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I know this has been asked and discussed a couple times over the years, I only ask again because I am torn between subscribing and supporting my FLGS.
It hasn't been such an issue until recently as my local game store owner has really stepped up his support of Pathfinder and organized PFS play overall.
I will end up canceling all my subscriptions I think. If only there was a way to get subscriber benefits through my local store.
Like one download coupon per physical copy that the game store could give to people who purchase the books.
Tam
This topic has come up a number of times in the past. The answer is that it is something we'd be interested in, but it isn't something we're currently planning on, largely because we have yet to find a good way to actually do it.
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This topic has come up a number of times in the past. The answer is that it is something we'd be interested in, but it isn't something we're currently planning on, largely because we have yet to find a good way to actually do it.
Thank you for your reply Ross.
There seems to still be no alternative in sight. Given that, I do hereby, with quite the heavy heart, ask that all my subscriptions be cancelled so that I may transfer my patronage to my local game store where I hope it will do the most good.
Thank you,
Tambryn
aka:Shane Walden
Tambryn, if you could repost your request in the Customer Service forum that would be great (I should remember this tomorrow, but if I don't...) :)
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Tambryn, if you could repost your request in the Customer Service forum that would be great (I should remember this tomorrow, but if I don't...) :)
Holy crap. I really did post it to Customer Service knowing that it would probably end with subscription cancellation. Some sneaky little ninja moved it while I wasn't looking.
Tam
Some sneaky little ninja moved it while I wasn't looking.
That was me, sorry.
why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.
or, if that is too much hassle, how about a 1 or 2 dollar off coupon for the pdf if you buy the hardcover through a FLGS ?
I did remember! Tambryn, you should be getting a confirmation email with all of the details.
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why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.
or, if that is too much hassle, how about a 1 or 2 dollar off coupon for the pdf if you buy the hardcover through a FLGS ?
Basically because they're easy to steal (either by taking the card or grabbing the code) A MMO company can probably afford to loose a few of them, but it would have a big impact on Paizo.
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why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.
Those are sold by Third Party companies, not the MMO themselves, If you take a close look you will notice that the Card Subscription are more expensive then the Online with credit card subscriptions, that is how the Third Party makes their money.
With The coupons, they are hard to track and prove that you actually bought the book.
Paizo is looking for a fool proof system.
We're working on solutions, we just don't have a timeline yet, sorry.
Hyrum.
why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.
That, at least, should be not such a big problem. The scratch'n'sniff solution is not just used for WoW and thinks like Wii points, but also for pre-paid cell phone credit, or iTunes credit. You can "gas" up your cell phone at the gas station!
Sure, Blizzard, cell phone network operators, Nintendo and the Evil Fruit Company are a bit bigger than Paizo, but my (non-expert) estimation is that it can't be that big a deal.
Have scratch'n'sniff cards with codes customers enter into the promo code when getting a PDF and they get their PDF download.
Maybe also make codes available online so shopkeepers can buy them in the store and then distribute them, maybe with special conditions for shopkeepers and/or people buying enough of them.
That way, PDFs would at least be available in stores, which includes them being payable with things other than credit cards (which aren't ubiquitous all over the world.
Whether you can have subscriptions via your FLGS with that is a different thing, of course, but depending on the conditions the FLGSs get with those codes, they could set up their own subscription schemes, or maybe with this, a way can be found to allow shops to offer subscriptions.
Basically because they're easy to steal (either by taking the card or grabbing the code) A MMO company can probably afford to loose a few of them, but it would have a big impact on Paizo.
I think gaming stores, or at least the decent ones, know how to sell card-shaped items without them getting stolen. Keep them behind the counter, maybe in a glass case you can lock up. Or, since you don't have to show every single card, you can just have a "Electric Golem Cards Here!" sign or something and keep them in the vault.
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I think gaming stores, or at least the decent ones, know how to sell card-shaped items without them getting stolen. Keep them behind the counter, maybe in a glass case you can lock up. Or, since you don't have to show every single card, you can just have a "Electric Golem Cards Here!" sign or something and keep them in the vault.
Basically because they're easy to steal (either by taking the card or grabbing the code) A MMO company can probably afford to loose a few of them, but it would have a big impact on Paizo.
