Just curious, but I thought this might be a nice way to help generate sales through game stores. What if Paizo issued codes to game stores with PFRPG preorders that allowed the purchaser to download a single free copy of the PDF? This way Store Owners can show a cool perk of preordering the game to their customers.
Just a thought in response to this thread.
EDIT: That's something Amazon won't have.
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Just curious, but I thought this might be a nice way to help generate sales through game stores. What if Paizo issued codes to game stores with PFRPG preorders that allowed the purchaser to download a single free copy of the PDF? This way Store Owners can show a cool perk of preordering the game to their customers.
Just a thought in response to this thread.
Heck, I'd be onboard with that. I like hard copies AND PDFs, but rarely have the cash to get both, and don't have the cash to get onboard with the Subscriptions either. This would be an excellent deal for me!
Just curious, but I thought this might be a nice way to help generate sales through game stores. What if Paizo issued codes to game stores with PFRPG preorders that allowed the purchaser to download a single free copy of the PDF? This way Store Owners can show a cool perk of preordering the game to their customers.
Just a thought in response to this thread.
EDIT: That's something Amazon won't have.
I'd love for it to happen, and I'd jump at it if did. (Though I don't know how Paizo would make it work).
I'd love to get Pahtfinder, and the PDF while still supporting my local game store, but I can't really justify buying both separately right now.
Even some sort of discount of the PDF if you buy the book through your FLGS via a coupon code would be awesome.
BTW, the specs for the book look awesome. Smyth-sewn binding looks to be the best way to make a book last.
I'd love to get Pathfinder, and the PDF while still supporting my local game store, but I can't really justify buying both separately right now.
I think I'll get my first copy from Paizo, with PDF, and they any extra copies (for gf, gifts) I'll do through FLGS.
Even some sort of discount of the PDF if you buy the book through your FLGS via a coupon code would be awesome.
Actually, that's not a bad idea. Even if it was 50% off, it would be expensive enough to deter pirates from using the code to download the book a bazillion times, and a single code could handle the whole thing.
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Only trouble is that is the cool perk Paizo uses to generate subscription sales... :) I think it would be neat, too, but I can't see a benefit for Paizo in that scenario. They'd lose money for getting it sold through a FLGS (to whom they would sell it for less than they would me, for example), and they'd lose the opportunity to sell a complementary PDF (or perhaps get a subscription for that benefit).
What's killing FLGS is Amazon, IMO. I can preorder the Core Rulebook for $38.78 (Canadian) from them. Even if I order straight from Paizo, I am looking at $49.99 US, which converts to about $61.26 CAD plus shipping. At my FLGS I expect the price will be somewhere in the $65 to $70 range. If I also pick up the Bestiary at Amazon.ca, my total is $69.80 and I get free shipping. That's a significant savings over buying at a FLGS that can't be ignored - it's basically a "free" Bestiary. Or instead of buying the Bestiary from Amazon, I could probably get the PDF of the core rulebook (which will be very handy for quick searches) for the difference from Paizo.
Sorry... my math brain kicked in and I had to figure out just how much this is going to cost me (because I *am* buying everything lined up for the Pathfinder RPG... just need to figure out how and where. :)
Only trouble is that is the cool perk Paizo uses to generate subscription sales... :) I think it would be neat, too, but I can't see a benefit for Paizo in that scenario. They'd lose money for getting it sold through a FLGS (to whom they would sell it for less than they would me, for example), and they'd lose the opportunity to sell a complementary PDF (or perhaps get a subscription for that benefit).
What's killing FLGS is Amazon, IMO. I can preorder the Core Rulebook for $38.78 (Canadian) from them. Even if I order straight from Paizo, I am looking at $49.99 US, which converts to about $61.26 CAD plus shipping. At my FLGS I expect the price will be somewhere in the $65 to $70 range. If I also pick up the Bestiary at Amazon.ca, my total is $69.80 and I get free shipping. That's a significant savings over buying at a FLGS that can't be ignored - it's basically a "free" Bestiary. Or instead of buying the Bestiary from Amazon, I could probably get the PDF of the core rulebook (which will be very handy for quick searches) for the difference from Paizo.
