Does anyone know what happens to older edition D&D material once a company (WotC or second-party supporter) releases books for a new edition? There was so much time between 2nd and 3rd edition, I don't suppose it presented a problem, but what happened when 3e became 3.5e -- did WotC order Border's/Barnes & Noble/et al to pull stock? And when we move to 4th?
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What happens to previous edition material on store shelves?
- Thread starter Driddle
- Start date
theredrobedwizard
Explorer
Well, as I still see 3e (and, in a few cases, 2ndEd) on bookstore shelves, I'm pretty sure that the 3.5 stuff will linger there until some misguided soul buys it.
I say misguided only in the "was meaning to buy 4e, but didn't know any better" way, not the "hurr hurr still playig erlier edishuns lol" way.
-TRRW
I say misguided only in the "was meaning to buy 4e, but didn't know any better" way, not the "hurr hurr still playig erlier edishuns lol" way.
-TRRW
WayneLigon
Adventurer
Driddle said:
They'll pull it off after a certain amount of time has passes.
All chain stores have a return cycle that varies depending on all sorts of factors. If something doesn't sell in X amount of time, back it goes, depending on the returns policy of the distributor for that item. So eventually, all 3.5 stuff will cycle off just as all the 3E stuff did. You'll probably still be able to get it as long as the distributor still has some in stock, through special order.
If you find 3E materials at a chain store, it's likely they haven't been doing their returns correctly or they may have special ordered that material and a customer then refused to take it, so they were stuck with it. (Though if they're doing their job, they eventually move that stuff to the discount tables, then run an after-inventory discount, etc. Far on down the line, it's disposed of and destroyed if it can't be sold or returned).
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
At my (NS)F(NS)LGS, it gets shrinkwrapped like it's going to be buried with the Pharoah, stickered at full retail, and sits on the shelf patiently awaiting some 25th century archaeologist to unearth it.
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Li Shenron
Legend
They stay there for a while until the shop decides to sell them off at 50% or less a few days before returning them for paper recycling.
Then they get bought by the same smart companies that resell indvidual minis online.
After 10 years or even more, they are bought at extorsioner's price as "antiquities" from such company, by the same guy who years before sold them quickly with disgust at the advent of the new edition and now cries in memory of the "good old days when D&D was full of problems but we were so young".
Then they get bought by the same smart companies that resell indvidual minis online.
After 10 years or even more, they are bought at extorsioner's price as "antiquities" from such company, by the same guy who years before sold them quickly with disgust at the advent of the new edition and now cries in memory of the "good old days when D&D was full of problems but we were so young".
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