I'm currently working on the planning stages for the Hulks and Horrors Kickstarter, and gauging my options as far as distribution, and this question has come up.

DriveThruRPG offers two different account levels, based on whether you release your project exclusively on DT or whether you're also selling on other sites as well.  There's a significantly better vendor cut and pricing for exclusivity, naturally.  

This means a decision looms, as I need to start nailing down the pricing for the book, and thus be able to judge my costs for the Kickstarter target.  

So, I wanted to ask the userbase here where you prefer to buy your books online, specifically small press works like H&H, distributed via PDF or POD.  

I've included a poll as well, which is probably incomplete somehow, but please answer as best you can.

I voted for both Lulu and drive thru, I've only bought POD from lulu and only .pdf from drive thru. Over the last few years I've bought the bulk of the latter during periodic 1$ sales.

Technically speaking aren't RPGNow/Drivethru the same place? Just with different URLS?

There isn't a difference between DTRPG and RPGNow is there?  I get most of my pdfs from there.  The only PoD stuff I have ordered is from Lulu.

DTRPG is the only one I regularly buy stuff from. RPGNow is the same damn site(only lacking a "new since last visit" option, making them the far inferior interface), and I have no idea why they keep two gateways. I bet TBP has something to do with it. RPGNow is purple, if you didn't notice, and I doubt it's a coincidence, but I don't know anything solid.

I have also bought from Lulu, e23, and IPR in the past. Lulu for POD only, and e23 and IPR for stuff you just can't find anywhere else. Or at least couldn't at the time. I think some of the stuff I was interested in eventually showed up on DTRPG, but you never know with those sites.

I honestly have no idea if any of those have a large enough exclusive buyer base(as in, people who buy from them and don't visit DTRPG as well) to justify not just going with the DTRPG exclusivity option. My guess would be no, but it's just a guess.

So, my own take...  If offering the "book" isn't available in physical form directly as a backer (no idea what your plans are there), then as a general consumer I'm perfectly happy to by from DT/RPGN.  In fact, because I can use my paypal, I know they deliver quickly and I rarely (if ever) have bullshit from them for whatever technical barf comes up, I pretty much exclusively use them for game products I'm buying in electronic form.  If I want a print, I take it to my local kinko's to do so.  I've found for whatever reason I'm just not fond of lulu.

I buy pdf files from rpgnow and print books from Amazon.

QuoteI honestly have no idea if any of those have a large enough exclusive buyer base(as in, people who buy from them and don't visit DTRPG as well) to justify not just going with the DTRPG exclusivity option. My guess would be no, but it's just a guess.

This was, incidentally, roughly the impression given the last time I spoke with someone from DTRPG about it, that by and large their customers seldom see more than a small percentage of their sales come from other sites compared to DTRPG, and that in some cases may even see a total boost from the extra promotion that comes from switching to exclusive.

I figured, however, that it would be wise to take an outside opinion on the matter from a wider audience.  

So far though, it does seem rather like it's the case that DTRPG is pretty much the first pick for a lot of people.

RPGNow for PDFs.
I also prefer RPGNow's POD to Lulu's in terms of quality, though this is based on a very small sample size (only 1 or 2 POD products purchased from each).

I picked Drivethru as they've gotten most of my pdf purchases this year so far - why they bother with the rpgnow facade is beyond me but damn I miss the days of competition  between the two sites where we'd get honest-to-God free rpgs (i.e. Fading Suns 2nd ed. core book, Exalted core book, etc.) out of the kerfluffle.

I have purchased from Lulu before (with ok results), but my preference is RPGNow.

Wow.  DTRPG's POD pricing is shockingly reasonable.

Between that and the results of this poll, I've made my decision.  

Hulks and Horrors will be a DTRPG exclusive.

usually drivethru for me, unless the publisher has a direct link.

Quote from: J Arcane;554250Wow.  DTRPG's POD pricing is shockingly reasonable.

This is a me too post. Haven't bought too many print tiles from them, but the ones I did (including Stars Without Number) were very reasonably priced for very neat production values. They seem like a good bet.

Quote from: J Arcane;554250Wow.  DTRPG's POD pricing is shockingly reasonable.

Yes it is. The major issues is that you get better royalties from Lulu but if you are going exclusive it pretty much doesn't matter.  

I get $5.34 to $5.56 per copy of the Majestic Wilderlands on RPGNow/DriveThru.

And I get anywhere from 5.44 to 5.92 per copy on Lulu.

I sell MW for $12 on both.

For color DriveThru/RPGNow PoD can't be beat.  16 Page Full Color Letter size book is only a flat $2.50. For each $7 print copy of Blackmarsh I get from $2.53 to $2.75.