tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17130344825597841422024-03-27T23:35:18.210-07:00OneBlogShelfAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134529146481466398noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-46997359208099405592020-01-14T11:29:00.004-08:002020-01-16T15:36:48.917-08:00OneBlogShelf MovingWe are moving to <b>Medium</b>!<br />
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You can follow us here: <a href="https://medium.com/oneblogshelf">https://medium.com/oneblogshelf</a><br />
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All blogs previous to this post will remain on our Blogger for archive reasons.<br />
See you over at <b>Medium</b>!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-18234739778588046392019-12-09T11:34:00.003-08:002019-12-09T11:34:51.207-08:00DriveThruRPG.com Bans Publisher for Slander<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.7px;">ATLANTA, VANCOUVER, Dec. 9, 2019 -- DriveThruRPG -- Last week, while most of our staff were heading to the PAX show, a customer reported a title on our store, citing inappropriate content. The title was a short RPG wherein players are meant to assume the role of police officers who harass innocent victims such as “person of color” and “queer person.” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The work in question was arguably satirical, its author perhaps attempting to make a statement against police corruption; however, our initial review determined that the work warranted a more considered review. A game that has players take the role of police oppressing minorities simply warranted more than a quick look. So, as is our policy in such a situation, we suspended the title from public sale until all of our staff could return from PAX and we could then review the work more carefully. In the interim, we notified the publisher that the title was being temporarily suspended for internal review. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Over the weekend during the PAX show, the publisher then undertook a number of questionable actions, including deactivating their other titles and then using DriveThruRPG tools to email prior customers messages falsely blaming DriveThruRPG for having removed those titles.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The publisher also made use of a tool that allows publishers to customize the appearance of their storefront page on DriveThruRPG; with this tool, the publisher created a false version of events, making it seem as though DriveThruRPG had banned the publisher, and then posted a screenclip of that falsified message in several places online. The clear intent of the publisher was to create outrage against DriveThruRPG. It is difficult to see this series of actions as anything but slander. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>Screenshot of the error message created by the publisher that spread on social media</i></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Screenshot of publisher's category header tool (through Manage Publisher Page) showing the message in an editable text box.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We do not want to work with any creator who uses our platform to falsify reports against others, nor do we want to maintain a relationship with anyone who undermines the integrity of public discussion in the hobby. As a result of this publisher’s slanderous actions against us, we have decided to stop doing any business with the publisher.
DriveThruRPG celebrates and supports difference. We believe that a variety of opinions, beliefs, and lifestyles, as expressed both among our customers and publishers and within the titles we carry, is the sign of a healthy hobby and a healthy society.
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-47363866224077242042019-10-11T11:46:00.000-07:002019-10-11T11:58:35.355-07:00DriveThruRPG Creates Phone PDFs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lXzHmCwwW9s/XaDJibqXXSI/AAAAAAAACq8/kYhqrMm4vVUBON-lA7PR5CBSleVP69FbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PhonePDF-Facebook-B-DTRPG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="146" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lXzHmCwwW9s/XaDJibqXXSI/AAAAAAAACq8/kYhqrMm4vVUBON-lA7PR5CBSleVP69FbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/PhonePDF-Facebook-B-DTRPG.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">DriveThruRPG.com is proud to announce the Phone PDF, a new format designed specifically for handheld mobile devices. At the RPG gaming table, while game masters are likely to have a laptop or tablet nearby, an increasingly large number of gamers use their phones for quick reference.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Typical game manuals and comic books in standard PDF format use the same page size and pagination as printed hardcopy editions. That format works well on tablets and monitors, but normal PDFs are not well suited to phone-sized screens.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In early 2019, DriveThruRPG worked closely with Onyx Path Publishing to create the Pugmire Phone PDF (<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/272533/Pugmire-Core-Rulebook-Phone-PDF">get it FREE today</a>!).</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starting in May, we invited several publishers to join us in creating Phone PDFs of their own RPGs. Today, DriveThruRPG is thrilled to announce that Andrews McMeel Publishing (Zweihander), Denagh Design (vs. MIRRORSHADES, et al.), Magpie Games (MASKS), Metal Weave Games (Baby Bestiary), and Troll Lord Games (Castles & Crusades) — as well as a number of community content creators on DMs Guild — have created Phone PDFs using our specs, and many other titles from a variety of publishers are currently in development.
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RC9JDAbJwk/XaDJPoosc-I/AAAAAAAACq0/0BJiri6OpD0FZcB89GaLZnN_Y9ACs7UpACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Pugmire%2Binterior.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RC9JDAbJwk/XaDJPoosc-I/AAAAAAAACq0/0BJiri6OpD0FZcB89GaLZnN_Y9ACs7UpACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Pugmire%2Binterior.png" width="179" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48KMWGynM-0/XaDKk0stdtI/AAAAAAAACrY/aKQ2MXIL73Y3tUV5MMQrqOYouOpUsXGQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-11%2Bat%2B1.31.25%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="470" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48KMWGynM-0/XaDKk0stdtI/AAAAAAAACrY/aKQ2MXIL73Y3tUV5MMQrqOYouOpUsXGQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-11%2Bat%2B1.31.25%2BPM.png" width="188" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Visit our <a href="https://support.drivethrurpg.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034589072-Phone-PDF-Format">Customer Knowledge Base</a> to learn more about Phone PDFs, including </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">recommended </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Apps for phones and other information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Are you a creator or publisher wanting to convert your book into a Phone PDF to join the first wave of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">amazing titles now available? Visit our </span><a href="https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035586453-Phone-PDF-Information-and-File-Creation-Guide" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Publisher Knowledge Base</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOonJVp3rX4/XaDJ2WoUihI/AAAAAAAACrE/M6ehzmwecfIkrvDxsvewpCJt52_7gOuiwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PhonePDF-Banner-B-DTRPG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="1600" height="78" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOonJVp3rX4/XaDJ2WoUihI/AAAAAAAACrE/M6ehzmwecfIkrvDxsvewpCJt52_7gOuiwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/PhonePDF-Banner-B-DTRPG.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7944f503-7fff-880d-9824-6d7eff68dd13"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://shop.dmsguild.com/phone">Phone PDFs on DMs Guild</a></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjzqfRnKxPo/XaDJ7dYD0sI/AAAAAAAACrI/K9D17swqbn8PyQ4KDnyEf_vDBSregaOfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PhonePDF-Banner-DMsGuild.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="1600" height="78" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjzqfRnKxPo/XaDJ7dYD0sI/AAAAAAAACrI/K9D17swqbn8PyQ4KDnyEf_vDBSregaOfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/PhonePDF-Banner-DMsGuild.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About DriveThruRPG</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DriveThruRPG is part of a family of premiere online marketplaces including Dungeon Masters Guild, DriveThruCards, DriveThruComics, DriveThruFiction, and WargameVault. Together, we have been selling digital and print-on-demand comic books, roleplaying games, and fiction since 2001.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As of 2016, we have launched multiple community content programs as well as our Community Card Creator for fans to create content for some of their favorite roleplaying </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and card games.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In May 2019, DriveThruRPG established the process for creating books in Phone PDF format, and we launched the format publicly on October 9, 2019.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About Onyx Path Publishing</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Founded in 2012, Onyx Path Publishing is a Pennsylvania-based company dedicated to the development of exemplary, immersive worlds. Working with a group of amazingly talented creators, we explore print, electronic, and other forms of media distribution to produce games and fiction based on the Scarred Lands, Pugmire, Scion, Trinity, Exalted, World of Darkness, and Chronicles of Darkness properties. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With over 20 years of publishing experience from which to draw, we are industry professionals who love the art of the game and plan to continue making meaningful, innovative contributions in the years to come.</span><br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-570363421960057702019-07-05T15:17:00.000-07:002019-07-05T15:27:57.352-07:00Best Practices Part 1: Follow your Bliss<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Christopher Tang works here at OneBookShelf in publisher services. His responsibilities </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">With the Best </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">Practices series he will try to answer some frequently asked questions about </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">how best to grow </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">and develop both on and off DriveThruRPG.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Getting into RPGs can be overwhelming. So often I talk to people who are brimming with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">their </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">own ideas and ambitions as they’ve finally taken the plunge to put their creative work </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">into the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">world. Sometimes the problem is not so much “what should I do” so much as </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">“what should I </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">do first?” In this article I’d like to answer a few of the questions I hear as the </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What sells best on DriveThru?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The short answer that is not actually helpful is that Fantasy is the genre that sells best and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">D&D 5E is the rules category that sells best.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What people are usually actually asking “what should I create if I want to make money?” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That’s a harder question to answer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">You can make money doing Fantasy 5E products and several people on our site do. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">However,</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;"> it is a crowded field, and if you’re going to jump in to that field you’ll want to make </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">sure that your</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;"> work stands out by offering </span><a href="https://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2013/06/differentiation-how-does-your-title.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">something unique</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What is more important is to think about what you are truly passionate about. Do you read </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">detective novels all the time? Play every relationship simulator that you can get your hands </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on? </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Do you put together ships in a bottle for fun? If you follow your passion then that </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">passion </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">will </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">translate into your work and will sell better than if you try to chase trends.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What should my first product be?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When you’re getting started the best thing to do is to start with something short. This could </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">be a one page game or adventure or something just a few pages long. So often I see people</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">getting started who have grand ambitions of a magnum opus that is hundreds of pages long</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">but who then get stalled out. Start with something small and finish it. After that move on to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">something bigger and finish that. As you create, you’ll learn more about how to create. As </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">with anything new, you’ll make some mistakes, and it’s less painful to make those learning </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">mistakes on smaller works.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Small products also become easy access points for new fans. Someone who likes your work</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> in an adventure is more inclined to check out your big rules book. Even as you grow these </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">small products are an important part of succeeding and getting your work out in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What kind of games are out there? Is there a game like mine?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sometimes I know this off the top of my head (I play a lot of games) but the more important </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">lesson here is do your DriveThru research. We are the largest role-playing download store </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in the world and so looking through our website can give you a look into what the state of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">role-playing is in the world without having to buy everything. Try searching for key terms </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that you think your game would be associated with. No one is saying you can’t make your </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">game, but it is important to know what is out there and similar to your game so you can </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">differentiate yourself in a positive way. What’s a positive difference? Well one example </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">could be a game that is more rules lite or rules heavy. One could be a game that focuses </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on a different group than the standard set of protagonists. One excellent example of this </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">is the game <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193258/Masks-A-New-Generation?term=Masks+a+new">Masks: A New Generation</a>. There were already dozens of superhero RPGs </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and even one Apocalypse Engine Superhero RPG, but by focusing on teenagers and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the sub-genre of teen heroes, Masks sets itself apart from what came before.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That’s it for now. Hopefully this advice can get you started on your adventures making </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">role-playing games. See you next month for more Best Practices.</span></div>
Christopher Tanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15195630144424618745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-33585555757945416882019-06-12T11:42:00.000-07:002019-06-12T11:42:15.586-07:00Tribute to James MatheI woke up this morning to the tragic news that my friend and business partner James Mathe died in his sleep. I want to pay tribute to him here so that more people might get a glimpse of the man and know his many contributions to our tabletop gaming hobby.<br />
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Perhaps James' most far-reaching contribution to the hobby was his founding of RPGNow, the first webstore to focus on selling roleplaying games in PDF format. James launched RPGNow in 2001, the same year Apple launched iTunes. Well before the iPhone, iPad, or the Kindle, James recognized the opportunity for RPG publishers to reach more fans through digital versions of their titles.<br />
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By 2004, when I and a few others started DriveThruRPG, we were the Johnny-come-lately to the pioneering work James had already done with RPGNow. Nevertheless, it was through the resulting friendly business rivalry between DriveThruRPG and RPGNow that I got to know and soon came to respect James. Our professional acquaintance turned to camaraderie when we decided to merge RPGNow and DriveThruRPG in 2006 to form OneBookShelf. My esteem for him, both as a person and as a professional, only continued to grow during the 13 years we remained business partners.<br />
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What James started in 2001 has grown each year since, so that now roughly a million gamers visit OneBookShelf sites each month to discover games. Some of the webpages James coded in the early days still remain in use on the sites. He designed RPGNow to be open and transparent to game publishers and to entrust and empower those publishers with great freedom to manage and modify the marketplace directly as they saw fit. I think these design decisions were intuitive outgrowths of James' own nature.<br />
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The man's many contributions to gaming hardly stopped with the webstore, though. James never met a business opportunity he wouldn't entertain. He collected gaming-related web domain names like some gamers collect dice, and he would regularly spin up new websites overnight dedicated to some facet of gaming or another.<br />
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He also founded and operated the <i>Game Universe </i>retail stores in Wisconsin, expanding to three stores before later selling the stores so he could focus on his many other business pursuits.<br />
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And as if I haven't used the word "founded" enough yet, James also founded game publisher Minion Games, primarily as an outlet for his own abiding passion for board gaming. He produced hit games like <i>Manhattan Project</i> and, along the way, became one of the early experts on using crowdsourcing to fund game development.<br />
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He then generously turned that expertise into a <a href="http://www.jamesmathe.com/" target="_blank">website </a>devoted to offering free advice to other board game designers and publishers, thus helping many other people who were seeking best practices for creating their own games and funding them via crowdsourcing. James also started several <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GameDesignersGuild" target="_blank">groups on Facebook</a> that have since grown to be among the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/TabletopPublishers/" target="_blank">best places</a> for new publishers and experts to swap game <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/TabletopKickstarters/" target="_blank">publishing advice</a>.<br />
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To speak fairly and earnestly, James did not, in person, always convey the kindest first impression. There was a frankness to his manner that, upon first exposure, led some people to not seek out his company a second time. Those people missed out. James had a heart of gold. Whatever roughness might have shown on the surface was just an expression of James' drive to never be satisfied with the status quo and to improve things, not just for himself but for everyone.<br />
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James was a very smart entrepreneur in a hobby business full of smart people. He embodied the best of the US Midwestern virtues of work ethic, honesty, and fairness. He's gone too soon. I am saddened that we will never see what else he might have founded in the years to come.<br />
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Rest in peace, James.<br />
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Forever your friend,<br />
Steve Wieck<br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-1344152188886248712019-04-15T16:53:00.001-07:002019-04-15T16:53:26.258-07:00Announcement: DriveThruRPG Partners with Astral Virtual Tabletop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="http://bit.ly/AstralRPGNet">Astral Virtual TableTop</a></b> is the easiest way to create, host, and play tabletop roleplaying games. Astral has partnered with <b>DriveThruRPG</b> to launch a new experience that makes running tabletop roleplaying games immersive, simple, and fun for both Game Masters and players. Use Astral to play with friends online, or as a helpful tool around the gaming table. Play any tabletop roleplaying system in Astral by importing and sharing your favorite titles purchased through any Driv<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">eThru site, including DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Master's Guild.</span></div>
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All accounts come with a ready-made starter template, tokens, audio files, and a helpful guide to help you get started. Use Astral for free, or level up to a Pro plan to unlock automation tools and 10,000 assets (designed by Mythic Portal Games) that come with every Pro account.</div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-53597371604888382332019-03-07T11:23:00.003-08:002019-03-07T11:24:32.519-08:00Annual Sitewide Sales<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
A lot of people have reached out to us about this so we wanted to give a general idea of when our sitewide sales are. </div>
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We have several recurring sitewide promotions each year. Few of these sales are attached to a firm date, but rather most slide a bit each year to suit both the international calendar and our internal marketing schedule. We also prefer to keep things flexible in case a delivery slips or we have a conflict or a last-minute change.</div>
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Even if the precise dates might move around a bit within each month, here are some guidelines that can help you when setting your own release or promotion schedule.</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Early January:</em> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">New Year, New Game</strong> occurs in the first half of January. It tends to focus on quickstarts, intro adventures, and “starter pack” bundles for game systems.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Early March:</em> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">GM's Day</strong> is one of our three biggest annual sales, with substantial discounts on a huge swath of titles.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">All of May:</em> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">D&D Month</strong> — Throughout the month of May, we host <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dungeons & Dragons</em>-specific sales, including all editions.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Late July:</em> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Christmas in July</strong> is another of our top three biggest annual sales. It usually starts the Thursday before July 25.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">All of September:</em> Our <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">September System/Setting Sales</strong> focus on one or two major game systems or settings for the entire month, with broad sales on all titles for that system or setting.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mid- to Late October:</em> We generally hold a <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Halloween Sale</strong> in the mid- to latter part of the month. Usually the focus is on Horror titles of some kind.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Late November:</em> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Black Friday / Cyber Monday</strong> sales take place around the U.S. Thanksgiving Day weekend. This promotion has grown over the past few years to challenge GM's Day and Christmas in July as our biggest of the year. We usually have a wide array of titles on sale for the entire weekend, with separate sets of headliner/doorcrasher items at very deep discounts for each of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.”</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Early to Mid-December:</em> Prior to Christmas, we hold the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Teach Your Kids Holiday Sale</strong>. This promotion features child- and family-focused games only. </li>
