I'm confused why you're confused? You've never made an account and then not used it? Maybe they were interested in other products on dnd beyond. I assume you failed to notice their very low post count...
Oh I noticed, and maybe you're right, but my point still stands as a possibility; just because somebody doesn't post doesn't mean they are not actively perusing the site and seeing the news, or playing 5th Edition for that matter.
Not to invalidate your comment, but my second point isn't to do with how regularly people are buying stuff - it's more to do with how someone can miss news about site changes if they've been a member for a long time.
Removing a la cart purchasing is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen a company do....
I can't speak to what other people are buying and how regularly, BUT my earlier comment proves that WizBro believes that dumping A La Carte was a great business move. Frustrating? Yes. Angering? Yes. Bad for consumer choice? Heck yes.
Profitable? At the end of the day, WizBro will only view decisions that don't make them money as the 'dumbest thing', not what is best for us consumers. Corporations gonna' corp.
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
It's been over a year since my last comment and I am proud to say I have not spent a dime on this site and I never will again. At this point I don't hold out much hope for a la carte purchasing to become an option again but I want D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast to know definitively that they could have had my money and now they aren't going to get to.
I'm confused why you're confused? You've never made an account and then not used it? Maybe they were interested in other products on dnd beyond. I assume you failed to notice their very low post count...
Exactly! I made the account thinking I was joining a dnd game years ago and then I joined a pathfinder game instead. Tale as old as time
Quite a few of us missed the news about the change, that's why these threads keep getting posts years after the original post.
What you're describing is how small companies think. Was it profitable? Maybe. Was it the most profitable thing they could do? Not even close. Do you think Grand Theft Auto 5 made more money on box sales of the game or the little extra things you can buy on the side? What about call of duty?
Creating products that people can only buy into for $30+ is creating an artificial barrier to enter especially if the product is not good enough to warrant the price. Not every book can be as good as Tasha's or whatever your favorite may be, but if someone is willing to pay a third of the cost of the book to get just the classes, why say no to that money? Or 1/10th the cost of the book for just one spell? If they leaned into a la cart it would be a money printer for them.
I'm pretty sure WotC had access to enough sales data and metrics to make an informed decision. We don't have access to that data so it's kinda absurd to try and make any claims about the validity of their decisions from a business standpoint. Maybe a la carte purchases actually represented a tiny fraction of transactions? Maybe transaction fees on a la carte purchases made too large an impact? Perhaps there was some underlying upkeep to the backend to support a la carte that was proving to be increasingly cost prohibitive as more and more books with more and more options released? We simply don't know, but I think what we do know is claiming "company that cares only about making money doesn't care about making money" is an absurd one.
Well, this is the problem when a company refuses to communicate with their customers, everyone starts to speculate. A simple post saying why it was removed would have shut down a lot of these complaints. Instead we had the community manager tell us she was collecting and passing on our feedback, followed by complete silence.
Of course it doesn't help that WotC/DDB have made so many wrong moves the last few years that many of us no longer give them the benefit of the doubt. History shows that there's a good chance of any decision of theirs to be either stupidity or greed, even if there are other possibilities. It could easily be that a la carte was profitable, but they removed it as a gamble that we'd all buy full books and give them more money.
Very untrue. When WOTC has been explicit in their communication people have said "That is not true because... blah blah blah" Look at the most recently people retiring posts, or firing if you listen to the community. WOTC said t hey retired, they said they retired, and the community is saying "They are leaving a failing ship! the end times are here for D&D."
SO telling us why literally does nothing for people who want something and already have a "reason in their mind."
Well, this is the problem when a company refuses to communicate with their customers, everyone starts to speculate.
THIS right here. I would add that when the company decides to implement changes without telling its consumers, it's aggravating and causes people to lose even more faith in the website and the direction of D&D in general.
The change of A La Carte was especially annoying as it was done without warning and impacts those with little disposable income and those who want freedom of choice.
Unfortunately, as I've mentioned before, WizBro views this as a great move; it doesn't make sense to take it away because they intentionally wanted to anger their consumer base (one could be forgiven if they think it was intentional) - they did it because they thought it would be a positive business move.
If people want A La Carte back, complaining to Wizards of the Coast and voting with your wallet is the way forward that I would recommend.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
I wish there were more consequences for when corporations move backwards like this.
The consequences are typically profit lines, clearly this did not affect the bottom line enough for their to be consequences. So they did get consequences for their action, it just didn't have an adverse affect. (consequence does not mean "bad thing happened" it just means and outcome to a behavior).
Dnd beyond really look a wasted tool now. With the content published on the platform there are chances to test classes, items or monsters. But I doubt that are enough people to try the whole book here without knowing a clue about the content.
