The Dresden Files RPG - Cover Art, Wallpaper, and Book Pricing

[iago]

http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/2010/02/26/pictures-and-product-pricing/

[blackheart]

Hell-poo flinging purple monkeys!

WOOHOO!

(and great work too!)

Looks awesome Fred! THAT'S my new desktop wallpaper!

[Ancalagon]

I wouldn't call that a "cheap" price, but I think it's a fair one.  Looking forward to the pre-order

[iago]

I wouldn't call that a "cheap" price, but I think it's a fair one.  Looking forward to the pre-order

I wouldn't either, frankly -- but it's as low as we could get it and still make a (small) profit on per unit sales.  The algebra was rough stuff, but the numbers insisted.

[Shecky]

Not a price point for the true neophyte RPGer, but it's right in line for old pros, especially those who like TDF. If our D&D group ever gets back to having regular games, I might try to introduce this to them as a sometimes break from the routine.

[traeki]

Not a price point for the "true neophyte"?  What is this neophyte buying?  D&D 4th Ed. lists at about $70 for the DM + Player guides.  Mage + WoD core book lists at $60.

[iago]

Not a price point for the "true neophyte"?  What is this neophyte buying?  D&D 4th Ed. lists at about $70 for the DM + Player guides.  Mage + WoD core book lists at $60.

Well, honestly, it's no "dip a toe in" like some of the $15 or $20 or $30 stand-alone products Evil Hat has in its catalog.  We've got a range.

[Shecky]

Not a price point for the "true neophyte"?  What is this neophyte buying?  D&D 4th Ed. lists at about $70 for the DM + Player guides.  Mage + WoD core book lists at $60.

Where ARE you buying your big-store RPG books?
http://www.gameoutfitter.com/product-p/woc%20222127.htm
These guys are awesome. Back when I was doing the D&D Minis thing as a separate game, they caught my attention because they had the lowest prices around (or close enough not to matter) AND they were awe-inspiringly open-door with ANY concerns. I've actually spoken with a few of them (a few years ago), and they were unfailingly polite, courteous, friendly and HELPFUL. They got things done, stood behind their products and services and, in the end, never failed to make a happy customer. Same experience was had by two other gamer friends. Game Outfitter is AWESOME.

/fanboying plug

[iago]

Ooh, youch. While I don't doubt the Game Outfitter guys are good people and aces on customer service, that kind of steeeeep discounting makes it a lot harder for publishers to cover some of the cost of making product available to retail stores (and folks like Game Outfitter!) with non-discounted sales of their own stuff.  (If a publisher discounts their own stuff, it's really bad politics: everyone else they're partnered with feels like the publisher is deliberately undercutting them.)  Worse, perhaps, is that online deep discounters are also a big part of what's killing off America's local game stores.  It's a rough economy out there, though, and I'm totally sympathetic to people wanting to get their games as cheaply as they can -- but that don't keep me from wincing.

[Shecky]

Hey, I'm one of the first people to bemoan the endangered status of your friendly neighborhood game shop. It's been... god, more than fifteen years since I last had a decent game shop within a reasonable travel radius (i.e., less than a 30-minute drive). The sad thing is that I was ALWAYS willing to pay full price at a good shop, because good shops give you MORE than just the products - they're wonderful places to go for those of our mindset. But since the beginning of the end of that local shop, I've been forced into online sources (and even then, I'll often wait until I can finagle a trip to one of the few remaining good ones that are MORE than a half hour away, because those are Home Away From Home).

But back when I had a regular group (the one I've had here in the past ten years has gone on hiatus in the last year-plus - too much real life going on, although most of the big developments keeping our members and GM from being able to participate have wound down and we're looking at the impending restart of our regular gaming sessions) that didn't play just D&D, I always made it a point to buy non-big-store (e.g., NOT WotC and the like) RPG stuff at actual stores or directly from the producer. I'm a big fan of supporting the little guy; big stores and online operations (Game Outfitter is a beautiful exception) just don't have, well, soul. Even big-store products like D&D... well, when I find a bargain, I check it out to see if I can find out where the discount is coming from and if it hurts the retailer I'm potentially buying from. This is something I do even with everyday purchasing - I almost balked when my mechanic told me "no charge" for a few things, until they convinced that it really DIDN'T cost them anything more than a few minutes of their time.

Anyway, now you've given me a hankering to make a field trip to the closest good game shop. Damn you, Fred.

[iago]

Anyway, now you've given me a hankering to make a field trip to the closest good game shop. Damn you, Fred.

Oh... horrors.

[Shecky]

Oh... horrors.

Yes, such a horrible thing you did there (i.e., I talked myself into).

[traeki]

Where ARE you buying your big-store RPG books?

From my friend's gamestore about half the time, and Amazon the other half.  If my friend's game store were in my town or I owned a car, I'd buy from them always, but waiting the 2 weeks or more between the occasions when I see him to get my hands on an exciting game is often a dealbreaker.

Fred hit the nail on the head, really -- the problems with the B&M model are real, and the changes are probably inevitable, but it's tragic to watch, and I do what I can to support it.

In any case, note that I said *list* price.  Even the discounted link you provided prices the two main books (ignoring the Monster Manual) at $40, which is not all that far shy of the $50 *list* price for DFRPG.

[finarvyn]

I don't think folks really think about how tough the game stores and game publishers have it at the moment. I have a friend who owned a bookstore that sold games and the amount of product that "mysteriously vanished" during a year was staggering. And then places like B&N and Sam's Club would sell a new book at the same or cheaper cost than what she could get it from the distributors. No profit that way! Finally she had to close up, which was a huge loss to me and people in the area.

Personally, I like to support the smaller game companies like Evil Hat, Troll Lord Games and Rogue Games and local stores like Games Plus in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. (1) The smaller companies make good stuff. (2) The smaller companies tend to appreciate the customer more. (3) Hasbro is big enough and offers enough non-RPG titles that they don't need my money that much.

So ... while I could buy discount games I tend not to.

Just my two cents.

[traeki]

Well, honestly, it's no "dip a toe in" like some of the $15 or $20 or $30 stand-alone products Evil Hat has in its catalog.

That's true.  I don't know the numbers, but I'm guessing that "neophyte gamers" aren't finding the hobby through indie games like DRYH.  More's the pity.  I really think DFRPG might be a game changer, though...