Sorry... my math brain kicked in and I had to figure out just how much this is going to cost me (because I *am* buying everything lined up for the Pathfinder RPG... just need to figure out how and where. :)
I spend a lot of time at my FLGS. I really absolutely do not mind paying a higher price there for a book than I can buy on Amazon, because if I do not buy from them, then they won't be there as a hub of local gaming.
(Yes, I'm probably way in the minority, but I do what I can.)
I buy a lot of stuff through Amazon, but gaming materials that I _can_ buy locally hasn't been in that list.
I'd love to get Pathfinder, and the PDF while still supporting my local game store, but I can't really justify buying both separately right now.I think I'll get my first copy from Paizo, with PDF, and they any extra copies (for gf, gifts) I'll do through FLGS.
That's fine. If you have friends that you give gifts to. But what about me? <g>
Chief Technical Officer
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Just curious, but I thought this might be a nice way to help generate sales through game stores. What if Paizo issued codes to game stores with PFRPG preorders that allowed the purchaser to download a single free copy of the PDF? This way Store Owners can show a cool perk of preordering the game to their customers.
We've love to be able to do this, and we've brainstormed possible ways to do it on a number of occasions, but we've never come up with an answer that didn't have at least a few problems.
You can find some of them starting here.
Thanks Vic.
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(Didn't want to resurrect that old thread Vic pointed to)
So if I understand the situation correctly, the criteria for having a way to offer a free/reduced price PDF when purchasing a print book would have to be as follows:
- 1. unique to each print book
- 2. not easily removable while browsing the book in the bookstore (and shrink-wrap is not an option)
- 3. no reliance on the LGS to distribute (for two reasons: one being that it is an extra burden on the store employees and two being that there is nothing to say that one or more of the employees wouldn't abuse the trust placed in them)
- 4. can't be redeemed by having a friend's book or a library book (I intend to make sure my library buys all PRPG books starting with the Core Rulebook, btw!)
- 5. Can't be too onerous for Paizo to manage - either time-wise or money-wise
- 6. Can't be static information that can be leaked/passed on to another person who didn't buy the book and still be used
Hmmmmmm.... How about this: Send every print book out with a cardboard envelope that has to be "destroyed" to be opened (so it's obvious that it has been tampered with if such occurs). Inside the envelope, which is securely attached to the inside back cover (similar to how many computer manuals are shipped), place a unique coupon code. Get your web guys on making a fairly simple "gateway" page that people can go to, enter in their coupon code (which then gets compared against a simple database of the codes that exist), verifies the code has not been used before (in which case you notify the user that the code has already been used and they should contact their Paizo customer service for resolution - by this point you have the user's information as they need to register on the site in order to access the PDF code entry page, let's say, so you can stop them from trying an unreasonable number of codes), and generates a cart item with the reduced price (free might be too generous... and you'd have to recoup the increased costs of including such a device in each print book) for them to personalize at their leisure once payment is received.
I think that satisfies the criteria I came up with above (but I really have NO IDEA about how much it would cost to have a small cardboard envelope stuffed with a unique code glued to the inside back cover of each print book) - but I don't know if I've covered all the criteria to satisfy the people who need to be convinced. :)
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Chief Technical Officer
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Hmmmmmm.... How about this: Send every print book out with a cardboard envelope that has to be "destroyed" to be opened (so it's obvious that it has been tampered with if such occurs). Inside the envelope, which is securely attached to the inside back cover (similar to how many computer manuals are shipped), place a unique coupon code.
The problem there is what happens when somebody who doesn't buy the book opens the envelope and steals the code?
If potential customers are looking for the "tamper-proof seal," perhaps they'll leave that copy on the shelf. If the retailer doesn't notice (or doesn't care), then the retailer will never sell that copy, which means he'll never reorder the book.
If the retailer does notice, he'll have to deal with the fact that inventory he has paid for is now incomplete. Maybe he tosses it, maybe he discounts it... but he's lost money he expected to make, and some might say that we're to blame for it for creating a system that allows it to happen.
If potential customers aren't looking for the seal, and they buy the book, once they discover the problem, the retailer will have a customer service issue to deal with. If he refunds the money, we're still left with the "incomplete stock" situation above; if he doesn't, we've got a customer who feels cheated, and perhaps even sorry they ever bought the book.
(You have actually found the "least bad" method we've come up with—though we haven't actually tried to price it—but we'd really like to come up with an all-win method.)
