Unless you're getting multiple discounts this just isn't worth it. I have Amazon Prime with free 2 day shipping and I can get these adventure packs for 15 to 16 dollars and delivered to my door in 2 days. I love Pazio but having had to wait on items from pazio, we all know how bad that can be. Or at least I do personally.
There needs to be a much better offer or some speedy shipping before I would consider using your automated system.
I do not know if you are a collector or not, but for a few people out there, just getting the promo cards is worth it. If you weigh the cost savings that you may get from having Amazon Prime on shipping, to the cost of actually having Amazon Prime, and the cost cost of the promo itself through third party sites, I think that you will find the subscription very much worth it. But it really depends on how you feel about the promo cards. Even if you don't care about them, I think that the cost of having Amazon Prime for the year puts the price at a wash, anyways.
There are also other benefits of having the subscription, other than just getting the discount. For instance, I don't even have to worry about ordering the next adventure, and get to be pleasantly surprised when it arrives on its own.
No, just a player. You have some good points. The main thing for me is the shipping but I guess if you have the subscription you're not as worried about it because you will get your items in a timely manner. I just looked on Amazon and compared the prices and for me it's better to just order them from Amazon and receive them on time. Since this card game has been out for a while I am behind so there isn't much sense for me to get a subscription.
I put the subscription in my cart to see what happens and it starts me out on adventure path 5 of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure. It seems to me that you should be able to select which adventure pack you want to start with. As a new player if I was going to get a subscription then I would have wanted to start with deck 2 and then have them send me out the next sets on schedule. I realize that those decks are already out but they should take into consideration where you are in the game. I'm sure I'm not the only one to show up late to this game.
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Point One: Paizo is okay with you buying this from Amazon, they really are. They make money either way.
Point Two: Paizo can not compete with Amazon on prices.
Point Three: The subscription model only works if it starts with the most recent or the next item in the subscription.
Point Three addendum: also I believe that all discounts apply to anything in the line, whether it is the current item in the subscription or "back issues".
It took close to two weeks after initial release to the subscribers to get Sins of Saviors off of Amazon because of how fast it sold out. So you may not receive as early or on time as you may think. I will say what sold me to this is Ranzak promo character for S&S. To each his own MaxxGold
The idea of the subscription is that you get the latest release as soon as it is released. You can still purchase all previous releases.
Also keep in mind the game isn't a continuous game. This month will be the last release for Rise of the Runelords. If you start subscribing with Skull and Shackles, you will get every part of the skull and shackles game, which is a separate game from Rise of the Runelords. Or you could start with Sins of the Saviors (RotR5) or Spires of Xin-Shalast (RotR6) if you wanted to get their promo cards, or get them quickly (in the case of Spires of Xin-Shalast).
And subscribers should get their orders prior to when Amazon can ship it.
Don't get new wrong, I think Paizo will be perfectly happy to have you buy their product from Amazon, especially if that is what makes you able to purchase the game. But the subscription does have it's advantages, and for many people they are worth the price.
I actually sympathize with you. I didn't discover the game until October, and didn't start buying until November. I actually bought from Amazon at the beginning. I got a few of the decks for $15. I even got two of my decks before subscribers because Amazon goofed and shipped them before they were supposed to. But despite that, I saw the benefits of the subscription ($20 for me after shipping) being worth it.
One thing to consider, if you have a friend who is also buying the game, you can have one person subscribe for double of each item. There is a good chance that will allow you to get 2 items but keep the shipping the same price as 1 item. Customer Service can help you set that up.
Chief Technical Officer
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Point One: Paizo is okay with you buying this from Amazon, they really are. They make money either way.
Point Two: Paizo can not compete with Amazon on prices.
Point Three: The subscription model only works if it starts with the most recent or the next item in the subscription.
Point Three addendum: also I believe that all discounts apply to anything in the line, whether it is the current item in the subscription or "back issues".
Correct on the first three, but not the last. The discount on Ultra•Pro accessories is always available to subscribers, but for the actual subscription products, the discount only applies to items that you receive as part of your subscription.
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Correct on the first three, but not the last. The discount on Ultra•Pro accessories is always available to subscribers, but for the actual subscription products, the discount only applies to items that you receive as part of your subscription.Point One: Paizo is okay with you buying this from Amazon, they really are. They make money either way.
Point Two: Paizo can not compete with Amazon on prices.
Point Three: The subscription model only works if it starts with the most recent or the next item in the subscription.
Point Three addendum: also I believe that all discounts apply to anything in the line, whether it is the current item in the subscription or "back issues".
To rephrase MeatLoaf "3 out of 4 aint bad?"
I wasn't very confident about the last one, guess I should have left it off.
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This sort of question or issue has been raised and discussed many times over since the game's release, e.g. here, and here, or here, etc.
You definitely have the choice of purchasing from Amazon at a somewhat lower price or purchasing from Paizo, which may cost a bit more if shipping costs are considered. There are many different things that go into the "value proposition" for this decision: speed of shipping, timeliness of receiving product after release, promo cards, whether or not you've already sunk money into Amazon Prime and want to leverage that investment, and more. By all means, choose whatever option works best for you, but I personally find the guarantee of receiving every promo card to more than offset any potential cost-increase vis à vis Amazon. To each his own.
One more thing to add. If anyone doesn't care about the promo cards, then they should really also consider subscribing, especially if they live in the US. Some of the promo cards for RotR were selling for $30+ on ebay. Poog looks like he is down to a more "reasonable" $15 while Fire Sneeze is still around $20.
So if you don't want the promo cards, subscribe, sell the promo card, and the sale of the promo card will probably put the final price (product + shipping - promo card sale) at a lower price point than Amazon (product + free shipping). You'll get the produce sooner, save money, and have access to discounts on all the accessories. (Though why you wouldn't want those wonderful promo cards, I don't know...)
Living in a Country where Credit Cards are not all that whidespread I can't even get to the point where I see the shipping costs.
Then again I know from multiple experiences that shipping from the US to Germany is not exactly the cheapest.
Plus the 20% Suscripion bonus are instantly eaten up by taxes and customs, leaving me with a price similar to local sources (unfortunatly no hobbystores in a reasonable range) plus transatlantic shipping.
So yes, Suscription might not be the best option for everyone. And no I wouldn't even think about selling Promos to make a quick buck.