</ul>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-8144221303882591492019-02-27T11:01:00.001-08:002019-02-28T09:51:56.163-08:00Print on Demand Prices Changing in April<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hello Publishers,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I hope that your February is going fantastic!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a quick update for print on demand books as we prepare for the following print cost changes in April. We do not have a definite date yet, but as we get closer, we will notify you as soon as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The short version is that Lightning Source has implemented a pretty significant change to their print cost structure. As a result, there will be a few changes coming to our sites soon: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Short books of all types will generally <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">decrease</i> substantially in cost as the fixed price for low page count books goes away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">B&W books will be 10-15% cheaper.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Standard Color books will be 10-35% more expensive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium Color books will be 15-30% cheaper.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i> There will no longer be a "Medium" size for Premium Color books. The 6"x9", 6.14"x9.21" sizes will now be considered small, and the 8.5"x8.5" size will now be considered large.</i></span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Changes to Book Print Costs<o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can compare the new cost formulas below to the current costs here:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub_pod_cost.php">https://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub_pod_cost.php</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The new cost formulas below apply to all available page counts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Black and White (Small / Softcover): $1.55 + $0.0138 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Black and White (Small / Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0138 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Black and White (Large / Softcover): $1.61 + $0.0202 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Black and White (Large / Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0202 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Standard Heavyweight/70 (Small / Softcover): $1.55 + $0.0316 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Standard Heavyweight/70 (Small / Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0316 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Standard Heavyweight/70 (Large / Softcover): $1.61 + $0.0503<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Standard Heavyweight/70 (Large/ Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0503 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium (Small / Softcover): $1.55 + $0.0676 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium (Small / Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0676 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium (Large / Softcover): $1.61 + $0.0905 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium (Large / Hardcover): $5.98 + $0.0905 per page<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">Premium Color Landscape will have the same price as other Premium Large formats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">There will be no more Quantity Discounts for bulk orders over 50 copies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Updating Site Prices for POD<o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In April, when we update print costs for your POD books, we will adjust the site price on your titles automatically so as to maintain the margin you have set for that printed format. As part of this site price adjustment, we will try to maintain similar price points that still end with $X.95, $X.99, or $X.00 to stay as close as possible to the prices you have set currently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For example, if you have a 300-page, hardcover, premium color, 8.5x11” book on site now, the current print cost of that would be $39.90. After the April cost changes, the print cost will drop to $33.13.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you currently have the print margin on this title set to $20.09, then its site price to customers would be $39.90 + $20.09 = $59.99.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the April update, our code will first attempt to maintain your margin of $20.09, re-setting the site price initially to $33.13 (new print cost) + $20.09 = $53.22. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As that site price does not match the format of your former site price ($59.99 follows the $X.99 format), then our code will adjust your margin from $20.09 to $20.86, so that your new site price becomes $33.13 + $20.86 = $53.99.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, after the April update, you are free to further adjust your margins (and resulting site prices).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We think this automatic price reset is the easiest and most effective process for us and you. We welcome your feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What if I planned my KickStarter?<o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many KickStarters print runs may benefit from the cost reductions, but if you already planned on a larger (i.e., higher page count) standard color book, you may be facing a sizable cost increase. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We will work with you on grandfathered pricing if your KickStarter launches on or before March 1st, 2019. If you are within that date range, please contact your Publisher Service Representative so we can work with you through your fulfillment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through e-mail during normal business hours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yours,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Meredith Gerber<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-20755074673794968252019-02-26T09:58:00.003-08:002019-02-26T09:58:42.740-08:00Tiny Trove: Coming Soon to DriveThruRPG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grtPNqXIQ18/XHV-NTARzEI/AAAAAAAACcY/jHVDPrbuJJYs7H_iqHIavSHkefiOWbnvACLcBGAs/s1600/TinyTrove-BigTitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="650" height="138" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grtPNqXIQ18/XHV-NTARzEI/AAAAAAAACcY/jHVDPrbuJJYs7H_iqHIavSHkefiOWbnvACLcBGAs/s400/TinyTrove-BigTitle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ogden, UT – February 28, 2019</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gallant Knight Games and DriveThruRPG are pleased to announce a new community content program, centered on the TinyD6 ruleset: Tiny Trove!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The minimalist TinyD6 ruleset has been a hit since it’s launch, and now fans can create their own content centered around Tiny Dungeon 2e! Now, Gallant Knight Games and DriveThruRPG have partnered to let independent content creators publish material utilizing the TinyD6 ruleset and set in the top quality variety micro-settings published in TinyD6 products!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tiny Trove features:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Self-publish service for tabletop RPG material set using Tiny Dungeon 2e</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Creators themselves set the price for the material they publish and receive 50% of the revenue</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Access to over templates and art packs that will evoke the feel of Tiny Dungeon 2e</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">· Additional content supporting other TinyD6 game lines will roll out beginning with Tiny Frontiers: Revised in May, 2019 and continuing forward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About Gallant Knight Games</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gallant Knight Games is a tabletop gaming company dedicated to high-quality roleplaying games and card and board games. Founded in 2015 by Alan & Erin Bahr, Gallant Knight Games publishes it’s flagship TinyD6 line, featuring Tiny Dungeon 2e, Tiny Wasteland, Tiny Frontiers: Revised, along with other games such as Cold Shadows, For Coin & Blood, Beach Patrol, and many more.<span> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.gallantknightgames.com&source=gmail&ust=1551287836805000&usg=AFQjCNEryDCzPRrgL99pl36tiMbDc6Ep8g" href="http://www.gallantknightgames.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.gallantknightgames.com</a><span> </span>contact:<span> </span><a href="mailto:alan@gallantknightgames.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">alan@gallantknightgames.com</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About DriveThruRPG</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050;"></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">DriveThruRPG.com is part of a family of premiere online marketplaces including RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, DriveThruCards, DMsGuild, DriveThruComics, DriveThruFiction, and Wargame Vault. Together, we have been selling digital and print-on-demand comic books, roleplaying games, and fiction since 2001. As of 2016, we have launched multiple community content programs as well as our Community Card Creator for fans to create content for some of their favorite roleplaying and card games. <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.onebookshelf.com&source=gmail&ust=1551287836805000&usg=AFQjCNFW84wpXf3Yx4AEj8-PnsnKLIjx-w" href="http://www.onebookshelf.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.onebookshelf.com</a>Contact: <a href="mailto:meredith@onebookshelf.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">meredith@onebookshelf.com</a></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-18137750049266813252019-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:002019-02-12T14:34:14.474-08:00DriveThruRPG Responds to Current Industry News<br />
Thanks to everyone for your patience as we deliberated on the situation that has unfolded regarding Zak Smith (aka Zak Sabbath). At DriveThruRPG, we want to do our part to keep bad actors out of the roleplaying community, and we don’t want business relationships with such people. As such, you’d think there wouldn’t be much deliberation needed on our part. However, the situation posed a number of challenges for us to consider in terms of precedent and collateral impact on other parties.<br />
<br />
I have decided that we will not accept future titles for sale on DriveThruRPG (or our other marketplaces) if Zak is a contributor on the title. If any publisher has a title-in-process to which Zak is a contributor and this policy would impact you financially, then we’d ask that you please reach out to us via the publisher services link to have a dialogue about that title.<br />
<br />
For titles currently on our marketplace in which Zak is listed as a contributor, we have checked those publisher accounts, and none of these titles have us paying money directly to Zak. While it is likely that Zak does earn a royalty on some titles sold on DriveThruRPG, any such royalties would be paid directly by the publisher of the title, not by DriveThruRPG. <br />
<br />
Further, whatever royalty Zak might get from any publisher on our store is unlikely to be the entirety of what we pay that publisher. We do not feel it’s fair to penalize financially those who worked with Zak in the past, including both publishers and possibly other contributors earning income from these titles. Therefore, we expect publishers to make their own decision to continue selling these titles or not, presumably after consulting with all other contributors. <br />
<br />
For our part, we will be identifying all titles to which Zak contributed and diverting all of the revenue shares that DriveThruRPG might make from sales of these titles as a donation to RAINN (<a href="https://www.rainn.org/">https://www.rainn.org/</a>).<br />
<br />
I’ll try to pre-emptively answer other possible questions below.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div>
<b>When this happened, why did you not suspend sale of Zak’s titles while you deliberated?</b>When we expect that it will take us a few days to deliberate on a title reported for offensive content, our policy is to temporarily suspend sales of that title. In this case, though, it was not the content of any particular title under discussion, and we did not find any titles where we directly paid Zak for ongoing sales during our deliberation.<br />
<br />
<b>So DriveThruRPG is now banning certain creators? Will whoever the “outrage brigade” complains about next be banned as well?</b><br />
We all share a responsibility for the health of our hobby. Any demographic measure we’ve ever seen on the roleplaying hobby shows women are under-represented. Things won’t improve if people shirk the responsibility to make our hobby inclusive.<br />
<br />
Zak Smith has a long and well-documented history of behaviors antithetical to a healthy community. In light of recent allegations, which we find credible, we think our business and our hobby is better off without him, so we’re doing our part.<br />
<br />
We already have a small list of other bad actors in the industry with whom we refuse to do business: people who have repeatedly abused crowdfunding platforms for personal enrichment, who repeatedly engaged in IP violations, who have repeatedly treated our staff or customers in unacceptably unprofessional ways, and so on. If you repeatedly act like a jerk (or worse, a predator), we won’t wait for other people to complain about you. We’ll just quietly stop doing business with you. <br />
<br />
<b>Why are you not banning his existing titles?</b><br />
Because we don’t want to hurt other people who also contributed to those same titles just to diminish Zak. Banning those existing titles risks doing just that. <br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
Steve Wieck<br />
President<br />
OneBookShelf / DriveThruRPG<br />
<br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com117tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-40842289235889840762019-01-16T11:26:00.003-08:002019-01-16T12:07:02.384-08:00January 28th, 2019: Sites Down / Server Migration <div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QnAmAk8f4qw/XD-FRKe8BII/AAAAAAAACZo/-Eu_mcjiZg8057m5cQMxN5TFmGKI05oHwCLcBGAs/s1600/50510632_10161213671485521_8882019383472291840_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1600" height="203" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QnAmAk8f4qw/XD-FRKe8BII/AAAAAAAACZo/-Eu_mcjiZg8057m5cQMxN5TFmGKI05oHwCLcBGAs/s400/50510632_10161213671485521_8882019383472291840_o.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our Tech Team will be using their spell slots in the server dungeons to improve our sites on </div>
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<b>Monday, January 28th</b>! Please mark your calendars!</div>
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The site could be down for <b>12 hours</b> while our tech team migrates from our dedicated servers to the cloud. After the server transition, DNS propagation time will determine how quickly people can reconnect to the site.</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-82929072962599913212019-01-03T11:45:00.002-08:002019-01-03T11:47:17.695-08:00New Year | New Game Sale!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our New Year | New Game Sale is underway on <b>DriveThruRPG.com</b>, <b>DriveThruCards.com</b>, and <b>DMsGuild</b>! Feel free to use the following banners to promote your titles on your social media platforms or newsletters. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This sale is from <b>January 3rd - January 14th, 2019</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>Publisher Resources and Information</u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We ask that publishers do not use the <b>Send Customer E-Mail</b> tool until next week as we are sending the Newsletter today and want to give the sale some breathing room. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you would like to track your click-throughs, don't forget to check out our Marketing Analysis <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub/sales_sources.php">here</a> to add on an SRC (source code) to the end of your link. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you have an affiliate account with us, do not forget to utilize that link in your promotions as well. If you're not an affiliate with us already, please check out our <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/affiliate_faq.php">Affiliate System</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you are not in the sale but would like to run your own, we encourage you to do so through the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub/manage_sales.php">Manage Sales</a> option.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We use specific filters to find titles for the sale and all publishers in the sale are Opted In to our site-wide sales. You can change this through the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub/sales_permissions.php">Opt-Out Opt-In Tool</a>. This is a good time, too, to make sure your titles are properly filtered into the correct category. </span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/featured.php?src=NYNGOBSBlog" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="728" height="48" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iQORBp1m0Cc/XC5iELgmupI/AAAAAAAACY0/EAHYXKeVHmQ1MUIS6xEXLruxe_9P6GVuQCLcBGAs/s400/72890_banner1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>DriveThruRPG.com</b> has six <i>deeply discounted</i> bundles as well as thousands of titles on sale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/featured.php?promotion_id=NYNG2019</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DriveThruRPG/photos/a.10150244048855521/10161167828420521/?type=3&theater">FB Post</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/rpg_newyear.php?&filters=0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_45775?src=NYNGOBSBLOG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="728" height="47" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tKbliFkS8jw/XC5iEFOC0VI/AAAAAAAACY4/eRah0w3E5Kg_vs0UEr8Ow2ruJBeknSGXgCLcBGAs/s400/72890dms.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All Tier 1 adventures are on sale at <b>DMsGuild.com</b> as well as a few surprises!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Link: https://www.dmsguild.com/rpg_newyear.php?&filters=0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_45775</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.drivethrucards.com/sale.php?src=NYNGOBSBlog" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="1200" height="46" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0NjeQNT4sFU/XC5iJrr-DsI/AAAAAAAACY8/z8IuVwtbSuMTFO-3aKAPLRBWLIWGAWvrQCLcBGAs/s400/NYNG-Banner-2019-DTCards.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tons of amazing titles are available at discounted prices at <b>DriveThruCards.com!</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Link: https://www.drivethrucards.com/sale.php?&filters=0_0_0_0_45776</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-77335248514783169302018-11-21T11:17:00.002-08:002018-11-21T12:01:45.166-08:00RPGNow Merging with DriveThruRPG on February 2019<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="a8iu4" data-offset-key="637c9-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Hello Friends,</span><span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, we sent out an e-mail explaining RPGNow will be merging with DriveThruRPG and what that means for both publishers and customers. I wanted to make the e-mail more accessible, just in case you haven't received it. </span></div>
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Yours,<br />
Meredith A. Gerber<br />
RPG Publisher Service Representative </div>
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===<span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Starting in February 2019, all elements of the RPGNow tool pages and storefront will redirect to similar pages on DriveThruRPG.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="eq890-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="fdvvr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">You most likely know this, but since RPGNow and DriveThruRPG first merged as businesses back in 2006, they have shared all the same tools and digital inventory. On the front end, they looked and behaved like two separate sites, but essentially, they have just been two faces of the same site for many years. The only real differences were the color schemes and logos.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1djsq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="1djsq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">You might have some questions about the coming change, so we’ve done our best to anticipate and answer them below. </span><span data-offset-key="9dlip-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="9dlip-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="9dlip-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Customers: How will this affect me? </b></span><span data-offset-key="9ikvr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="9ikvr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">In almost every way, you’ll be unaffected. Your entire library of purchases from RPGNow is already available to you on DriveThruRPG (as it always has been!), and you can log in to DriveThruRPG using the same account you’ve always used on RPGNow, just as you could before. Even your old bookmarks to pages on RPGNow.com will still work: They’ll automatically be redirected to the same page on DriveThruRPG.</span><span data-offset-key="amo2l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span><span data-offset-key="amo2l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="amo2l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Customers: But where will I go to get my gaming purchases? </b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">No worries. As far as buying titles, the publishers and catalogs available on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow have always been identical, so anything you’ve bought on RPGNow before, you could also have bought (for exactly the same price) on DriveThruRPG. In short, you’ll still be able to get the same stuff, from the same publishers, using the same tools you’ve always used. You’ll just be finding them on a slightly different-looking storefront.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="15uje-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="15uje-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publishers: How will this affect me?</b></span><span data-offset-key="fis0n-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="fis0n-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">In most ways, you’ll be unaffected. Your entire catalog of titles from RPGNow is already listed on DriveThruRPG (as it always has been), and you can log in to DriveThruRPG using the same account(s) you’ve always used on RPGNow, just as you could before.</span><span data-offset-key="99oq4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Even your old bookmarks to pages on RPGNow.com will still work: They’ll automatically be redirected to the same page on DriveThruRPG.</span><span data-offset-key="bdrio-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span><span data-offset-key="bdrio-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bdrio-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publishers: What about sales reporting? Will my past sales be combined?</b></span><span data-offset-key="fjrhi-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="fjrhi-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, as far as sales records and your titles’ metal rankings, we will be merging those together.</span><span data-offset-key="15qoo-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Starting in February, your sales records will show combined sales of each title across both the deprecated RPGNow site and DriveThruRPG, together. The number of unit sales will also be combined, so if you had metal rankings for titles on one or both sites, there’s a good chance you’ll find that your rankings on some titles will have increased on DriveThruRPG.</span><span data-offset-key="4dnr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span><span data-offset-key="4dnr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4dnr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publishers: What about my Publisher Promotion Points and marketing impressions?</b></span><span data-offset-key="onnf-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="onnf-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">No worries. Your Publisher Promotion Points (PPP) are already shared across sister sites. They are compiled by publisher, not by site.</span><span data-offset-key="8q7u3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span data-offset-key="8q7u3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"> If you have used your PPP to purchase site impressions for banners or featured product messages on RPGNow, you will also be reimbursed, commensurately, for those expenditures on DriveThruRPG. </span><span data-offset-key="1a71l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span><span data-offset-key="1a71l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1a71l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> Why is this happening?</b></span><span data-offset-key="a145s-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span><span data-offset-key="ddkn4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s the big picture: In the 12 years since RPGNow and DriveThruRPG merged, the growth of RPGNow has tapered off constantly, while DriveThruRPG has continued to grow strongly, year over year, since it launched in 2004. We’ve reached the point where RPGNow rarely draws new customers or publishers and sells less than one-tenth the volume of titles purchased on DriveThruRPG.</span><span data-offset-key="8ru6s-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"> To be honest, we have known this moment would come for years now. We’ve just finally decided it’s time to put the RPGNow brand out to pasture and merge it with DriveThruRPG. </span><span data-offset-key="94g09-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-129710059506892272018-06-04T12:32:00.000-07:002019-12-19T09:40:39.355-08:00Print on Demand Playing Cards Cost Comparison<h3>
Introduction</h3>
Over three years ago, we <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2015/01/cost-of-printing-cards-on-demand.html" target="_blank">compared the print costs for cards</a> among the leading printers of print on demand (POD) or short run cards for the tabletop game community. Among our findings: DriveThruCards, at the time, offered the best pricing for print-on-demand cards.<br />
<br />
But that was then. What about now?<br />
<br />
We thought it time to revisit our competitors', and our own, pricing. Plus, since that time we've introduced custom-printed tuckboxes, embossed stock, and (soon) an option to have high-volume deck + tuckbox orders shrink-wrapped.<br />
<br />
As before, we compare single deck printing costs (for, say, a prototype) and a few higher volume runs (as might be used for convention sales or KickStarter fulfillment).<br />
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All data here is current as of May 2018.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Comparing Print on Demand Card Costs</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> 54-card Poker (Premium stock)</b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<style>
<!--table
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.xl65
{text-align:center;}
.xl66
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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.xl67
{font-weight:700;
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mso-font-charset:0;
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.xl68
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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.xl69
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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.xl70
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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mso-number-format:"_\(\0022$\0022* \#\,\#\#0\.00_\)\;_\(\0022$\0022* \\\(\#\,\#\#0\.00\\\)\;_\(\0022$\0022* \0022-\0022??_\)\;_\(\@_\)";}
.xl71
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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.xl73
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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mso-number-format:"_\(* \#\,\#\#0\.00_\)\;_\(* \\\(\#\,\#\#0\.00\\\)\;_\(* \0022-\0022??_\)\;_\(\@_\)";}
.xl74
{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-number-format:"_\(\0022$\0022* \#\,\#\#0\.00_\)\;_\(\0022$\0022* \\\(\#\,\#\#0\.00\\\)\;_\(\0022$\0022* \0022-\0022??_\)\;_\(\@_\)";}
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 650px;">
<!--StartFragment-->
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 5205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 122pt;" width="163"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">DriveThru</span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Game Crafter</span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">PrinterStudio</span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">MPC</span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Print&Play</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">1 deck (cards only)</span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">$ 4.86 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">$ 6.17 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> $ 13.80 </span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">$ 13.20 </span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">$ 14.85 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">100 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl71"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 344.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 437.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl71"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 705.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl73"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 635.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl73"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 965.25 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">250 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl71"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 860.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,092.50 </span></td>
<td class="xl71"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,450.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl73"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,225.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl73"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 2,227.50 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="xl71"></td><td class="xl72" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"></td><td class="xl71"></td><td class="xl73"></td><td class="xl73"></td></tr>
<!--EndFragment-->
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<style>
<!--table
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{text-align:center;}
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.xl67
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 650px;">
<!--StartFragment-->
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 5205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 122pt;" width="163"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"> 1 deck + tuckbox</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 7.11 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 8.96 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 23.80 </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 23.20 </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 18.10 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 100 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 534.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 672.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 875.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 805.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,121.25 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 250 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,335.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,680.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,800.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,575.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">2,544.38 </span></td>
</tr>
<!--EndFragment-->
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 54-card Poker (Embossed / Linen stock)</span></b></div>
<div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 650px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 122pt;" width="163"></col><col style="width: 71pt;" width="95"></col><col style="width: 83pt;" width="111"></col><col style="width: 82pt;" width="109"></col><col style="width: 62pt;" width="83"></col><col style="width: 67pt;" width="89"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13pt;"><td height="17" style="height: 13pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">DriveThru</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Game Crafter</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">PrinterStudio</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">MPC</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Print&Play</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<style>