Can't this be done through the paizo store? You do it with the subscriptions. I don't see an easy way to transfer this to other stores, so I guess this could be a benefit of getting the book here instead of through Amazon.
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Can't this be done through the paizo store? You do it with the subscriptions. I don't see an easy way to transfer this to other stores, so I guess this could be a benefit of getting the book here instead of through Amazon.
As you said, it's already done with purchases through subscription - but that's because Paizo has total control over the product at all levels and can verify the purchase of a print copy before allowing the PDF download. Once the book leaves their warehouse, though, bound for a LGS, they have no reliable way of confirming it actually gets sold to the person who is now coming to the site to get the PDF.
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Wait? Wasn't there some other major company who was going to do something like this with their own books? Hm, for some reason their name slips my mind at the present time. >:-)
I'm up for it though. Already prepaid for mine on Amazon along with the Bestiary, but still plan on getting second copy of corebook through FLGS. Dang my compulsion to own two copies of every book I actually use.
So I've been thinking on this a little bit.
1) Some players really want to support their local gamestore, even if it means paying a premium over buying online. (By some, I mean me, at the very least).
2) Game store owners would like to find a way to make some money from PDF sales, or at least not lose sales to online buying.
3) Product security is a issue. Generally speaking, books are available for browsing prior to purchase.
So. What if Paizo offered PDF's as a product available to gamestores? They could do it through a sealed envelope with a one-time code. The gamestore would keep them under glass, like Magic card packs or D&D Mini boosters. You don't need to browse a code, since it's not a book.
If they did this, then it opens up the possibility of Paizo making available deals where the customer buys both Hardcover and PDF and gets some additional discount. Maybe it would still cost more than what Paizo would charge for the two together, but less than what the customer would have to pay by buying separately.
I've been trying to think what the downside for Paizo is, or what their concerns over security might be. Obviously, they'd have to package the code, but even a piece of folded glossy cardstock with small adhesive seals on each open edge would be sufficient.
Criticisms?
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So I've been thinking on this a little bit.
1) Some players really want to support their local gamestore, even if it means paying a premium over buying online. (By some, I mean me, at the very least).
2) Game store owners would like to find a way to make some money from PDF sales, or at least not lose sales to online buying.
3) Product security is a issue. Generally speaking, books are available for browsing prior to purchase.
So. What if Paizo offered PDF's as a product available to gamestores? They could do it through a sealed envelope with a one-time code. The gamestore would keep them under glass, like Magic card packs or D&D Mini boosters. You don't need to browse a code, since it's not a book.
If they did this, then it opens up the possibility of Paizo making available deals where the customer buys both Hardcover and PDF and gets some additional discount. Maybe it would still cost more than what Paizo would charge for the two together, but less than what the customer would have to pay by buying separately.
I've been trying to think what the downside for Paizo is, or what their concerns over security might be. Obviously, they'd have to package the code, but even a piece of folded glossy cardstock with small adhesive seals on each open edge would be sufficient.
Criticisms?
Most games stores are not going to want to buy in to that. Product under glass is a product that can't be perused. If the code and book are seperated then it's another thing to inventory. Shop owners don't want to deal with returns if the can't recover the code. some dealers will just pass out the code and not deal with giving the codes that the customers deserve.
Download with purchace is a lose/lose situation.
I don't even know why a .pdf is necessary. I'd much rather have the (Open Content) rules in a web site like d20srd.org (which is also available in a localized version for a small price). And I think such a web site is inevitable, whether Paizo is planning one or not, so I'm not personally worried about getting a .pdf version; a hyperlinked version would be even better.
Hmm. Just brainstorming here:
How about a multi-step procedure?
1) Put a sticker into each FLGS copy that gives it an unique ID number (much like computer games and their serial code).
2) Create a page at paizo.com that features a randomly generated query along the lines of:
-- Enter unique book ID: --
-- Enter the following words:
-- The (random #) word on page (random)
-- The (random #2) word on page (random2)
-- The (random #3) word on page (random3)
3) Make that page link isolated from the rest of the page, meaning: don't link to that page from anywhere. Give the link to FLGS owners.
4) Every custome who gets a book at the FLGS can ask the owner about the 'activation link'.
5) Once a book ID is 'activated' (by inputting the correct characters), it will no longer function.
