What's the Deal with GriefCom?

[Vanye]

I'm with DaveMage here. I got quite a few WotC books on Amazon, all at a deep discount, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

I THINK he may be referring to how online retailers tend to have the books 1-2 weeks after BnM stores have it on the shelf...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Huh?

I buy almost 100% of Wizards stuff on amazon.com.

How are they screwing amazon if amazon is selling all of their products?

Amazon.com is a different matter. You see, not selling to amazon would make Wizards lose a lot of money, so they conveniently overlook that they don't have a Brick & Mortar store.

 

[BSF]

Amazon.com is a different matter. You see, not selling to amazon would make Wizards lose a lot of money, so they conveniently overlook that they don't have a Brick & Mortar store.

Hmm, do you mean direct sales from the publisher to the reseller? If so, there is a dynamic you are missing there. The wholesaler channel exists to deal with very small businesses. It was the same thing I saw when I worked at a local bookstore for a while. We were the biggest independently owned store in the state and yet we were too small to be able to deal directly with some publishers. For that matter, it is similar to the comapny I currently work for. We sell electric parts. Stuff like breaker boxes is a good example. SquareD, manufactures breaker boxes. But they don't have the staff to deal directly with every local contractor. They sell to a wholesaler (us) and we sell to the local contractors.

So there may be a lot of stores (online and B&M) that can't purchase directly from WotC because WotC doesn't have a sales infrastructure to handle that. Instead, WotC deals with customers that will buy X bulk. If a store is large enough to do that (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc) they buy straight from WotC. But if they aren't large enough, they might end up going through the distributor channel (wholesalers really).

Of course, this is pretty far off topic. Sorry for the digression.

 

[Barak]

Oh, so WotC does consider Amazon, but not other on-line sellers.

That's like saying a store doesn't sell any RPGs because they only sell D&D stuff.

 

[boolean]

Exercising my Internet-given right to mouth off...

I'm not privy to any of the details of this case yet, but:

Another thing that could be going on is that WotC could be giving such good discounts so frequently to online resellers that it may be impossible for authors to get reasonable royalties.

I haven't seen any of WotC's contracts, but one common royalty clause in entertainment contracts is that discounted units negatively affect calculating royalties. Depending upon the particular contract, discounted units may count only for a discounted rate, or may not count at all.

If, as many of the retailers on this board have complained, the online stores are selling product for less than brick n mortar stores can buy the products, authors may not be getting royalties in any real amount- or at all- on those units sold online.

Result: WotC makes money, the online retailer makes money, the brick n mortar store loses customers because they're being undercut, and the writer gets scrooooodled.

Depending on the actual facts of the case, this case could reshape the bottom line of this industry in a big way.

Yet another reason to support your FLGS?

 

[Barak]

Yet another reason to support your FLGS?

Not really. Just like the authors should look out and get the best deal possible for them, I'll continue to try and get the best deal for me.

 

[GwydapLlew]

Rampant speculation, thy name is ENWorld.

 

[Barak]

Of course! The first post I meant to do would have been..

The people who are in position to know anything are in a position in which they can't say anything, and everyone else will post what they think.

But then again, by this point the thread has moved way past what the original topic was.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I just checked the cover pic on amazon, and the Ravenloft book does not have the official banner that says "Dungeons and Dragons" on top. Kingdoms of Kalamar products do.

It may not have the official banner, but between "Ravenoloft" and "Sword & Sorcery" are the words "Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Setting." They couldn't say that without either some kind of agreement or risking a lawsuit.

Yet another reason to support your FLGS?

Not really. Just like the authors should look out and get the best deal possible for them, I'll continue to try and get the best deal for me.

Yes, it is, if that is indeed the case. If the authors are getting shafted due to WotC's discount policies to online retailers, then by buying from those retailers, you're driving down author compensation. By driving down author compensation, you'll drive those authors to other companies- or possibly even out of the RPG/RPG fiction business- where they will be compensated more fairly. Those who stay behind will be the relative novices- who, while they may be good, will make novice mistakes. By and large, you'd expect to see a drop in quality, the number of releases (since editing will take more time), or both.

A classic example of this is Palladium- infamous for having internal squabbles about compensating or even properly crediting its creative crew...several of the fan favorites not only left the company, but actively steer other would-be contributors away with their horror stories.

Don't get me wrong- I like the Internet and online retailers as a distribution method: its theoretically very good for the bottom line of companies and consumers alike (esp. those without a convenient FLGS)- but those who engage in it have to compensate those who create the content fairly, or we all lose out.

 

[The_Universe]

This is the deal with Griefcom, from John Barnes (quoted by permission):



What is it you folks say? "QFT", I believe?

Thanks Dungeondelver. That answers my question.