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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{font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 650px;">
<!--StartFragment-->
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 5205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 122pt;" width="163"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">1 deck (cards only)</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 5.13 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 6.92 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 15.80 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 15.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 9.42 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"> 100 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 398.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 512.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 825.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 735.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 612.30 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"> 250 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 995.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,280.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,700.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,450.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,413.00 </span></td>
</tr>
<!--EndFragment-->
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<style>
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<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">1 deck + tuckbox</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 7.38 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 9.71 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 25.80 </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 25.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 12.67 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 100 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 588.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 747.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 995.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 905.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 768.30 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 250 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,470.00 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl67"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,867.50 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">2,050.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,800.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,729.88 </span></td>
</tr>
<!--EndFragment-->
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 80-card Tarot (Premium stock</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">)</span></b></div>
<div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 650px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 122pt;" width="163"></col><col style="width: 71pt;" width="95"></col><col style="width: 83pt;" width="111"></col><col style="width: 82pt;" width="109"></col><col style="width: 62pt;" width="83"></col><col style="width: 67pt;" width="89"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13pt;"><td height="17" style="height: 13pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">DriveThru</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Game Crafter</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">PrinterStudio</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">MPC</span></td><td class="xl67" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Print&Play</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 5205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 122pt;" width="163"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
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<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">1 deck (cards only)</span></span></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 13.60 </span></span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 17.61 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 16.75 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 16.15 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 34.65 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 100 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 780.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,009.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,115.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,130.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">2,079.00 </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 250 decks</span></span></td>
<td class="xl70"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,950.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 2,522.50 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 2,600.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 2,625.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl72"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">4,851.00 </span></td>
</tr>
<!--EndFragment-->
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<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 5205; mso-width-source: userset; width: 122pt;" width="163"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3029; mso-width-source: userset; width: 71pt;" width="95"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3541; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2645; mso-width-source: userset; width: 62pt;" width="83"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2858; mso-width-source: userset; width: 67pt;" width="89"></col>
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<td class="xl67" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt; width: 122pt;" width="163"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"> 1 deck + tuckbox</span></span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 71pt;" width="95"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 16.10 </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 20.40 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 82pt;" width="109"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 31.75 </span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="width: 62pt;" width="83"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 31.15 </span></td>
<td class="xl66" style="width: 67pt;" width="89"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">n/a</span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl67" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 100 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,005.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,244.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl69"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 1,370.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl69"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,385.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl66"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">n/a</span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;">
<td class="xl67" height="17" style="height: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 250 decks + tuck</span></span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">2,512.50 </span></td>
<td class="xl68"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 3,110.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl69"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> 3,125.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl69"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">3,150.00 </span></td>
<td class="xl66"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">n/a</span></span></td>
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<!--EndFragment-->
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<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Fine print</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>There's a lot of fine print to allow for as close to apples to apples comparisons as possible.</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">DriveThruCards pricing reflects pricing that is announced to take </i></span></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">effect 10-17-2018 (current pricing is even lower)</i><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Card stocks</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>DriveThruCards: Premium stock = </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>11.6-pt. thickness, 320 gsm black core. Embossed stock = 10.7-pt. thickness, 310 gsm black core. (Embossed is not a true Linen stock.) Both stocks are finished with a low-gloss UV coating.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Game Crafter: </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>305 gsm black-core matte. UV coating = $0.10/sheet. Linen finish = $0.25/sheet.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>PrinterStudio: Smooth finish: 300 gsm, aqueous coated. Linen finish: 310 gsm.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>MPC (MakePlayingCards): Smooth finish = 300 gsm blue core. Linen finish: 310 gsm black core.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Print&Play: Premium = 310 gsm, glossy finish, black core. Linen = 270 gsm, glossy finish.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Additional costs and details</i></span></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Game Crafter's price includes a fee of $0.89/deck added to each game. The Game Crafter's Tarot tuckbox is for 90 cards. Shrink-wrapping is included in all prices except for the 1-deck price from DriveThru (DriveThruCards does not offer single-deck shrink-wrapping). Shrink-wrapping on high-volume DriveThru orders is $0.40/deck; opting out of shrink-wrapping further improves DriveThru pricing.</i><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></i>
<br />
<h3>
Conclusions</h3>
DriveThruCards continues to offer the best pricing for print-on-demand cards.<br />
<br />
I know we're the ones writing this, but our intent was to provide an unbiased analysis. We merely pulled pricing information available on each printer's site and compiled the data to get the cost comparison.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Beyond Pricing</h3>
<div>
As before, it's worth noting some more details about each of the above-compared companies.<br />
<br />
<b>The Game Crafter</b>: Solid reputation. They offer a bunch of other game components (rule booklets, game boards, two-piece boxes, dice, mats, counters/punch-outs, and pawns/meeples). If you have a full-on board game with loads of pieces-parts, then the Game Crafter's likely got you covered.<br />
<br />
<b>PrinterStudio</b>: Offers printing on plastic (PVC) cards. They don't offer nearly as many pieces-parts as The Game Crafter, but they do offer custom-printed rubber game mats and personalized poker chips. (Also offer other "photo gifts" like jigsaw puzzles, greeting cards, clothes, and bags.)<br />
<br />
<b>MPC</b>: Offers five different card stocks (in addition to white plastic) and a glossy finish. Packaging options are many, including full card deck shrink-wrapping and a tin box option. Can also add on a small booklet and purchase uncut sheets. They offer various volume tiers (up to 15,000 decks).<br />
<br />
<b>Print&Play</b>: Like The Game Crafter, they offer a bunch of other game components (rule sheets and rule booklets, game boards, dice, counters/punch-outs, paper money, wood cubes, and pawns/meeples (wood and plastic)). Seems to really cater to those with multi-component board game prototyping needs.<br />
<br />
<b>DriveThruCards</b>: Of course, we're a bit partial to DriveThruCards, but we think we can be fair in critiquing our own card offerings.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b> What we do well</b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>We wanted to do POD cards <i><u>really</u></i> well. And we think we do that. Our card stocks and quality of printing are top-notch. (But don't take our word for it: many publishers and designers <a href="https://www.drivethrucards.com/joincards.php?src=blogtellus" target="_blank">tell us this</a>.)</li>
<li>We use <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2015/03/" target="_blank">ink-based</a> HP Indigo presses instead of toner-based printing.</li>
<li>We offer custom-printed tuckboxes with a unique no-glue design that makes for a sturdier package than tuckbox offerings from the competition. </li>
<li>We have earned a reputation for high-end personal publisher/customer service.</li>
<li>You can print any number of cards in your deck; there's no sheet multiple you need to meet. (So you're not spending money on "empty" sheet slots.)</li>
<li>Our marketplace is easy to find and hundreds and hundreds of publishers who have opted to sell their card titles on site earn extra sales regularly. Across our DriveThru sites, we pay millions in earnings to publishers every year.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b> What we don't do as well</b></div>
<ul>
<li>We don't offer board game materials (including rule sheets/rulebooks).</li>
<li>To get the best printed results, it's ideal to use InDesign or Scribus to prepare your print-ready PDF. (We do have a deckbuilder tool that works well for image upload, but the best results are seen when card PDFs are professionally prepared.)</li>
<li>Our publisher-facing interface is super powerful. It can also be a bit, ahem, challenging to learn. (However, we offer walkthroughs and are willing to help as needed.)</li>
<li>We offer only one volume discount tier (at 5,000 total cards).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
For more about printing with DriveThruCards, go <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/joincards.php?src=bloghere">here</a> and <a href="https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/206227627-Card-Printing" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Your comments (and corrections!) are welcome.<br />
<br />
Brian Petkash and Steve Wieck</div>
</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-34601255540639444942018-04-19T07:38:00.004-07:002018-06-04T21:37:56.220-07:00Pricing Part 3Back in 2014, I shared <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2014/05/pricing-part-2.html">some observations</a> about pricing PDFs on OneBookShelf sites. I am told some publishers found it useful as a guideline for OBS marketplaces. Still, a number of questions arose as a result of that initial blog post, such as, how did some of the biggest, most prolific publishers skew the results? And how did those observations apply to print-on-demand pricing, as opposed to digital pricing?<br />
<br />
I am not a statistician or a data scientist, and I won't pretend what you'll see here is any more sophisticated than my last blog on this topic. Moreover, as I noted last time, these data are correlative, not causative. Still, I hope you might find something that helps you in deciding how to price your titles more effectively.<br />
<br />
<b>Note: </b>All numbers and data visualizations are based on gross sales revenue for both DriveThruRPG and RPGnow, combined, from all of 2016 and 2017. Dungeon Masters Guild data are not addressed here.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Revenue by Price Point</h3>
<br />
As in the previous pricing blog, let's take a look at what price points have done best on our marketplace in the past two years, in terms of gross revenue. After that, we can start looking at the same data sliced up a few different ways.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_5CcbtpRZnI/WrDm0cgSESI/AAAAAAAABII/EX8jF6Eeyug1mTTEVr5tFZ2khX1VdO9GACLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25241%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1206" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_5CcbtpRZnI/WrDm0cgSESI/AAAAAAAABII/EX8jF6Eeyug1mTTEVr5tFZ2khX1VdO9GACLcBGAs/s640/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25241%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 1: Gross revenue by price point (in $1 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In this regard, at least, things haven't changed much in the past three years or so. There are spikes at each of the $5 price increments, but those increments are also by far the most common price points for products on our site.<br />
<br />
One improvement of the data visualizations here, over those I provided in 2014, is that now you can see digital sales separated from print sales: Print-on-demand book revenue is indicated in orange above, while digital revenue is blue.<br />
<br />
<b>Complication:</b> For orders which include both digital and print titles, data are duplicated: When we sell digital + print product, for example, that order shows up as both a digital sale and a print sale in the metrics. That's why you'll notice, above, that a few print sales show up even at very low price points. Taken in aggregate, though, the visualization is still helpful for seeing trends, even if the data aren't perfectly clean.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Revenue per Title by Price Point</h4>
<br />
Now we'll take a look at the same data adjusted for the total number of titles available at each price point; looking at sales revenue relative to catalog size this way, we have a clearer sense of what have actually been the most "successful" (in the sense of lucrative) price points on our store.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cU4BPZsk-iw/WrDnx_64KeI/AAAAAAAABIU/nkzrREtb2CMpsLy8WLg3aEJY6pQplwmSQCLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25241%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1221" height="468" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cU4BPZsk-iw/WrDnx_64KeI/AAAAAAAABIU/nkzrREtb2CMpsLy8WLg3aEJY6pQplwmSQCLcBGAs/s640/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25241%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 2: Adjusted revenue per available title, by price point ($1 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As you can see above, the $19.01-$20 range remains the most lucrative price point on our site, just as we saw back in 2014. This is purely an observation of past buying behavior; it shouldn't be taken to mean you <i>have to </i>price things at $19.99 if you want to sell product. If publishers suddenly changed their pricing so that the vast majority of titles on our marketplace sold at, say, $6.95 or $22.99 (for whatever reason), you might see those specific price points gradually become more popular with customers over time.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Broader Price Bands</h4>
<br />
The histograms above only go up to prices of $60, while print prices can go somewhat higher. To take a look at print pricing specifically, we need to extend things a little further along the horizontal axis. To do that, I have grouped the values a little more tightly.<br />
<br />
Here's the same information I've shown above, but extended upward to a $150 maximum, with prices aggregated into $5 increments, rather than $1.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-52YqR8cIa2k/WrDpz6zR8UI/AAAAAAAABIw/hCBsd9AvzVUKaxUBJ1XoRx6S5zp3uOTCQCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25245%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="896" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-52YqR8cIa2k/WrDpz6zR8UI/AAAAAAAABIw/hCBsd9AvzVUKaxUBJ1XoRx6S5zp3uOTCQCLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25245%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="390" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 3: Gross revenue by price point (in $5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And here are those same $5 increments, again adjusted for catalog size within each increment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gHb1unqa_PI/WrDqlNIKglI/AAAAAAAABJE/05zqrFUeZfIb4QMSdxe3NopyAS4Idbl7ACLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25245%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gHb1unqa_PI/WrDqlNIKglI/AAAAAAAABJE/05zqrFUeZfIb4QMSdxe3NopyAS4Idbl7ACLcBGAs/s400/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bin%2B%25245%2Binc_digital%252Bprint.png" width="393" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 4: Adjusted revenue per available title, by price point ($5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You'll note that as the prices increase beyond $20, digital selling power drops drastically, while print power rises somewhat, up to about the $70 price range.<br />
<br />
Looking at Figure 4, above, you might be tempted to think that digital titles selling for $10 or less aren't "worthwhile." However, in Figure 3, you can see plainly that the bulk of digital revenue actually comes from titles in those lower price ranges. There are vastly more titles priced at $10 or lower on our sites than there are more expensive ones.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Average Revenue per Print Title, by Price Point</h3>
<br />
Taking digital sales revenue out of the equation for a bit, let's focus on print-on-demand (POD) titles.<br />
<br />
First, some basics: Just under 12% of the total revenue on our marketplace comes from print sales. However, fewer than half of the publishers on our site offer books in print, so that percentage, for those who do sell in POD, averages somewhat higher than 12%. On the flip side, print books do have a base printing cost that must be paid to the printer, so the margin on those sales is sometimes smaller than that for digital books (but not necessarily so, and publishers are always free to set their own margins!).<br />
<br />
<b>Offering Digital and Print: </b>Past research indicates that publishers who launch a title in both print-on-demand and digital formats <b>at the same time</b> will see nearly 30% higher revenue for that title within in the first year. Print versions released within a year of the digital launch, but not at the same time, will see only about half that increase, or about 16%.<br />
<br />
Now, how about some more graphs? First, let's compare black & white POD (print-on-demand) revenue to revenue from color books.<br />
<br />
Here, you can see the gross revenue by price, again adjusted for the number of titles offered at each aggregate price point, for black & white print RPG books.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fkWQEqkY1Yg/WrDtxjEZrbI/AAAAAAAABJc/GgGjcwJ2i3cMBRVv69Jrk9RyXgAHzYz7QCLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_B%2526W%2Bbooks.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="927" height="293" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fkWQEqkY1Yg/WrDtxjEZrbI/AAAAAAAABJc/GgGjcwJ2i3cMBRVv69Jrk9RyXgAHzYz7QCLcBGAs/s400/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_B%2526W%2Bbooks.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 5: Adjusted revenue per B&W title, by price point ($5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And here is the same view, but for color books in print rather than B&W:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56yi1-AM-ZY/WrDuFTeUkHI/AAAAAAAABJg/-hOJl-9sKgYKP_toYc3wHYDXNDkpr7Q6QCLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_color%2Bbooks.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="929" height="291" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56yi1-AM-ZY/WrDuFTeUkHI/AAAAAAAABJg/-hOJl-9sKgYKP_toYc3wHYDXNDkpr7Q6QCLcBGAs/s400/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_color%2Bbooks.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 6: Adjusted revenue per color title, by price point ($5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Comparing the two, you'll see that customers tend to purchase black & white books more readily in the $15 to $40 range, whereas color books tend to sell strongly in a couple of ranges: from $20 to $50 (standard color), and then from $55 to $70 (premium color).<br />
<br />
In Figure 6, you'll also note tall bars for color books around $100 and again around $120; these last two price points correspond directly with big hardcover color books on major game lines from top publishers, such as core World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness books from White Wolf and Onyx Path Publishing, or something like the massive <i>Ptolus </i>hardbound book from Malhavoc Press.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Softcover vs. Hardcover</h4>
<br />
Another important distinction among print books is softcover versus hardcover, so let's look also at those numbers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VIgiRBK1OXU/WrDvHJpUl3I/AAAAAAAABJw/GgpU6wRl1Lk1fLHRZws_N6I_77CZh-1BQCLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_softcover.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="931" height="293" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VIgiRBK1OXU/WrDvHJpUl3I/AAAAAAAABJw/GgpU6wRl1Lk1fLHRZws_N6I_77CZh-1BQCLcBGAs/s400/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_softcover.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 7: Adjusted revenue per softcover title ($5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mNz6CI_rbns/WrDvfYkc21I/AAAAAAAABJ0/0Im6XFCo5kkU3Cbf7lUYkTEVvNPnKCj4ACLcBGAs/s1600/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_hardcover.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="929" height="291" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mNz6CI_rbns/WrDvfYkc21I/AAAAAAAABJ0/0Im6XFCo5kkU3Cbf7lUYkTEVvNPnKCj4ACLcBGAs/s400/Perf%2Bby%2BPrice_hardcover.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 8: Adjusted revenue per hardcover title ($5 increments)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You may have noticed that Figures 6 and 8 look very similar, with larger bars at consistent price points: Again, as you'd expect, big premium color hardcover books can sell well at much higher prices than other types of books, and those are the more popular formats on our sites.<br />
<br />
Pricing print books is a deep rabbit hole. Let's move away from this, for a moment, and consider a new complication while we let things sink in.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Publisher Revenue by Tier</h2>
<br />
One big question people had after the last blog had to do with publisher size and popularity. If major game publishers sell PDF books at $19.99, does that mean a small, one-person enterprise should price books at lower prices?<br />
<br />
Again, let's start with some basic information. Back in 2014, I stated that the top 17 publishers on OBS sites accounted for about 50% of revenue. That fact is still more or less true, although the numbers have changed slightly since then. In the past two years, the 25 most active publishers on our sites generate 50% of the revenue (which is a good thing, indicating that several new publishers have pushed their way up into the bestselling range since 2014). The remaining 4,100 or so active publishers on our RPG marketplaces ("active," in this sense, meaning those who have at least one public title) account for the other 50% of revenue.<br />
<br />
One final point of interest: The least active (i.e., lowest-selling) 70% of publishers account for just 1% of the total revenue generated on our sites. Framed the other way, the top 30% of publishers generate 99% of the revenue.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Publisher "Tiers" </h4>
<br />
For the purpose of this analysis, I have split all RPG publishers into four "tiers," each of which accounts for roughly 25% of revenue on OBS, as indicated below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mex-U6XtYT8/WrDxOfwLfiI/AAAAAAAABKQ/E29dxJ-EdpY0E-_0mHbSkDIRxWcMrR55wCLcBGAs/s1600/Publisher%2BTiers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="79" data-original-width="279" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mex-U6XtYT8/WrDxOfwLfiI/AAAAAAAABKQ/E29dxJ-EdpY0E-_0mHbSkDIRxWcMrR55wCLcBGAs/s1600/Publisher%2BTiers.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Publisher Tiers and gross revenue per tier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Gross Revenue by Tier</h3>
<br />
Now, how do those publisher tiers break down in terms of revenue by price point? The visualization below shows the gross revenue for all digital product orders in 2016-17, broken out into the four publisher tiers described above.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxxkd-mHsgI/WrDyRZ5PomI/AAAAAAAABKk/kwy_Lh-zZ0Eks3cizC1bfNjQBYLKbd3owCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_digital.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="876" height="488" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxxkd-mHsgI/WrDyRZ5PomI/AAAAAAAABKk/kwy_Lh-zZ0Eks3cizC1bfNjQBYLKbd3owCLcBGAs/s640/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_digital.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 9: Gross digital revenue by price point, per publisher tier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqxPc_pcyXk/WrDyvzT6M4I/AAAAAAAABKw/50ogyY-FX8IFOgmsdUxFbyf1UCG1HnjTwCLcBGAs/s1600/Pubs%2Bby%2BTier%2B-%2Bcolors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="83" data-original-width="154" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqxPc_pcyXk/WrDyvzT6M4I/AAAAAAAABKw/50ogyY-FX8IFOgmsdUxFbyf1UCG1HnjTwCLcBGAs/s1600/Pubs%2Bby%2BTier%2B-%2Bcolors.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here is a similar view, but this one focusing on just <b>print </b>revenue as opposed to digital.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wc3ORXKlCLU/WrDy9m_ofjI/AAAAAAAABK0/i541gqv9P7UjgUyAmO2qHTQ9jLSQbdy2gCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_print.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="874" height="488" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wc3ORXKlCLU/WrDy9m_ofjI/AAAAAAAABK0/i541gqv9P7UjgUyAmO2qHTQ9jLSQbdy2gCLcBGAs/s640/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_print.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 10: Gross print revenue by price point, per publisher tier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In Figure 10, note that Tier B (comprising the lower 20 of the top 25 publishers on our marketplace) earns considerably less from print sales than any other tier of publishers, even though they generate 25% of site revenue overall. What does this signify? A number of those publishers don't offer their books in POD at all.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Title Performance by Price Point, per Publisher Tier</h3>