Upside: Should prevent the book owners' friends from downloading the PDF (since the ID was already activated, presumably). Prevents people who just browse the book in the store from being able to directly write down a 'download code'. Probably low-maintenance (since the activation page needs to be programmed once and that's it).
Downsides: Possibly costly (delays in shipping, sticker costs). Not entirely fail-safe (theoretically, someone could program a keygen such as exists for most pirated software today. Or someone might wright down the ID code and use a borrowed book to gain access to the PDF file). Depends a lot on the cooperation of FLGS owners.
Maybe someone has an idea to make this even more 'piracy-proof'?
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Hmm. Just brainstorming here:
How about a multi-step procedure?
1) Put a sticker into each FLGS copy that gives it an unique ID number (much like computer games and their serial code).
2) Create a page at paizo.com that features a randomly generated query along the lines of:
-- Enter unique book ID: --
-- Enter the following words:
-- The (random #) word on page (random)
-- The (random #2) word on page (random2)
-- The (random #3) word on page (random3)3) Make that page link isolated from the rest of the page, meaning: don't link to that page from anywhere. Give the link to FLGS owners.
4) Every custome who gets a book at the FLGS can ask the owner about the 'activation link'.
5) Once a book ID is 'activated' (by inputting the correct characters), it will no longer function.
Upside: Should prevent the book owners' friends from downloading the PDF (since the ID was already activated, presumably). Prevents people who just browse the book in the store from being able to directly write down a 'download code'. Probably low-maintenance (since the activation page needs to be programmed once and that's it).
Downsides: Possibly costly (delays in shipping, sticker costs). Not entirely fail-safe (theoretically, someone could program a keygen such as exists for most pirated software today. Or someone might wright down the ID code and use a borrowed book to gain access to the PDF file). Depends a lot on the cooperation of FLGS owners.
Maybe someone has an idea to make this even more 'piracy-proof'?
I don't think you can. What happens when the book is returned to the store and the the associated PDF is already downloaded? Or some store clerk steals the code.
i'm pretty sure this has been thought of before. Remember that you are going to have to make this work at a books-a-million as well as a FLGS.
I don't even know why a .pdf is necessary. I'd much rather have the (Open Content) rules in a web site like d20srd.org (which is also available in a localized version for a small price). And I think such a web site is inevitable, whether Paizo is planning one or not, so I'm not personally worried about getting a .pdf version; a hyperlinked version would be even better.
I think they've already said that they will do an online version of whatever their SRD is called. And even if not, you can be sure others will, too.
Still, I want an actual PDF, too.
I like this idea a lot. It would actually send me to my LGS.
Send out a stack of cd roms with each book shipment. Instruct the retailer to keep them behind the counter and hand them out with purchased copies, and put a leaf in the front cover telling the buyer to turn in the leaf for the PDF cd. presto.
This might actually be cheaper than putting the CD in the book, too.
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The problem with anything the retailer has to hand out, is that there are plenty of stores that will just give them out. The people working behind the counter will give them to friends, etc. While this may not seem a huge detriment, what happens when someone buys a book and there are no more cds/envelopes, etc. Then they either complain to paizo, which will eventually get to be mor trouble than it is worth if there are lots of complaints, or they put the book back and now the store doesn't sell out, and never orders more. I am sure many stores will keep inventory, but there are those that don't and remember how many stores that these books will be going to.
The problem with anything the retailer has to hand out, is that there are plenty of stores that will just give them out. The people working behind the counter will give them to friends, etc. While this may not seem a huge detriment, what happens when someone buys a book and there are no more cds/envelopes, etc. Then they either complain to paizo, which will eventually get to be mor trouble than it is worth if there are lots of complaints, or they put the book back and now the store doesn't sell out, and never orders more. I am sure many stores will keep inventory, but there are those that don't and remember how many stores that these books will be going to.
I agree. Free handouts tend not to stay where they are supposed to. Which is why I thought packaging them as a separate product with possibly some buy the book and get the PDF at a discounted price deal might work. If they are simply an inventory item that the dealer can buy, then I can support my FLGS buy having them place the order and get a slice of my money. If I can get both book and pdf from my FLGS, I'm much happier, my gamestore is much happier, and Paizo will see more of my and my gamestores money in the long run.