Actually those MMO cards, like most gift cards, are useless until rung up at a cashier. That's why they're so ubiquitous, the store doesn't "pay" for it until it's sold and the card isn't activated until it's sold either. I'd imagine setting up that activation process from POS machines is the hardest part and why you only see those cards at larger stores. I would imagine a FLGS would have problems setting up an activation process like that on their POS.
why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.That, at least, should be not such a big problem. The scratch'n'sniff solution is not just used for WoW and thinks like Wii points, but also for pre-paid cell phone credit, or iTunes credit. You can "gas" up your cell phone at the gas station!
Sure, Blizzard, cell phone network operators, Nintendo and the Evil Fruit Company are a bit bigger than Paizo, but my (non-expert) estimation is that it can't be that big a deal.
Have scratch'n'sniff cards with codes customers enter into the promo code when getting a PDF and they get their PDF download.
Maybe also make codes available online so shopkeepers can buy them in the store and then distribute them, maybe with special conditions for shopkeepers and/or people buying enough of them.
That way, PDFs would at least be available in stores, which includes them being payable with things other than credit cards (which aren't ubiquitous all over the world.
Whether you can have subscriptions via your FLGS with that is a different thing, of course, but depending on the conditions the FLGSs get with those codes, they could set up their own subscription schemes, or maybe with this, a way can be found to allow shops to offer subscriptions.
Those types of cards generally are protected from theft by not being "activated" until they are purchased at the register. Which means they require fancy POS systems that talk to a bigger company somewhere.
Paizo simply hasn't the resources to work with check-system vendors to get our cards linked into their system: we'd have to work with a third party, like Dragnmoon pointed out. And even then, it wouldn't work for a lot of game stores. I know I've been in a fair number of stores that relied on adding-machine style registers, or barcode systems that only returned a price, not the actual item being sold.
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why cant paizo put out something like a game card for MMOs but for the PDFs. a piece of card stock with a scratch off redemption number that can be entered here.That, at least, should be not such a big problem. The scratch'n'sniff solution is not just used for WoW and thinks like Wii points, but also for pre-paid cell phone credit, or iTunes credit. You can "gas" up your cell phone at the gas station!
Sure, Blizzard, cell phone network operators, Nintendo and the Evil Fruit Company are a bit bigger than Paizo, but my (non-expert) estimation is that it can't be that big a deal.
Have scratch'n'sniff cards with codes customers enter into the promo code when getting a PDF and they get their PDF download.
Maybe also make codes available online so shopkeepers can buy them in the store and then distribute them, maybe with special conditions for shopkeepers and/or people buying enough of them.
That way, PDFs would at least be available in stores, which includes them being payable with things other than credit cards (which aren't ubiquitous all over the world.
Whether you can have subscriptions via your FLGS with that is a different thing, of course, but depending on the conditions the FLGSs get with those codes, they could set up their own subscription schemes, or maybe with this, a way can be found to allow shops to offer subscriptions.
Those types of cards generally are protected from theft by not being "activated" until they are purchased at the register. Which means they require fancy POS systems that talk to a bigger company somewhere.
Paizo simply hasn't the resources to work with check-system vendors to get our cards linked into their system: we'd have to work with a third party, like Dragnmoon pointed out. And even then, it wouldn't work for a lot of game stores. I know I've been in a fair number of stores that relied on adding-machine style registers, or barcode systems that only returned a price, not the actual item being...
What about having a way for game stores to sell 'subscriptions' for you and have the books shipped to the store for pick-up, and allow the stores to log onto the site and flag an account as having picked up the books and unlock the PDFs for download?
What about having a way for game stores to sell 'subscriptions' for you and have the books shipped to the store for pick-up, and allow the stores to log onto the site and flag an account as having picked up the books and unlock the PDFs for download?
I have to say, this seems like a decent way for people to use a FLGS to save on overall shipping costs, and seems like it could be set up mostly on Paizo's side.
Perhaps a way to gift pdfs to someone else, so the FLGS could subscribe, get everything shipped to them, and then sell it with the PDF.
Chief Technical Officer
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There's already a recent thread about subscriptions via FLGS here.
As for selling PDFs through FLGS, we do have some ideas, and the best of those ideas require certain infrastructure related to retailer relationships to be put in place; we already intend to build much of that infrastructure this year for unrelated projects.
That's not to say we'll be selling PDFs through retail this year (or to say we won't), but that, later this year, we'll be able to have better internal discussions about if/when/how to do that.