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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgbrowning" data-source="post: 1240385" data-attributes="member: 5724">What does he gain by giving such information? If you're doing well you can often come off like a jerk (ie. if the other guys didn't put out crap they'd be doing as well) and if you're not doing so great you can be nailing your own coffin. Besides that, it's really just his private business, both figuratively and literally.You're right, the small guys (like me<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />) are doing our best to just get on the shelf, but we started out in an alternative channel (pdf and selling direct through our website) and got noticed enough to get on FLGS shelves. It wasn't until the ENnies that anyone (except Blackhawk) was convinced that there was a demand for MMS:WE.For those who don't know, there's a big "difference of opinion" between the two types of gaming stores (brick-and-morter and internet gaming stores). There's also a general dislike of PDF publishing by most game store owners- regardless of type. Personally, i think this "difference of opinion" is occuring because the first beginings of a viable alternate channel are developing. I think that alternate channels will fully develop in ten years or so.I think the internet is only going to get more and more important. In ten years, who can really predict? :shrug: There's only so much money "in the channel" and everyone involved is going to try and find any way to get more of that money for themselves. One of those methods is by changing the channel itself. I'm just speculating here of course but, i wouldn't be surprised if eventually an internet portal develops that acts as an intermediary between manufacturers and customers: allowing customers to effectively order directly from the manufacturers while only having to go to one place to do so. This intermediary will have no inventory and will provide software to automate the process on the manufacturer's end. The manufacturer will have to deal with shipping/packaging, but that "hassle" results in significantly more money being made per unit even considering shipping/packaging expenses.I make more money selling a PDF (no printing/shipping costs) through rpgnow.com than I do selling a book through regular distribution channels and when I sell a book directly from my website I make a little over double what I make from the other options. These numbers are leading me to think of "the channel" as a secondary market. Suzi and I joke that we're really just printing our books to help sell our PDFs! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />We're an odd one though. Not to be considered "real" publishers, I suppose, but that's our view from where we stand. This of course, doesn't mean anything more than just that.joe b.</blockquote>

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