D&D 4E So why does the 4e DMG costs the same as PHB?

[ThirdWizard]

My understanding was that they sold through a million copies of the first printing of the 3.0 PHB, a number no other RPG product had gone anywhere near in well over a decade. Either you're denying this is true, or claiming that they could have done it without the artificially low price - which one? And either way, on what basis?

That they would have sold them anyway. And on the basis that someone at WotC made that claim.

 

[catsclaw227]

My longest-running group had, among the final half-dozen players and myself, seven PHs, three DMGs and three MMs, if memory serves.

I think my last group had two PHs, three copies of Arcana Evolved (equally if not more important to that game), and one DMG and MM, but made heavy use of the SRD, PDFs and handouts I produced myself.

Yea, we had an Arcana Evolved game that had a similar mix when I lived in SoCal. Actually, I am a sick d20 RPG collector, with far more 3.x books than I will ever use. But I am absolutely the exception in the four groups I have DMed 3.x over the past 7 years.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

I work in production.

So I only know what Marketing tells me (It's based on Margketing Logic, so do with that what you will).

A lot of effort goes into determining the price.

Cost (Production, my area).

Competition (WW, Green Ronin).

Audience (Where Marketing Logic comes in).

Marketing has decided to keep the Price of the DMG & PHB the same (for some reason). It seems the only way production could do that is lower costs (less page count).

Are they doing it because they think (sorry, researched) that Roleplayers think that the Core Books should all have the same price (& won't notice the DMG is thinner)?

Are they willing to take less profit on the PHB as they think (Research. I mean Research) as that will lead to a bigger D&D Audience and greater sales down the road?

Did they use a Ouija board, or used a Haitian Voodoo Witch Doctor to set the price? (I wonder sometimes about marketing).

Marketing used all that BS, MS, and Other Collegiate Marketing Training to determine what the best price for the 4th ed core books.

Or used a Dart Board (They've tried to explain the Logic of Marketing to me, it still sounds like a much of mumbo-jumbo, mis-used statistics & a rough shot in the dark to me).


Alos. I like coffee.

But Caffeine after 3 PM causes me 3-6 hours of insomnia. Thus I drink De-Caff.

Which Sucks. You see de-leading Coffee is expensive. In order to keep de-caff the same as Regular, they have to use cheaper beans. Thus the old sock taste.

However, if you find a quality supplier & are willing to pay more, you can get Decaf that tastes every bit as good, & won't keep you up at night.

However, Marketing Logic ditactes that People won't pay more for Decaf, so you have to have it taste like sweat-socks to have the same profits.

Marketing also states that fewer people buy decaf.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although many people don't buy decaf due to the inferior taste, Marketing has determined that has nothing to do with why fewer people buy decaf.

After all, if it cost more, but tasted the same, fewer people would buy it. Which is completely different than saying fewer people buy it because it costs the same but has inferior taste.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Vraille, you have successfully displayed why I became an engineer.

 

[RithTheAwakener]

Haven't been buying many college textbooks or business research papers lately?

No kidding. I love paying $180 for one textbook that I'll only use for 3 months. LOVE it.

 

[jeffh]

That they would have sold them anyway. And on the basis that someone at WotC made that claim.

Who? When? Where? Sorry, a lot has been attributed to "someone at WotC" lately that no-one at WotC ever actually said. Besides, how would they know?

 

[Ranger REG]

No kidding. I love paying $180 for one textbook that I'll only use for 3 months. LOVE it.

You don't sell it back?

 

[Dire Bare]

Who? When? Where? Sorry, a lot has been attributed to "someone at WotC" lately that no-one at WotC ever actually said. Besides, how would they know?

Oh come on, it's not like this is WORK or SCHOOL or POLITICS or something actually important where nobody can make claims without having their sources fully documented first.

I remember someone from WotC saying this as well. That WotC feels they would have sold just about as many PHBs at full price as they did at the discounted price. That, in a sense, they threw away easy money.

But, silly me, I didn't write the person's name down or keep a link to any posts. Now my memory is useless and I cannot add to the raging nerd debates going on here.

 

[Glyfair]

Most entry-level products (for D&D, the PHB...but not the DMG or MM) for RPGs are considered "loss leaders."

As I understand it, that's not true. The core books outsell all other books, with many game systems they outsell the other books in the series combined. They couldn't afford to sell them at a lower profit since they are the primary source of profit.

However, the core books usually have higher print runs. That means that the companies get a break on the printing costs and that allows them to reduce the prince of the product. I understand that was much of the reason for the low first printing 3E PHB price, The run was huge and allowed them to sell it at a much lower (I do believe they also lowered the profit on that run to entice people to try it and switch, but they didn't sell it at a loss).

 

[Roland55]

Vraille, you have successfully displayed why I became an engineer.

Whew! {head shake}

And why I became both a scientist and an engineer.