(And I love that you used the term stack to describe the discounts. Maybe they should be typed discounts)
Rats! You beat me to it. Only a genuine gamer sends an email to his customer base explaining the discounts do not stack. I love these guys.
(I think this one is a circumstance bonus - wait - those stack. . .)
Just got out of the worlds most boring meeting on QAA , and I get back to the office and read this.
YEAH! way to go Paizo :D..
Emails from Paizo the best end to the working day!
*Still twitching from epic-level nerdgasm*
Now this is the way to start my weekend - and Paizo brings home the Big D**n Win yet again!!!
If my tax refund wasn't already slated for DragonCon, I would be going soooo crazy at the store when it comes. I think I'll manage though ;)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
Hey Vic!Look who just became a GameMastery Subscriber! Thanks!
I'll just add my thanks as well
My party and I have just started playing the series and I have a few of the other modules. But this is just more incentive to get all the modules which I was hesitant about getting unlesss they played directly into my game. Thanks a TONN. Great as always.
Smiles to all
Though, I too, would like to second the option to add non-subscription items to the subscription shipment.
Thirding that.
Either way though, Paizo rocks.
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Ok.... So, I'm not sure why everyone thinks this is a good thing.
Basic retail econ 101 is that you offer incentives when sales start to decrease, not increase.
When I see a company offer such an incentive, I usually assume it means that they're trying to maintain subscriptions that are dropping off.
So, I'm not sure why everyone thinks this is a good thing.
Perhaps because the 15% applies to non-Paizo purchases?
Pete brings up a good point, I've heard the same thing.
On the other hand, a lot of posts from Paizo indicate they are doing very well.
Perhaps sales are down in SOME areas and strong in others, and this move addresses that.
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So, I'm not sure why everyone thinks this is a good thing.Perhaps because the 15% applies to non-Paizo purchases?
The only different between paizo and non-paizo product is the amount of margin that they make on it. They purchase 3rd party products at a wholesale discount and then sell it at some agreed upon retail price. This is, for example, how amazon does their discounting - they buy in such volume from the 3rd parties that they can get a substantially lower wholesale price.
And to clarify, when I say "Good", obviously it's "Good" for the buyer. I'm wondering why it's "Good" for Paizo. Seems like you offer a discount like this if you want to bump up sales, not because you have great sales. If you have great sales, you just ride the wave.
-Pete
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Or perhaps Paizo wants to attract customers that don't see the free PDF as a good enough incentive to subscribe since they have no use for it. Perhaps they're going after the people that want discount, not a PDF they could pirate.
If you want to save money, you'd order from Amazon before Paizo.. now, maybe not.
Not to mention that EVERYTHING in the Paizo store is 3rd edition and almost all of it won't even be supported by their publishers come this summer. It could be Paizo is getting stuff at basement pricing and can sell it at a reduced retail price. The Waldenbooks I work at has had all of it's D&D supplements called back except for PHB, DMG, MM, Grand History of the Realms, Rules Compendium, Exemplars of Evil, Elder Evils, and the two 4E preview books. All the other books are going to bargain bookstore in a month I bet.
Errr, I'm possibly reading what you're saying incorrectlyWhat I'm saying is the discount will offset product I (and many others) didn't and still don't want part of the Chronicles subscription.. I'm referring to the Item Cards.
On this matter, the 15% discount still won't get me to subscribe to Chronicles. I refuse to throw money at something I don't want or need (item cards) just to get the pdfs. While I'm at it, the map folios are rather expensive for something I already have in my Pathfinders. All the folio gives me that I actually want is a poster map of a city.
Whatever, the 15% discount will be appreciated next time I order stuff I DO want.
Ok.... So, I'm not sure why everyone thinks this is a good thing.
Basic retail econ 101 is that you offer incentives when sales start to decrease, not increase.
When I see a company offer such an incentive, I usually assume it means that they're trying to maintain subscriptions that are dropping off.
Just theorizing (And I really wouldn't want offical word from paizo to confirm or deny it), but possibly due to the responses from the gut check thread . . . the number of people who say "Stay with 3.5 and I'd dropping my purchasing" and "move to 4e and I'm dropping my purchasing" . . . Paizo's trying to find options of making a subscription more inticing so that regardless of whether they switch or not, less people will cancel subscriptions (cause let's face it. They're sitting at a crossroad where with path A they lose subscribers, and with path B they lose subscribers . . . it's a lose/lose situation).
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On this matter, the 15% discount still won't get me to subscribe to Chronicles. I refuse to throw money at something I don't want or need (item cards) just to get the pdfs. While I'm at it, the map folios are rather expensive for something I already have in my Pathfinders. All the folio gives me that I actually want is a poster map of a city.
*nods*
I want the Map folios though, it's just the item cards I think that should be in their own category, with their own subscription. Anyway, sure I'll be giving up a few months, but a couple months of discount pay off the item cards if I can't sell them on ebay.
This is me joining in to regale you fine Paizo folks with accolades!
HUZZAH!!
I am already a subscriber to (and purchaser of) as much as I can afford at the moment, but now thanks to your largess my dollars will go that little bit further and will enable me to eventually buy a little more than I would have been able.
So, I'm not sure why everyone thinks this is a good thing.Perhaps because the 15% applies to non-Paizo purchases?
The only different between paizo and non-paizo product is the amount of margin that they make on it. They purchase 3rd party products at a wholesale discount and then sell it at some agreed upon retail price. This is, for example, how amazon does their discounting - they buy in such volume from the 3rd parties that they can get a substantially lower wholesale price.
