Small Publishers on RPGNow

[GMSkarka]

Not fully true. It will inform the Purchasing Public.

There is nothing to inform the Purchasing Public of, just yet. The details aren't fully set yet, as has been stated before.

The Purchasing Public doesn't need to be involved in the discussions leading up to that point.

 

[Roudi]

As a consumer, I don't remember a poll that said anything like:

Would you like to have RPGnow site divided into two sites based on someone else criteria of quality product.

Amen, Man-thing. RPGNow might find themselves in a pretty tight spot if they come up with a plan just among the publishers, then introduce it, only to lose a good base of their customers because they simply don't care for the changes. I hope that once they formulate a more solid plan, they test the public reaction to the idea before going ahead with it.

You also bring up a good point about quality factors. If exceptions are being made for low-sales, high quality products, who is the one to determine what is of a high enough caliber to make it to the main site? Other publishers? The administrators of RPGNow? The presence of several good reviews? (On a side note, if review quality alone was the determinant for admittance into the "elite" site, many of the products from RPGNow's platinum vendors would be excluded simply from lack of reviews). If it turns out that those making exceptions for high quality products are themselves publishers, that's going to open up a whole host of conflict-of-interest issues.

I can see that the aim here is to remove the "clutter" from the main site and have it so that big boys compete against big boys and indies compete with indies. Unfortunatly, that'll remove one of the drawing factors I (and some others I know) appreciated about RPGNow. No matter who you were, your level of investment in the PDF RPG biz, your level of experience, the swankyness (or ugliness) of your cover art, or any other factor, your PDF went onto the size with an almost equal playing field against all others. Sure, platinum vendors got all kinds of perks and extra promotions... but when you got to the actual product listings, small guys and big guys would be right next to each other. Call me an idealist, but that was free market capitalism at it's finest, and I'm sure it inspired more than a few of us to try our own hands at PDF publishing. With the upcoming segregation, that levelling factor will be gone. No matter what, Indie RPGNow is going to be seen as the lesser group. Properly marketed, that site could do well, but I don't respect RPGNow's current customer service rep and thus I don't have much faith that the indie site will receive the attention it deserves (it doesn't help that that customer service rep is himself a vendor whose products will remain on the main site).

The real irony is that while new vendors will have to work their way up in the indie site, "big boys" like WotC would start out directly in the main site, even if they end up bringing in few sales. This move makes me very reluctant to attempt to become an RPGNow vendor.

 

[Man-thing]

How's this for conspiracy and rumour...

Could this also be used by the more successful to scoop up smaller publishers. Company X, you are new and untested so you go to site B. But wait, I've seen your stuff and I like it so if you want to work out a deal with me I can distribute your stuff on site A.

 

[Wystan]

There is nothing to inform the Purchasing Public of, just yet. The details aren't fully set yet, as has been stated before.

The Purchasing Public doesn't need to be involved in the discussions leading up to that point.

The purchasing public is RPGNow's audience. So we do not need to know that RPGNow might decide to change the way we search and exclude vendors based on a popularity contest?

 

[GMSkarka]

The purchasing public is RPGNow's audience. So we do not need to know that RPGNow might decide to change the way we search and exclude vendors based on a popularity contest?

See, that's what I'm talking about. Here you are ready to get into an argument, making a very ugly accusation, about something that you don't know the details of....and not because you're ignorant or anything, but because those details don't exist yet.

I can tell you this: It's not a "popularity contest."

PLEASE--Wait until we've given the details before you start looking for a lynching tree. Is that too much to ask?

 

[Ghostwind]

As a publisher who WILL be affected by the proposed changes, I echo Gareth's plea to allow RPGNow to put together its plan and let them formally announce it. Once that is made public, then you can crucify whomever you want (assuming us small publishers don't do it first).

 

[Tinner]

I don't understand how the concept of a second site makes any sense.
If RPG Now wants to showcase different vendors in different ways that makes sense.
But wouldn't this be better all around by improving the searching and sorting of a single site?
A simple "What are you looking for?" link system on the site entrance could handle this without pissing off publishers, or adding the inevitable confusion a second URL will cause.
Wal Mart doesn't build a seperate store for their lower selling goods - they just change their shelf space to accent the goods they want to emphasize.

 

[Eosin the Red]

EDITED and reported.

The thread starter asked that the thread be closed which is standard policy at ENWorld.

 

[Pielorinho]

EDITED and reported.

The thread starter asked that the thread be closed which is standard policy at ENWorld.

Eosin, we've often closed threads at the OP's request, but it's not a policy that we do so (and, as you're aware, we've denied such requests in the past). Morrus has already given the reasons for not doing so in this case.

Daniel

 

[Eosin the Red]

I didn't actually check the thread before I emailed it to you - it looked like it would be closed along with a dozen other similar requests by that poster.

Still, poor form. I'll take it to email.