[Debunked] WotC re-released B1 and B4 in PDF at DriveThru

Benoist · December 27, 2012, 06:46:43 PM

Quote from: CRKrueger;612120So they're still idiots.

Or else they are messing with their account getting ready to start selling stuff again.

LOL Oops. My bad, I guess.

P&P · December 27, 2012, 06:47:29 PM

Quote from: CRKrueger;612120So they're still idiots.

Or else they are messing with their account getting ready to start selling stuff again.

Or they're arguing with DTRPG about commissions and percentages.

The Butcher · December 28, 2012, 07:20:53 AM

PDFs would be good, but print even better.

As long as it's not DTRPG PoD. Fuck that shit, the shipping charges are as bad as or worse than Lulu's.

Claudius · December 28, 2012, 07:43:11 AM

Quote from: The Butcher;612307PDFs would be good, but print even better.

As long as it's not DTRPG PoD. Fuck that shit, the shipping charges are as bad as or worse than Lulu's.

I bet this is related to your location (Brazil). Maybe they have to ship from North America or Europe and this is why you have to pay so much. It would be cool for you if they found a partner in South America who can print the books locally.

Killfuck Soulshitter · December 28, 2012, 07:58:56 AM

I wonder just how much money WotC left on the table through pulling their PDFs four years ago.

"OK, we got all this old stuff. There may be some limited cannibalisation with our current in-print items but the market is largely different. And there are practically zero costs and manpower overhead in selling it."
"Nah, pull it."
"OK, chief."

Cue the OSR starting a grassroots movement to make their own product to directly replace the old TSR electronic product. Four years for brand loyalty to erode.

"Uhhh, let's put that stuff back up. We're screwed, but we need every dollar we can get."

Ah, schadenfreude.

RPGPundit · December 29, 2012, 09:06:56 AM

Yes, it was a remarkably idiotic move. They've made up for it somewhat, with the reprints.

RPGPundit

Benoist · December 29, 2012, 12:42:33 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit;612637Yes, it was a remarkably idiotic move. They've made up for it somewhat, with the reprints.

RPGPundit

No, they haven't. They might make up for it by making their catalog available in PDFs again, WITH Print-on-Demand this time. Then I'll consider they're genuinely trying.

SineNomine · December 29, 2012, 04:52:44 PM

Quote from: The Butcher;612307PDFs would be good, but print even better.

As long as it's not DTRPG PoD. Fuck that shit, the shipping charges are as bad as or worse than Lulu's.

For some inexplicable reason, Brazilian shipping charges are insane. I can get a hardcover book to Greece for $15, but getting it to Brazil runs me $48. For my Spears of the Dawn kickstarter, I'm losing about $10 a crack on every Brazilian order I've got, which might be problematic if there were more than a handful of them. I don't know why it's so much more costly to get things to Brazil, but it's an aggravation.

Dirk Remmecke · December 29, 2012, 05:53:02 PM

Quote from: Claudius;612312It would be cool for you if they found a partner in South America who can print the books locally.

I always thought this was one of the ecological (as well as economical) advantages of PoD -- shipping product around the globe is a tremendous waste of energy.
But this seems to be a largely theoretical model. Ok, I don't receive Lulu stuff from the US anymore (if it's not a hardcover) but from the UK and France, as they still don't have a printer in Germany.

Amazon (Createspace?) seems to be using a better set up. Despite the fact that my copy of Peterson's Playing at the World claims in the imprint to be "Printed in the United States of America" there is a small barcode on the very last page, with the text "Printed in Germany by Amazon Distribution Leipzig"...

RPGPundit · December 30, 2012, 03:27:11 PM

Quote from: Benoist;612670No, they haven't. They might make up for it by making their catalog available in PDFs again, WITH Print-on-Demand this time. Then I'll consider they're genuinely trying.

I want BOTH, obviously. However, if I have to choose, I really prefer being able to get a deluxe beautiful reprint version of the Rule Cyclopedia than the opportunity to legally download Obscure TSR Module #857.

At the end of the day, it would be stupid of them not to offer both: the entire PDF catalog AND the reprinting of the "bestsellers" that will be commercially viable for them to reprint.

RPGPundit

Benoist · December 30, 2012, 03:32:19 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit;612954I want BOTH, obviously. However, if I have to choose, I really prefer being able to get a deluxe beautiful reprint version of the Rule Cyclopedia than the opportunity to legally download Obscure TSR Module #857.

At the end of the day, it would be stupid of them not to offer both: the entire PDF catalog AND the reprinting of the "bestsellers" that will be commercially viable for them to reprint.

RPGPundit

I would take an evergreen non-deluxe Rules Cyclopedia available on DriveThru as Print-on-Demand for anyone that wants it for years and years to come over a limited deluxe print run of the same any day of the week.

Thing is? Wizards could do both. And win on both fronts. But they are being willfully thick about it.

Sigmund · December 30, 2012, 03:53:41 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit;612954I want BOTH, obviously. However, if I have to choose, I really prefer being able to get a deluxe beautiful reprint version of the Rule Cyclopedia than the opportunity to legally download Obscure TSR Module #857.

At the end of the day, it would be stupid of them not to offer both: the entire PDF catalog AND the reprinting of the "bestsellers" that will be commercially viable for them to reprint.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Benoist;612957I would take an evergreen non-deluxe Rules Cyclopedia available on DriveThru as Print-on-Demand for anyone that wants it for years and years to come over a limited deluxe print run of the same any day of the week.

Thing is? Wizards could do both. And win on both fronts. But they are being willfully thick about it.

I agree with both of ya'all, and I've said it before. In this day and age they can't lose by "competing" with themselves, because the money goes in their pocket either way and they reach a much wider potential customer base. Admittedly I have no degree or expertise in business, however I am a very experienced customer and I can see no down side at all.

The Butcher · December 30, 2012, 07:04:25 PM

Quote from: SineNomine;612718For some inexplicable reason, Brazilian shipping charges are insane. I can get a hardcover book to Greece for $15, but getting it to Brazil runs me $48. For my Spears of the Dawn kickstarter, I'm losing about $10 a crack on every Brazilian order I've got, which might be problematic if there were more than a handful of them. I don't know why it's so much more costly to get things to Brazil, but it's an aggravation.

Well, shit. At least now I can hate myself a bit less for missing out on the SotD KS.

Is it just Brazil, or the rest of South America too?

SineNomine · December 31, 2012, 01:16:11 AM

Quote from: The Butcher;613036Well, shit. At least now I can hate myself a bit less for missing out on the SotD KS.

Is it just Brazil, or the rest of South America too?

I'm not sure about all of it, but I just placed an order for a couple of books to be sent to the Pundit in Uruguay, and it was only $16 for 2.01 pounds of shipping. So I'm not sure whether the issue has been Lulu or Lula when it comes to Brazil.

The Butcher · December 31, 2012, 10:07:40 AM

Quote from: SineNomine;613126So I'm not sure whether the issue has been Lulu or Lula when it comes to Brazil.

Ha! Probably Lula, and now Dilma. I'll try ordering from Lulu next time I'm abroad.