When I first got into RPG PDF publishing, the accepted retail cost of a RPG PDF was 10 cents a page. I have seen this number creep up over time to reach as high as 18 to 25 cents per page on average. I never really worry about pricing issues; because I know the "market" will judge what prices is "reasonable" and adjusts itself accordingly. This happens everywhere in the world so this is not an issue. But there is a slight price creep that has happened over the last decade in RPG PDFs. I like, Chris Anderson
, believe free is a price point that we have to embrace as business people to get people interesting in our products. With so many other things vying for our interest, cost does become an issue that we need to realize will affect our buying choice. So instead of trying to "grab all the money you can", think about how you can best service your customer
and how can you do that for free. After you do that, THEN and only then think and find a way you can make a profit from your product. This will make you a better business person which in turn will make you more money. How much should a RPG PDF cost? How much are you willing satisfy your customers needs? Talk to you later...
I have nothing against paying for an e-book, but as a consumer I cannot see that an electronic product has the same value as an actual book. You can't hold a pdf in your hand or even read it during a power outage. I don't see a company charging $20 for a pdf doing very well long term, it is just not sustainable...
ReplyDeleteI print out all PDFs for reading. So for me, the cost of printing and binding must be taken into consideration. I like having them in digital form for reference however. As for the actual price, I think it should be tied to page count. A 20 page PDF should cost a whole lot less than a 200 page PDF. That said, I don't buy PDF products. The ones I have are legal free documents. Until we have eradicated DRM I have no interest in paying for a PDF. We need to have right of first purchase as we do with a print book.
ReplyDeleteWith and Ipad you can hold it in your hand and read it during a power outage. The need to convince people to who have those devices to use pdfs is nil and they have a greater value than a Print book because I can carry more books with my IPad.
ReplyDeleteThe market will adjust for the cost of PDFs
Done right, i consider a PDF to be of higher value.
ReplyDeleteIn this I am measuring value as the amount beyond the production costs that i am willing to pay for the product.
Why? Because, i can carry whole libraries of infomation in PFD forms, so where ever i am, if i need to chack something, I can do it in momments. If i need a specific element in hard copy, i can print only what i need. If i am building an adventure for my game at home, i can copy pasta in the monsters, NPCs, traps and treasure I need, and then alter them as needed with relative ease.
I can't do these things as well or at all with a hard copy.
Ofcause, hard copies are nicer to read, and for things like the Paizo adventure paths, and core rule books, i buy them in preference, but more often than not i will happily by the PDF in addition, because of the utility of PDFs.