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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rifter" data-source="post: 421449" data-attributes="member: 2530">Another point of viewFirst off, this has been a terrific thread.  Next, I wanted to discuss the glut.  There is one.  I work for a local game store, and certain titles, come to the shelf, and go right off.  Others, we have to work to sell... and yet others, never sell.  The store owner has gotten a lot more gun-shy, when ordering new products in.  Certain companies, the owner will always order their products.  Other ones, he will pass, unless someone asks him directly for it.  So, to get by this, it helps to have knowlegable people at the store.  I sell a LOT of D20 products, because I buy a bunch, and read them for the game I run, and the games I play in.  If someone comes in looking for a product, I can ask them what they are looking for, and get them hooked up.  Products don't sell for many reasons.  Not what the person is looking for, not high enough quality, very narrow niche (Avalance products suffer from this, but man, they are great historical "idea" books), and, others are priced pretty high, for what you get (some of Fast Forward's hardbacks, and Bastion books come to mind).  To sell books, you need to get known.  I talk about stuff from Enworld, and eventually that stuff gets orders where I work.  But, a lot of stuff still goes by, and I have to get it ordered.  I then show some friends, and a few more books get orderd.  People need to know about these different books.  Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a good channel for getting information to the stores.  The store owner calls the distributor, and asks for what is new.  He gets the list, and orders anything that sounds interesting.  He never even LOOKS at the product.  With D&D products it is a no-brainer, but for smaller 3rd party products, this gets difficult.  I have a suggestion for a lot of the companies that are making new games, using D20, such as Dragon Star or Spycraft.  Please, make a few adventures, that get characters from lvl 1 to lvl 6 or 8.  I like to GM, but I GM fantasy.  I would LOVE to GM those 2 games in particular, but I don't really have the "feel" down.  I learn the feel by playing in a game a GM runs, or running a module, that already fits.  Also, put in some of the cool mechanics your game has, that makes it stand apart from others.  For the comments on Deadlands.  I too picked up the main book, and the monster book, as soon as they came out.  After being an avid fan of the original book, I was devistated by the transition to D20.  It just doesn't always work well.  Though, hearing that there will be optional mechanics to use cards, really piques my interest.  Though, I still think that deadlands, like many other games, works better on its own system, than being pounded into shape on another system.  In summary, you really need to get your supplements known.  Send flyers to the distributors, giving some information about your products.  Get advocates in all the markets, even smaller ones.  You will probalby have some better luck with advocates in smaller markets, since more people tend to know each other.  Finally, do everything in your power to let people know about your products.  Press releases to the news sites like EN world, banner ads help a lot.  (I have purchased items I had never heard of, because of banner ads here... like Masters of Arms, Aerial Adventures and soon to be: elements of magic).  Make it interesting.  Banner ads are like billboards.  They get the word out, that you exist.  From there, the users can choose whether they want to check it out or not... but you need to give consumers the ability to know about your product.  Also, watch your price.  I have seen one copy of Book of the Righteous sold at our store.  I bought it.  It is one of the best books I have read.  But, friends of mine look at the price, and gasp.  The $100 adventure sounds GREAT, but I don't know many people that would fork over that much money.</blockquote>

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