What would you pay for a book?

[Blue]

I'm part of the problem for low RPG salaries. At a certain point I won't even look at the book to buy it. I think Ptolus fell into this, even though at the time it originally came out I was a large Monte Cook fan and active on his forums.

Also, shipping is part of the equation, but since I can often buy multiple things at once to reduce it I wouldn't consider full shipping price.

I'm mostly going to focus on the length, I don't buy adventures. Money in USD.

100 page softcover: I spent $10 for N.E.W. in digest format off Amazon (free shipping) without blinking an eye, so that's "volume priced to move" - too low except if you're trying to clear a backlog. $20-$30 depending on how much I want the content. Knock $10 off for PDF-only, or add $10 for bundled with PDF.

300 page hardcover: I regularly spend $30-$45 for these on Amazon, and while I only pick up the ones I want, it's not the top of my range. Say $60 as the top, $75 bundled with PDF. That said, I'd probably top off at around $30 for just the PDF and that would give serious second thoughts. Yes, I know that art, editing, layout - all these costs are the same. But there's something visceral about holding a book. BTW, I don't care too much about hardcover vs. softcover for this size. I have my Cortex Prime softcover which is around this size.

650 page hardcover. While this is twice the size of the 300 page, I wouldn't page twice as much. $75-80 bucks would be the most I'd spend, and if it's above $60 I'd really have to want the content.

Pelegrane Press has a sweet spot for me because they include the PDF and I often buy several things at once to reduce shipping. I don't mind buying directly, assuming it's not just "get the same as Amazon but pay more". In their case the value add is the PDFs, which for me makes adventure prep very easy since I can cut-n-paste. I've also bought their product directly from my FLGS and they've given me the PDF with their Bits-and-Mortar program.

Oh, for actual physical play I prefer books, if I'm running or playing online I prefer PDFs. So physically running I want both. That will impact where in the range I'm willing to spend. BUT - history has shown that while I'm willing to pay more for a bundle, I will not ever pay full price for the same content in two different formats - I'm willing to pay some more for convience and the costs that are different, but not double. I actually picked up a 10" Kindle Fire tablet on sale for $55 to dedicate to gaming for when I am physically gaming but have material on PDF, but still prefer actual books.

EDIT: I just thought of the biggest indicator in what I am willing to pay for a book - if I think I'll actually get to play it. If it's 5e (because I know a lot of 5e DMs), I'm willing to run it before having bought it, or if a friend is getting a game of it together then the prices above. If not, then way less simply because it's more curiosity than functionality. So for those I often go PDF for the cheaper, but since as mentioned I won't spend full price to repurchse content I already one, I likely will not upgrade to physical product at a later point if the price is near the top of my price points. I'd want to buy the PDF with the option to turn it into a physical bundle at a later point, but no one offers that.

 

[Ath-kethin]

A) For me to purchase a physical softcover, it needs to be cheaper than buying the PDF and printing it myself - which also has the advantage of me only printing the pages I need. The last softcover I bought (in mid-September of this year) was 45-ish pages plus a tucked-in booklet of player visual aids, cost me $25 total, and came with the PDF.

B) $50 seems reasonable here, but also depends on whether or not the interior is in color. For example: The DCC core rulebook hardcover is over 500 pages, mostly black and white inside, and costs $40. That's a really great value, and a high bar for other publishers to meet. A lot depends on shipping costs and where I can buy the book, too. If I can buy the book at my FLGS (even if I need to place a special-order for it), I'm happier to pay more both to support the store and because I don't have to add shipping to the price.

C) See B, above. Also, a single book that includes all the rules I need to play the game is worth far more to me than needing to buy, say three books. The Pathfinder 2e core book has everything but monsters in it, for example, so if it costs me $60.00 that's OK, because that's cheaper than having to buy two books for $40 or $50 each.

