Quote from: Shasarak;1139596I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that Blue Rose is not carrying the company.

Their distributor was put on lock down, so they physically could not deliver books. And then all conventions were cancelled. Blue Rose isn't even one of their "main" product lines. I think they list it around 5th? It's just hard times man. They look like they will make it through though.

Quote from: jeff37923;1139854Yeah, that had absolutely nothing to do with the lawsuit TSR filed against them over Gygax jumping ship to do Lejendary Journeys in your eyes, did it?

Was going to mention that little bit. That lawsuit didnt help TSR either.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1139881True!

Incidentally, I'm 100% debt free, and the product (and line that derived from it) that Raggi passed on bought me a two-bedroom house.

I can't speak for Raggi, obviously, but I doubt he refuses products just because he doesn't think they're good. LotFP has a very specific aesthetic, and yours is quite different.

The guy with the specific aesthetic is broke now, and his reputation in ruins. Maybe he should have broadened his view a bit.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;1139933The guy with the specific aesthetic is broke now, and his reputation in ruins. Maybe he should have broadened his view a bit.

I think Raggi is a likeable doofus. I don't think his reputation is in ruins outside SJW circles. If you meant Zak, then well, yeah his rep is in tatters. I believe his trust fund is still good, though.

Quote from: Simlasa;1139688Zak has talent.

Zak also tried to drill a hole through his head with Mandy.

Quote from: Snowman0147;1139948Zak also tried to drill a hole through his head with Mandy.

"That would've worked if you hadn't stopped me."

Quote from: thedungeondelver;1139957"That would've worked if you hadn't stopped me."

The perfect response.

Quote from: Brad;1139976The perfect response.

Thank you, I thought it fit nicely

Quote from: RPGPundit;1139881True!  Incidentally, I'm 100% debt free, and the product (and line that derived from it) that Raggi passed on bought me a two-bedroom house.

One of the advantages of staying 'small' is that you are less likely to take real risks outside of your frame of experience. By taking on stock, Raggi took on a host of responsibilities that were outside of his experience. Larger companies have specialists in those areas that ensure they are run right. But even then, they cannot necessarily foresee all problems.

On the other hand, if you do not have more than one 'iron in the fire' while staying small and if your income passes through some other entities, then the fate of those entities may one day destroy you. In the content licensing market for example, I knew designers that were making almost all of their money through brokerage type resellers. One of those resellers changed their website and suddenly, their sales dropped by 80%. You can see a similar effect for some iOS (or worse, macOS) developers.

In the RPG market, one thing that I wonder about are the long delays on hardcopy via DriveThruRPG. They've basically added +20 (or more) days on fulfillment. That, plus natural concerns about the economy make me wonder if those dependent on it aren't suffering or will suffer quite badly.

Quote from: Lynn;1139980In the RPG market, one thing that I wonder about are the long delays on hardcopy via DriveThruRPG. They've basically added +20 (or more) days on fulfillment. That, plus natural concerns about the economy make me wonder if those dependent on it aren't suffering or will suffer quite badly.

As a reference, I ordered Pundy's Star Adventurer Print/PDF on June 29th.  I got a ship notification from DTRPG on July 12th, but it wasn't even dropped off to USPS until July 14th.  On top of that, they're illegally using Bound Printed Matter as the service, which is even slower than Media Mail.

Quote from: kythri;1139989As a reference, I ordered Pundy's Star Adventurer Print/PDF on June 29th.  I got a ship notification from DTRPG on July 12th, but it wasn't even dropped off to USPS until July 14th.  On top of that, they're illegally using Bound Printed Matter as the service, which is even slower than Media Mail.

06/15/2020    Pending Payment Approval    
06/15/2020    Processing    Processing from checkout_process.php
06/15/2020    Paid For    Your printed items normally take 2 to 5 days to print (or up to 14 working days for full-color books), and will then be shipped to you.
06/15/2020    Sent to printer    Print order sent to printer (order PPO.M06151500)
06/15/2020    Confirmed    Printer has acknowledged receipt of order.
07/03/2020    Shipped    Product The Hero's Companion has shipped.
Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(it may take up to 24 hours for this tracking number to become valid)
Date Shipped: 2020-07-02
Shipped via: USPS

 Status
Pre-Shipment

July 9, 2020

Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item




Like...wtf

Quote from: Brad;113999106/15/2020    Pending Payment Approval    
06/15/2020    Processing    Processing from checkout_process.php
06/15/2020    Paid For    Your printed items normally take 2 to 5 days to print (or up to 14 working days for full-color books), and will then be shipped to you.
06/15/2020    Sent to printer    Print order sent to printer (order PPO.M06151500)
06/15/2020    Confirmed    Printer has acknowledged receipt of order.
07/03/2020    Shipped    Product The Hero's Companion has shipped.
Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(it may take up to 24 hours for this tracking number to become valid)
Date Shipped: 2020-07-02
Shipped via: USPS

 Status
Pre-Shipment

July 9, 2020

Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item




Like...wtf

I'm already not a fan of Mr. Raggi's work but this?  Now I wouldn't touch his products with a ten foot pole.  Perhaps second-hand...but definitely not direct purchase.  Sorry, waiting months for books is...ehh...no.

Quote from: GameDaddy;1139694I have actually seen this before, Not that part where he teamed up with Zak and ended up in an SJW trainwreck when sexual politics interfered with the growth of his gaming company, but the part where he goes into debt to finance business growth. This last part is pretty much a no-no in any business, and has been historically especially lethal for small to mid-sized gaming companies.

I don't know much about the history gaming companies specifically as it relates to debt, but going into debt for business growth is pretty-much Business 101. Virtually every company does it, it's just to what multiplier they are leveraged.

Going into debt on a whim without a solid plan is a bad idea. Going into debt simply to maintain business is very risky. But if you need to go into debt to grow faster - that's what banks & investors like to hear. The general rule is that getting debt to survive is a bad sign, but getting debt to expand is a good sign.

I wonder if it wasn't due to COVID-19 then Raggi's model may have been sustainable. I did see him sellings tons of mercy at GenCon the last several years. One can question his going into debt, but it did seem to be working for him. A problem with businesses without strong reserves is that a single significant disruption to their plans can bring the whole business down. I think this happens with many small businesses in that they do alright for a few years, but there's usually some unanticipated event that wrecks them. In Raggi's case it's been a strong downturn in cash flow due to a pandemic. I also question the direction he took his later products, but my personal non-interest doesn't negate that a lot of people did seem to be buying his shock/TPK material.