As cool as the subscription service is here at Paizo, I'd feel really bad if I subscribed and cut my FLGS (where I spend way too much of my time) out of the loop. They have to sell product to stay in business and I need to buy product from them as a part of enjoying their play space.
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(You have actually found the "least bad" method we've come up with—though we haven't actually tried to price it—but we'd really like to come up with an all-win method.)
surelly you have though this already...
generate a number of codes depending how many books are sent to this or that store... maybe in special label... so when they buy the book the shop owner can put the label on the book...
yes this has the option "what happens if the labels don't arrive" well this mighr be able to be reprinted and just destroy or take down the original ones
if someone buys the book and the code doesn't work then is a problem with the retailer... but i think this would be less of a problem.
just need to be sure what labels are sent where...
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Here's a thought... it might not be a good one, but it's a thought nonetheless... :)
Have a portal for approved vendors to access. Through this portal they buy x number of coupon codes. Paizo charges $2 less than the normal price they would charge a non-vendor (or $3, or whatever... enough that there is a very small profit for the store), and the vendor can then sell these coupon codes at the store for a very small profit (perhaps even undercutting Paizo by $1 to bring people in, or selling it at cost just to get people to come into the store... or they offer it at cost if the person buys a print book, or $2 more if they don't, or something... I'm sure they can be creative). It costs Paizo only a little bit (a couple of dollars off every PDF - only Paizo knows what kind of hit they would take for that), the LGS gets something to value-add to the package, and there is little chance of fraud since the store has already paid for the coupon code. The worst that happens is a whole whack of coupon codes get sold for less than they could be obtained directly from Paizo - but that's why you keep the profit margin very small for the LGS and just let them use it to entice people into the store. You could write off the difference in price as marketing expenses, honestly. There might be people unwilling to drop the money on a print book that might be interested in a deal on the PDF to have a look at it first. Anyone who buys the PDF instead of the print book would only have done that from anywhere else anyway, so you aren't losing a sale of the print book.
When the vendor is approved (through whatever method Paizo determines is appropriate - maybe they could work with their distributor to see who buys the print versions, as you wouldn't want these to get to an online-only place that has no hope of ever doing anything but selling the PDF), then they pay for the coupon codes just like they would any other stock. The assigned coupon codes are keyed to the vendor - of which he is made very aware, in case there is a large case of fraud involved somewhere. The coupon code is transferred to the customer, who then comes to the Paizo site, sees all the awesomeness that is here, and dumps the rest of his paycheck on cool stuff while he's buying his PDF (well, OK, that might be a little more optimistic than realistic). Paizo could even then take advantage of it further by offering something else (a reduced price on an older product PDF, for example, or a mass coupon code like the current PDFLove one) for people who redeem these vendor-supplied PDF codes for the Core Rulebook to be used on Pathfinder Chronicles material, or some other subset of available material.
For those shops that have an internet connection it could even be done live (once the shop is an approved vendor) for customers. For those that don't, they go in and buy their stock from home (or from the public library, or something - anywhere with an internet connection) and take the codes to the store. A template could be made that has a nice printable coupon or something... 10 to a page so printing is not a cost factor, for example (if they buy 10 at a time, of course - otherwise there could either be multiple templates, or just blanks where there is no corresponding coupon). This would provide the opportunity to give instructions on how to redeem the PDF coupon at the Paizo website.
Duplicate codes would have to come from the same shop, so make the vendors responsible for any duplicate codes with the same vendor code. Duplicate codes with different vendor codes... well that either means a system error or someone scammed the codes from a different shop and sold them at their own place multiple times. Chances are good that you could include some kind of licencing agreement as part of the vendor approval which precludes selling codes for resale.
Anyway... off the top of my head... I won't even feel bad if you poke it full of holes. :)
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Okay, here's how you do it.
You package the PDF like Apple packages iTunes gift cards. The front of the card has fancy Pathfinder artwork labeling it as specific products. The back of the card has directions for acquiring said PDF and a scratch off section that reveals the code to recover said PDF. The directions send the buyer to the Paizo web store where they basically order the product and insert the code getting the product for free. End of transaction. The return policy is that as long as the code hasn’t been scratched off it can be returned to Paizo for full refund by the retailer. Problem solved.
