IMO, as to how truly, universally helpful this is to the vendors, in particular, is the push by the new conglomerate to require signed exclusivity agreements to receive the best rates. At present, it seems like a no-brainer since the bulk of the current so-called competition is part of the merger or becoming affiliates and folding their own storefronts, barring SJG's e23 eStore and Paizo, but the taint it leaves with me is that a handful of people just went through a couple of years of tussling over the pie wedges and, now that they have decided there is a greater benefit in working collectively, the more people they can lock into exclusivity agreements now means less likelihood that
new competition will emerge.
For many vendors, myself included actually, there will be little change. If you want the publisher to receive the lion's share of the MSRP, check their website for the method they suggest you make your purchase. If you want to support EN World or RPG.Net, buy through their interface affiliate stores and they'll receive a percentage. If you're a diehard RPGNow.com-er, stick with their interface. If you prefer DTRPG, stick with their interface. Eventually, all of the RPGNow.com, DTRPG, and the affiliate interfaces will have you using the same ID and password, so it won't be any tougher to go one route or another.
As has almost always been the case in the past, the prices will likely be the same from store to store no matter which route you choose. no matter which route you choose.
