Anyhow, the topic comes up on the blogosphere fairly frequently... what is the proper pricing of a PDF?
To my mind, there are many questions that need to be answered before the first question can be addressed...
Is there a ratio between PDF and Paper pricing of the same item?
What price point is too high, no matter the number of the pages (size)?
Is there a page to price ratio that you, as a consumer, use to evaluate PDF value?
Do certain publishers deserve a premium price for their PDFs? If so, why?
Is FREE a selling point for you, or something the consumer should avoid? Does a $1 price point imply more value then FREE? Why?
Does top shelf art add value to a PDF the same way it adds value to a paper product?
Are lower production values accepted for a PDF product then the same in paper?
Does finding a PDF product is also available as a Print on Demand product add value to the PDF? How about a PDF / POD Bundle?
This is something that is very interesting to me. I have a $30.00 USD book at $15.00 USD for download and have discounted it to $13.50. Do you think this is too high? It is an 80+ page book. If so, why?
ReplyDeleteMy take:
ReplyDelete$0 - I'll grab just about anything that's free.
upto $4 - I might impulse buy based on nothing more than the title and/or blurb.
$4-7 - The product needs to fill a need, seriously impress with it's blurb and/or preview, or have recieved good reviews.
$7-10 - Gotta have lots of really great reviews.
$10+ - I'll simply click on by as soon as see the price.
Tenkar, I'd answer your questions as such:
ratio between PDF and Paper: No
price point too high: over $10
page to price ratio: not really
premium publishers: No
FREE as selling point: No, but I'll likely grab it.
$1 imply more value: No
Top shelf art: a little bit, but not much, though graphics heavy PDFs (especially background images) actually somewhat detract.
lower production values: not really
PDFs add value to POD, POD doesn't add value to PDF
@DrDrucker - I appreciate the answers. Over $10 can get me to think twice, even for stuff I like. Still, every rule has an exception.
ReplyDelete@ArmChairGeneral - Any PDF over $10ish makes me really think before pulling the trigger. It's certainly not going to be an impulse buy for me. Doesn't mean i wouldn't buy it... just that it would take considerably more thought before deciding yes.
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ReplyDeleteI was thinking about this the other day. I've recently seen a OSR publisher ask $6 for 12 pages of material. 12 pages? Thats it? Some adventures I've designed and purchased have at least 6 pages of art alone. The next item I saw was for $3.99 for around 35 pages. Now, to me, thats more like it. Those are the facts of how I see it.
ReplyDelete