D&D 5E The cost of D&D 5E (it ain't so bad!)

[Ruin Explorer]

You want a money-back guarantee? "If you are not fully satisfied..."?

Haha, not at all, that'd be pretty entitled. I'm just explaining why getting the starter set as a taster rather than as a starter set is kind of a lose/sorta lose proposition if you're cash-limited.

I suspect that there will be online info that will do a better job of offering a taster than the starter set.

 

[Halivar]

$20 for a full game is a good deal. For a crippled one, it's highway robbery.

Ok, so what about the $13 it will actually cost you?

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Fundamentals/dp/0786965592

 

[Callahan09]

I've pre-ordered all the products on Amazon, but unfortunately I don't have an easy way to know how much I'll actually be charged upon release! That's kind of silly that Amazon has this "pre-order price guarantee", but if I look at my Open Orders page, it only tells me what the price was when I placed the pre-order, not the price that will actually be charged to me.

For instance, my orders page tells me that I ordered the Player's Handbook at a price of $39.69, and the Starter Set at a price of $15.98, that's a total between those two products of $55.67.

But the actual prices *right now* for those two items are: $29.97 and $12.66, for a total of $42.63. That's over $13 less than the original price.

I understand that whatever the lowest price is between when I pre-ordered and the end of the day on release day, that's the price they'll actually charge me... but it would be nice to know what that price will be in advance! That way I don't get nervous and cancel a pre-order, or something, thinking it's going to be $40 I don't want to spend at that time, but would have been perfectly fine spending $30 on if I had just known it was only going to actually cost me $30.

If the price goes up to $40 before release, then I will have no way of knowing that Amazon is going to charge me $30, unless I happen to remember that I saw it at $30.

I find that strange.

But anyway, $30 for the PHB is a *fantastic* price and anybody who was worried about the $50 tag on it should check out Amazon for a really nice deal.

 

[delericho]

I've pre-ordered all the products on Amazon, but unfortunately I don't have an easy way to know how much I'll actually be charged upon release! That's kind of silly that Amazon has this "pre-order price guarantee", but if I look at my Open Orders page, it only tells me what the price was when I placed the pre-order, not the price that will actually be charged to me.

I thought Amazon emailed you with details of price changes after you'd preordered? The UK site certainly has for my "Firefly" RPG.

But anyway, $30 for the PHB is a *fantastic* price and anybody who was worried about the $50 tag on it should check out Amazon for a really nice deal.

Doesn't really help those of us in the UK - Amazon here still doesn't list the items. And while we can order from the US site and import, doing so for the Starter Set, in particular, is a real pain - while books have no import duties or VAT to pay, the Starter Set is considered a game (due to including dice), and so has extra charges added.

Of course, in both these cases this is really Amazon's issue, not WotC's... but by the same token I don't really subscribe to giving WotC credit for the fact that Amazon US are offering a 40% discount - they set the RRP, and that's either reasonable or not.

 

[Callahan09]

I thought Amazon emailed you with details of price changes after you'd preordered? The UK site certainly has for my "Firefly" RPG.

Hmm... I haven't received one yet, but maybe that's because the price change just happened this morning. Perhaps I'll see an e-mail later, then? I'm not usually much of a pre-orderer so I don't think I've experienced this before. If they send out e-mails periodically telling me what the price changes have been, that's at least *something*, though it would still be most ideal if they would update your order invoice with the price that will actually be charged to you.

 

[Thaumaturge]

I thought Amazon emailed you with details of price changes after you'd preordered? The UK site certainly has for my "Firefly" RPG.

My experience is they email me after the item has shipped to show me what I saved, but I don't think I've ever received an email showing the new price I will pay.

Thaumaturge.

 

[John-Andre]

The thing is that $50 per book is a heck of a sticker shock, and it's going to dissuade a lot of sales from people who might be able to afford the book -- but because WotC decided to kill 4e early, and haven't been selling anything in the interim, these players have probably found something else to play. Hmm, $50 for a book from their FLGS... or $50 on miniatures or map packs or an adventure path for a game they're already playing?

D&D has name recognition, but it's also a new product. And WotC has to take that into account. If you don't like the system -- and around here, PLENTY of people absolutely HATED the playtest -- then you're already disinclined to pick up the books. $50/book pretty much seals the deal. End result: People walk away from D&D.

And yes, there are a lot of people out here who can't afford $50 a book. I, personally, am on social security -- I receive $725 a month, and I can still afford the books on the release schedule they've set. But there are people in much worse boats than the one I am afloat in. D&D has always been a form of entertainment which the economically disadvantaged person can enjoy, up until now.

Well, if $50 is too expensive, free is much better -- people are going to resort to thievery to get this product. I expect to see cases of outright theft, people walking into a store, putting the book under their coat and walking out. It already happens with Pathfinder books at the local Barnes & Noble. And at a $50 price tag, you're going to see it happen more often than you would for, say, $30.

Also, I expect full well that the entire system will be heavily pirated. DRM on PDFs can be broken, sometimes just by using a (pirated) copy of Adobe Acrobat to resave the entire file without watermarks or password protection. And if you don't have a tablet? Then you print pages at the library.

Or people will just ignore the new product and keep playing with the system they already have and enjoy.

Either way, WotC is losing sales due to the price tag.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I'm not sure why Wizards doesn't do a "1st-Year Special", like they did with 3E (or Atlas Games did with Ars Magica 5E). Put the price point at $20 (or even $25) for the first year. Much more of an attractive jumping-on point.

Another factor is that Paizo is very[/i[ generous with their ruleset; most everything from ALL the Core Rulebooks is avialble on their SRD or assorted phone/tablet apps.

As an aside, has there been any mention of PDF availability? I know that's a big topic for some folks (and again, another big score in Paizo's favor) is the availability of PDF's as an add-in to their physical book purchases for subscribers.

 

[delericho]

Poor form to quote yourself, I know, but...

Doesn't really help those of us in the UK - Amazon here still doesn't list the items. And while we can order from the US site and import, doing so for the Starter Set, in particular, is a real pain - while books have no import duties or VAT to pay, the Starter Set is considered a game (due to including dice), and so has extra charges added.

Amazon UK now has the books listed, and as anticipated the Starter Set costs much more in the UK than the simple currency conversion: £20.39 for the box, which is just about $35. Of course, Amazon then offer a 25% discount from that price.

Which is why I'm not a big fan of boxed sets - those import duties and VAT are really quite nasty.

 

[Mercurius]

I'm not sure why Wizards doesn't do a "1st-Year Special", like they did with 3E (or Atlas Games did with Ars Magica 5E). Put the price point at $20 (or even $25) for the first year. Much more of an attractive jumping-on point.

Because this "special" would put them out of business, or D&D at least. Consider the path of a book - the publisher sells it to the distributor who sells it to stores. A store price of $20-25 means WotC is getting something like $5-10 per book, which probably doesn't even cover the cost of production.

Consider also that the first year of core rulebook sales is the single biggest cash cow for the entire D&D edition line. Why would they gut themselves so?

That said, again, I agree that $50 is a bit much and that even psychologically $45 (or "$44.95") is less daunting, $39.95 even less so. But to suggest that they should sell it for 40-50% of their asking for a year is a bit much.