Oh I noticed, and maybe you're right, but my point still stands as a possibility; just because somebody doesn't post doesn't mean they are not actively perusing the site and seeing the news, or playing 5th Edition for that matter.
Not to invalidate your comment, but my second point isn't to do with how regularly people are buying stuff - it's more to do with how someone can miss news about site changes if they've been a member for a long time.
I can't speak to what other people are buying and how regularly, BUT my earlier comment proves that WizBro believes that dumping A La Carte was a great business move. Frustrating? Yes. Angering? Yes. Bad for consumer choice? Heck yes.
Profitable? At the end of the day, WizBro will only view decisions that don't make them money as the 'dumbest thing', not what is best for us consumers. Corporations gonna' corp.
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
It's been over a year since my last comment and I am proud to say I have not spent a dime on this site and I never will again. At this point I don't hold out much hope for a la carte purchasing to become an option again but I want D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast to know definitively that they could have had my money and now they aren't going to get to.
I've also wanted to purchase bits of a book many, many times over the past year and have just decided to go without.
Exactly! I made the account thinking I was joining a dnd game years ago and then I joined a pathfinder game instead. Tale as old as time
Quite a few of us missed the news about the change, that's why these threads keep getting posts years after the original post.
What you're describing is how small companies think. Was it profitable? Maybe. Was it the most profitable thing they could do? Not even close. Do you think Grand Theft Auto 5 made more money on box sales of the game or the little extra things you can buy on the side? What about call of duty?
Creating products that people can only buy into for $30+ is creating an artificial barrier to enter especially if the product is not good enough to warrant the price. Not every book can be as good as Tasha's or whatever your favorite may be, but if someone is willing to pay a third of the cost of the book to get just the classes, why say no to that money? Or 1/10th the cost of the book for just one spell? If they leaned into a la cart it would be a money printer for them.
I'm pretty sure WotC had access to enough sales data and metrics to make an informed decision. We don't have access to that data so it's kinda absurd to try and make any claims about the validity of their decisions from a business standpoint. Maybe a la carte purchases actually represented a tiny fraction of transactions? Maybe transaction fees on a la carte purchases made too large an impact? Perhaps there was some underlying upkeep to the backend to support a la carte that was proving to be increasingly cost prohibitive as more and more books with more and more options released? We simply don't know, but I think what we do know is claiming "company that cares only about making money doesn't care about making money" is an absurd one.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Well, this is the problem when a company refuses to communicate with their customers, everyone starts to speculate. A simple post saying why it was removed would have shut down a lot of these complaints. Instead we had the community manager tell us she was collecting and passing on our feedback, followed by complete silence.
Of course it doesn't help that WotC/DDB have made so many wrong moves the last few years that many of us no longer give them the benefit of the doubt. History shows that there's a good chance of any decision of theirs to be either stupidity or greed, even if there are other possibilities. It could easily be that a la carte was profitable, but they removed it as a gamble that we'd all buy full books and give them more money.
Very untrue. When WOTC has been explicit in their communication people have said "That is not true because... blah blah blah" Look at the most recently people retiring posts, or firing if you listen to the community. WOTC said t hey retired, they said they retired, and the community is saying "They are leaving a failing ship! the end times are here for D&D."
SO telling us why literally does nothing for people who want something and already have a "reason in their mind."
THIS right here. I would add that when the company decides to implement changes without telling its consumers, it's aggravating and causes people to lose even more faith in the website and the direction of D&D in general.
The change of A La Carte was especially annoying as it was done without warning and impacts those with little disposable income and those who want freedom of choice.
Unfortunately, as I've mentioned before, WizBro views this as a great move; it doesn't make sense to take it away because they intentionally wanted to anger their consumer base (one could be forgiven if they think it was intentional) - they did it because they thought it would be a positive business move.
If people want A La Carte back, complaining to Wizards of the Coast and voting with your wallet is the way forward that I would recommend.
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
Keeping this at the top. Hope WOTC surprises us and does something.
Life before death, Strength before weakness, Journey before destination.
Not all that is gold glitters, not all those who wander are lost.
I am Paul Muad’Dib Atreides, Duke of Arrakis
I wish there were more consequences for when corporations move backwards like this.
The consequences are typically profit lines, clearly this did not affect the bottom line enough for their to be consequences. So they did get consequences for their action, it just didn't have an adverse affect. (consequence does not mean "bad thing happened" it just means and outcome to a behavior).
Dnd beyond really look a wasted tool now. With the content published on the platform there are chances to test classes, items or monsters. But I doubt that are enough people to try the whole book here without knowing a clue about the content.