# Does a printed option make you more likely to buy?



## Morrus (Mar 22, 2005)

Would you say that offering traditional book (print) versions of E.N. Publishing products make you more likely to buy them?  Or does your level of interest remain unchanged?

(I'm assuming in the poll that the additional option of print products doesn't make anyone _less_ likely overall to buy ENP products, since the old option of PDF-only is still available).


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## dekrass (Mar 22, 2005)

I voted no, but thats only because I buy almost every book you put out.
It does mean I will spend more money on E.N. Pub. products.
I will very likely get many of your books in print from now on.


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## TheAuldGrump (Mar 24, 2005)

No, I tend to buy more PDFs than print these days. But having print may well get some of my non-PDF players to buy. (_Steam_ & Steel Devon, _Steam & Steel_...)

The Auld Grump, who wants more stuff like Steam & Steel, less like the Arsenals...


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## JimAde (Mar 28, 2005)

I wish Auld Grump would quit reading my mind.  

So, yeah, what he said, right down to getting my players to buy stuff, and preferring beefy products to little super-focused ones.


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## Kaji (Apr 14, 2005)

All electronic, all the time. 
As for the comments about beefy vs tiny...meh. Both have uses, but it would be fair to say that there are any tiny electronic products (Ronin Arts leaps to mine, as well as E.N Publishing) it's typical to require a wait until some other publisher decides to finally release a pdf (Green Ronin would be a good example, although they are clearly embracing the pdf model lately, and now that Wizards appears to be doing the same, that might be enough to make a difference in the market.) I've not bought any recent E. N. Stuff, but I've got my eye on the Banking .pdf


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## Greylock (Apr 15, 2005)

I want books. I won't buy anything electronic unless it is an e-tool of some kind. Books belong on my shelves, on my kitchen table, on my bed-pillow, on my toilet. Not my pc.

(Excepting ENWorld Gamer. I'll take a mag in PDF format.)


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## Darrell (Apr 16, 2005)

I pretty much _never_ buy pdf products, so yes, it would make me more likely to buy if there were a print option...provided the material was of good quality (which I'm assuming is a given, though I haven't purchased any of the material to date), and was appropriate to my game/group.

Regards,
Darrell King


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## Bloodstone Press (Apr 17, 2005)

I rarely buy printed game books anymore (my shelves are sagging with them as it is), so I voted no.


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## peacimowen (Apr 21, 2005)

I have a lot of pdfs of various sorts.
I use 'em for reference on the computer, but I much prefer print books (not counting the incredible weight so many books would have).
I buy what few books I can afford when I can afford them. - I have not and will not pay for pdfs to download. (although I might consider buying CD or DVD compilations)


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## Angel Tarragon (Apr 23, 2005)

I like PDFs just fine, but I prefer to be able to hold in my hands what I wish to read.


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## Cheiromancer (Jun 11, 2005)

I am currently considering buying Elements of Magic (Revised), but I am unsure about the print option.  If there are new erratta, I can be emailed a patch, but the printed book will be out of date.

If I buy the PDF, I'm afraid I'll end up paying more when I do get the book (after all revisions are in).  Or is the price of the PDF deducted if you buy the print version later?

This indecision might actually keep me from buying the book now, I'm afraid.


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## Abulia (Jun 18, 2005)

Morrus said:
			
		

> Would you say that offering traditional book (print) versions of E.N. Publishing products make you more likely to buy them?  Or does your level of interest remain unchanged.



A bit of clarification, please. You ask if a print version affects my decision to by an _E.N. Publishing_ product. The poll asks if a print version affects my decision to by an _e-publisher's_ product. I respectfully submit that these are not necessarily the same things.

(A print version can affect my ability to purchase a PDF; it may not affect my desire to make an E.N. Publishing purchase.)


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## Morrus (Jul 6, 2005)

Abulia said:
			
		

> A bit of clarification, please. You ask if a print version affects my decision to by an _E.N. Publishing_ product. The poll asks if a print version affects my decision to by an _e-publisher's_ product. I respectfully submit that these are not necessarily the same things.
> 
> (A print version can affect my ability to purchase a PDF; it may not affect my desire to make an E.N. Publishing purchase.)




Ah.  I guess that my interest was in e-publishing in general here.

That said, at least as far as ENP products themselves go (they being the only sample I have to work with), sales figures make it pretty clear that a print version seems attractive to only a very, very few.  That may be because these particular books are more expensive (seeing as how we're very much small press and can't afford big discounted print runs); or it may not!  Suffice it to say that people are, 99% of the time, selecting the PDF option.


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## Morrus (Jul 6, 2005)

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> I am currently considering buying Elements of Magic (Revised), but I am unsure about the print option. If there are new erratta, I can be emailed a patch, but the printed book will be out of date.




