I think the most I've ever paid for a PDF is between £40-£50 for Fate of the Norns. For a book I recall paying over £75 on an impulse buy of the leather bound copy of Dark Heresy but not the exact amount. Never played either game.

Production values, writing and topic are my three criteria for choosing what I buy. Generally I prefer PDFs these days unless a game lives in the dark ages and forces my hand otherwise.

Am still considering the Glorantha Guide but since I'll be running a homebrew with Mythras it's another impulse purchase

Quote from: RPGPundit;961796Just out of curiosity.  What's the most you have paid? What's the most you could imagine yourself paying for one? What would influence your decision?

I'd say off the top of my head, about thirty bucks, hardcover. I have made exceptions. I paid 50 for my Dark Sun original boxed set. But that of course included two softcovers plus two flipbooks and the map. I did buy DCC, so whatever that cost. 40 bucks I think? I'll break 30 for something I really want.

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;962064What I've found interesting about this thread is the low value placed on pdf's when the content is identical to the hard copy version. Even allowing for the cost of production of a hard copy book the disparity between the two formats is skewed very much in favour of paying much higher sums for hard copy compared to soft copy pdf's.

There is a big markup involved in print copies: printing costs, distribution costs. Unless Kickstarted, these costs have to be paid upfront. A print run has to be ordered to ensure you break even. With PDF it's just the overhead taken by OBS or other online PDF store and this is per sale.

I think the question here is whether the mark up on printing is 50% of the cover price, in which case PDFs are fairly priced, or whether publishers are deliberately overpricing PDFs.

For a PDF, $20. For a hardcover $60. But there is a caveat. There is a price to page count ratio metric that I apply. Roughly 100 pages per ten dollars. Give or take. I did once pay a bit more for a leather bound hardcover but it was leather bound. I sort of regret the game as I don't like it. But I still like the idea of owning a leather bound role-playing game book.

Quote from: yojimbouk;962076There is a big markup involved in print copies: printing costs, distribution costs. Unless Kickstarted, these costs have to be paid upfront. A print run has to be ordered to ensure you break even. With PDF it's just the overhead taken by OBS or other online PDF store and this is per sale.

I think the question here is whether the mark up on printing is 50% of the cover price, in which case PDFs are fairly priced, or whether publishers are deliberately overpricing PDFs.

A lot of small press companies no longer do things like print runs but use POD to produce just enough hard copies to satisfy current demand and bring in a new batch when needed. No longer is the 2000 copy print run a necessity or even likely for a small publisher. Places like Lulu will act as your printer/distributor/shipper for a small consideration.

No-one selling a pdf for $10 a pop is ever going to make any money/break even based on even the smallest per hour rate for writing the work.

Quote from: yojimbouk;962076I think the question here is whether the mark up on printing is 50% of the cover price, in which case PDFs are fairly priced, or whether publishers are deliberately overpricing PDFs.

The pre-production cost is still quite large and, increasingly, PDFs are becoming as important, if not more, than print. So I think that is part of it. I don't think many people are laughing all the way to the bank. My understanding is most PDFs sell just tens of copies. In fact, unless you see a popular copper seller tag on it, its doubtful that the PDF has sold more than 70 copies.

Another aspect to it is on the OBS end. I am biased, as my own products were impacted by this, but they changed the algorithm for the way the top 100 list was calculated earlier this year. Before it was based on number of copies sold. Now it is based on revenue. So if PDF A sells 10 copies of a PDF for 2 dollars each, and PDF B sells 3 copies but charges 7 dollars for each, then PDF B will be higher on the top 100 list which will give it a better chance of being seen by customers when they log into RPGnow or DriveThruRPG (previously PDF A would have been higher on the top 100 list). I don't know if it has actually driven up prices or not. I suspect it will over time. In fairness it does mean you will have fewer cheap PDFs cluttering the top seller list (and OBS also has to do what is best for their business).

Lessee

I bought Ptolus
I declined to back Invisible Sun

So I guess that suggests the answer is at least $100, but less than what? $200?

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;962064What I've found interesting about this thread is the low value placed on pdf's when the content is identical to the hard copy version. Even allowing for the cost of production of a hard copy book the disparity between the two formats is skewed very much in favour of paying much higher sums for hard copy compared to soft copy pdf's.

Maybe because some people just don't like PDFs? If a game or book is PDF-only, I just pass it by. I have some free (legal) PDFs but I only used them after I printed them out and put them in sheet protectors and a binder for ease of use.

Quote from: Dumarest;962113Maybe because some people just don't like PDFs? If a game or book is PDF-only, I just pass it by. I have some free (legal) PDFs but I only used them after I printed them out and put them in sheet protectors and a binder for ease of use.

Yeah. The things I have on PDF tend to be those that I was just curious about or wanted to read a thing or two in but ignore most of it, or that are out of print. If I want to use something in a PDF regularly, I'll tend to print it out.

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;962064What I've found interesting about this thread is the low value placed on pdf's when the content is identical to the hard copy version. Even allowing for the cost of production of a hard copy book the disparity between the two formats is skewed very much in favour of paying much higher sums for hard copy compared to soft copy pdf's.

This sounds like it might be worth its own thread. So I'll make it.

PDF up to about $20 at the top end. Hardcover up to $100 (AUD) if I really, really want it.

I am not sure, but I know its more than $100 just because of some kickstarters I backed.

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;962064What I've found interesting about this thread is the low value placed on pdf's when the content is identical to the hard copy version. Even allowing for the cost of production of a hard copy book the disparity between the two formats is skewed very much in favour of paying much higher sums for hard copy compared to soft copy pdf's.

This on rare occasions isnt the case, and seems to be getting more and more common for some reason.

I dont mind paying upwards of 20$ or more for a PDF. It when the producer tries to gouge the buyer by trying to make them pay print retail price that I say FUCK YOU! Especially if they are trying to make the buyer eat a now non-existent retailer cut. But I also apply that rule to hardcopy books on KS where they try to gouge retailer prices.

I've paid $60 for a few books--Ravenloft 3E Limited Edition, Mutants & Masterminds 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition, Champions Villains 3: Solo Villains--and more than that for bundles such as the HERO 6E 2-volume set or $93 on the Accursed: World of Morden Kickstarter to get pretty much the whole line in print.

$20 for PDF, $30 for softcover, and $60 for hardcover.