As for how to secure it, create special displays that retailers can set on their counter that include a way to lock up the product or keep it in view.
Paizo could use this method to sell tons of PDF products via the store by creating separate gift cards that are redeemable via the Paizo web store. Amounts could include $5, $10, $20, $50 or higher. I think a lot of retailers would be up for something like this if the proper security features were included and they were educated in the way to sell the product. The key would be implementing how to activate the gift card which that could be done by making deals with companies that provide gift card programs. Software that interacts with standard credit card machines might be an option, but that’s getting technical and beyond my current knowledge. The key feature is that once the card was activated it would let Paizo know that the code is valid for use and help them, as well as the retailer, find those who steal the cards.
The bonus with this method is that it could be a market strategy the whole industry could get use to increase sales. WotC or RPGNow, for example, could also offer in-store gift cards so people without credit cards could then purchase from them but allow the local retail a piece of the pie.
As for including the PDF with the book you use the cards but then do like they did with 3.0 and stick it in a sealed plastic folder in the back with advisory to shrink wrap the product, if not pre-shrink wrap it.
(You have actually found the "least bad" method we've come up with—though we haven't actually tried to price it—but we'd really like to come up with an all-win method.)
Have you considered making the PDFs a bonus for purchasing a box set or prestige edition? Something that could be put on a CD placed inside the shrink-wrapped slipcase?
Okay, here's how you do it.
You package the PDF like Apple packages iTunes gift cards. (snip)
Teh internetz ate my post, so I'll just repost the relevant link:
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You still have the same problem as other codes, where unscrupulous attendants (or customers) can pull them out. Paizo could let the storeowner know that they are responsible for the cards, and any returns are thier problem, but you just have to keep in mind, that Paizo is not Wizards. As much as we love them and think of them as the next big thing, storeowners may not be willing to do that much work for a 3rd party company. My local store carries pathfinder, but not much of it. I wish I could have the same stories as other saying it is selling out more than the wizards stuff but it isn't. Wizard's has a huge rack, Paizo, a small shelf space. (Most of thier purchases come from me). Paizo has to try to keep it as simple for the vendor as possible, otherwise they risk the vendor not carrying the item, or buying just a few and letting the bad ones sit on the shelf and never ordering more. Smaller company that don;t have the pull a WoTC might have may not have the same option. I think Vic does a great job of trying to keep that balance of making store owners keep buying and satisfy the fans too.
Have you considered making the PDFs a bonus for purchasing a box set or prestige edition? Something that could be put on a CD placed inside the shrink-wrapped slipcase?
If I recall correctly, box sets have their own problems.
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Okay, here's how you do it.
You package the PDF like Apple packages iTunes gift cards. (snip)
Teh internetz ate my post, so I'll just repost the relevant link:
See that's where the problem can be fixed with Paizo in that only honest people are going to mess with the cards. Cause if the cards can only be used for the purchase of PDFs why would a hacker go through the trouble to crack a code for something they can just download for free anyway via an illegal download? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me.
I can hear the hackerz ribbing the guy. "You cracked a code for something we were already downloading??? Gratz on wasting time when you could have been hacking Second Life."
See that's where the problem can be fixed with Paizo in that only honest people are going to mess with the cards. Cause if the cards can only be used for the purchase of PDFs why would a hacker go through the trouble to crack a code for something they can just download for free anyway via an illegal download? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me.
I can hear the hackerz ribbing the guy. "You cracked a code for something we were already downloading??? Gratz on wasting time when you could have been hacking Second Life."
That argument applies to iTunes as well. The hacker would do the same thing the iTunes hackers did, which is sell the codes at a 'deep discont' to people who don't know they're stolen/cracked.
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I still think worrying about hackers going after some small industry is over reacting and the charges for counterfeiting are a lot bigger than theft since it could be viewed as a form of legal tender since it is activated via a credit card machine. Also iTunes has a bigger market that can camouflage a little better activities such as hacking. First duplicate that shows up you contact the buyers and find out where they got their cards.
If anything you could limit sales to licensed brick and mortar retailers and print right on the card that it has to be activated in-store and is not to be sold online. You limit the license to stores that have been in business for more than a year and have known dealings with reputable distributors that can verify their existence. To educate the customers and retailers you do a small marketing campaign of in store posters and magazine adds explaining how it works. If after all that it gets hacked I'd think it would be easy to isolate where it's coming from if it's originating from a fake store or even an online business. Role-playing doesn't have millions of people a day trying to download files, maybe a few thousand which is a lot easier to manage and monitor.