<br />
As we've done before, let's now look at revenue relative to the number of titles offered within a given price range, rather than just gross revenue by price point.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEf4rRUHmIY/WrD1TVXUiUI/AAAAAAAABLU/_8-4MwqCUkcisNJd6N-P7lPoL3qqHB_-gCLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_digital.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="874" height="488" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEf4rRUHmIY/WrD1TVXUiUI/AAAAAAAABLU/_8-4MwqCUkcisNJd6N-P7lPoL3qqHB_-gCLcBGAs/s640/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_digital.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 11: Adjusted revenue per digital title by publisher tier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And here is the same analysis for <b>print revenue</b>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8zsLTVdGY/WrD12UAUxAI/AAAAAAAABLc/yIpGCKhzdTQUmwHdlwvtvlr7vMQXtvjhACLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_print.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="873" height="494" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8zsLTVdGY/WrD12UAUxAI/AAAAAAAABLc/yIpGCKhzdTQUmwHdlwvtvlr7vMQXtvjhACLcBGAs/s640/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice%2Bby%2BTier_print.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 12: Adjusted revenue per POD title by publisher tier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The data might be a bit hard to see with all four publisher tiers together in two stacked bar graphs, so below, I've also split them out into four separate bar graphs, one for each tier. In these graphs, as in those earlier, the orange section represents print revenue, while blue represents digital revenue.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8B0YzEfYzLk/WrD2s4q5fII/AAAAAAAABLo/gMm7pD75KOkV915eEAFXk9LtaJhRFpfiQCLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BA_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="930" height="291" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8B0YzEfYzLk/WrD2s4q5fII/AAAAAAAABLo/gMm7pD75KOkV915eEAFXk9LtaJhRFpfiQCLcBGAs/s400/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BA_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 13: Adjusted revenue per title (Tier A)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dL0GD-pugrU/WrD2-5EhYhI/AAAAAAAABLs/nV3reETJQFQm77OTHaYdeC6Wd_VHFwinwCLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BB_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="797" height="338" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dL0GD-pugrU/WrD2-5EhYhI/AAAAAAAABLs/nV3reETJQFQm77OTHaYdeC6Wd_VHFwinwCLcBGAs/s400/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BB_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 14: Adjusted revenue per title (Tier B)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHLT9PeJR24/WrD3JpE6KhI/AAAAAAAABLw/QYaLtDmoYKY494cDpoAQnZA80hFBd_zaQCLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BC_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="831" height="323" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHLT9PeJR24/WrD3JpE6KhI/AAAAAAAABLw/QYaLtDmoYKY494cDpoAQnZA80hFBd_zaQCLcBGAs/s400/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BC_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 15: Adjusted revenue per title (Tier C)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S-HeBUczZqA/WrD3T0tRKyI/AAAAAAAABL4/4RTerhCgccgz0KRtBnctcaZx4du99EghACLcBGAs/s1600/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BD_digital%252Bprint.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="961" height="278" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S-HeBUczZqA/WrD3T0tRKyI/AAAAAAAABL4/4RTerhCgccgz0KRtBnctcaZx4du99EghACLcBGAs/s400/Performance%2Bby%2BPrice_Tier%2BD_digital%252Bprint.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 16: Adjusted revenue per title (Tier D)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
Revenue over Time - Area Graphs </h2>
<br />
One type of visualization I've found particularly useful in helping various individual publishers understand how to price their titles is to use an area graph to show their past revenue over time, with colored areas representing sales within designated price ranges.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Area Graphs (Digital Revenue)</h4>
<br />
Here, I've created area graphs for each of the four publisher tiers, with digital product prices broken down in $10 increments and color-coded as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2GS2j7sxA4/WrED08ohg3I/AAAAAAAABMk/10UKs-3geu0SDAZeLCqx57iXZMLsRG_rgCLcBGAs/s1600/area%2Bgraph%2Bpricing%2B-%2Bdigital.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="108" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2GS2j7sxA4/WrED08ohg3I/AAAAAAAABMk/10UKs-3geu0SDAZeLCqx57iXZMLsRG_rgCLcBGAs/s1600/area%2Bgraph%2Bpricing%2B-%2Bdigital.png" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U94w8sFSK_A/WrEEDUt2tmI/AAAAAAAABMo/hmn4sCW7Sf4bHEIOPNheKivz5jz3Rw8ygCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BA.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1307" height="271" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U94w8sFSK_A/WrEEDUt2tmI/AAAAAAAABMo/hmn4sCW7Sf4bHEIOPNheKivz5jz3Rw8ygCLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BA.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 17: Gross digital revenue by price over time (Tier A)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gKVV2zkKD1A/WrEEO-kaRzI/AAAAAAAABMs/21ZrrmPjBXk4MQownegTErCtXCw7F-ftACLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BB.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1311" height="271" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gKVV2zkKD1A/WrEEO-kaRzI/AAAAAAAABMs/21ZrrmPjBXk4MQownegTErCtXCw7F-ftACLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BB.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 18: Gross digital revenue by price over time (Tier B)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xAz5as7BtV8/WrF9mNKDH3I/AAAAAAAABNY/2WPXQTC77ZMi9hJVIB1OYjfhfo8QV8QQQCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BC.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1305" height="272" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xAz5as7BtV8/WrF9mNKDH3I/AAAAAAAABNY/2WPXQTC77ZMi9hJVIB1OYjfhfo8QV8QQQCLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BC.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 19: Gross digital revenue by price over time (Tier C)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mr9dBmpaPMI/WrF9wQlMAdI/AAAAAAAABNc/T6Xu69kHpLsGaRex2a9rX00ocSa2WPO0wCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BD.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1308" height="272" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mr9dBmpaPMI/WrF9wQlMAdI/AAAAAAAABNc/T6Xu69kHpLsGaRex2a9rX00ocSa2WPO0wCLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%2Bby%2BPrice%2BBands%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2BD.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 20: Gross digital revenue by price over time (Tier D)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
Area Graphs (Print Revenue)</h4>
<br />
This time, for print products, the prices are arranged in $15 color bands. I've also grouped Tiers A and B together, comprising the 25 most active publishers who account for 50% of revenue. Then, Tiers C and D, those remaining 4,100 or so publishers who generate the other 50% of revenue, are also grouped together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMkFHUtujYY/WrF-QoEqh4I/AAAAAAAABNk/0VglJlU3puEmzBEHkUIZcY-8sj8yR4CQgCLcBGAs/s1600/area%2Bgraph%2Bpricing%2B-%2BPOD.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="118" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMkFHUtujYY/WrF-QoEqh4I/AAAAAAAABNk/0VglJlU3puEmzBEHkUIZcY-8sj8yR4CQgCLcBGAs/s1600/area%2Bgraph%2Bpricing%2B-%2BPOD.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4LZINIqS7A4/WrGAx5aSh7I/AAAAAAAABN8/XU_BqK71KB4X-hxXExz0hZR-eOy74hf5ACLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%252C%2BPOD%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1314" height="271" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4LZINIqS7A4/WrGAx5aSh7I/AAAAAAAABN8/XU_BqK71KB4X-hxXExz0hZR-eOy74hf5ACLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%252C%2BPOD%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2B1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 21: POD revenue by price over time (Tiers A+B)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OsdFHvNQhj0/WrGBNEQOtdI/AAAAAAAABOA/dZIDzNa2kDETtje7-ljpJBcjxsyKOg7vwCLcBGAs/s1600/GrossRev%252C%2BPOD%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1315" height="271" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OsdFHvNQhj0/WrGBNEQOtdI/AAAAAAAABOA/dZIDzNa2kDETtje7-ljpJBcjxsyKOg7vwCLcBGAs/s400/GrossRev%252C%2BPOD%252C%2BArea%252C%2BTier%2B2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 22: POD revenue by price over time (Tiers C+D<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Comparing Figures 21 and 22, above, you can see that Tiers A and B tend to sell comparatively more books in the $45+ range, while Tier C and D publishers sell nearly all of their print books at $30 or below.<br />
<br />
<h2>
So How Does All This Help Me?</h2>
<br />
Again, I must stress, the data here are simply showing trends for 2016-17. They don't necessarily tell us what we <i>should do</i> in the future. I find the information interesting, and I expect some of you will too. But how does it help us?<br />
<br />
I think it's fairly reasonable to assume that customers in the next year will buy more or less the same kinds of things they did last year, at more or less the same prices. If that holds true, then we can use the data to inform us about what kinds of prices might work well again.<br />
<br />
There are a couple more ways of looking at the data that might help you in setting your own print prices going forward.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Print Margin</h4>
<br />
First, people often ask us what is a reasonable margin on print books? The print cost is always deducted from each sale before the remainder (the margin) is divided up into royalties. What is the optimal size of margin compared to a book's base print cost?<br />
<br />
I can't tell you what "optimal" might be, but what I can do is show you what the relative margin size is of bestselling books from publishers in each of the four tiers I've used above. That way, you can judge for yourself what might be a good margin for your books.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at what sort of margins other publishers have applied to their own bestselling print books, by tier. In the graphs below, each bar represents one specific print title; the red area indicates that book's base printing cost, while the blue area is the margin. The size of the bar indicates the total revenue of the book in 2017.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2rxad2FVgps/WtSupurmMNI/AAAAAAAABPo/RPaQTvUOinAx04zUjffvM-90XTPJo2aOwCLcBGAs/s1600/Print%2BCost%2Band%2BMargin%2B-%2BTier%2BA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="900" height="226" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2rxad2FVgps/WtSupurmMNI/AAAAAAAABPo/RPaQTvUOinAx04zUjffvM-90XTPJo2aOwCLcBGAs/s400/Print%2BCost%2Band%2BMargin%2B-%2BTier%2BA.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 23: Print cost and margin (Tier A)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As you can see, print books show the same kind of Pareto, or "long tail," distribution as do digital titles (and most other things, really). Here, the relative amount of margin to print cost is pretty consistent down the curve. Taken as a whole, bestselling Tier A print books have a margin that comprises 55.2% of the book's final price. Tier C and Tier D top sellers are quite similar, with average margins making up 58.6% and 57.4% of their final prices, respectively.<br />
<br />
Here, Tier B publishers are the outliers, with their margin accounting for 68.7% of a bestselling book's final price on average. However, recall that Tier B publishers are also the ones with the fewest POD books for sale as a group. In fact, so sparse are these titles that their graph does not resemble that of the Tier A group above; only thirteen titles from this tier qualify as print "bestsellers."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctk_MULRuiE/WtS8YyEgsvI/AAAAAAAABQA/WVqu5_YJFCoPjw_idsxk1T5gr1hIR1HfACLcBGAs/s1600/Print%2BCost%2Band%2BMargin%2B-%2BTier%2BB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="797" height="288" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctk_MULRuiE/WtS8YyEgsvI/AAAAAAAABQA/WVqu5_YJFCoPjw_idsxk1T5gr1hIR1HfACLcBGAs/s400/Print%2BCost%2Band%2BMargin%2B-%2BTier%2BB.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 24: Print cost and margin (Tier B)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Pricing by Format and Page Count</h3>
<br />
All of this is helpful, but again, it doesn't really get at how much a book should sell for. Well, let's not say "should." Instead, let's look at how much the most successful books in each print format have sold for historically, and then we can let the data lead us to our own conclusions.<br />
<br />
Here, I have limited my analysis to those books that earned the greatest margin relative to their page count and number of orders, omitting the bottom 50%. Taking these "most lucrative by page count" books and then plotting them on a scatter graph, with selling price on one margin and page count on the other, we can see the distribution of those books.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QHoErMf4Ozs/WtS_6KDg7fI/AAAAAAAABQY/bP5pzX-M2Oo7NHL8rKYvUWndZi1oJ_TjACLcBGAs/s1600/Scatter%2B-%2Ball%2Bhard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="977" height="260" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QHoErMf4Ozs/WtS_6KDg7fI/AAAAAAAABQY/bP5pzX-M2Oo7NHL8rKYvUWndZi1oJ_TjACLcBGAs/s400/Scatter%2B-%2Ball%2Bhard.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 25: Price by pagecount, top 50% bestselling hardcover books (all formats)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now, by slicing the data away for each book format and type (soft and hardcover, and black-and-white vs. standard color vs. premium color), we can start to see what prices have sold best on our marketplaces.<br />
<br />
For example, here is a look at the selling prices for the top 50% of softcover books in black-and-white format during 2017.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xEgL2Qv4siI/WtTBL-q1ctI/AAAAAAAABQk/xjS25llHhw8NxPTpbMQNRnrDvoY_yysmwCLcBGAs/s1600/Scatter%2B-%2BB%2526W%2Bsoft.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="972" height="278" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xEgL2Qv4siI/WtTBL-q1ctI/AAAAAAAABQk/xjS25llHhw8NxPTpbMQNRnrDvoY_yysmwCLcBGAs/s400/Scatter%2B-%2BB%2526W%2Bsoft.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 26: Price by pagecount, bestselling black-and-white softcover</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now, using the median line or "line of best fit" visible on the graph above, we can find the equation that produces that line, giving a sort of "formula" that represents the median price for such books. Again, I cannot stress enough that this approach is not predictive, but simply provides a mathematical abstraction that represents what prices, in aggregate, sold best for books of various sizes and types last year.<br />
<br />
However, if you are in need of some sort of guideline, in the absence of any other, you could do worse than to use this data to provide a starting point, or at least a discussion point, when considering how to price your titles in print.<br />
<br />
Here, as another example, is the plot for premium (full-color) hardcover bestsellers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FcQ_5bBbtVg/WtTDiy0wgWI/AAAAAAAABRQ/UBO3Fbt1bwI5Ei8OU4npr-6ljbq7M4J1QCLcBGAs/s1600/Scatter%2B-%2Bprm%2Bcolor%2Bhard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="979" height="253" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FcQ_5bBbtVg/WtTDiy0wgWI/AAAAAAAABRQ/UBO3Fbt1bwI5Ei8OU4npr-6ljbq7M4J1QCLcBGAs/s400/Scatter%2B-%2Bprm%2Bcolor%2Bhard.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 27: Price by pagecount, bestselling premium color hardcover</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
In case you find any of this useful, or if you'd just like to see what the relative prices of bestsellers have been in 2017, I put together an interactive Excel spreadsheet I'm happy to share. It contains equations for each book type, along with a low-, mid-, and high-range value, all calculated using the kinds of data I've shown above. With it, you can enter a page count for a book of any format, and the sheet will spit out what the historically best-earning (by page count) low, medium, and high prices have been, typically, for books of that size.<br />
<br />
You can download the spreadsheet by clicking here: <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub/PricingforPOD.xlsx">http://www.drivethrurpg.com/pub/PricingforPOD.xlsx</a>.<br />
<br />
(And remember, the worksheet is simply showing you typical prices that have sold well in the past, not telling you how you *should* price your book!)<br />
<br />
<h2>
Conclusions</h2>
<br />
The relationship of pricing to revenue is not necessarily causative. We can't tell from the data, for instance, whether Tier A and B publishers might generate more revenue simply <i>because </i>their prices are higher, or if they are able to price things higher (and therefore make more money) because they are well-regarded.<br />
<br />
However, there are a few fairly safe observations to be made, even if we can't say explicitly "this is how it should be" or "here's what you should do":<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Selling digital titles at $20 or less remains wise, unless you have a large, premium, full-color title with lots of art. Even in that case, the upper limit should be $30 at most. (See Figures 1-4.) Customers just don't normally spend more than that on digital titles. </li>
<li>Print-on-demand book prices can vary greatly (but if you want a hint as to what kind of prices other publishers might have used for top-earning books similar to yours in the past, see the embedded spreadsheet above). </li>
</ol>
As I stated in my previous pricing blog a few years ago, price ranges are very likely affected by the (perceived) quality or value of a given publisher or product line. As seen pretty consistently in Figures 9 through 22, higher-selling publishers tend to sell more products at higher price ranges.<br />
<ol>
</ol>
Further, we <i>do </i>know that regular release cadence and catalog size are very important factors in establishing higher revenue. Publishers who release more titles more often draw more attention to themselves, thus driving more sales, and they also have more titles on the "shelves" for casual browsers to find, increasing the odds of an impulse buy.<br />
<br />
So, maybe in another two or three years (but sooner than that, I hope), we'll get around to taking a close look at some of those other factors that can affect pricing and sales.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-34236199038203771022015-09-09T09:34:00.000-07:002015-09-09T09:34:34.983-07:00Offensive Content Policy: A Follow Up<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-098fb745-b2ac-fb57-2db4-240b63b3dea1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For those that do not know me, my name is Meredith Gerber and I am the RPG Publisher Relations Representative for DriveThruRPG/RPGNow. I volunteered to write this blog as a follow up from last week.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The feedback we have received from both customers and publishers has been appreciated and has helped us shape our new policy. We want to thank you for the time and energy you have taken to reach out to us. Those that have spoken with us in the past know we are <b>always</b> happy to talk to customers, publishers, and partners to have a professional dialogue about concerns. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When having discussions about these types of situations, it’s always important to remember that being professional and kind in feedback will create better dialogue. It’s very difficult to continue a conversation and figure out the message when hateful words are said out of anger and spite. If you do not agree with someone, take a moment to step back and breathe before stating your opinion. There is also nothing wrong with walking away from a conversation if it's going around in circles with no conclusion in sight. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, we are all humans and will engage in miscommunication and misunderstanding. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
have spoken without thinking a few times in my life (and will do so in the future because I am only human) and all I can do is apologize
for my words and actions and try to be better next time. Whether you agree or disagree with someone, remember that there is a human on the other side of that conversation that does have emotions and feelings like you do. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In this industry, we should all try to continue to speak to one another with respect and try to gain understanding of someone's words and ideas. While we might not all agree, it’s vital for members of the gaming industry to remember we’re all here to make and play games together. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I believe that going forward, we all should follow the words of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bill S. Preston, Esq. who simply reminds us to “Be excellent to each other”. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With that said, I wanted to take a moment to go over a few frequently asked questions we have received since last week's</span><a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2015/09/offensive-content-policy.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2015/09/offensive-content-policy.html">blog post</a> from my C.E.O., Steve Wieck.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is the process for flagging offensive titles? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 1: Customer reports a product.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 2: A human being at OneBookShelf does a cursory review to determine if the title should be temporarily suspended from sale or not. Either way the product is put in queue for review.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 3: A more thorough review of the product in completed. If deemed not offensive the product is whitelisted. If deemed potentially offensive then...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 4: We have expanded internal review and discussion with publisher possibly resulting in publisher retraction of the title or banning of the title.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Will a title be turned off automatically if it is flagged?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No, just because a title is flagged as offensive, it will not be automatically turned off. Only the administrators of the site can toggle the title to private. This process will send alerts to our staff for quick review. If our staff sees a product that is problematic, they will temporarily suspend it for further review.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Will you be giving scrutiny to certain topics? </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We're going to give extra scrutiny to products that include rape, real world racial violence, torture, sexism, homophobia, and crimes against children. However, we will also be reviewing products reported for other reasons as needed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How will you conduct this process with old titles on your site? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If a product is flagged as offensive with this new policy, we will be treating it no differently than a brand new title. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Who will review the offensive titles list? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Steve Wieck, C.E.O., who has the final say on titles marked as offensive. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Scott Holden, Marketing and Development</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt McElroy, Director of Publishing and Marketing</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Meredith Gerber, RPG Publisher Relations</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Other OneBookShelf staff as deemed helpful for particular products.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you,</span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Meredith Gerber</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RPG Publisher Relations Representative</span></i></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-16384565861283697702015-09-01T11:52:00.000-07:002015-09-01T12:57:14.251-07:00Offensive Content Policy<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At DriveThruRPG, we see a huge variety of content published and sold on our marketplaces. Something not broadly known to visitors on DriveThru is that we entrust most publishers to upload their new releases and activate them for sale without anyone at DriveThru reviewing the title before it goes public. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-ec2c11e3-8a3b-4600-314a-82a11834bdce" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over fourteen years of operations, with tens of thousands of roleplaying titles activated, thousands of RPG creators have demonstrated that this trust-based system works quite well; the vast majority of publishers will not upload offensive content and make it public on DriveThruRPG. Ours is a wonderful hobby. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because this system has worked so well for so long, over a huge volume of products, we have had no need to create a content guideline for what we will not sell on DriveThruRPG due to its offensive nature.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Further, in the case of roleplaying games, especially new games put out by independent creators or new companies, our marketplaces are a key distribution channel. If we were to ban an RPG product, the de facto result is very much like censorship. That fact causes me grave concern, for if we were to create a content guideline that all publishers on our store must follow, and then ban titles that do not meet those guidelines, then we would be playing dictator with the RPG art form, and that is a role I am acutely uncomfortable playing.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having grown up in the U.S. Bible Belt, where attempts to ban books from school and public libraries were common, and given my various experiences with distribution channels as a publisher at White Wolf in the early 90s, I have had a lot of firsthand encounters with attempts to ban content. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is, however, a growing problem we face as a marketplace. A few RPG creators have designed content in the recent past that people have viewed as disturbing, distasteful, or depraved. For example, we recently </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and understandably </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">received a lot of criticism for selling an RPG supplement entitled "Tournament of Rapists." </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'll say a few words about that product and then move on to the broader topic of how we will handle offensive content on DriveThruRPG.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hearing the title “Tournament of Rapists,” one is naturally repulsed. Sometimes the purpose of art is to make us feel revulsion, though, so we shouldn't judge a book by its title alone. In this case, though, reading the brief cover copy or product description the author entered on DriveThruRPG to explain the contents of the book does nothing but amplify that revulsion and call into question if the subject matter is being treated at all appropriately. So, naturally, people asked us various versions of the question, "How on earth can you have that for sale on your marketplace for even one minute?"</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The answer is this:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. As I mentioned above, this product was uploaded and activated by the author. No one at DriveThru pre-screened the book. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. When we were first alerted to the offensive nature of the book, I used administrator privileges to download and skim through a copy of the book. At its core, the book was an adventure supplement where the goal of characters was to stop demonic entities who were perpetrating sexual violence and murder. The rapists were clearly the villains to be stopped, something that I believe many critics of the book could not have known from the book's title and vague description. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, other aspects of the book, such as its title and description and some of its content, were written in a way that were not well-considered treatments of the subject of sexual violence. I personally found the book offensive, but as I’ve noted, I am not comfortable letting my viewpoint serve as the gate-keeping standard. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, 1) rapists were villains in the book and 2) I chose to accept offensive content over becoming a de facto censor. In doing so, I made the mistake of not suspending the title from sale immediately, pending further internal review and discussion with the publisher. </span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Another factor that weighed on my decision was the fact that, when uploading and activating the title, the author flagged the title as adult content. Books with the adult flag do not show up on our marketplace to visitors. A user must be logged in to a customer account on our site and have changed the default "no" adult filter to "yes" before she can see adult flagged titles anywhere on site. And for the record, "adult" in this context refers to more than just sexual content; it means any kind of content with material that requires adult discernment. