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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 869553" data-attributes="member: 2013">My thoughts (FWIW)...I think Ryan is "spot on" here - how many of us have heard that Setting A, B, or C or Adventure A, B, or C is basically someone's old campaign re-worked into 3e?Most importantly, we now have examples of what to do -- and what NOT to do with your products.  IOW, it's become fairly clear how far you can push the envelope in regards to legality (obviously the firestorm swirling around the BoEF tells us that the bounds or morality are less well-defined).There is also a vast library of knowledge - and knowledgeable people to get advice from - something that we didn't have three years ago.Thankfully.  Publishers are being forced to raise the bar, as there is no longer truth to the adage, "if it has d20 slapped on it, it sells no matter how bad it is."The thing is, the d20 PDF market has, as I see it, already "coalesced" somewhat into four tiers of publishers...1.) Malhavoc Press and possibly E.N. Publishing - These guys are the unquestioned cream of the PDF crop.  Many of their products are put into print as well.  People unfamiliar with PDFs but willing to try the format are willing to buy their products sight unseen, because they know them already by reputation - and people familiar with PDFs almost universally have a majority these companies' releases on their "must buy" list.2.) The "high-quality" PDF designers - These are PDF designers whose products exhibit consistent high quality and get a decent volume of sales - not enough to quit their day jobs, but enough to get a return on their investments.  I think there are probably around half a dozen of these - they have "quality" associated with their brand name.  People unfamiliar with PDFs may be willing to buy their products sight unseen - and people familiar with PDFs probably have most of these companies' releases on their "must buy" list.  If one of these publishers puts out a work on a subject that interests a person familiar with PDFs, it's all but a lock that the person will trust them enough to make the purchase.  They could probably survive one "bad" release with their reputation intact - but won't release a bad product so it doesn't matter.3.) The "re-release of print products" - This includes Bastion Press and Mystic Eye Games and Atlas Games - this is print companies that re-release OOP products as PDFs.  I don't yet have a good feel for where they sit in relation to the other groups as far as customer purchasing patterns... and since only their early stuff has been released thus far (for the most part) the quality is probably slightly less than that of groups #1 and 2... but only because their "new" releases are really a couple of years old.4.) Everyone else.  PDF junkies (like me) will buy their stuff but the vast majority of PDF people wait to hear a review or two before buying unless the subject is one they absolutely love.  With two to three consecutive solid releases, these guys can probably move up into category #2.  With a bad release or two, they can (unfortunately) get blacklisted and crash into obscurity. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />--The Sigil</blockquote>

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