I'm sorry if this has been discussed, I don't hang out on these forums much and didn't see this particular discussion when searching...
Has there been discussion around doing PDF discounts if you buy a rulebook direct from Paizo.com? I understand the reasons for increasing the PDF prices for standalone purchases (helping third-party publishers), but often I like to pair a physical book with the PDF. Looking at the CRB alone, that's a $75 total for book + PDF.
I realize the subscription provides free PDFs but also requires you to purchase every P2 release whether you want it or not.
I want to support Paizo directly as much as I can and I feel like a PDF discount when purchasing a hardcopy would be a happy middle ground between the subscription and purchasing the book from somewhere else altogether.
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I realize the subscription provides free PDFs but also requires you to purchase every P2 release whether you want it or not.
You're not "required" to purchase every release; people can (and do) end their subscriptions when they don't want an upcoming release and they can (and do) resubscribe when there's something coming up they want.
Subscriptions are valuable to Paizo, as it gives them data on which to base the size of their print runs, and in most cases, the free PDF is the only perk that a subscription provides. If anyone buying direct from Paizo get the same perk, there's no incentive to subscribe.
Also, if you can get a free PDF with purchase of any product at any time, it disincentivizes purchases at time of release, which leads to storing more inventory in a warehouse, which increases costs. I've subscribed to the Adventure Paths for years, even though I've only ever run three of them, because getting the free PDF is a high value for me. If I could just grab a free-PDF-with-physical-copy at any time, I would certainly drop my subscription and just buy books when I know I'm about to need them.
Vic Wertz on a similar suggestion:
The plan you propose would essentially take the same benefits that monthly subscribers get and give them to people who drop in every six months and buy six months worth of product. But frankly, even though the credit card processing costs are higher, we'd rather get $13 a month for six months than $78 every six months; predictable monthly income, and predictable print run sizing, are the entire point of our subscription business.
Also, we want to make sure that the best time to subscribe is always "the sooner, the better". What you're proposing effectively provides retroactive subscriber benefits, and changes the best time to subscribe to "whenever."
Also, if you can get a free PDF with purchase of any product at any time, it disincentivizes purchases at time of release, which leads to storing more inventory in a warehouse, which increases costs. I've subscribed to the Adventure Paths for years, even though I've only ever run three of them, because getting the free PDF is a high value for me. If I could just grab a free-PDF-with-physical-copy at any time, I would certainly drop my subscription and just buy books when I know I'm about to need them.
To be clear I'm not asking for free PDFs, but discounted ones. This model is already in place at other online retailers (for one, Amazon books + Kindle versions or audiobooks at a discount - and I say that realizing that the scales are significantly different in this case, just providing a real-world example of the model).
But otherwise - you both bring up good points for consideration, particularly on Vic's/Paizo's desire for predictable income. I don't know that I'm entirely convinced the model wouldn't work for both Paizo and the consumer, however I've said my peace as a consumer.