That's a surprising response.  The usual chorus when these questions come up is that everyone prefers print books and settle for PDFs grudgingly; e-publishers spend all their time pointing out the benefits that PDFs can have (namely the patches/updates you mention).  It's refreshing to see one person who sees it that way too!


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## Cheiromancer (Jul 9, 2005)

I still haven't bought EoM for the reasons I outlined above.

Maybe you could offer a coupon with the purchase of a PDF that would apply to the printed version?  There must be some sort of mechanism whereby you could have 1-use coupons.  A special number that gets checked off when used.


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## Laslo Tremaine (Jul 22, 2005)

I voted "no" but that's not entirely true.

If a product is under, say, 128 pages, I am perfectly happy with a pdf file.  If a product is not a core product (main rules, main setting book, etc.) then I am also happy to have a .pdf.

But for large books, and core books, I want a professional, hardbound copy that will stand up to the abuse that it will get at the gaming table.


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## HellHound (Jul 23, 2005)

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> I still haven't bought EoM for the reasons I outlined above.
> 
> Maybe you could offer a coupon with the purchase of a PDF that would apply to the printed version?  There must be some sort of mechanism whereby you could have 1-use coupons.  A special number that gets checked off when used.




the RPGNow coupon system doesn't work with PoD products, unfortunately.


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## RangerWickett (Jul 23, 2005)

HellHound said:
			
		

> the RPGNow coupon system doesn't work with PoD products, unfortunately.




Jake, could we theoretically at least give someone a comp copy of another product if they buy both the pdf and POD?


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## Cheiromancer (Jul 29, 2005)

I must admit that I am still curious about EoMR.  Any word on the coupon issue?

No hurry; I am in the process of applying for a US credit card after my move, and I don't want to put any more RPGNow payments on my Canadian credit card.  But in a week or so things might be different.


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## Kanegrundar (Jul 29, 2005)

I voted no.  I tend to buy more pdf's these days since they tend to have a tighter focus and I can get more for my money.  About the only print books I pick up are WotC (I refuse to pay print retail for a pdf), select GR books like WHFRP, select Malhavoc books, and the occasional Rifts selection (homebrew ideas...I don't play with the system).  Beyond that, it's pdf all the way.

Kane


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## Tom+J (Jul 29, 2005)

I havn't voted as of yet. I like print products, but is the print version of say Steam and steel any better than the version I printed out and bound myself? (before it was availible in print might I add. $2 off just doesn't seem like a worthwhile discount to buy it agian in print)

I'm toying with buying mechamacy in print, but again, the lack of knowledge on the quaility of the print is swaying me toward the pdf verison.

tj -x-


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## Tom+J (Jul 30, 2005)

Just for the record I bought just mechamacy on Pdf instead of print. This was due to high shipping costs to the uk, which I know you can't help.

tj -x-


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## Cheiromancer (Aug 8, 2005)

HellHound said:
			
		

> the RPGNow coupon system doesn't work with PoD products, unfortunately.




The front page ad for the Ceramic DM fundraiser offers $4 off if you subsequently decide to buy the printed version.

How did they do it?


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## Morrus (Aug 8, 2005)

I've no idea, to be honest.  However, there's also a pricing issue.  The print versions are priced at "cost" so that they make us exactly the same amount of money as the PDF.  We don't charge any extra for them other than our costs.  By selling a reduced cost version, we're therefore effectively _paying out_ for the privilege of you having our book.  In the long run, if we were doing that, it would be more to our advantage if you didn't buy our book - it would save us money! 

On the other hand, giving away a free PDF with the print copy costs us nothing at all, so there's no reason not to do it. 

The basic problem comes with a fixed per-unit cost to produce one (the print version) and no cost to produce the other.  So we can play around all we like with the PDF version, but reduce the print version by even a penny and we're losing money.  It's already priced exactly as cheaply as we possibly can.

My guess (and I don't know for sure as I wasn't involved) is that the Ceramic DM book, being a zero-cost product in terms of production, allows for a lot of fiddling with the numbers.

At least that's how I understand it.  I'm not actually directly involved in this sort of thing, so Hellhound can feel free to correct me or tell me I'm talkng rubbish!


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## Cheiromancer (Aug 8, 2005)

Well, I am willing to pay for a printed version up front.  But I don't want it printed and shipped immediately.  Maybe I'll like EoMR so much that I'll want it as soon as I read it.  Maybe I'll wait six months until final revisions are incorporated (minor tinkering with the cost of teleport, say).  Maybe I'll forget about it, and never get it printed.

The point is, most people want fast service; they want the printed copy yesterday, if possible.  I want slow service.  But this seems to be impossible.  Maybe it could be a possible new slogan: "We're so good, slow service is impossible!"

Speaking of which... thanks, Morrus, for responding so quickly.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Based on prior experience in this forum I had expected it to take days or weeks to get a response.


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