I have been buying physical copies of the books in 5E since I started playing and have pre-ordered every new one, is it really out the question that I can't prove I have bought the content already to gain access? The tools on this site are really good and can help run games smoothly or make mock characters and ideas and can help when making campaigns so I don't have to have multiple books open next to me when I can search the information I need. So it sucks that I have to re-buy all of them again.

This has been discussed a bajillion times, but I will offer my two cents on this topic:

1) It's not a simple matter for someone to prove they own the books.  Even with receipts, photos, or whatever other means it would be cumbersome and prone to errors and fraud.

2) You aren't just getting a copy of what you already own.  You're getting a fully searchable and hyperlinked copy.  This requires resources to create and maintain.

3) The copy from the #2 includes license tracking to prevent the very problem you are complaining about (at least for this system).  Again, this isn't a free thing to implement.

4) The content from each book is integrated into the site (monster section, character creation, etc.).  Again, this isn't a free thing to implement.

5) WotC probably does have some level of greed here, but this is no different that VHS > DVD > Blu-Ray, etc.  Each is buying the same movie again, but each comes with new benefits.

All of this doesn't necessarily make it worth it for you, but it should at least help you understand why you can't have the new features for free.

I believe that I should be given everything I want just because I want it, irrespective of how much it costs and how many people have to produce the content or economic issues. I shouldn't have to pay for something when I think I deserve to be given it for free, end of story.

Here's the closed thread on the topic, if you want more information. Enjoy the read!

As I'm new here, I read the closed thread about this topic, granted I didn' read every single page, so here's my question : I don't want anything for free, I'm more than happy to pay for the developpers' time to create and maintain D&D Beyond, so it lasts in time, but did you guys maybe talk about a discount if you buy both copies of the same book (physical and digital) ?

You know, like when you buy some BluRays, and you get a one-time code inside that lets you also download a digital copy of the movie ?
Again, not saying the Beyond material should be free, but just a small discount for those of us who also buy the physical books would be nice  :)

Sorry if it has already been answered in the closed thread, I didn't see it by (rapidly, I admit) glancing through it ?

Hi HMGrazzt,

The idea you propose has been present in the forums since a long time, even before the linked thread was created.
It is not a bad idea, by any means, the thing is that the content here on DDB is already discounted roughly 40% from the price WotC proposes for their content. Sure, you have amazon that already sells the books at lower price, but that does not make that the baseline price of the item, as that is always and only what the publisher decides.

Even though I already have the Legendary Bundle, I would be the first to rejoice in seeing the ideas/requests of people feeling "cheated" by the current system find a solution suitable for them, but for the time being I have only seen what IMO are either unrealistic propositions, economically unsavvy ideas or things that would be nice, but ultimately outside of Curse control due to the nature of the license agreement with WotC.

I also bought the Legendary Bundle, so I guess I'm gonna get a sweet 15% discount on the next products, but yes it kinda feels "frustrating" to have the feeling that you buy the same things twice !
I know, I know, they're not exactly the same things, but still, that's the feeling you get nevertheless  ;)

One of the big things to remember is that the company that has created DDB is not WOTC. Curse is paying WOTC to use it's content. So not only do you need to pay for the tools, AND you need to pay for the work that went into creating those tools (and entering in all of the information into a toolable format), but the cost goes towards what WOTC charges Curse to use the intellectual property. 

Fun fact, there have been statements from staff noting that Curse wanted to have a lower price on the books, but WOTC insisted they not go lower than a certain standard, because WOTC also has to remember that brick and mortar stores are INCREDIBLY important to it's business. Having too low a price here would outsell B&M stores, and the thought is that B&M stores would lose customers to the vastly cheaper option. 

My hope is that they eventually have gift cards or something that you could purchase at your FLGS and then use for content here. That way we can support both.

it would honestly and probably be easiere to do it the other way around.

e.g. buy PHB on D&DBeyond, get a "code" of some sort you can hand in at your FLGS to get a discount on the Hardcopy purchase.

Or just buy what you want.

Its already discounted here on DnD Beyond. Its only $30 for a book instead of $50 that FG and Roll20 had to sell if for, before DnD Beyond struck a deal with WotC to lower the price on digital content.

Yep.

Ludicrous isn't it?