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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 1778681" data-attributes="member: 18280">So, you're allowed to be cranky, too.  Cool.  I started playing Christmas 1979.  Of course, then I was cranky because I was a teenager.   <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> I beg to differ.As you said, "WoTC has to pay artists, printers, binders, r&d staff and the list goes on."  The more WotC has to shell out, the better return it needs to make on its expenditures just to break even.  To make a profit, it needs to do even better.In the old days, the risk was shared by thousands of stores, which purchased product outright, without the ability to make returns.  This made it a lot easier to see what you had to charge for a product in order to make certain that you hit a projected profit level.At Golden City Comics, we offer a substantial discount to members because we know what they want to buy, and when we order it reduces our risk.  We can afford to make less of a profit on those books because we know that we can count on X copies of product Y not to be a loss.  This is something we do every day of the week.Now, imagine that you wanted to order 600 copies of Wolverine #31, but you were unwilling to agree that you would actually pay for any of those 600 copies.  Further, let us assume that you are willing to buy on the basis of a 20% discount.  At $4.25 a copy (Canadian currency), I stand to make $510 (the base cost of the books is $2,550, $2,040 with a 20% discount, but I payed $1,530 for them).  This is, of course, a retailer example.Now, let us say that I am also the publisher of Wolverine #31.  My liability should you not pick them up clearly outweighs my profit.  However, I still want to make that profit.  But, if my costs remain the same, and I raise the price, my potential profit increases whereas my liability does not.  For example, by raising the price to $5.25, I change the cost of those 600 issues to $2,520 (including the 20% discount), increasing my profit potential by $480 to $990.  Of course, I am also raising the price to all other consumers, which have to pay up front, thus using them to subsidize my liability.Of course, the discount to retailers (including online retailers) is better than 20%, but if I give you an extra 20% discount, and get other retailers to cover your liability, you can now offer a substantial discount without fearing any liability....At least until the other retailers go under.  Then I am forced to make you undertake more liability, but since you are the only retailer standing, you can pretty much charge whatever you like....at least until your customers revolt.RC</blockquote>

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