I stirred up dust once before at WOTC, and now doing it again!

[Davros]

I know what you mean Larry in wanting to get complete series in the same format and preferably hardback. I had become a regular hardback buyer because the release dates are typically well ahead of the paperbacks and I don't mind paying extra for the quality of a hard back. Lately though, the market is being saturated with these trade paperbacks.

I hate the format and wish they kept to the formula of bringing out the hardback first. Forced to chose between waiting or collecting hardbacks I have stuck with buying the first available copy of books rather than waiting. Probably the best case in point is my collection of Robin Hobbs books :

Assassin Apprentice - paperback when I discovered the series
Royal Assassin - hardback (great quality)
Assassins quest - TRADE PAPERBACK - Arrrrrggghhh!!!

Ship of Magic - hardback
Mad Ship - paperback - American version - different artwork (I was travelling)
Ship of Destiny - paperback

The Tawny man - TRADE PAPERBACK - Arrrrrggghhh!!!
The Golden Fool - TRADE PAPERBACK - Arrrrrggghhh!!!
Fools Fate - TRADE PAPERBACK - Arrrrrggghhh!!!

Very much the mismatched set - 3 paperbacks, 2 hardbacks, and 3 trade paperbacks. it is irritating, but I survive. The option to wait months would upset me far more.

[Larry_OHF]

<font color=skyblue>LOl @ Davros! Hey...that is pretty funny. I am glad I have more patience than you...or maybe it is because I have more than 50 books to read to catch up so I do not mind the wait! Lol! BTW...a guy posted on the WOTC forum that said that the thing I am complaining about is a misprint and that it was intended to be read as Hard Cover. I am so relieved to hear that my beloved producers or whatever you call them are not evidently growing more greedy than they already are. I remember the days when I used to pay $4.99 or maybe $5.99 for a book, but now its $6.99 or even $7.99 these days! </font>

[Davros]

Well dude, converting my Aussie dollar, I get that the standard paperback over here costs $14US. The hardbacks often cost $25 US on release, but if I want to track down an older one then it can cost me $35-40 US.

So if your complaining about $8 US for a paperback - I don't want to hear it OK

[Timber Loftis]

I don't mind the trade paperback format. What I especially like about them is sometimes they have good artwork. I specifically targeted the trade paperback versions of S. King's Gunslinger/Dark Tower series (still ongoing... ugh.. he sucks at closure) because of the artwork.

But, I do consider them a $14.95 book... *leaves* *checks books*

Now that you mention it, I notice that the 1st 2 books in that series were $12.95, the third was $15.00 in 1991 and Wizard and Glass, from 1997, was $17.95. So, yar, I guess the price is going up and up and up.

If you think about the number of hours of entertainment you get from a good book, is the price of 2 movie tickets really all that much?

[Davros]

I wasn't complaining about what I pay for the books TL - I am used to the prices over here, and buying anything is a choice process that is all about desire / need v resources. I know the price, I buy the books, I'm in control of the choice process.

On the price front I was simply pointing out to my good friend Larry that $8 US for a paperback would be quite cheap compared to what I routinely pay [img]smile.gif[/img] .

[Azred]

<font color = lightgreen>Wizards of the Coast.... [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Oh, yes. I remember that company from my early 21st-century history book. They were the company that ruined the once-popular genre of fantasy-fiction set on the worlds originally developed by TSR and almost single-handedly drove all fantasy fiction fans to CRPGs. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

My dislike for WOTC began back in 1995 when they kept changing the rules and tournament-allowable cards for Magic: The Gathering every other week. [img]graemlins/erm.gif[/img] Did I just admit that I used to play that? [img]graemlins/1drool.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] </font>

[pritchke]

Originally posted by Azred: <font color = lightgreen>Wizards of the Coast.... [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Oh, yes. I remember that company from my early 21st-century history book. They were the company that ruined the once-popular genre of fantasy-fiction set on the worlds originally developed by TSR and almost single-handedly drove all fantasy fiction fans to CRPGs. [img]tongue.gif[/img] My dislike for WOTC began back in 1995 when they kept changing the rules and tournament-allowable cards for Magic: The Gathering every other week. [img]graemlins/erm.gif[/img] Did I just admit that I used to play that? [img]graemlins/1drool.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] </font>

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00"> People like us made that company Azred so we are partially responsible for ruining the once-popular genre of fantasy-fiction! I still do play Magic from time to time, I got several people involved and kept buying cards up to 1999. I wasted so much money, it was kind of an addiction like smoking without the negative health consequences. </font>

[ 10-22-2003, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

[Timber Loftis]

MtG does have negative health consequences -- an social ones, as mentioned.

I found all the card games offensive personally, as if we couldn't be bothered to use our imaginations and learn D&D anymore. Plus, all the munchkins that started showing up at Cons really irked me.

But, TSR was failing. Without WoTC to gobble it up, and then Hasbro to gobble WoTC up ("There's always a bigger fish" ~Qui-gon), there would still be a lagging stagnation in the game and the books. Hasbro's bankroll was needed to get the company actually producing things again. For a time, D&D was dying.

Personally, I probably like the old rules systems better. But, I will admit, the new rules make more sense in many areas and do allow more customization of characters. Personally, I find Ogre PC's silly, but what the heck.

Anyway, all that was so [img]graemlins/offtopic.gif[/img] I'm sorry.

Davros, I realized what you were saying -- I was just posing the question generally. What do your hardbacks cost in terms of US dollars, btw??

[Davros]

Hiya TL - hardbacks often cost a different amount because of the timing and the seller. If the book is by a popular author and is on a big general release (say a Pratchett or a Feist) then the price seems to start at $25 US of the release date and rise to $30 afer about 3 months if the hardbacks sold well (it usually stays down if it looks like the shop will get stuck with a lot of unsold copies). If the book is an American release well the price is considerably higher - $35 US - $50 US. For these I have to go through the specialty fantasy book stores.

Why do I opt for buying the American release of certain books? Mainly as I said before - there are some books I don't like waiting for. The WOT series is indicative of this. The options are to buy a hardback on the American release date for $45 US, or wait another 3-6 months for a paperback to appear in the general bookshops. I am yet to see a hardback release in the general bookshops of a WOT book.

I either lack patience , or am a wastrel - I haven't decided which it is yet .

[Azred]

Originally posted by pritchke: People like us made that company Azred so we are partially responsible for ruining the once-popular genre of fantasy-fiction!

<font color = lightgreen>I know. There is no escaping the truth, is there? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

TSR had only themselves to blame, though. 2nd edition was done only to get Gary Gygax's name off the books, then they started running Faerun into the ground with tired plots that had no originality. *sigh* Oh, well...what's done is done. I still think it was ridiculous that the big-wigs made sure that their pet characters were protected, though (Elminster, the poor man's Gandalf wanna-be, is unkillable? [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] ).

As I have said at other times, I always knew that GURPS was the best system ever designed. Isn't it an interesting coincidence that 3rd edition rules work similarly to Steve Jackson's wonderful creation? [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] </font>