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My philosophy has been individual choice, not </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">choice. My expectation has been that gamers who choose deliberately to see adult titles have the mental faculties to decide if a title they see is appropriate or not. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, I let the title remain active for sale while I reached out to the publisher to discuss the title.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. The publisher was on vacation, so we did not catch up with one another by phone until near the end of the weekend. We had a professional dialogue about the book, the type of dialogue where people listen to each other and try to understand where each other is coming from and work toward constructive outcomes. The publisher then discussed the book with the author, and they decided to withdraw the book from sale. In my opinion, having real dialogue and expecting the best, not the worst, in other people leads to better outcomes. Unrelenting anger and the desire to punish divides and polarizes people, as can be seen from some social media discourse on games today.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To the broader issue of the content we will sell on DriveThruRPG going forward, it is time we change the approach we have used for the past fourteen years. This most recent incident has shown me that our previous approach worked only because publishers in the past simply hadn’t uploaded such offensive content. However, that approach carried us too far in the wrong direction.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's time for us to have a policy on rejecting offensive content. I understand that many feel this is too long in coming, that our prior non-policy of “censorship is unacceptable" was tantamount to shirking our responsibility to help keep the RPG hobby inclusive. I am solely responsible for the prior policy, not the other staff at OneBookShelf. I accept that criticism and apologize for not being a better steward.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What should our new content policy be?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some people believe there are </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright-line_rule" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bright line rules</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that, when crossed, make a title something our RPG hobby is better without. As I recently and profoundly failed to explain on Twitter, I do not agree there are such bright line rules, or at least not nearly enough bright line rules to serve as a guide.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In first drafting this blog post, I made a fuller explanation with examples of why I don’t think bright line rules work for deciding what content is offensive or not. I removed all of that because I don’t want my intentions in doing so to be misinterpreted again. Suffice to say that the U.S. Supreme Court could not create bright line rules for what constituted pornography (leading to the famous statement, "I'll know it when I see it."), and similarly I don’t think we can create such rules for offensive content. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also think the more exacting we make the guidelines, the more fine points we include on content treatment, the more the guideline risks becoming </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority#1954_Code_criteria" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shackles for the rpg art form</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the more bad actors will attempt to game the fine points of the policy.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon's policy on offensive content is incredibly short:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Offensive Content: What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect.” </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problem here is that such a statement gives little guidance to publishers and authors, and thus Amazon's rulings on banning books seem rather arbitrary. Publishers who offer content on our marketplaces will understandably say to us, "We can't invest in creating RPG titles only to have DriveThru arbitrarily ban them, so if you're now banning titles for offensive content, give us guidelines for what titles you will and will not ban."</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To which, I have to say, "I hear you, but I don't know any better way." A work often has to be considered as a gestalt to know if it is offensive or not. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, going forward, our offensive content policy is simply going to be this:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Offensive Content: We'll know it when we see it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will be the final arbiter of what OneBookShelf deems offensive. I will tend to err toward including content, even when it challenges readers and deals with sensitive issues, so long as it does so maturely and not gratuitously. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any title in which racial violence, rape, torture, or a similar subject is treated as a central feature will naturally be subjected to increased scrutiny.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone draws their own line on what is offensive differently, so I understand that any judgment OneBookShelf makes will always have someone who disagrees with it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few final topics:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. We will continue to be reactive, not proactive, on judging new title releases. Historically, 99.99% of publishers' content has been inoffensive. Being able to activate their own titles for sale with our marketplace tools gives publishers additional control over their release marketing timing and generally gets RPG products to market more quickly. We will not constrain those 99.99% by introducing a required step where OneBookShelf staff reviews every title before it goes public just so that we can catch the .01%. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such a review process would also add a large expense to our operations, which translates eventually to higher prices for customers.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we will do, though, is code more customer-facing options to allow customers to report potentially offensive content to us. That way, customers can help us identify the offensive .01% of titles that much faster. If a reported title looks questionable, then we will suspend it from sale while we review its content internally, and we will speak with its publisher to determine the fate of the title on our marketplace. Our default will be to suspend titles rather than our prior default of letting titles stay public. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be clear, we need to code, test, and deploy this new reporting feature. It is not live now.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Once the reporting feature is live, we will review titles already on the marketplace that are reported by customers. There will be no "grandfathering in" of past content. Where we find offensive content on site, even if we have permitted it in the past under our prior policy, we will remove it. We are no longer a wide-open marketplace, and some publishers may need to find a different place to sell some of their content (or all of it, if they decide to leave DriveThru entirely).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. I doubt the industry will see the “Tournament of Rapists” title again, but if the publisher decides to make changes to the product and wishes to sell it on DriveThru again, it will then be subject to this new offensive content policy. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. We will be reviewing the use of our adult flag, including what content we expect to carry that flag and how we communicate the use of that flag to publishers and customers.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I appreciate all of our customers and publishers who were patient while we sorted these issues out and who gave us the benefit of the doubt as human beings trying to do the best thing. Like everyone, we sometimes make mistakes along the way.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Steve Wieck</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CEO</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OneBookShelf / DriveThruRPG</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-41392853969447674362015-03-31T11:42:00.000-07:002015-03-31T13:47:49.014-07:00Digital Printing Quality for Playing Cards<br />
Game publishers are frequently shocked at the high quality that short-run digital printing can achieve these days. The reason the quality gap between short-run, digital printing and high-volume printing has closed (assuming you're printing with the right digital printing equipment) is that the actual print process used is not all that different.<br />
<br />
If you'll spare a few moments, we can level up your expertise on how this digital printing stuff works.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Digital vs. Offset?</h3>
Before OneBookShelf started providing print services for books and cards, I misused terms like "offset printing" and "digital printing." I was among the number of people in the game industry who didn't always get these terms quite right. So let's first make sure we have some terminology straight.<br />
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<br />
Nearly all digital printing is done by offset printing. The term "offset printing" simply refers to any printing method where the image is applied from an imaging surface to an intermediate surface and then to the paper. For most high-volume, commercial print presses, this means that water and ink are placed onto an image cylinder (or plate cylinder) which then transfers the ink and water to a rubber "blanket" (or offset cylinder) which then makes the impression onto the paper itself.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BH_X4jvXYOU/VRSMHoqIhNI/AAAAAAAAA4w/qnFEX9IcIoU/s1600/Offset.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BH_X4jvXYOU/VRSMHoqIhNI/AAAAAAAAA4w/qnFEX9IcIoU/s1600/Offset.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Image from </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_printing" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Large presses do their offset printing using a method called <i>offset lithography</i> which works because water and ink don't mix, and the image plate that is wrapped around the image cylinder can be photographically treated to make only parts of the image plate receptive to holding ink.<br />
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And as you may already know, color offset presses normally work by having a set of rollers for each of the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK (CMYK) colors which can combine to form any color on the final printed paper. This CMYK process differs from the Red, Green, Blue (RGB) process used on monitors and televisions to mix and form colors.<br />
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The difference for digital presses vs lithographic presses is not the offset process; both types of presses are technically offset presses. The difference is that digital presses use different processes for both 1) placing the image on the image cylinder and 2) placing ink (or toner) on the image cylinder and then to the offset cylinder and to the paper.<br />
<br />
Instead of the lithographic process, digital presses use some variation of <i>electrophotographic printing</i>. The image cylinder is electrically charged, and then a laser writes the image negative onto the cylinder changing the electrical charge where the image will go. As the plate then passes through toner, the toner is electrically attracted to stick to the plate based on the charged or uncharged areas of the plate. It's like one big <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etch_A_Sketch">Etch a Sketch</a> using electrostatics/magnetism to decide where the ink goes.<br />
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You can see this process at work in this video of a Kodak digital press:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LHUw8VP7qKw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LHUw8VP7qKw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br />
<br />
In lithographic printing, the image plate is burned in once photographically and then mounted on press and the same image is rolled out thousands of times. With digital presses, the image is written to the image cylinder by laser or LED anew with every roll which means each sheet of paper passing through the press can get a different image.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Toner vs Ink</h3>
So why do some digitally printed items look like photocopies and some look indistinguishable from lithographic press work? Not all digital presses are the same.<br />
<br />
Many lower-end digital presses use dry toner and xerography (Greek language nerds will know that "xero" means dry and "graph" refers to writing). The problems with dry toner presses are many:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Dry toner can clump causing banding or lines in areas of heavy, solid color.</li>
<li>Dry toner is fused after being applied to paper rather than going into the paper through pressure. Dry toner sits on top of the paper, unlike liquid ink that saturates into the paper and allows properties of the paper to come through. This is why dry toner has a high-gloss sheen even when printed on matte paper stocks.</li>
<li>Dry toner does not reproduce true color tones as well in CMYK color combination.</li>
<li>Dry toner is more prone to color fading.</li>
</ul>
<br />
While digital printing on machines using dry toner is getting better, it still does not match the quality of lithographic press work.<br />
<br />
The exception for digital printing are presses like the HP Indigo which use liquid toner instead of dry toner. This liquid toner still adheres to the image cylinder by electrical charge, but the Indigo press then uses a rubberized blanket (offset cylinder) more like a lithographic press. When the liquid toner hits paper, it sinks into the paper instead of sitting on top of the paper as a baked-on layer of fused, dry toner. This allows a more faithful reproduction of matte finishes like you see on most lithographically-printed cards.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Final Quality</h3>
Of course in any printing process there are many factors that determine the final quality of the output: the print files, the pre-press processing, the card stock selected, press work, coating, cutting, etc.<br />
<br />
At DriveThru, all of our cards are printed on HP Indigo presses, and we use card stocks like Arjo Wiggins Matte. These are two of the larger quality factors which allow us to produce cards that customers can shuffle right into their collection of cards printed on large lithographic web press runs. This is especially important as we do <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2015/02/community-created-content-for-tabletop.html">community card creators </a>for games like the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, where customers will need their custom-created cards to shuffle seamlessly into their existing deck collection so they cannot tell the difference between cards printed digitally vs lithographically during play.<br />
<br />
When we get publisher feedback like this:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I shuffled a few of the your newest cards into a pile with some Carta Mundi cards, and asked a couple of people to divide them into DriveThru and Carta Mundi piles, and nobody did it correctly. Good job.</i><br />
<br />
Then we know we're at the quality level publishers need to see before they include digital printing in their publishing toolbox.
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<br />
<h3>
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Community Card Creator</h3>
Today we release the first iteration of our community card creator. We've partnered with <a href="http://paizo.com/paizo/blog" target="_blank">Paizo Publishing</a> to give Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (PACG) fans the ability to create, print, and share their own cards for PACG. You can check it out here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/PACG" target="_blank">http://www.drivethrucards.com/PACG</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/pacg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6umw6F2ep6k/VOZmq15AdcI/AAAAAAAAA2I/3WB0RP3v0bI/s1600/PACGSplash.jpg" height="465" width="640" /></a></div>
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PACG fans can:<br />
<ul>
<li>create their own cards;</li>
<li>purchase their created cards in print for $0.50/card;</li>
<li>choose to keep their card private (it's truly a one-of-a-kind card!);</li>
<li>choose to list their card publicly on DriveThruCards allowing other fans to see the card, comment on it, and purchase it.</li>
</ul>
<br />
While the rest of this post is about Community Card Creators in general, I will beg your pardon while I do a quick shout-out to Vic, Sonja, Mike, Tanis, Jeff, Lisa, Erik, and Brian at Paizo who were super-supportive of this project. They were also bold enough and trusted their community enough to put a design tool like this in the hands of their community.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/pacg" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UD8YxdlCmyc/VMlch20lKvI/AAAAAAAAA0I/F93YQwtQ12k/s1600/Pathfinder%2BCommunity%2BCard%2BCreator%2Bat%2BDriveThruCards.jpg" height="76" title="" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Concerns about Community Card Creation</h3>
"<i>If you let players help design the game it's likely to be a worse game than it was before"</i> [Lewis Pulsipher, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/23500/revolution-card-printing-capabilities-may-affect-g" target="_blank">BoardGameGeek</a>].<br />
<br />
A year ago, my post received comments similar to Mr. Pulsipher's. Collectively, game designer comments expressed concerns about unbalanced cards, quantity-over-quality, and copyright-violating (or offensive) content. The seeming consensus: community created cards would be a wreck.<br />
<br />
I'm obviously optimistic about the possibilities of these card creators, but it would be foolish to ignore the possible validity of these concerns.<br />
<br />
With the release of the PACG card creator, Pandora has opened her box and we'll see which of these evils emerge. I know that we are in the early stages of this process. Like any web-based service, what we've released today with the PACG card creator is an initial, minimally-viable-product kind of launch. We have work ahead of us to refine the process of creating, commenting, browsing, and buying cards.<br />
<br />
Much of that work will get prioritized based upon which of the evils soars (or roars) out of Pandora's box. However, we have planned for mitigating some of these concerns:<br />
<br />
<i>Copyrighted Images Concerns:</i> We knew the importance of providing players with easy access to artwork they can legally use on their created cards. Without easy access to legal art, many players would default to copying images off the web regardless of copyright, or get stumped by the lack of legal art and not create cards at all.<br />
<br />
We assembled a collection of stock art images from Fiery Dragon and Fat Goblin that players can purchase for $0.40 an image and get the rights to use the image on cards they create. The hope is that this begins to create a viable marketplace where community members who have artistic talent might also submit art to be used on cards and get some amount of royalties as other community members use the art.<br />
<br />
<i>Unbalanced or Poor Quality Cards Concerns:</i> Two things will keep these from being major issues. First, all community created cards are clearly marked as such. Like most ongoing card games, PACG cards include expansion icons, and in the case of community cards that icon is replaced with a Community Created Card logo.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_RPm-GiNfl0/VDg2WT6UFLI/AAAAAAAAAsU/_sxy_4I883o/s1600/PACG%2BCommunity%2BCreated%2BCard%2Blogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_RPm-GiNfl0/VDg2WT6UFLI/AAAAAAAAAsU/_sxy_4I883o/s1600/PACG%2BCommunity%2BCreated%2BCard%2Blogo.jpg" height="97" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3HKnPuQ2TBg/VOPOOUTuhiI/AAAAAAAAA1g/Jgjf0airaTc/s1600/RingofWisheshalf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3HKnPuQ2TBg/VOPOOUTuhiI/AAAAAAAAA1g/Jgjf0airaTc/s1600/RingofWisheshalf.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></div>
<br />
This clearly segregates for players the official cards designed by Mike Selinker and team from the unofficial cards designed by the community.<br />
<br />
Second, our hope is that fans will take an active role in discussing and rating cards created by other community members. These ratings will allow us to automatically curate the better community cards, to separate the wheat from the chaff.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Onward Revolutionaries!</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg/1280px-Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg/1280px-Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<i>For Players:</i> I see a gaming landscape where players have the ability to design their own add-ons to any popular board or card game. I'm playing Flash Point or Pandemic and want to create my own custom role card? I'm playing Guillotine and want a prank card to put in the game and watch my friend lose his head? I've got a cool idea for variant draw card for Settlers or Ascension or Dominion. Done, done, and done.<br />
<br />
<i>For Game Publishers:</i> The benefits are numerous.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Community created cards increase and prolong your community's involvement with your game.</li>
<li>Community created cards provide more "Wow!" fun moments playing your game. Already Matt Kimmel, one of the testers for the Pathfinder Card Creator, surprised his fiancee Sandra with an engagement card he created:</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x9nJfVLGMx8/VOPlnjdF11I/AAAAAAAAA1w/uAciDOV0Phw/s1600/WeddingRings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x9nJfVLGMx8/VOPlnjdF11I/AAAAAAAAA1w/uAciDOV0Phw/s1600/WeddingRings.jpg" height="400" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt's custom card pays homage to <a href="http://apolitical.info/teleleli/?cat=311" target="_blank">Richard Garfield's Magic card proposal</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Community created cards could become a reasonable source of extra revenue.</li>
<li>Community created cards could produce game design contributions that deserve to become official extensions of the game.</li>
</ul>
<br />
We've begun to have conversations with a few publishers about producing community card creators for their games, and several of those publishers (<a href="http://blog.atlas-games.com/" target="_blank">Atlas Games</a>, <a href="http://www.cheapass.com/" target="_blank">Cheapass Games</a> and <a href="http://ascensiongame.com/" target="_blank">Stone Blade Entertainment</a> among them) have agreed. We invite other publishers to work with us to foment this revolution.<br />
<br />
Would love to hear your thoughts.<br />
<br />
Steve Wieck<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-28346870377583730022015-01-21T15:29:00.001-08:002015-01-21T15:48:35.266-08:00Cost of printing cards on demandI wanted to compare the costs among the leading printers of print-on-demand, short run cards for the tabletop game community. The leading printers seem to be: The GameCrafter, Printer Studio, Bicycle Personalized, MPC (makeplayingcards), and DriveThruCards.<br />
<br />
In the table below, I compare single deck printing costs (as a game designer in prototyping might print) and also a higher volume run as might be used for convention sales or KickStarter fulfillment of a card game.<br />
<br />
All data here is current as of this post in January 2015.<br />
<h2>
<br />Comparing Print-on-Demand Card Costs</h2>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #ccc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup><col width="202"></col><col width="119"></col><col width="100"></col><col width="73"></col><col width="79"></col><col width="100"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"The GameCrafter"]" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">The GameCrafter</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"Printer Studio"]" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Printer Studio</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"Bicycle"]" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bicycle</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"MPC"]" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">MPC</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"DriveThruCards"]" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">DriveThruCards</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="[null,2,"54-card Poker (Standard Stock)"]" rowspan="1" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">54-card Poker (Standard Stock)</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"1 Deck"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1 Deck</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,2,"5.57*"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$5.57</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"not offered"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">not offered</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,9.95]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$9.95</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,11.6]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$11.60</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,4.32]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$4.32</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"100 Decks"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">100 Decks</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,475]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$475.00</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"not offered"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">not offered</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,746]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$746.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,410]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$410.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,317]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$317.00</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="[null,2,"54-card Poker (Premium Stock)"]" rowspan="1" style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">54-card Poker (Premium Stock)</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"1 Deck"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1 Deck</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"not offered"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">not offered</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,7.99]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">$7.99</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,20.95]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">$20.95</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,12]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">$12.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,4.59]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$4.59</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"100 Decks"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">100 Decks</td><td data-sheets-value="[null,2,"not offered"]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">not offered</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,450]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$450.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,1676]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$1,676.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,450]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$450.00</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0.00",1]" data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,344]" style="font-size: 100%; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">$344.00</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The fine print:</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Game Crafter's price includes an 89-cent fee that tGC adds to each game they print.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">All prices are for the deck of cards only, except Printer Studio prices include a soft plastic case and Bicycle prices include a generic (not custom-printed) cardboard tuckbox. To compare, if you included the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">deluxe, plastic <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/product/114067/Deckbox-standard" target="_blank">deckbox</a> in DriveThruCards prices, the DriveThruCards premium stock prices would be $5.59 for one deck, and $424 for 100 decks.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
So DriveThruCards offers the best pricing on print-on-demand cards, in many cases by a significant margin.<br />
<br />
As I work at DriveThruCards it's not surprising that I'm posting this, but before you dismiss my credibility, know that this price information is available on each printer's site. There's no bias to the information; I'm just collating the pricing information for your convenience.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Beyond Pricing</h3>
<div>
With the factual cost data now stated, let me get subjective and say a few kind words about the competition including why you might choose them over DriveThruCards despite our superior pricing.<br />
<br />
<b>The Game Crafter</b> - Has a good reputation for service. While they do not offer premium card stock their card quality is generally rated well. They offer a marketplace to help you sell more copies of your game. Their biggest benefit is that they also offer a host of other components should your card game be more than just cards.<br />
