Subject: "No Reprints"
GregStolze - 07/27/2003 14:08:52
I've been reading the reactions to the "no reprints of old
WoD stuff" part of the ToJ announcement, and I THINK I can
offer a little solace, explanation, calming influence or
whatever.
I've got insider perspective on the book trade and on the RPG
trade, and this may help clarify things.
"No reprints" does not mean "the supplements will be
immediately unavailable." Here's the usual lifespan of a
supplement.
STAGE ONE: It comes out and gets about 50-90% of all the
sales it will EVER get. That 40% swing there is pretty wide,
yes, but I"m guessing that with WW's market penetration (it's
in most stores) and promotional budget (they actually HAVE
one), they tend to be more towards the high end of that
percentage. After all, they can advertise ahead and get fans
really primed to buy the books. So most of your sales of any
book take place within the first couple months. This is the
stage at which your books make you the most money.
STAGE TWO: The remaining books lay around your warehouse and
trickle out. If there's good buzz and reviews, your book may
develop some legs and get good reorders from stores for a
while to come. But it's almost unprecedented for the
majority of sales to occur acter the first 2-3 months. (This
is less true for core rule books.) At this stage, your book
is still making you money, but it's also costing you money
because you have to pay to warehouse it and you don't get
bulk price breaks shipping small quantities.
STAGE THREE: You're selling almost no copies, you're paying
taxes on the unsold books and you're still warehousing them.
This is the stage where the book is actually COSTING you
money, so this is the stage where you call a company to pulp
them. My guess is that few WoD books make it to stage three,
because they get rid of them by making them contest prizes or
the subject of deep discounts before that.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Most people who rilly rilly want pre-ToJ supplements are
probably going to be able to get them from WW or through
local stores. Can you go buy Clanbook: Giovanni Revised
right now? Sure. That came out a couple years back. So it
stands to reason that you'll be able to buy "Saviors and
Destroyers" a couple years from now. CB: GioRev probably
never got a second printing. Hell, I'd guess that almost NO
supplements get a second printing, unless they completely
sell out in Stage One.
Hope this makes things clearer. And, of course, I hope I'm
right about this.
-G.