Ekchuah's page

[Rant=start]

Now, If I understand what you're saying with your posting of the cartoon & article, because I became more selective in my purchasing in the last few years, I have helped to destroy the profitability of printing books? That I, and others like me, have virtually stolen the food from the writers & publishers mouths with our frugality & unwillingness to buy overpriced products for the sake of some corporation's idea of what is right & good?

...Wow. I didn't realize I was so powerful. Maybe I should take GOD up on his offer of an All-or-nothing, one-arm-tied-behind-my-back UFC-style match. I was kind of worried about the odds, but now that I know what I'm working with, I say bring the old geezer on!

As I said in my original post, I have been using eBay for only the last five years. For the previous 15 years, I purchased close to 90% of novels & assorted "stuff" new from bookstores & gameshops. The minority I obtained secondhand from friends, used-book stores, the occasional garage sale, etc. As my book & magazine collection now numbers 2-3,000 items, I would say I've helped pay quite a few people's rent checks. I think that entitles me to pick & choose what I wish to read for awhile, don't you?

[/Rant=done]

(Oh, and sorry about all of the "I's". It comes from being raised on a potato farm)

While I am willing to give Pathfinder a chance to prove itself, I am sure of this: I am not going to pay $20 a month for it. It's simply not worth it. I say this because even though I have been a loyal follower of Dragon for twenty years this month, I have never been a huge fan of Dungeon (as I prefer to create my own adventures) and from what I've seen, this seems to be more "Dungeon-y" than "Dragon-y".

And before you say things like "It's equal or lower in price to all of those splatbooks" or "You get more quality per page" or "But, it's in color!" (Whoop-dee-freakin-doo), I'll let you in on a little secret: I have something called patience; i.e.: I don't have to run out and buy everything as soon as it hits the shelves. I have been known to wait years (years, I tell you) to buy something if I thought it was over-priced.

After I discovered eBay five years ago, I switched to purchasing most of my D&D items (aside from Dragon issues and some novels) from it instead of RW stores. In the time I have utilized the site, I have paid cover price for a book exactly twice (both times it was for books that I could not find elsewhere). I routinely pay less than 40% of cover, not because I don't have the cash to spend, but because to me they take up space that could be used for more important things (like my extensive collection of Battletech minis).

Seriously, though, if when I open up the first issue of Pathfinder and don't have a "best thing since sliced bread" moment, I predict that I'll be seeing numerous unwanted copies of this "book" for sale on eBay within weeks. Just remember: If you want to get rid of them, my cap is $8 per (that's with S&H included, of course).

I live in the US, so my issues should arrive faster, right? Think again. I started my 6-issue Dragon subscripton almost 2 months ago & have yet to see ANY magazines.

Another thing is that when I signed up, it said my next (first) issue would be 353. I looked at my account a few days later & the number changed to 354. When I checked it again (two weeks ago), it stated my first issue was now 355. And my account still states I have 5 issues left in my subscription.

What gives?