<br />
<b>Printer Studio</b> - Their website is easy-to-use. They offer a range of premium stocks including linen.<br />
<br />
<b>Bicycle</b> - I guess you get the Bicycle brand name which some people value adding into their KickStarter marketing?<br />
<br />
<b>MPC</b> - I don't know enough about them to offer feedback. They tend to have better pricing on higher volume runs.<br />
<br />
<b>DriveThruCards - </b>I'll also try to be self-critical of our own operation here and point out what's good and not so good about DriveThruCards.</div>
<div>
<br />
<b> The Good</b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Our quality has been rated quite high; we use HP Indigo presses with actual ink instead of toner printing.</li>
<li>We have over a thousand publisher clients and have earned a good reputation for personal service.</li>
<li>You can print any number of cards in your deck; there's no sheet multiple you need to meet.</li>
<li>We offer a marketplace where you can list your card game and generate more sales (who doesn't like more sales?). Once your deck is set up for printing you can choose to toggle a setting in your account and start selling the deck to DriveThru customers. We pay millions in earnings to publishers every year.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b> The Not So Good</b></div>
<ul>
<li>We have a very powerful publisher interface which gives you a lot of capabilities on site, especially if you choose to sell on our marketplace. The by-product of that power is that there is more to learn, and new publishers face a bit more of a learning curve when first interfacing with our site.</li>
<li>To get the best results printing with us, you need to use a professional designer who can use Adobe software and create a PDF file to our print specifications. We do have a fancy, easy-to-use online deck builder which will take plain image uploads, but this is currently in beta mode right now. Of course the advantage to using a professional designer is that you also get cards that look ... professionally designed.</li>
<li>We have custom tuckboxes coming, but do not offer them yet.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Too Big for Short Run?</h3>
</div>
<div>
Finally, some publishers like to know when print-on-demand stops making sense as the best option for printing a short run of cards. Generally the answer seems to be around 700 decks. If you're printing more than 700 decks and have the time, you'll be better served using a printer who focuses on larger runs.<br />
<br />
Even though such printers might have a minimum print run of 1,500 decks, you'll still end up better served getting 1,500 decks from them than 700 decks through a short-run printer like those mentioned here.<br />
<br />
Just don't go crazy. Many first-time game publishers get wildly optimistic about how many copies they will sell over and above their KickStarter amount or over and above their initial orders from channels and they mistakenly print far too many of their game. Hobby game channels get so many new games offered to them every week that few new games get ordered at all and fewer still get restocked. With print-on-demand it's quick and easy to restock as needed and you don't end up with half your garage filled with extra games you printed in China.<br />
<br />
If you'd like a run down of larger-scale printers to use, I recommend <a href="http://www.jamesmathe.com/hitchhikers-guide-to-game-manufacturers/">James Mathe's post</a>.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
If you are interested to learn more about printing with DriveThruCards, you can get more information <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/joincards.php">here</a>.<br />
<br />
As always your comments (and any corrections!) are welcome.<br />
<br />
Steve Wieck</div>
</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-54643382497754893232014-05-12T23:03:00.003-07:002015-02-03T14:36:40.724-08:00Pricing Part 2<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
OneBookShelf Pricing (Part Deux)</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Scott Holden, scott@onebookshelf.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Just a little over a year ago, OneBookShelf's CEO, Steve Wieck, <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.com/2013/04/pricing.html">blogged about pricing strategy</a> for your RPG and RPG-related products. If you haven't read it, you should take the 5 or 10 minutes to do so. There's lots of great food for thought there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For the past few months, I've been spending a lot of time slicing up all sorts of sales data from our site to get some insight into best practices for our publishing partners. Steve suggested I should make all of this into part 2 of his initial pricing blog, so here goes: If you'll bear with me, I have some interesting observations for you. (At least we think they're interesting!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pricing Basics</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">First off, some things to consider when looking at this data: </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is derived from combined sales on our RPG marketplaces from all sales in <b>2012 and 2013. </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Although some of my charts are labeled "Gross Sales" here and there, that's just my own sloppiness. In every case, what I'm looking at throughout this pricing examination is the <b>publisher's revenue</b> per title. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We're only talking about <b>digital downloads</b>. Print titles are another topic for another blog. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For sales by category or genre filter, some data gets duplicated: When we sell a Paranoia product, for example, and that product is categorized as both Sci-Fi and Comedy genres, then both of those genres get credited for that sale in the metrics. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Products from the biggest or most prolific publishers, such as Wizards or White Wolf, tend to skew results for the RPG marketplace as a whole, as well as the pricing data below, given the relatively large number of titles they sell. (Keep in mind that 50% of our sales are derived from just the top 16 or 17 publishers on our marketplace.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">None of these analyses take into account publisher notoriety or product quality. It stands to reason that more famous publishers, better-known game lines, and titles with higher production quality can skew the results or prompt different buyer behavior. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We’d supply more metrics, but we have to find the right balance between transparency and confidentiality with publishers. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anyway, on to the good stuff! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sales by Price Point</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">One of the most common questions we hear from new publishers, and one of our perennial issues for debate internally, is how to price products optimally. Let's take a look at what price points have done best on our marketplace in the past two years, in terms of gross revenue. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig.1: Gross dollar sales for all DriveThruRPG and RPGNow titles</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are spikes at each of the $5 increments, but that makes perfect sense since those are also the most common price points for products on our site. Of course, since they are also the most common price points, this set of data really only tells us what's most common, not necessarily what's most effective, so let's look at things another way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">You might be tempted to take the number of titles available at each price point out of the equation and look at things purely in terms of how much money each title made at a given price point<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>i.e., the gross revenue for that price point relative to the total units sold at that price<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>from which we'd get something that looks like this: </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 2: Gross value per title, by price point up to $40</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">But of course that picture doesn't tell the whole story either. Looking at the graph above, you might think that pricing your title at $30 is the best option. Let me assure you that's not true! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In actuality, what's more significant is the behavior of each individual title relative to the total number of titles available at that price point; looking at product behavior this way, we have a clearer sense of what are actually the most <i>successful </i>price points on our store. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's what that analysis looks like, boiled down to a pretty straightforward infographic. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 3: Optimal price points for RPG products</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As you can see above, <b>the $20 price point is actually the best bang for your buck, </b>just as our "gross dollar sales" chart (Fig. 1) above suggested. In fact, it's almost uncanny how much Figure 3 and Figure 1 resemble each other, if you look closely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Pricing digital copies of your titles any higher than $20.00 is probably going to net you far fewer sales and thus a much lower product performance. But any title price priced around $5, $10, or $15 is also going to do well for you, statistically speaking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>NOTE:</b> Our buyers generally know</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">just how much </span></span>they're willing to spend for a given type of product or amount of content. You can't just charge $19.99 for any product and expect to do well; you need to charge what the item is worth in the collective opinion of gamers. A 24-page supplement on some niche character class like a "fog wizard" or something isn't going to be perceived as worth $19.99, so you'd be mad to charge that amount for it. A buck or two for such a title is probably more appropriate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And of course there are outliers. Extremely popular titles can deviate from this pattern, and less popular publishers or specialized niche products might experience a different behavior. Remember, we're talking about generalities here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(Remember too that we're only talking about digital download products. Print products will be the subject of a "Pricing Part 3" blog.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What's Better? $<i>X</i>.99 or $<i>Y</i>.00? </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lots of people have examined the difference between pricing of, say, $4.99 and $5.00 (just google "marketing power of 9" and you'll see what I'm talking about); the prevailing wisdom is that prices of $X.99 will always perform better than the round dollar price. We thought it would be interesting to see if the data from our site support this sales truism. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since we already know that prices of $20 or less perform best on our marketplace, I limited my analysis here to products priced in that range. The results were not too surprising. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 4: Product success at dollar increments of $20 or less</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In short, at most dollar increments the "<i>X</i>.99" price performs better than the neighboring "<i>Y</i>.00"; yet let's take a closer look at prices of $5.00 or less, so you can see the difference a little more clearly. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 5: Product success at dollar increments of $10 or less</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then, in a recent meeting when I was showing this chart, my colleague Matt McElroy asked, "That's cool, but I wonder if $<i>X</i>.95 is any different than <i>X</i>.99?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What's Best? $<i>X</i>.95, $<i>X</i>.99, or $<i>Y</i>.00? </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'll save the long-winded details and just show you the results of this analysis<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>which turned out to be much more surprising than the last one shown in Figures 4 and 5. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 6: Best prices at $20 or less</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We already know ~$20 titles are the best performers on our store, but it turns out<i><b> $19.99 is the real winner. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Still, what's more interesting to the numbers geek in me is the fact that, at almost every dollar increment, <b>the <i>X.95</i> price point outperforms both <i>X.99</i> and <i>Y.00</i>. </b>It might be a little hard to see the relative difference for some of those bars in Figure 6, so here's another version of that graph, cut down to products at $10 or less, annotated and blown up a little. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 7: Best prices at $10 or less</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How about prices under $1.00? Or, is $0.50 a good option? </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">One other issue that's of particular importance to us is pricing under $1.00, since every download from our site has a small operational cost for us. As prices drop further toward that mark, somewhere around $0.30, we actually start to lose money on each download (which is why we usually stipulate that prices (aside from free products</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">, which play a dual role as a sort of loss leader and promotional tool for us</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">) should go no lower than $0.50). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In any case, do products priced under $1.00 actually trend relatively</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> well</span>? It turns out that, if you're one of those folks who thinks that always dropping prices below that of your competition is the best course, you'll need to think again. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 8: Best prices at $1 or less</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The upshot? If your product isn't free, then don't charge anything less than $1.00. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">NOTE: This analysis does not include PWYW (pay-what-you-want) titles, which are outliers and should be the focus of another blog in the future. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not All Books Are Created Equal</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I noted at the start of this examination, none
of these data recognize publisher notoriety or product
quality. Where a new, unproven publisher should probably stick to $5.00 or less for a small game supplement, one of the "big 20" publishers on our store can probably afford to charge a bit more for a similar title of the same size. But I still believe everyone should be taking a good, hard look at how they're pricing their products. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">That said, what are the best prices for different kinds of products<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>adventures vs. maps, core books vs. pre-generated character folios? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relative Value of Title by Type</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">What kind of products should you be publishing? Well, that we can't tell you. But what I can offer is a glimpse into what kinds of products do best on our marketplace. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 9: Most successful products, by type</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's likely not going to be a surprise to anyone<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>particularly no one who checks publisher sales reports on DriveThru<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>that core rulebooks do better on our store (by a significant margin) than any other type of product. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">One thing to consider: There are lots of different kinds of sourcebooks, for instance, and this analysis doesn't make any distinctions that far down the filter list. Do longer adventure mega-modules do better, by page count, than collections of brief scenarios? That is a matter for a future investigation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Best Price Points by Product Type</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For brevity's sake, I'll limit this to the two most significant groups, Core Rulebooks and Sourcebooks. Earlier, I talked about optimal pricing for products on our store in general, but of course there is going to be some difference based on product type, size, and production quality: Core books tend to be bigger and more lustrous than other types of books (except maybe coffee table art books or something), for example, and more universally useful, so it makes sense that people are willing to pay more for them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Core Books</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We already know that $19.99 is the magic number for products on our store generally, but how does this hold up for core books? Should they be priced higher? Have a look. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 10: Success of digital core books by price point</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Again, digital books should rarely be priced above $20. Some top-end, popular core books see success at $24.95, $29.95, or even $34.95, but the fact remains: <b>In general you should be pricing your core book PDFs at <i>$19.99 or less. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sourcebooks</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">What about rule supplements and adventures? What's the best price for them? Of course it will depend on the quality of the book and its size, but here are the general stats.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 11: Success of digital sourcebooks by price point</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The spread is a little more even here, up to $19.99, but as you can see the winner in this category is the $5.00 to $10.00 range, followed closely by $5.00 or less. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some more investigation is in order for this category in particular, but I hope this at least gives you some idea of where to price your books, based on their size and content. Maybe at some point in the next month or so, I can offer some more insight into the vagaries of pricing for specific types of products within each broader category. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relative Value of Title by Genre</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was also curious as to which genre category performed best. But again, note that there are publishers who, through their huge catalogs of products, can skew these data. For instance, White Wolf, consistently our best-selling publisher year after year, sells almost entirely "Horror" titles, so their influence on that genre's numbers can't wisely be ignored. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Likewise, the huge number of "Fantasy" titles on our site is almost certainly skewing the relative value of those products downward (just as the relatively small number of Pulp and Western titles may skew their apparent value upward); numerous publishers have greater success with titles in the Fantasy genre than in any other.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 12: Most successful products, by genre</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Steam-Like Sales: Redux</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Steve's blog post last year focused on "free pricing for reach" and on the "Steam-like" deep discount sales events we've been holding<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>like <a href="http://ritedesigns.blogspot.ca/2013/09/1001-spells-mega-sale-breakdown.html">this one for Rite Publishing</a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>invariably with great success, for the past 18 months or so. I want to follow up on that latter topic now that we've had a bit more time to experiment with "deep discount promotions."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Platinum Promotion 2013</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last year in May, we held one of these week-long sales on four of our platinum-selling titles. At that time, we weren't tracking these kinds of data as closely as we do now, but I did throw together this snapshot of the results of that sale. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 13: Gross Weekly Sales Revenue and Units Sold (ending May 2013)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As you can see at a glance, the sale resulted in a dramatic increase of revenue for all four titles. Without giving away those publishers' actual sales numbers, here's the result in terms of an increase in gross sales revenue <b>over the previous weekly average revenue</b> for the duration of the promotion. </span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition: </i>20x </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Pendragon 5.1: </i>15x </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Shadowrun 4th Ed., 20th Anniversary: </i>16x </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Traveller Main Rulebook: </i>17x </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It would seem, from this promotion at least, that</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span></span>all other things being equal</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span></span>publishers should earn something approaching 20 times as much through a deep discount promotion as they would in any typical week selling that same title. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">To reiterate, <b>we're talking about <i>gross revenue</i> by title, not units sold. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Note that all four of these titles were reduced by the same percentage, at 75% off their usual digital download price. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now let's take a look at a similar promotion, but one in which not all of the titles were discounted by the same amount. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">International Tabletop Day Sale 2014</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Just last month, we had our annual Tabletop Day sale. Below is a screen capture of the sale page from that event.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hGgXHulFBIM/U3FHbzKNTmI/AAAAAAAAAPI/Yjfanjx0VeE/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hGgXHulFBIM/U3FHbzKNTmI/AAAAAAAAAPI/Yjfanjx0VeE/s1600/Capture.JPG" height="386" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 14: Screen capture, ITT Day Sale page, 2014</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As you can see, the individual titles' discounts range from 50% at the low end up to a full 90% off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The relative results of the sale, by title, are roughly commensurate. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Title</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Price / % off</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Base Price</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>evenue</b> (^ ave./wk.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">13th Age Core Book</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$9.99 / 60%</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$24.95</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">18.5x </span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dungeon Crawl Classics </span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$4.99 / 80%</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$24.99</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">14x </span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hero Kids RPG</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$2.99 / 50%</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$5.99</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.5x</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Numenera</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$9.99 / 83% (50% off PDF)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$19.99 ($60.00)</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4.5x </span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Solomon Kane</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$4.99 / 90% (66% off PDF)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$14.99 ($49.99)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">61.5x</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></b></div>
</td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Unlike the previous platinum sale from 2013, revenue by title ranges here from 3.5x on the low end up to over 60x on the high end (for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Solomon Kane</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">).</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a histographic representation (although to condense the graph, I changed it to show 2-week sales increments instead of weekly, so the increased revenue multiples for the promotion shown in the chart above are roughly halved in Figure 15): </span></span></span></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SmmJgi6O2NQ/U3FL7zh5B5I/AAAAAAAAAPU/jCx0Ojr4mik/s1600/Overview+-+6+mos+of+earnings+-+%25+of+ave+by+title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SmmJgi6O2NQ/U3FL7zh5B5I/AAAAAAAAAPU/jCx0Ojr4mik/s1600/Overview+-+6+mos+of+earnings+-+%25+of+ave+by+title.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 15: Six months' earnings leading up to ITT Day sale (bi-weekly)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are several points worth noting here: </span><br />
<ol><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWiEs6HMiXA/U3FO96K05mI/AAAAAAAAAPg/5bkEJ0hsAnM/s1600/Numenera+snaphot+-+6+mos+earnings+-+scrubbed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWiEs6HMiXA/U3FO96K05mI/AAAAAAAAAPg/5bkEJ0hsAnM/s1600/Numenera+snaphot+-+6+mos+earnings+-+scrubbed.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig. 16: <i>Numenera </i>earnings leading up to ITT Day (6 mos.)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The <b>6000% increase in revenue</b> for <i>Solomon Kane</i> dwarfs the other results. More significantly, though, it was the title with the greatest discount, at 90% off its MSRP (66% off its usual digital price on our store). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i>Solomon Kane </i>earned more revenue in this one week than it had in the entire year previous</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span></span>despite its being on sale for 90% off</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">. </span></b></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Numenera </i>seems to have had only a surprisingly small boost from the sale. Part of that is simply perspective, as you can see in Figure 16; in addition, the earlier spike you see on the graph, in the center, represents sales during the "New Year, New Game" sale in January, when the <i>Numenera </i>PDF was also on sale for $9.99. </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Keep in mind too that this relatively new, top-shelf title has strong weekly sales numbers to begin with, even at its regular $19.99 price. </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Hero Kids</i> also seems to have had relatively little upturn from this promotion. Note that it is also the title with the smallest amount of discount, at just 50% off. The fact that its usual cover price is also relatively low ($5.99) could also be a factor, but then it's also a children-oriented product, unlike the others, so it's definitely an outlier in several ways. </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of the other two titles, <i>Dungeon Crawl Classics </i>and <i>13th Age, </i>both fall into the expected range based on the previous platinum promotion<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>i.e., something approaching 20 times their usual weekly income. Yes, <i>13th Age</i> grosses higher in terms of the increase over its average </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">weekly </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">revenue, even though it's only marked to 60% off (as opposed to <i>DCC</i>'s 80% off), but then <i>13th Age</i> is also a much newer product, and thus presumably is more appealing to informed buyers (some of whom might already own <i>DCC, </i>since it's been out for a few years). </span></li>
</ol>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Conclusions</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So what can we take away from this? Well, admittedly we still don't have enough data to make perfect or comprehensive decisions (and this is a correlative, not a causative analysis), but given the results above, we can make a few safe assumptions at least. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pricing in General (Digital Only)</span></h3>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Keep your PDF prices under $20.</i> </b>For a deluxe core book, you might be able to get away with $24.95, $29.95, or even $34.95, but <b>as a rule, $19.99 is the ceiling. </b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>There's no point in pricing any title under $1.00 (unless you intend to give it away). </b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With only a few exceptions, an <b>$X.95 price</b> should do better than either $X.99 or $Y.00. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to two years of sales data, in terms of expected return per title,<b> the most successful price points are $1.00, $2.00, $2.95, $3.95, $4.99, $7.95, $10.00, $14.95, and $19.99. </b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you aren't re-pricing your digital product line to these price points, you should have good reasons for going against the data. (On OneBookShelf marketplaces, you can conveniently use the Batch Edit Titles tool to change price points on many titles at once.)</span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></li>
