I certainly believe that WotC and some of the other "bigs" have an easier time getting multiple copies sold into each group, but as Randall suggests, this makes them more of an anomaly.

Or should I say, the intertubes are messing with things for sure. Bill, surely it's not so much that one-copy-per-group is a "problem" as that if you can somehow sell multiple copies to a group, it's one solution to the general issue, and possibly a better solution than selling multiple books to the same person.

It's at times like this though that I want to go back to the original post and see what it is we're really discussing. And that is: how do you make a buck in this hobby/industry?

Obviously this is influenced by the scale of the hobby as it stands. Balbinus's question is relevant today. I don't think it would have been asked back in the 80's, because it's undeniable that the hobby and the market have shrunk & transformed since then.

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;358901I certainly believe that WotC and some of the other "bigs" have an easier time getting multiple copies sold into each group, but as Randall suggests, this makes them more of an anomaly.

Or should I say, the intertubes are messing with things for sure. Bill, surely it's not so much that one-copy-per-group is a "problem" as that if you can somehow sell multiple copies to a group, it's one solution to the general issue, and possibly a better solution than selling multiple books to the same person.

Yes, Elliot, perhaps a better phrasing is "a more pertinent issue" rather than "problem". In my experience, selling more copies to the group is a more pertinent issue than selling multiple copies to an individual. We are selling books not board games. It takes a different approach.

And before anyone jumps on that, yes, we can learn from board games. I learned and used a lot of BG concepts with SA! I am actually rather proud of the marketing side of that.

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;358901It's at times like this though that I want to go back to the original post and see what it is we're really discussing. And that is: how do you make a buck in this hobby/industry?

Obviously this is influenced by the scale of the hobby as it stands. Balbinus's question is relevant today. I don't think it would have been asked back in the 80's, because it's undeniable that the hobby and the market have shrunk & transformed since then.

I will say it has changed and some interpret that change as shrinking. I suspect, but have no proof, that it is actually more a transformation and many many publishers are seeing their sales lost to other factors but assume it is a shrinking of the market.