http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1915
Over in the file sharing thread the question has come up of people in South America honestly not having access to game products as the companies don't sell there, and that ordering it is very expensive if indeed it can be done*. People download books from the 'net, and in fact some people sell printed bookleg copies.  Mystery man brought up an interesting point/question.

Quote from: Mystery ManIf I was an enterprising rpg company I would hire these pirateers (in the third world) with their fancy printing equipment to print my books, sell them for me, and share the profit. If that sort of thing would get around all of the b.s. customs and international charges that is.

So I figured I'd open a new thread, would something like this be possible? Would there be extra customs/taxes if a game company wanted to open a local office/printshop in Uruguay for instance?

What changes would need to be made even if the books were still to be printed/sold in english? (paperback versions, smaller size books, black and white, etc.)

Would the books sell at the same price as they do in the US?

Is there enough of a market to make it work? How much money would be needed to start something like this?

One problem/worry that I can see is what the textbook companies (may thier beds be full of lice) in the US are facing is that of International Editions** of textbooks being brought back into the US via internet sales.  I've bought them for my brother's classes, in one case I paid $18 for UPS 2 day shipping from Singapore and it was a pile less then the US price for a used copy. (normally 25% off of new)

*Due to shipping costs and differences in credit cards.

**Normally cheaper paperback copies, many times smaller then the hardcover, printed for sale outside the US at lower prices.  (I work in a college bookstore, and we don't get as much of the price as you might guess.)

Back when SR3 came out, I had to pay twice the cover price to get the books here. That's $60 for the core book, and $40-$50 each for Magic in the Shadows and the Shadowrun Companion. It was a hideous amount of money, even if I used those books so much they bled.

Food for thought.

Quote from: JongWKBack when SR3 came out, I had to pay twice the cover price to get the books here. That's $60 for the core book, and $40-$50 each for Magic in the Shadows and the Shadowrun Companion. It was a hideous amount of money, even if I used those books so much they bled.

Food for thought.

Did you get them from a store there? or did you order them? (shipping is pretty bad I know, I priced shipping to Uruguay and it wasn't pretty.)

Quote from: cnath.rmDid you get them from a store there? or did you order them? (shipping is pretty bad I know)

I ordered them through a local comic store. Total price included shipping costs and the store's "service fee."

Somewhere during 2004-05, I wanted a particular SR book. A friend of mine even offered to use his family's credit card. Too bad that the S&H costs were $20+. For a $20 softcover.

Currently, the best you can get is called NetBox. You buy with a credit card from here, but the book is mailed to an office in Miami (this is better if you get free postage inside the US, like with Amazon). The company then puts all packages for Uruguay in a single big box, and sends it here every week or so. They charge you an annual fee ($??), plus $2.50 per package and $12 per kilogram (that's a little over 2 pounds). Obviously, the annual fee makes it useful only if you're a regular customer.

Well, it's worth noting that Brazil, at least, seems to have had its own share of game companies, notably Akrito Editora - http://www.akrito.com.br/

However, I haven't heard of anything from the Spanish-speaking countries.

Here's an example, using Amazon.

Take Midnight, 2nd Edition. A 400-pages hardcover, with a list price of $49.95 (yuck). However, Amazon has it for $32.97 + free US shipping (yay!). The book weighs 3.26 pounds, but let's leave it at 3.5 pounds with packaging.

NetBox would charge...
$2.5 (basic) + $19.2 (weight) = $21.7
That's $54.67 for the book, and don't forget there's an annual fee too.

I have worked with European POD printers to print books in Europe for distribution in Europe. It makes it comparable to printing in the US and bypasses a lot of customs and shipping expenses.

Beyond that I would be concerned with the customer base and infrastructure support, namely distribution. Distributors can be very difficult to make profitable unless you automate a lot and keep headcount down. The next biggest expense would be warehousing. I have no idea what the costs would be in country. The way around it, again, is POD assuming that would not create a stigma. From what has been said in this thread so far it sounds like it would be o.k.

I would love to see South America opened up as a market. Our books are already starting to make there way into Asia and it will be interesting to see if anything develops there. You do not have to be WOTC to have interests in international markets.

Bill

Errr.. nay, I say, nay this be an awful idea.  For sure, it would be doomed te failure if any of ye enterprising swabs were te print gamebooks here to sell to the south american market, say in softcover or magazine format for sale at kiosks, most certainly it would not be an idea bound for success,  monies, and glory!

And I certainly dinna speak ill of yer sailing path just because I too plan to raid the port of Montevideo, and then the rest of the Banda Oriental, and then the Argentine, with my "Forward... to Adventure!" RPG, yar har!  

Yar, I be a stupid Cap'n for giving out my marketing strategy where all and sundry may hear it.  But somehow, I think ye big gaming companies, what could really afford to do this easily, be stupider still, and will nay capitalize on this brilliant scheme, yo-ho-ho!

YARRRPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditYar, I be a stupid Cap'n for giving out my marketing strategy where all and sundry may hear it.  But somehow, I think ye big gaming companies, what could really afford to do this easily, be stupider still, and will nay capitalize on this brilliant scheme, yo-ho-ho!

I don't think that would be stupid, unless you plan on monopolizing the Uruguayan Market.  Which I think would be cunterproductive to everything you've been saying.

In fact, as much as you hate the Forge for it's retardedness, their shared and open discussions on marketing have been vrey useful and has not hurt any of their profits (wee though they may be).

By not letting people know, you're hurting your own goals.

Yes, I think the Yaarpgpundit was being facetious there; in fact I would love it if a lot of game companies learnt how to market to latinamerica and started selling gamebooks here.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditYes, I think the Yaarpgpundit was being facetious there; in fact I would love it if a lot of game companies learnt how to market to latinamerica and started selling gamebooks here.

What's your plan, then?  I'd actually like to se how to do it.  I if ever get to produce my own game, and South America would be a viable market, I'd like to know how to do it.  I'm seriously deficient in my knowledge of games marketing outside the US.