</ol>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Deep Discount Promotions</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<ol><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">All other things being equal, if your sale price for a title is <b>at least 60% off, </b>you can expect to make somewhere in the neighborhood of <b><i>15+ times your average weekly revenue. </i> </b></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Perhaps counter-intuitively, <b>the greater your discount beyond 60%, the more money you stand to make. </b>Presumably this benefit breaks down as the price approaches 100% off.<b> :)</b></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Better yet, your unit sales are increasing dramatically as a result of this kind of promotion; more people are getting to know your core product, potentially (re-)invigorating the line. Presumably, some of them will be more likely to buy further titles from you, meaning greater sales over time. </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Your title needs to have broad enough appeal to a core population of gamers to draw attention when it goes on sale. This "sale furor" is a big part of the Steam-like sale's success. For less well-known publishers or products, we can't say with certainty what effect this kind of promotion will have. </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There's lots of room for experimentation here. </span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Action Points</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So what does all of this mean to you? Well, first, I hope there are some pretty clear indicators above about how you should be pricing your products. But if you're interested in clarification, then by all means reach out to me (scott@onebookshelf.com). I'm happy to discuss! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Secondly, you should be willing to experiment. Only by trying different pricing strategies and sales tactics will you find optimal success. And don't assume that once you figure things out they will stay the same. Prices and markets fluctuate over time. Just because something worked for you last year (or 5 years ago!), that doesn't mean it works now, or that it will still work in a few years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And finally, please feel free to share this around and discuss across your social network. If your experience has differed from what I've outlined here, I'd be fascinated to hear about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-14732247304854589972013-09-25T14:47:00.000-07:002014-10-10T11:18:06.553-07:00The Coming Revolution in Card Game Design<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, I'm not talking about digitizing card games into tablet apps. That app revolution is already in full steam; it has certainly revolutionized how card games can be designed and sold, but that's already yesterday's news, isn't it? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm blogging about a different revolution that has just begun in <i>printed</i> card games. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know long form reading and the internet mix like oil and water... so if you only want the meat of the matter, skip to the <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-coming-revolution-in-card-game.html#tldr">revolutionary part</a> and decide for yourself if the blog post title is portentous or pretentious. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Which Card to Play?</span></span></h3>
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Business is a like a game. On your turn, you contemplate dozens, maybe hundreds of possible moves and their projected outcomes; you identify what you believe to be the best one; and then you play it. Likewise, it is common to come up with 10x or 100x more ideas than your business has the resources to implement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Culling those ideas down to just the few opportunities that you choose to pursue is a core strategic competency for any business team. Apple is lauded for its discipline to focus on just a few products. For publishers, these decisions frequently center around title selection: how many titles to publish, and which ones? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For OneBookShelf, that new idea curation process revolves around which technical features to implement, which marketplaces to open, and what new services to offer. So why did we decide last year to start the DriveThruCards marketplace and integrate short-run card printing services with our marketplaces? What made that the best move for us in the game?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The business idea of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-mover_advantage#Second-mover_advantage">first-mover advantage</a>" is more commonly discussed than that of <i>second-mover advantage</i> or being a <i>fast-follower</i>. Despite the many advantages that accrue to first-movers into a new market segment (such as establishing a market position for your brand, as discussed in my <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/06/differentiation-how-does-your-title.html">prior post</a>), I personally prefer to be a second-mover into many business opportunities.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For example, when starting DriveThruRPG, we were a second-mover behind James Mathe, who had already started RPGNow.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://vinteeage.com/the-early-bird-might-get-the-wqorm-but-the-second-mouse-gets-the-cheese-funny-t-shirt-t-shirt-road-kill-t-shirts/"><img border="0" src="http://vinteeage.com/product-images/the-early-bird-might-get-the-wqorm-but-the-second-mouse-gets-the-cheese-funny-t-shirt-t-shirt-road-kill-t-shirts-1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Being a second-mover means that someone else has done the risk assessment for you. Of a dozen business teams exploring new business ideas, if one business is taking off while the other eleven are failing, then joining the new market with the one that is succeeding is a way of mitigating your risk as a start-up. Think of it like this: If the first marine on this part of the coast survived long enough to form a beachhead, then it's more likely that you'll survive there, too, as the second marine to land.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most start-ups burn out for lack of resources before they can find a viable business model. If a start-up has already found a viable business, then it has already identified an idea and a market that has merit. And it's usually not enough, as a second-mover, to just copy what the first-mover has done. The first-mover is already up and running; they're learning from their mistakes, establishing their brand and market position, and forming customer relationships.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chances are, the first mouse isn't dead; it's still struggling to get at that cheese.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a second-mover, if you merely intend to be a "me-too," then you're not likely to get very far unless the first-mover is failing to execute well. You have to offer something the first-mover doesn't offer. You should be able to improve the product or service in some fundamental way. Otherwise, you're not really adding much to the world.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Worse, iterating on someone else's business model degrades into the morally darker zone of merely copying someone else's business. All may be fair in love and war, but how do you feel about yourself at the end of the day? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What Does This Have to Do with Cards?</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reset now to last year, when three things were already happening that would inform our business plan. First, there were several companies offering short-run card printing; some of them, like the <a href="https://www.thegamecrafter.com/">Game Crafter</a>, were making a lot of their publisher clients happy with great service. Second, OneBookShelf had already implemented our print-on-demand book service on our marketplaces, and every month more and more publishers were finding it useful. Third, at game industry trade shows, Sean Lashgiri and Christian Moore were showing off cards printed by On Demand Technologies (ODT), and the cards looked great. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Everything looked reasonably straightforward for us to partner with ODT as our print partner, re-purpose our existing code for processing on-demand books to also handle on-demand cards, and roll out card printing services to publishers. It wasn't sufficient, however, that the idea merely be doable, or even that it be a good idea. Like many businesses, we had 100 good ideas to choose from.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So what made this one our best next move in the game? What could we offer that was different or better, that wasn't just a me-too service that really added little to card gaming? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Unchaining Game Designers from Invisible Shackles</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ODT offers many advantages for printing cards. For one, they use an ink-base HP Indigo press instead of a toner-based press. For DriveThruCards, we decided early on to offer premium, black core card stocks. For a variety of reasons, we felt that we could improve the quality of short-run cards and produce a product that could be seamlessly shuffled into decks of existing card games printed by offset printers. On-demand cards could be professional retail quality, not just prototype quality. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">DriveThruCards is also able to offer more <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/pub_podcard_cost.php">attractive costs</a> to print cards. Being able to offer improved quality at a lower price is always a great reason to enter the market. Nevertheless, even these weren't the factors that convinced us to offer card printing services and a card marketplace.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The deciding factor was that we could create tools for card game designers that went deep into how card games can be designed and published: We could use on-demand printing technology to unchain designers from prior design restrictions and unlock a wide array of new capabilities. </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some restrictions imposed by current models of manufacturing and distribution become so ingrained that we become inured to them and they effectively become invisible to us. For example, card games - even short, on-demand print runs - have traditionally been produced on press sheets; since you can fit 18 or 20 or 90 cards on a press sheet, the economies of manufacturing have dictated that a card game ought to define its card count around the press sheet size. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With our POD card service, we have freed card game designers from that artificial design limitation. There is no longer a need for a card game to have some multiple of 18, 20, or 90 cards in its deck based on how many cards fit on a press sheet.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you're playtesting your card game design and you realize the game could do without these 3 cards, but it could use another 7 cards added - and maybe some turn reference cards for each player - you have the flexibility to slot cards in and out of your game until the moment you want to publish it. If your game ends up with 89 cards, or some other prime number, that's fine.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And after publishing it, if you later need to change the card count up or down, whether by a few or a lot, that's fine too. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Revolutionary</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"That's cool," you say, "but Steve, that's hardly going to revolutionize card game design. What else ya got?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j4Y0_AFPFxs/UkDfZMMKyuI/AAAAAAAAAUI/ZPL1cJJlfNo/s1600/revolutioncard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j4Y0_AFPFxs/UkDfZMMKyuI/AAAAAAAAAUI/ZPL1cJJlfNo/s1600/revolutioncard.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></span></span></div>
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some examples of what will be possible with the tools we're coding right now. I'll start with the most prosaic and escalate to the more revolutionary. </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. <i>Offer your deck-building or customizable card game as a collection of single card products, selling as singles at prices you determine. </i></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Customers get a web GUI to build their own deck from the singles, and then have that specific deck printed and shipped to them. Next, think iTunes playlists - the community for your game can share their deck ideas with other customers, who can browse for deck builds they want to purchase and try out. </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. <i>Allow your fans to create their own cards and have them printed. </i></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Working with you and your game layout and design, we create a customer-facing web GUI page that allows customers to create their own cards for your game. It's something like this <a href="http://www.mtgcardmaker.com/">Magic card creator page</a>, except the customer can then order the cards they create in print (optionally, after you review them for content).</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And as long as customers are creating cards, what about allowing them to share their card designs with the rest of the game's community?</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With publisher approvals, the customer-created card designs can go live for sale to other customers, as either official or unofficial cards. Those cards are then available to the rest of the community to rate and purchase. As the publisher, you can even elect to allow that customer-designer to get a royalty share when their design sells.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Card games in the future won't just be funded by the crowd, they can be extended and marketed virally on into the future. A card game can actually be created by a community, with constituent members having multiple incentives to spread the word about the cards they contributed. </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. <i>Imagine a card game where no two cards ever printed for the game are the same. </i></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like perfect snowflakes, every card ever printed for the game is unique from every other card ever printed. Based on algorithms for text and graphic assets a designer supplies, we will be able to create card images on the fly when ordered by a customer. Those uniquely generated cards are then printed and shipped to the customer. Forget the surprise factor of what rare card was in your <i>Magic </i>booster pack - now the surprise is what totally unique card combination did I get on the cards I ordered?</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The foundation of the revolution lies in the ability to print just one card and put whatever content or context you want on that card, and the same for the very next card, and so on. Nearly everything that has been static about the design of card games is now going to be dynamic. The longer you think about that, the more far-reaching you'll see its impact becomes regarding the way card games can be designed and published.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> When Does This All Happen? </span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Basic things like having decks with a dynamic, not static, number of cards in the deck is already possible now on <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/">DriveThruCards</a>. We are currently building out a modular tool set that will make the rest of these concepts possible. Realistically, coding it all will take some months before the first tools are ready for use, and then some years to develop the full tool set (though really the development of the tools will never stop).</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our goal, as always with our marketplaces, is to build out a lot of tools, put them in the hands of publishers and designers, and then follow where you lead. The 1,200+ creative, entrepreneurial designers who work with us consistently have great ideas for designing and marketing their titles, ideas that force us to expand the use of our marketplace tools in ways we never foresaw. I have no doubt the same will be true of the tools we build for cards.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Deploying these card tools will require perhaps a closer degree of cooperation with publishers than ever before because our development team will have to take the modular tool set we develop and snap the right pieces together for a given need on a given card product line. Right now, we are letting publishers know what's coming. We're happy to talk about any existing or future card titles you have that would benefit from any of these possibilities. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also simply takes time to realize when invisible shackles have been removed. I love the anecdotes that are metaphors for this: Things like chickens raised in enclosed chicken houses until one day a door is opened and they are allowed to "free range" outside. The chickens are too scared of that bright alien world outside the open door to venture out of their accustomed environment. Similarly, the idea of letting a game's community take over the design of new cards will seem alien to many publishers, at least until some pioneer marches boldly out into the daylight, engages their community in a viral community design and purchase loop, and reaps the rewards of doing so.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I encourage you to give us your thoughts on these plans. What could ideas like this bring to your card products? Assessing which of these tools and features should roll out first is something we're discussing internally already, but this is an opportunity for publishers with card products to give us their <i>wishlist</i> of features for their games.</span></span><br />
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</span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-88214444073664696122013-06-03T17:08:00.002-07:002013-06-14T15:56:33.959-07:00Differentiation - How Does Your Title Stand Out from the Crowd?<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our rpg marketplaces like DriveThruRPG average 18 new releases each day. Each release then joins the thousands of titles already on the marketplace. It's not quite the Apple App store's pace of 1,000 new apps a day, but like Apple's app store it leads to a market crowded with options where discoverability - getting noticed - is a primary concern for all publishers, especially new publishers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many publishers focus on the marketing tactics of getting noticed (e.g. posting on social media) once their product is already conceptualized or already published. Discoverability begins further back in the process though with designing a product capable of getting noticed. As rpg designer John Wick says:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">John's Game Design Secret #1: Think of the person who would love the game the most and make the game for them.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In this post I'll offer a few specifics on creating products that can get noticed via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation">product differentiation</a>.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two Books</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Business is more exciting than any game.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Lord Beaverbrook (<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">1879 – 1964)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Alas for Lord Beaverbrook that he passed away before the advent of tabletop roleplaying games and the modern explosion of board and card games, else he might have found a game he enjoyed even more than business. Despite our having better fare than checkers and monopoly these days, anyone in the business of publishing games knows that the business itself can still be a fun game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I like to stack my team in games, so I have preferred to stand on the shoulders of giants and read avidly what other business leaders and thinkers have to say about the game of business. Two of the most valuable books I have read were <i>Competitive Strategy</i> by Harvard Business Professor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Porter">Michael Porter</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positioning_(marketing)"><i>Positioning</i></a> by Ries and Trout. I'm going to pick a few ideas from each book and mash them together below, but there's other gold in those books that I won't have space touch on here.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.isc.hbs.edu/images/Comp_Strat_book_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.isc.hbs.edu/images/Comp_Strat_book_cover.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In <i>Competitive Strategy</i>, Porter posits that there are three primary types of strategy for a business: focus, cost and differentiation. DriveThruRPG is an example of focus. By narrowly focusing on roleplaying games, it maintains itself as a value proposition to customers that a general, all-purpose site like Amazon does not fill as well. Costco is a cost strategy business. A few publishers on OneBookShelf marketplaces are also arguably cost-based. Perhaps a publisher's strategy is to offer the lowest price option for paper miniatures for example.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most entertainment businesses though are based on differentiation and having ownership of (or license to) a unique intellectual property that is protected by copyright law from being imitated and is different from other products on the market. Two common problems with differentiation-based businesses are that they are not truly offering anything different or that the difference they are offering is not one that many customers value. As creators it is easy to delude ourselves into thinking that our creation is unique when actually it's just another d20 high-fantasy game with warriors and wizards. Or if I come to market with a fantasy game that uses a rules system based on a d1000 instead of a d20, will many customers value that difference (much less have a d1000 laying around to use)?</span><br />
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<a href="http://focusproductmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/positioning-225x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://focusproductmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/positioning-225x300.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's layer on some of the thinking that Jack Trout and Al Ries did on positioning. Positioning boils down to what do customers think about when they think of your product. Trout and Ries submit that for your product to stick in a customer's head, it generally needs to be the first or the best at something. If you cannot be the first or best at something, then a good strategy is to position your product as the first or best of a new subset of the larger category.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The classic example is beer. Hmm.. wait, I'm drafting this on a Friday afternoon and I just said "beer", a moment please [pop...gurgle] Ah, better. Now I can proceed.</span><br />
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<a href="http://doubledeckertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/budweiser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://doubledeckertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/budweiser.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Budweiser is the "King of Beers". It used to be the #1 beer brand in the US (Bud Light has </span><a href="http://www.foodandbeverageunderground.com/top-selling-beers.html" style="font-family: inherit;">overtaken</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> it - what that says for American beer connoisseurship I leave for others to comment). If you are Heineken looking to import into the US market for the first time, you cannot position your beer as the first or best beer in the US market, but you can claim to be the "#1 import beer". Suddenly the beer market is subdivided into domestic beer and imports. A consumer who wants an import thinks of Heineken. Or you position your new beer as the #1 light beer, or the oxymoronic #1 microbrew beer. By creating a new subcategory in the minds of the audience you establish why your offering is different from the others and the best at being different in that way.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.telecomlead.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Heineken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.telecomlead.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Heineken.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you have to be #1? Not always. #2 is ok. Being Pepsi to Coke or being Burger King to McDonalds can still be a good business. At Gen Con in 1994, I asked then CEO of FASA Sam Lewis how he expected FASA's new fantasy rpg Earthdawn to compete with D&D. Why would anyone play Earthdawn instead of D&D? Sam replied that he didn't so much care about being different. He knew that being the #2 fantasy rpg on the market, something that FASA could conceivably expect to muscle Earthdawn into becoming, would be a fine business.</span><br />
