I agree, you don't have to commit to a book if it doesn't live up to the purchaser's standards. You just put it back on the shelf at the store.
With PDFs, however, the only way to check them out them before purchasing is to illegally download it. Not an ideal situation, and if someone would DL it illegally anyway, they probably wouldn't go ahead and purchase a product they've already stolen.
Frankly, a lot of the "crap" print products from the 3x days never left the shelves. People looked at them, said "Meh", and moved on. And quite a few FLGS problems with overstock is from purchasing agents and store owners following a trend and figuring if it said "D20" or "OGL" it would sell, rather than actually taking the time to judge the quality of a product.
You're right, and that's why I have some clunkers out of the approximately 15GB of PDF files that I own (along with two full bookshelves of print products - I definitely have no bias against a physical product). I absolutly refuse to illegally download anything (the status of game shops and designers is tenuous enough as it is), so occasionally I will come out with something that doesn't work.
However like I said, there are some sales sites that have enabled previews, and overall, it's been worth it to me.
The only pdfs i own are the Pathfinder Beta (just because the print wasnt available anymore. When I get the real book in august the pdf will go bye), and various Metal Magic and Lore supplements just because they are only released in pdf. I would get them in print if that was an option.
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I like the convenience of pdfs but I prefer print when I'm sitting at the table. It is easier for me to find things in a print edition and doesn't take as long to flip back and forth between the different information I need to look up. Print is still the way to go in my opinion.
I'm also the only guy in my group who has a steady job, so my books tend to get passed around a lot. That's hard to do with pdf copies.
Well, how about them there pdfs?
Well, how about them there pdfs?
I'll stick with my earlier comment: if the cost of buying the pdf and printing it out is way cheaper than buying the hard copy, it's mighty tempting to me.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Well when it comes to my works, I charge what I think the work is worth (hint, they're free, though I'll take donations)
As to a PDF, I'll admit there are some things I buy via PDF then have printed and bound (Monte's Books of Might/Luck, some necromancer stuff) though that's because the dead trees are so hard to find/expensive.
Others I have the PDF through questionable means, but that's because I'm getting the dead tree when it finally gets printed. Still others I buy when they're only PDFs (PFS mods and Jhiad Turning Points for Battletech)
So really it comes down to cost/availability.
Oh, and as an aside, I jut picked up M1-3 from .5 priced books. I might have gotten the PDF (and given WotC some money) but hey, now I can't.
OKAY, after having gone through the scramble of looking at all my online accounts because I honestly could not remember what all I'd bought over the years, I can confidently say that, no, pdfs have not curtailed my buying habits. In general, I've bought pdfs if things weren't published in paper or if items were not available or easily available to me. PDFs have been a second option or a nice extra in my purchasing. And I definitely own more pdfs that were given away at some point as free than I've paid for. And it reminded me, hey, I need to make use of the Duelist!
ADD: An obvious exception comes to mind. Because of the great sale Paizo is putting on, I will likely pick up some pdfs that I won't purchase in paper. But that's unusual and to be put down to the art of the deal.
Just as an aside, I've decided not to get any of the old WoC PDF's after all.
Just as an aside, I've decided not to get any of the old WoC PDF's after all.
Good "choice", lol.
For me, PDFs have great utility as supplements to printed RPG books. They are not a substitute, as they have little value on their own. If I like an RPG book, I'll buy hardcopy, even if the PDF is freely available.