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

[Mercurius]

By the way, the Player's Handbook is now at $29.97 on Amazon. I haven't checked the others.

EDIT: The MM and DMG haven't gone down but the Starter Set is $12.66 (!).

Remember, if you pre-order on Amazon then you'll get the lowest price they offer between the time you order it and the time of it's release date.

 

[Thaumaturge]

By the way, the Player's Handbook is now at $29.97 on Amazon. I haven't checked the others.

Man, that is brutal for brick and mortar stores.

I've got the money, and sympathy for the stores. But $20 off?

Brutal.

Thaumaturge.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

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.

Consider it a loss-leader.
Sure, it may give them a momentary revenue loss. But what are the potential benefits?

Not only will it likely engender more sales from people "on-the-fence", it may even entice them to spend the money they saved on one of the modules they released. (Or perhaps instead of one person buying a book for the group, maybe mutliple people will buy the book at a reduced price.)

And it would also be a potential boon to existing Brick & Mortar stores if the price disparity between them and online vendors (Amazon) is lessened.

Besides, Wizards hasn't really been producing much new products for the last year, so this would STILL likely be a shot-in-the-arm comapred to what their sales were for their reprint books.

 

[Mercurius]

Man, that is brutal for brick and mortar stores.

I've got the money, and sympathy for the stores. But $20 off?

Brutal.

Thaumaturge.

'Tis the way of things, for better or worse - and it isn't anything new. Remember, the 4E trinity was originally sold for $57 on Amazon.

Now what I'd like to see is WotC give special discounts and encouragements for brick and mortar stores. For instance, how about a limited edition adventure that comes free with an in-store purchase of the DMG?

Part of the problem, though, is that there are fewer and fewer game stores around. I live in southern NH and the closest one to me is about 20-25 minutes drive and I haven't really connected with it - it mainly focuses on CCGs and, last time I was in (two years ago?) they had a very small RPG collection with only a few used books, and mainly crappy 2E and OGL stuff that no one wanted (e.g. "The Complete Handbag Collector" and "Diomin"). Beyond that, there are a couple stores about 45 minutes away, so nothing really that local.

If I had a local game store that I really liked I'd be willing to pay full price, or at least close to full price (even game stores should have some discount on new RPGs, methinks). I suppose I could order from Powell's or a local independent bookstore, but in the end it's hard to argue with Amazon's prices.

 

[Mercurius]

Consider it a loss-leader.

Not only will it likely engender more sales from people "on-the-fence", it may even entice them to spend the money they saved on one of the modules they released. (Or perhaps instead of one person buying a book for the group, maybe mutliple people will buy the book at a reduced price.)

Besides, Wizards hasn't really been producing much new products for the last year, so this would STILL likely be a shot-in-the-arm comapred to what their sales were for their reprint books.

The Starter Set is already a loss leader. To ask the core trinity--their biggest cash cow--to be a loss leader as well is asking too much.

Anyhow, the PHB is now $30 on Amazon - that's close enough to your figure, I think.

 

[delericho]

'Tis the way of things, for better or worse - and it isn't anything new. Remember, the 4E trinity was originally sold for $57 on Amazon.

Yep. For some years now, Amazon has been able to sell and deliver the 'big' RPG products to the end-customer for less than it costs a brick'n'mortar store to get them in stock in the first place, due primarily to economies of scale. Faced with that, B'n'M stores can't compete, at least on price.

Now what I'd like to see is WotC give special discounts and encouragements for brick and mortar stores. For instance, how about a limited edition adventure that comes free with an in-store purchase of the DMG?

Even that probably doesn't work, since eBay makes these available for people who really want them. What's probably more effective, and what WotC already do (to their credit) is arrange for B'n'M stores who sign up to one of their programmes to get the books about 2 weeks early. So people who don't want to wait can get the jump on everyone else... but have to pay considerably more for the privilidge.

The Starter Set is already a loss leader.

Nitpick: I doubt very much that the Starter Set is a loss leader. They may have cut the margin right to the bone on that product, but I would be extremely surprised if they're actually losing money on it.

 

[Mercurius]

Nitpick: I doubt very much that the Starter Set is a loss leader. They may have cut the margin right to the bone on that product, but I would be extremely surprised if they're actually losing money on it.

You're probably right. But a "break-even leader" is, from a corporate perspective, essentially a loss leader.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

Anyhow, the PHB is now $30 on Amazon - that's close enough to your figure, I think.

Yes, Amazon offers some good (even great!) deals. And I may take them up on it. (Or I may buy at my local store to support them.) Or I might not buy at all; I'm currently one of those "On-the-Fencers" I mentioned.
(But imagine the difference between one person buying a book at the SRP of $50, as opposed to 6 people buying at book at the $25 price-tag.)


But mostly my thinking is more about what would benefit the greater audience for 5E?

While I applaud WotC for even putting out a Starter Set (which is, to my mind, a real necessity), I think WotC has burned MANY of their fences over the years, (going back to their cancellations of Dragon and Dungeon magazines and even before!!). and a 3-book-buy in at the SRP of $50 doesn't necessarily help gather new fans. (And yes, I know they say you can play with just the Starter Set, and you can get the Core Books cheaper.)

After an EXHAUSTIVE playtest (which I won't bring into this thread), in addition to all the points from my last post, I think WotC could sorely benefit from some actual postiive press and goodwill that's not just based on their name-branding.

So, why NOT have that reduced price as loss-leader as a "Try This, see if you like it" strategy? (Or even a "If you buy the starter set and like it, take the $20 off the price of the PHB"?)

There's lots of ways to incentivize the gaming audience....

 

[delericho]

(But imagine the difference between one person buying a book at the SRP of $50, as opposed to 6 people buying at book at the $25 price-tag.)

One way WotC may $10 profit on the single sale, the other they lose 6 x $15 = $90?

But mostly my thinking is more about what would benefit the greater audience for 5E?

Short-term, it absolutely helps the customers if the price is very very low. Longer-term it harms them if the consequence is that the game stops being produced. And, of course, WotC are harmed by any strategy that relies on them treating their #1 big seller (possibly their only big seller) as a loss-leader.

 

[Mercurius]

So, why NOT have that reduced price as loss-leader as a "Try This, see if you like it" strategy? (Or even a "If you buy the starter set and like it, take the $20 off the price of the PHB"?)

There's lots of ways to incentivize the gaming audience....

I agree with you in theory, I just don't think $20-25 is realistic in this day and age. You're basically asking them to sell their biggest seller for less then they've ever sold it for. Even the introductory rate of $20 for 3E translates to $27.50 today, not to mention rising printing costs which make the real inflation more like $30 (I'm guessing).

That said, I like your idea of "buy the starter set and get a discount on the PHB." I could also see an introductory price of $35 or maybe $30 for the PHB.

Not to change the subject, but my favorite loss leader idea for WotC would be to bring back a print Dragon. It won't happen, I know, but I think it was a mistake getting rid of it and that some sort of print magazine is crucial to unite the community. Or maybe I'm just a child of the 80s and nostalgically miss biking down to the game store to buy the latest issue of Dragon...