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<a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/images/72/85659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/images/72/85659.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem these days is that in a long tail based market, trying to be a #2 and still get noticed is harder. There may only be room for Home Depot and Lowes in most towns, but on ebook shelves there's room for 1,000 competitors. Better to focus on what makes you different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a publisher, you should critically analyze your core titles to determine:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">How is my title different from others already available?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Is that difference something that customers might get excited about?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">How can I present that difference to customers as something they can hook their mind around (e.g. position it as a new subcategory)?</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">SteamCraft Case Study</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's get concrete with a case study of sorts. I was speaking with Jamie Hardy of Perilous Journeys, the publisher of the roleplaying game <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/100695/SteamCraft"><i>SteamCraft, </i></a>about some things related to the<a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/04/onebookshelf-technology-roadmap.html"> last blog post</a>, and knowing this topic would be next, I ambushed Jamie into becoming a case study for differentiation. Jamie's <i>SteamCraft </i>title released and sold tolerably well, but now the sales rate seemed to be languishing a bit as <i>SteamCraft </i>became another steampunk roleplaying game amid many steampunk rpg options on the market.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking at <i>SteamCraft's </i>product description on DriveThruRPG from the perspective of an rpg fan, nothing on the page leapt out at me as a big differentiator between <i>SteamCraft</i> and other steampunk games. So I asked the hard question of Jamie:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i>Whether you are on a forum somewhere or talking to a potential customer in person at a convention table, what is your elevator pitch about why SteamCraft is unique not just among other rpgs, but among steampunk rpgs?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i>To paraphrase Jamie's reply, he came back with:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unique percentile rule system</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Includes fantasy elements (dwarves and elves)</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Uses a non-Earth setting to free players from Earth history</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Puts the punk back into steampunk being truly dystopian/punk and not steampulp</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Put those to the test. Which of those are true differences, which are differences customers may value and which are differences that customers may value that you can position a product around?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unique rule systems are rarely a differentiation that customers value. Customers may even view it as a hindrance to purchase - having to learn a new system to play. Unless you are Amber diceless roleplaying or Fiasco GM-less play, relying on your rule system as a differentiator that customers will value is a dicey proposition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fantasy elements in a steampunk rpg is not a new differentiation. The steampunk rpg <i><a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/1612/Victoriana%3A-1867-Edition?it=1">Victoriana </a></i>preceded <i>SteamCraft</i> to market and included those elements already. It is important in positioning strategy however that you don't have to be factually the first the market with a product differentiation, you only have to be perceived as first to market by most customers. IndieGoGo was first, but far more people now know about KickStarter and mentally position KickStarter as "the crowd-funding site". <i>SteamCraft </i>would not necessarily have to be the first steampunk rpg to include fantasy elements, so long as it could have most customers think it was the first (to be clear, I'm not suggesting that Perilous Journeys embark upon deceitful advertising, this is accomplished simply by being first and best to build awareness around a point of differentiation).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Similar to a unique rule system, a unique setting can often be over-rated as a product differentiator. Creators can be super enthused about their original, homebrew setting and want to publish it. Customers are rarely so enthused to purchase it. In this case with SteamCraft though, Jamie's insight is that departing from Earth's history frees a Game Master from having to be an expert on Victorian era history before feeling comfortable enough to run a steampunk game. That's a difference that customers might value.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, drawing a distinction between steampunk and steampulp creates an opportunity to subdivide the steampunk rpg market in a reverse method. Much like creating a "Lite" beer subdivides the beer market into light beers and regular beers, a tagline like "Putting the punk back into steampunk" seeks to divide the steampunk rpg category between steampunk and steampulp with the implication being that <i>SteamCraft</i> holds the high ground of being true steampunk while the other wanna-be games are really steampulp trying to masquerade as the real thing.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Execution to the Plan</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Identifying your elements of customer-valued differentiation is just the beginning. You then have to craft your product strategy and marketing message around that. For example, Jamie and I <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/100695/SteamCraft">re-drafted the product description page</a> for <i>SteamCraft</i> on DriveThruRPG with these differentiators in mind. The new description brings these elements more clearly to the fore to help <i>SteamCraft</i> stand out from other steampunk games.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ideally this identification process starts early in the product's life cycle and informs all of the decisions around that product: the graphic design, the illustration/art direction, marketing messaging, product title and of course the writing itself. The product has to authentically embrace the points of differentiation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In my days with White Wolf, when the creative staff was first designing the Exalted rpg we knew that any fantasy game that White Wolf published needed a clear differentiation to D&D. One of the differentiators that the team chose was to go with an anime-like look and feel to the game. That was decided early in the project's life before outlines went out to writers for a rough draft. At that time Rich Thomas, then VP of Production and Art Direction, presciently said something like "If we do anime, it means we have to bring in different artists. A few exceptions aside, the artists we work with for World of Darkness games won't be as ideal for this style." Rich and the White Wolf art directors got new artists for the book and succeeded in giving Exalted that anime fantasy look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Similarly, in developing and editing Exalted, when manuscript drafts came in with combat powers named things like Sucker Punch and Parry, developer Geoff Grabowski and editor John Chambers reshaped that text into Ox-Stunning Blow and Heavenly Guardian Defense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now you might be thinking, "Hold on Steve, that's just good design. If you make an anime game of course it needs anime art and anime flavor to its names." I agree; there's no particular magic here. The only difference here is that Exalted set out to be the #1 anime fantasy rpg. It did not set out to be the #2 fantasy rpg, nor the #1 anime rpg, nor to appeal to D&D players specifically. From inception its market position was explicitly clear and that position informed those design decisions. It gave a business "why" to the design "what".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If we return to SteamCraft for a moment, I would respectfully suggest that the game's cover image and design:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">could stand to be darker and more punk. While most products would kill to have a cover this nice, the cover does not fit the title's position in the market. As beautiful as it is, a cover showing an aerial naval battle on parchment texture with a "Get your Goggle On" tagline conveys "high adventure" and does not match a game that seeks the market position of being more steampunk than steampulp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Concept = Easy, Application = Hard</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Discoverability starts at product creation. Like most bits of business wisdom , it boils down to common sense: If your product isn't different then it can't stand out from the crowd. The rigorous thinking comes in applying the wisdom. It comes with the discipline to resist deluding yourself that your title is different when it's not. It comes through being sure your title is different in a way that customers will value. And then the rigorous execution comes in applying those differentiation points through every stage of the product's creation and marketing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Try to apply this thinking to your own titles. Don't shy from the truth even if it hurts. How are your titles different? Do customers value the difference? Is the difference clearly communicated to potential customers?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Or take some titles that are emerging in the market right now and analyze them. What makes Monte Cook's Numenera stand out as different? Which of those differences do customer's value?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I look forward to your thoughts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Regards</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Feel free to enter your email up at the right and subscribe. The posts are infrequent.)</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-6767348795650762262013-04-29T16:48:00.000-07:002013-04-30T08:56:08.135-07:00OneBookShelf Technology Roadmap<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I mentioned in my <a href="http://oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/04/pricing.html">first blog post</a> about product pricing experiments, my posts will sometimes be generally about sales and marketing business practices and sometimes about OneBookShelf things specifically. This is the latter. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wanted to provide some outlook on what we are planning technologically in the months ahead for the OneBookShelf marketplaces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A feature in testing right now adds discussion threads to product pages - a more conversational way for fans to discuss your products.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;">Threaded discussion coming soon to your product pages</i></td></tr>
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">We will be adding an option under your publisher settings tool page where you can elect to receive an email whenever customers post a new discussion topic on one of your products (similar to the current email notices when you make a sale or receive a new review). We will announce when this is released and ready for you to opt-in to those emails (or not).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Site Redesign</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our site has changed a lot <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060613090826/http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/catalog/index.php?">over the years</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year was no different. We rolled out a new header/footer/left column and search bar look to our marketplaces. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Late last year we released redesigned cart and wishlist pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Already this year we have rolled out all new checkout pages. <a href="http://www.usertesting.com/">User testing</a> is indicating the new checkout pages are doing their job of making it easier for customers to buy your titles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Later this year we will be circling back to the main sections of the homepages. These sections have not really been overhauled for many years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our basic plan for the homepage is to do away with the current center and right columns and replace them with <b>horizontal cover thumbnail strips similar to what you see on sites like Netflix</b>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;">An early RPG mock-up we did - so crude that our web dev folks will curse me for posting it.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We will make this change incrementally to the home page and to other category browsing pages, testing the changes with customers as we go along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This approach to the homepage will allow greater opportunity to showcase the covers of all of the hottest selling titles, titles exclusive to our marketplaces, and titles curated to each customer’s tastes. We can for example run a strip of Hottest Small Press titles and show the covers of all such titles vs. the vertical list of title names we now use in the left column of the site. We can show customer A and customer B different mixes of titles based on their prior history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We know the user interface on many of the publisher tool pages leaves much to be desired. In ten years of coding tool pages to give you maximum control and visibility over your titles and connection to customers, we’ve organically grown the publisher menu into a rather daunting array of options that are highly functional but not always easy to use. Most of the publisher tool pages weren’t designed with the best modern day user interface practices in mind. We will be overhauling them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our focus right now, though, remains completing the redesign of our customer-facing pages. We hope to finish the bulk of that redesign work by the end of this year or the end of the 1st quarter 2014. We can then increasingly turn our attention to making your publisher tool pages friendlier for you to use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are making some changes to how products are activated for sale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week we rolled out the first code changes that are part of a multi-step rollout that will give you more control over how your titles are delivered to customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Previously, if you wanted to sell a title through our print program, you also needed to have a digital download option available for the title. This week’s changes allow you to activate a title for print sale without requiring a digital option. For example, you can now offer printed cards without also offering a print-and-play version of the cards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For those of you only offering digital titles not much has changed. Continue to activate titles as normal where you upload the files that customers will download.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Until we finish the rest of the coding on this project, there is an interim period here where a few site functions are suspended (e.g. using Batch Edit tool to make lots of products active or inactive at once) until we update those functions. Please bear with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a few other related changes coming in the next few months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Terminology</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon our on-site tools will change from the “active/inactive” word pairing to a “public/private” dichotomy. We think public or private is a clearer way to communicate what we mean when we say a product is active or inactive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Different Files for Different Formats</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You will soon be able to upload several digital files and then determine which of those files get delivered when a customer purchases different product options: download, print, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, you might want to sell a card game as both a downloadable print-and-play file and as a printed card deck. You will be able to upload the print-and-play PDF file and also rulebook PDF file to the product. You could then select for both of these files to be delivered to customers who purchase the digital download option and select only the rulebook file to be delivered to customers who buy the printed card deck option.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To be clear, the “Add-On” option to purchase a digital download + printed book combination will remain, as it exists on site now. The new function will just give you the flexibility to choose which files are delivered to customers based on which product option(s) they choose to purchase.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Mandatory Download Test</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We currently require that a publisher order a single proof copy for all print products before we will activate the title for sale. Similarly, publishers will soon be required to perform a “test download” of a title’s file(s) before you can enable that product for sale via digital download.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our #1 customer complaint occurs because publishers enter a new product but do not test the file download themselves before activating the title for sale. Customers then find out the new release does not download properly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Usually this problem occurs because the publisher has not followed our recommended PDF specifications, so the PDF does not play nicely with our watermarking process. We will also be making changes to our watermarking process to minimize these problems, but the ultimate safeguard to keeping your customers happy is to test the download yourself before making it public. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Apps</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why don’t we have an iPad app?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the past many years there’s been a debate about the future of apps vs. HTML5 webpages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We’ve been squarely in the HTML5 camp, believing that the functionality coming to webpages will allow phones and tablets to do everything we would want an app to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">An HTML5 approach allows us to create and maintain one website that can be optimized for different screen form factors, but not have to code and maintain apps for iOS, Android or other operating systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year we will be looking at how far we can push the code on our download pages and library pages to see if we can now make the experience rich enough for customers that an app seems moot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If we don’t feel we can push the experience far enough then we will finally give in and look at doing some apps using the emerging hybrid approach of wrapping HTML5 into an app package. Services like <a href="http://trigger.io/">Trigger.io</a> offer this sort of approach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our card print program has been functional for a couple months now. We have been improving many aspects of it – nuts and bolts stuff like getting ship confirmation emails flowing between our print partner (ODT) and ourselves. With more of that now in place we are beginning to market the DriveThruCards site this week with a <a href="http://www.drivethrucards.com/dtcardsgrandopen.php">Grand Opening event</a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Being able to print high-quality cards as single decks (or single cards!) to meet a customer’s order in real-time is just the beginning of what we intend to offer through our cards platform. In the months and years ahead we plan to offer a range of tools to publisher which you can use to publish card games in ways never before possible. Some of what we will offer will only be usable by publishers who create games with these capabilities in mind, so this is a long term project for us and for the publishers who choose to use the tools we build out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One example is building a tool which will allow your fans to create their own cards compatible with your game. A fan creates the expansion card online, agrees to a click-thru and submits the card design for approval. Once you approve the card, it then goes up for sale as a single (perhaps as an “unofficial” card). Now your game is getting crowd-created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps the fan gets an auto-pay royalty when their card design sells? Now your fans have several reasons to virally market their cards to each other. Those types of features are some time away for us yet, but we’ll get there with your input along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Your Turn</h3>
Comments, suggestions, and questions are welcomed below.<br />
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Steve<br />
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</span> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713034482559784142.post-12011825386115035262013-04-03T22:17:00.002-07:002013-04-04T09:38:51.360-07:00Pricing<b><span style="font-size: large;">Blog Intro</span></b><br />
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As this is my first real blog post here, a quick word of introduction.</div>
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<b>Who: </b>I'm Steve Wieck, CEO of OneBookShelf which operates DriveThru, RPGNow, WargameVault, etc. After working on these marketplaces for over eight years, I notice some things that might be useful to the creators and publishers who allow us to sell their content on our marketplaces. This is a blog intended for those creators and publishers.</div>
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<b>What:</b> I'll mostly blog about business and marketing stuff. Sometimes it will be things rather broadly useful like the post coming below about pricing. Sometimes I'll let you know what we're thinking and where we're going with deep dives into things more specific to our marketplaces (and hopefully get your feedback and comments).<br />I will only blog sporadically when I have something potentially useful to say, feel free to subscribe; the posts will be infrequent.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pricing for Reach</span></b></div>
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A common question we get from publishers is "How should I price my title?" to which we reply with a most unhelpful "that depends".</div>
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Pricing makes a huge difference in the success of your title, but it depends on what success you're looking for. Usually it's either <i>maximizing reach</i> or <i>maximizing income</i>.</div>
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<i>Maximizing</i> <i>reach</i> is the easy one. The price is zero, free. Simply making your title free though does not by itself guarantee enormous reach. You still need to market the title. It helps to contact our marketing folks like Matt and Steve Smith and ask them to feature your freebie in a newsletter. They can't feature every free title, but they can feature some. Releasing a free rpg title on Wednesday evening or Thursday early morning also helps you get your free title automatically listed in the bottom portion of our rpg newsletter (for comics try Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning).</div>
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You might also look for opportunities to include titles for free in certain bundle promotions. Charity bundles can see 10,000+ downloads.</div>
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Then what do you with that reach? Using the email customer tool to contact everyone who got your free title with an incentive to purchase another title in your line is a straightforward approach.</div>
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Kevin at Sine Nomine Publishing has success with offering a PDF version free leading to high sales of the printed version of <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/86467">Stars Without Number</a>.</div>
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Top Cow makes all <a href="http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3096&pfrom=&pto=0&x=12&y=8">issue #1's free</a> to introduce readers to a series.</div>
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Finally, there is certainly a case for using non-free prices to drive reach. Some publishers like EN Publishing and Adamant Entertainment have run 99 cent sales across their entire product range. The sale of items normally valued much higher than 99 cents drives a level of excitement that leads to word of mouth referrals and more "what the hell, I'll try it" purchases. The sale drives interest in a way that a free product could not. Free occupies a different mental space for consumers.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pricing for Income</span></b></div>
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<i>Maximizing income</i> through pricing is the trickier part. Though much of what I discuss below works as well or even better on print titles as on digital download titles, I will largely be speaking to digital titles here.</div>
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First, a fascinating read. Scott Holden here at OneBookShelf referred me to an excellent summary article on various ways pricing tactics can influence consumer behavior. These are nicely summarized in a post by Peep Laja (no, I don't know if that's his real name or a gamer tag) at <a href="http://conversionxl.com/pricing-experiments-you-might-not-know-but-can-learn-from/">Conversion XL</a>. If you're a fan of psychology or of making money, it's a good read and so well summarized there, I won't repeat it here.</div>
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Second, an experiment. Recently we worked with Monte Cook and deeply discounted his Ptolus book from $60 to $19.99 during our promotion of Geek & Sundry's International TableTop Day. I have been reading with interest some results and data that PC game download service Steam has reported about how a promoted deep discount of "75% off" drove total revenue, not units, total sales dollars, <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/24/less-is-more-gabe-newell-on-game-pricing/">40 times higher</a>. I wondered if we could reproduce a similar result to what Steam has found.</div>
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We did. The one <i>week</i> that Ptolus was on sale generated 44 times more revenue than its prior <i>monthly</i> average. We got to send Monte the largest royalty payment we've ever sent him in eight years of selling Malhavoc titles - including more than when Ptolus first released.</div>
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Why did this work so well? We can theorize.</div>
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First, Ptolus is worth $60. Anyone who ever purchased Ptolus for $60 got more than their money's worth. This promotion was not some shoddy way of taking a title that has a market worth of $25, claiming it's worth $60 and then "marking it down" to $20. Ptolus is one of the best roleplaying books ever created and customers know it. It was a steep discount from the legitimate value of the product.</div>
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Second, Monte's profile hasn't exactly <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1433901524/numenera-a-new-roleplaying-game-from-monte-cook?ref=live">diminished</a> or <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera?ref=live">deteriorated</a> in the past several months and he maintains his social media connection with fans. However, Monte admits that he didn't do a lot of promoting of this sale himself.</div>
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Third, the sale was promoted. We had good traffic to our TableTop Day landing page and the free bundle offered during the promotion.</div>
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Fourth, the pricing was presented correctly. It was clear that customers were paying $19.99 (rule of 9's), that they were saving $40, getting 66% off the normal <strike>$60</strike> price. These things mean a lot.</div>
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There's a general rule in ecommerce web display and user interface that when in doubt about something, see how Amazon does it. I'm specifically not talking about Amazon's business practices - only their web displays and UI. You can be sure though that most every aspect of their site has been ruthlessly A/B tested, user tested, and optimized seven ways to Sunday. We're going to circle back after the success of the Ptolus sale to look again at how we display prices on our marketplaces vs. how Amazon displays them. We're going to work with publishers to identify titles which could work for deep discounts run during promotion events as Steam does. We won't see such enormous sales gains on every title, but it's definitely an experiment worth repeating.</div>
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Matthew at Mongoose has spurred us in the past to do more research on price points and pricing behavior on our sites. Certainly Matthew's price experiment of selling the <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/97239/Legend">Legend</a> core book for $1 was wildly successful in maximizing the reach of that title (and even the income wasn't too bad!).</div>
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When we analyzed several years' worth of sales at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow and sliced the data several different ways, we found something a bit curious.</div>
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Sales rates of products didn't matter quite so much on their actual price - books priced at $15 generally sold as well as books priced at $12 for example. What did affect sales rates was the discount amount from the original MSRP of the title. So a book priced on site at 40% off its MSRP sold much better than a book priced 20% off its MSRP, even if both books ended up priced at $15.</div>
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If you already read the Conversion XL article linked above you'll have some ideas why - the power of "sale price markers (with the old price mentioned)".</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What can you do?</b></span></div>
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1. When you enter prices on our marketplace, you have the opportunity to enter the original MSRP of the title. When you do we then display the price of the title on site like this:</div>
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<s style="background-color: #f2f1ed; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span class="productStrikePrice">$9.99</span></s><span style="background-color: #f2f1ed; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> </span><span class="productSpecialPrice" style="background-color: #f2f1ed; color: red; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: -webkit-center;">$4.99</span></div>
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instead of like this:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;">$4.99</span></div>
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Entering that MSRP ends up making a big difference in the effectiveness of how your prices are displayed to customers. If you haven't entered your MSRP's, edit your products and do so (just make sure the MSRP's are legit - there are rules about false advertising).</div>
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2. Experiment! I know it can be scary, but many publishers like those I've mentioned above are trying different experiments with pricing and finding success. Say "Yes!" to experiments.</div>
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We did ask a few other publishers to also try the deep discount during our TableTop Day promotion and the rest refused to discount or went halfway there and saw little lift in their sales rates. I wish they had said "yes" like Monte did with Ptolus.</div>
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3. Consider price anchoring with print options. We'd love to see experimentation with price anchoring effects using different print options. Books like <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/94815">Vampire 20th anniversary edition</a> that are available in digital format and several different print formats are ideal for price anchoring experiments. Setting a premium color price high (it legitimately needs to be high anyway due to the print cost) may <a href="http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Williams-Sonoma-Pricing-Tactic-Grows-Sales-for-Bread-Machine.html?soid=1102052405533&aid=JioWyC1Fesc">help sell more standard color books at a lower price point</a>. If you are only offering one print format option, consider adding another format at a much higher or lower price point.</div>
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