I try not to buy RPG stuff off Amazon to support my LGS but when they have the books at 50% off the temptation is really hard not to do it.
Thanks, this is really handy for sending the books to my friends!
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I have pre-ordered the Core Rule Book, module, Lost Omens world guide, and Bestiary. Can't beat the no shipping cost.
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Disclaimer: I'm not trying to shame anyone about going with Amazon. Just want to make sure that everyone is aware of Things™.
If you can afford it, you should avoid buying off of Amazon. They offer super deep discounts, which are nice, but that means that Paizo (or whatever other publisher) is going to see much lower returns on their product. Amazon can do this because they makes enough money from other ventures to eat the deficit.
When able, you should generally try to buy directly from the publisher to offer them the highest amount of support dollars.
If I'm off-base here, I'd love for someone from Paizo to set me straight.
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Saedar, you convinced me. I will slowly sign up for the subscriptions as they become available. So far subscribed to the core rule book line and the module line. The adventure path and campaign setting are not available yet.
When can we start subscriptions for the new stuff?
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On the other hand, buying from Amazon boosts Paizo's position in The Great Algorithms of Amazon which determine who lives, who dies and who sells the book about your story.
Which, given the fact that in 10 years Amazon will rule the world and be the only place where you can buy anything, is somewhat relevant.
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On the other hand, buying from Amazon boosts Paizo's position in The Great Algorithms of Amazon which determine who lives, who dies and who sells the book about your story.
Which, given the fact that in 10 years Amazon will rule the world and be the only place where you can buy anything, is somewhat relevant.
As much as I hate what you're saying you are 100% correct.
Does Amazon generally ship the books on release date? Just curious if pre-ordering through Paizo would mean most likely getting the books earlier or not.
Amazon generally ships just before release date such that you receive the product on the release date or the day after. At least that has been my experience with various books & stuff.
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Disclaimer: I'm not trying to shame anyone about going with Amazon. Just want to make sure that everyone is aware of Things™.
If you can afford it, you should avoid buying off of Amazon. They offer super deep discounts, which are nice, but that means that Paizo (or whatever other publisher) is going to see much lower returns on their product. Amazon can do this because they makes enough money from other ventures to eat the deficit.
When able, you should generally try to buy directly from the publisher to offer them the highest amount of support dollars.
If I'm off-base here, I'd love for someone from Paizo to set me straight.
That was brought up recently and I made pretty much those points but I believe it was Vic who amended some of what I'd said by pointing out that Paizo doesn't direct-ship to Amazon. As in, Amazon also buys through distribution. As in, Paizo doesn't get a smaller cut in this case.
So, while your point is entirely valid in many cases, in this one Amazon is just like a FLGS in terms of Paizo's margin. Obviously direct-purchases involve 100% of the markup going to Paizo, but the difference from Paizo's perspective between different non-Paizo channels isn't an issue.
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I pre-ordered the Core Rulebook, Bestiary, Lost Omens and GM screen. Paizo is giving $10 off shipping on orders over $100, and since I have the Adventure Path subscription I am getting 15% off all four items. I don't know if that is better than Amazon, but it was enough to make me stick with the manufacturer.
Amazon is worth for those who live abroad. It's hard to beat their shipping costs and delivery times.
I'd subscribe in no time if they confirm the free pdfs, that would cover Paizo's shipping costs.
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I'd love it if Paizo had some kind of canadian distribution method that wasn't so cost restrictive for shipping.
When can we start subscriptions for the new stuff?
Your best bet is to monitor the subscriptions until it is possible to start a subscription with a 2nd edition item. For example, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game subscription already has the Core Rulebook up as a starting choice, so you can start that subscription now if you want. The same should be true for the Campaign Setting subscription after "Druma: Profit and Prophecy" ships, the Tyrant's Grasp map folio drops off as a starting option, and the "Lost Omens World Guide" becomes the next available starting option.
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It's worth noting that, even though I am a fan of Amazon for a lot of things, you generally do not get Paizo products anywhere close to release date. They are supplied by a supplier themselves and there is usually a significant delay (for Paizo books) for when they get books from the actual release date. In general if you want free shipping and sometimes a better price break then Amazon will work for you but if you want it at or near the release date not so much.
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It's worth noting that, even though I am a fan of Amazon for a lot of things, you generally do not get Paizo products anywhere close to release date. They are supplied by a supplier themselves and there is usually a significant delay (for Paizo books) for when they get books from the actual release date. In general if you want free shipping and sometimes a better price break then Amazon will work for you but if you want it at or near the release date not so much.
Has that changed? I ordered the playtest from Amazon and it was delivered on the release date.
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It's worth noting that, even though I am a fan of Amazon for a lot of things, you generally do not get Paizo products anywhere close to release date. They are supplied by a supplier themselves and there is usually a significant delay (for Paizo books) for when they get books from the actual release date. In general if you want free shipping and sometimes a better price break then Amazon will work for you but if you want it at or near the release date not so much.Has that changed? I ordered the playtest from Amazon and it was delivered on the release date.
I had the same experience. I ordered the playtest books from the Brazilian Amazon and I received them two days after the release.
Considering how long it would take if I ordered directly from Paizo, I thought it was kinda impressive.
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The Playtest books are an extreme exception since Paizo worked with Amazon to ship all the books, in fact only the people who ordered from Amazon directly got theirs on time >_>
For things like reguarly released products those tend to arrive significantly after the street date.
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Over the years, there have been many threads complaining about delays in receiving Pathfinder hardcovers from Amazon. They have been up to three or four months late, in some cases.
As Rysky mentioned, the Playtest was an exception (where things were reversed - Amazon preorders arrived before Paizo preorders). I can't imagine that's the new normal though.
My impression is that Amazon has improved recently (based on a dropoff in the number of complaint threads) however my guess is that Paizo subscription is the best bet if speed of delivery is your priority - the tradeoff being that Paizo shipping costs are not subsidised at all and are therefore comparatively high.
There are also the odd months when your subscription get snagged in a computer glitch. Though rare, they are incredibly frustrating since you often don't find out about it until after streetdate. :(
Thank you very much for the heads up!
bookdepository is cheaper for Japan, but I don't know about other countries.
Bookdepository is ridiculously cheap shipping wise to Australia. (Not sure on their pricing for the actual books).