I still think worrying about hackers going after some small industry is over reacting and the charges for counterfeiting are a lot bigger than theft since it could be viewed as a form of legal tender since it is activated via a credit card machine. Also iTunes has a bigger market that can camouflage a little better activities such as hacking. First duplicate that shows up you contact the buyers and find out where they got their cards.
If anything you could limit sales to licensed brick and mortar retailers and print right on the card that it has to be activated in-store and is not to be sold online. You limit the license to stores that have been in business for more than a year and have known dealings with reputable distributors that can verify their existence. To educate the customers and retailers you do a small marketing campaign of in store posters and magazine adds explaining how it works. If after all that it gets hacked I'd think it would be easy to isolate where it's coming from if it's originating from a fake store or even an online business. Role-playing doesn't have millions of people a day trying to download files, maybe a few thousand which is a lot easier to manage and monitor.
My local FLGS is also a comics store, sports memorobilia store, card store and so on. There's almost always a line to get a clerk to help you with anything, even as simple as picking up your comics subscription. And they just had to close their local branch, so now they're not so local anymore.
As a consumer, what I'm really wanting in a PDF is a CD slipped in an envelope mounted inside the back cover (as with the 3.0 PHB char gen demo CD), so that five years down the road, after migrating computers a couple times and possibly having hard drive troubles (judging on past history) I can still access the PDF without having to worry about publisher website policy changes, looking through disorganized backup CDs, asking friends if they have a copy, or dealing with any other headaches.
If the PDF were physically incorporated into the hardcopy--not a code to be redeemed via the internet, but an actual memory storage device--then the retailers could easily be brought into the PDF loop, without having to hire extra clerks at extra expense and so on.
CDs in back cover pockets are the most obvious choice. It might also be possible to incorporate some sort of USB stick into a fob going at the end of a ribbon bookmark incorporated into the spine of a hardback, but of course these things all add to production costs.
Actual cut-out-and-mail-in coupons are another possibility, with virtually no extra printing costs and no hassle for FLGS, but that causes extra time expenses at the publisher with someone hired to open the envelopes, and extra havok for the consumer since those things always have some expiration date.
I don't believe that it's that hard to make this work. Where there's a will, there's a way.
This is going to be intesesting: wizards going out of their way to support local stores, paizo pushing hard for online sales.
Well, for certain values of "support local stores" with Wizards.
Looking at their requirements to get the perks, the store has to not only have play space for customers, but to organize tournaments as well.
I have been in stores with play space, and while that can be nice, it's a different business model than your average mall gamestore, which does sell games and cards, but also puzzles, comics and so on.
Haven't seen that part.
You can argue about its execution, but the general idea isn't that bad: Force them to be decent stores who offer more than just books at a price significantly above what amazon could offer.
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I spend a lot of time at my FLGS. I really absolutely do not mind paying a higher price there for a book than I can buy on Amazon, because if I do not buy from them, then they won't be there as a hub of local gaming.
AMEN! - I am right there with you. I only wish that more people were willing to pay a bit extra for all the value added they receive from their FLGS. Cheapness is killing us in all areas of our lives, and gaming is no exception. When that good store goes away, where will you find out about and have a chance to try great games like Spirit of the Century or Burning Wheel ???? Who will let you know about new products like the Game Mastery initiative tracker??? (saw it at a game night and bought it the same night!) As much as we all learn from the internet, when push comes to shove this is a face to face hobby, and the best place to meet those faces is the FLGS.
Hopefully Paizo will find a way to support the small game shops. These are the places people find out about the latest games and the best products. They are an essential marketing arm for Paizo and well worth the small dip in profit margin (wholesale is about 45% off, subscription is 30%). I'm running a Pathfinder game at a game night next week, introducing more people to PFRPG.
AMEN! - I am right there with you. I only wish that more people were willing to pay a bit extra for all the value added they receive from their FLGS.
Only makes sense if the LGS is F. There are a lot of LLGS out there (Lousy Local Gaming Stores). They deserve to be crushed by amazon.