And to clarify, when I say "Good", obviously it's "Good" for the buyer. I'm wondering why it's "Good" for Paizo. Seems like you offer a discount like this if you want to bump up sales, not because you have great sales. If you have great sales, you just ride the wave.
-Pete
One can offer discounts to increase sales even if sales rates are good. For instance, this encourages people who already have a pathfinder subscription to get other subscriptions. Or get people who just subscribed and never really came to the site to do their other shopping here.
I guess what I'm saying is sales don't have to be bad to want to increase them. For instance, to grow your business.
If you have great sales, you just ride the wave.
Then I'm glad Lisa's running this place and not you.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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And to clarify, when I say "Good", obviously it's "Good" for the buyer. I'm wondering why it's "Good" for Paizo. Seems like you offer a discount like this if you want to bump up sales, not because you have great sales. If you have great sales, you just ride the wave.
My thinking exactly. While i certainly hope the "everything is fine" statements broadcast, this leaves a very sour feeling in my stomach. 15% is serious stuff. You'd not usually cut so deeply into your own margin without a damn good reason - and that is committed purchasers.
Just to theorize, i would expect this to be an attempt to cushion off the effect 4th Edition will have one way or another.
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My thought that this is simply a way to generate more sales from comitted buyers. Look around the boards. How many people do you see like me with every subscriber tag? How many do you see with just one tag?
Since they have to be able to let other companies sell at SRP, their margins are probably determined by the price to the distributor. Just a wild guess, but I bet they get about 50% of retail price when they sell to the distributor. They make significantly more when they sell direct to the consumer. So, this discount makes subscribers more likely to buy other things, and those things that are Paizo products will have a higher margin than if you bought through retail.
I figure Lisa and company are smart, and they know what they're doing. I have yet to see them make a major blunder (at least, that they didn't correct quickly). So, with their track record if they tell me that things are going well and they want to do this, I figure it will be mutually beneficial - to us as consumers and to them as a company.
And because they recognize their need to 'stimulate' the audience (rather than fire us) I'm very happy with them as a company. Now, if I can only convince them to agree to wait to swtich to 4th edition for at least 1 year... After a year they'll be better able to determine if a switch is a good idea or not...
Chief Technical Officer
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There are a lot of business reasons why this makes sense for us. Subscriptions help us increase the predictability of our cash flow. They help us more accurately estimate demand for future products. They help us minimize the risk on those products. And, because our subscriptions are handled through the website, they help us establish better, more direct relationships with our customers. So yes, we want to increase the percentage of customers that subscribe, and that would be true whether 10% of our readers subscribed or if 90% of our readers subscribed.
We're happy with the current numbers, but we'd also be happy if they were higher. :-)
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Chief Technical Officer
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15% is serious stuff. You'd not usually cut so deeply into your own margin without a damn good reason - and that is committed purchasers.
Note that, for non-Paizo products, we usually sell at 10% off MSRP. Another 5% isn't going to break the bank.
And for Paizo products, we can easily afford to sell them at a discount, since, as pointed out, our margin is much higher on direct sales than through distribution.
We're not giving anything away here that we can't afford to give away; if it keeps subscribers happy, it's a win for all of us.
... if it keeps subscribers happy, it's a win for all of us.
Especially if it can bag you some free pizza, right? ;)
it keeps subscribers happy
It certainly makes me happy. I was lustfully looking at the PCCS wondering how I was going to afford it. But 15% off is just enoughfor it to fit it in my budget. So that's one more sale of that.
Especially if it can bag you some free pizza, right? ;)
Most assuredly. :-)
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CEO
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Where does the saving show up?
Is it in the listing, or trolley, or just before you pay?
And is this 15% before or after postage?
This is obviously a very good thing for me, but I'd like to have the practicalities sorted in my head.
Just a reminder that the discount doesn't start until March 10th (we have to give Gary time to get all the little hamsters lined up). So you won't see the benefit right away if you are looking right now. As for where it shows up, I believe that it shows on the final page where your whole order is shown to you before you hit submit. But Vic or Gary would know better than me.
-Lisa
(we have to give Gary time to get all the little hamsters lined up).
Exactly how many hamsters does Gary have? Does he use hamster balls? Those things are fun. Let them run around the house all they want and they can't hurt themselves (as long as you don't have stairs). Cat can't get at them and they won't get get stuck under the sofa.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Where does the saving show up?
Is it in the listing, or trolley, or just before you pay?
And is this 15% before or after postage?
This is obviously a very good thing for me, but I'd like to have the practicalities sorted in my head.
Just a reminder that the discount doesn't start until March 10th (we have to give Gary time to get all the little hamsters lined up). So you won't see the benefit right away if you are looking right now. As for where it shows up, I believe that it shows on the final page where your whole order is shown to you before you hit submit. But Vic or Gary would know better than me.
-Lisa
Yes, you'll see it in the order summary as you check out. And since the discount is applied against the MSRP of the products, that's a pre-shipping discount, and pre-sales tax, for WA residents. (So shipping will be unchanged, and sales tax will be slightly less.)
You all rock.
Only three more days! ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy!
And of course tomorrow morning the Paizo warehouse is going to break as all of us subscribers who have been filling our shopping cart with goodies and waiting for the 10th will hit the BUY button.
Poor warehouse guys.