D) I can't see paying more than $20 for a PDF. Ideally a PDF would be included with the purchase of a physical copy or at least heavily discounted, but on its own of course it has to cost something. But if I get a PDF with no links or bookmarks or navigation tools, especially if it is not searchable, I am highly unlikely to buy another. A PDF should cost something, and I'm happy to pay for it, but it should also be worth the cost.

 

[Odysseus]

An element here is how confident I am about what is in the book and with the publisher. The more confident I am, usually based on previous books, the more I am willing to pay.
Assuming I'm pretty confident, in US dollars
A $5
B $20
C $30
D 5/15/30

 

[Umbran]

I think how much I'd pay is strongly dependent on the content. There are a great many things I just won't buy, period, and I may not take even if you offer it to me for free. There are other things that I will pay a premium for.

But generically, I expect and am willing to pay ...
a) $30
b) $30 to $60
c) Um... more? I don't run into examples of these that I want very often.
d) I don't generally buy pdfs unless they are super-cheap, as I don't use a laptop at the table.

 

[schneeland]

a) 15€ (maybe 20 if the design and illustrations are really unique)
b) 45€ (more if it's a particularly nice special edition)
c) 65€ (but really unlikely I would buy this)
d) about half, rounded up - so: 10€, 25€, 35€ (again, probably wouldn't buy the last one)

I have to add:
1) Irrespective of prices, I mostly buy digital these days (partly due to the ongoing shipping madness, but mostly because I don't really need physical books for RPGs anymore)
2) I generally prefer somewhat smaller books to really chunky ones (one of the things I like about D&D is the split between PHB, DMG and MM).

 

[Morrus]

An element here is how confident I am about what is in the book and with the publisher. The more confident I am, usually based on previous books, the more I am willing to pay.
Assuming I'm pretty confident, in US dollars
A $5
B $20
C $30
D 5/15/30

Yikes! Somebody's going without supper to provide them at that price!

 

[Retreater]

A) $40 (PDF $20)
B) $65 (PDF $30)
C) $100 (PDF $35)

 

[TheSword]

Following up on some of the later posts about RPG prices in the SKR salary thread.

What is the most you would you honestly pay for:

a) a softcover adventure (say 100 pages?)

£20 ($27)

b) a hardcover rulebook the size of the D&D core books (about 300 pages)

£40 ($53)

c) a hardcover rulebook the size of the Pathfinder core book (about 650 pages)

£60 ($80)

d) PDFs of each of the above

PDF prices is a difficult question. A) £10 B) £15 C) £20

I think if you have PDFs available and you have put good production values into the books with full Colour art then you shouldn’t be scared to charge a reasonably substantial amount for the books.

Selling core books cheap is all well n good if you’re selling 10’s of thousands and they’re loss leaders to sell other supplements and products. If you’re producing these to stand alone then charge a fair but substantial amount. People who can’t afford the hard cover can always by a pdf.

 

[TheSword]

An element here is how confident I am about what is in the book and with the publisher. The more confident I am, usually based on previous books, the more I am willing to pay.
Assuming I'm pretty confident, in US dollars
A $5
B $20
C $30
D 5/15/30

You’d expect to pay the same for a hard copy as for a pdf? I am mightily confused

 

[MGibster]

What is the most you would you honestly pay for:

a) a softcover adventure (say 100 pages?)
b) a hardcover rulebook the size of the D&D core books (about 300 pages)
c) a hardcover rulebook the size of the Pathfinder core book (about 650 pages)
d) PDFs of each of the above

At the risk of sounding like a special snowflake, I have difficulty answering this because I don't really think in terms of page count. When I purchased Alien in late 2019, page count was not a conscious factor though if it were the size of a pamphlet that would have been an issue. But in the spirit of the thread I'm going to do my best to answer.

a. $20-30
b. $50-70
c. $70-100
d. Half of what I might pay for a physical book.

For me, I really don't think of price until we get into the $60 or above range. Except for PDFs because I feel as though charging me anywhere near the full price of a physical book is a rip off.