If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
Say, for instance, you go to Amazon and purchase a copy of the PHB for $30. Amazon gets a little bit of that money. The distribution network that gets books from warehouses owned by WotC’s (the game’s publisher) to warehouses owned by Amazon (the retailer) also gets some of that money. The Publisher also gets some of that money. All of those companies take the money they got from the sale and pay all of their employees with some of it, they pay taxes with some of it, and the rest goes to the shareholders (technically partial owners) of those companies.
Notice that the company that owns DnD Beyond (this online retailer) never got a dime of that money. They also have employees, taxes, and shareholders. None of them will ever get any of the money that you chose to give to Amazon. So why should they give us stuff without us giving them money?
Does anyone remember the late 90's? That was my turn at moaning about rebuying the books in another format - the AD&D books came out on CD-ROM and it was mind blowing to have all that on one disc, butIalreadyhadthemwhyamIpayingagain. I figure (as I did back then) that the branding here on dndbeyond is so... authentic? that it looks like a legit service operated by WOTC. I know FG gets the same question/complaint, but perhaps it's more prominent here because people are steered here (i.e. from the Essentials Kit).
I started D&D in the early ‘90s, so I remember that. And then when WotC picked up the rights from TSR and 3e came out soon after the CDROM 2e stuff. Then those fools barely had loosened up their spines and 3.5 came out, and 4e.... (that was when I dipped out for a while until 5e looked like it was gonna stick around.)
And yes, I get it about the branding. But look at it this way. If you go on Amazon and buy any book by any publisher, that publisher has no responsibility to give you a feee ebook copy as well, and that is the exact same company.
Everyone here will probably agree that DDB has plenty of super awesome features with plenty more to come. Right? Guess what? That’s because they have spent a lot of $$$ to build those features, and the piles of $$$ that they continue to spend every year to continue improving their service to the comunity. Notice how every single person on the plant (7,000,000,000+ of us) can use the base features on this site for free. Absolutely, 100% free. What pays for all of that? Some of it comes from subscriptions that a fraction of the site’s users actually have, and the rest comes from the fractional amount that they actually get to keep from the sale of each book sale.
I am one of the first people who will jump all over a company about unfair business practices or poor business ethics. The list of companies and products that I boycott would shock you. I am more than happy to not only support this site through book sales, but also a master subscription. Even if I didn’t need a master subscription, I would still get a hero tier sub, just to support their work because of the value I find in what they do, and because of the genuinely ethical business practices I have witnessed.
eg- Recently Adam heard about some dissatisfaction in one of the forums about users’ perceptions of the communication level coming from DDB in regards to what was being included in the Dev Updates. LINK He actually went into the thread personally posting long, detailed explanations about everything and even took the time to personally answer questions posted by us. Let me repeat that, Adam took it upon himself to personally address the concerns of DDB users.
eg-. Ever have a question or concern about why a Homebrew isn’t working, or some other confusion about the site’s system and post about it in the forums? Notice how the small handful of Mods manage to service thousands of users with answers? Ever notice how prompt they are about it? Ever notice that service comes whether we are free users or paid subscribers? If we have purchased products from them or not?
eg-. Has anyone here ever had need to use the “CONTACT US” link all the way down at the bottom of the every page on this site? I have. And I have always gotten a response within 72 hours if I send my request over a weekend, and less during the week. The response is always more detailed and thorough than what I have gotten from any other company, and never once have I been upset afterwords. If I am ever dissatisfied about a level of service I have received I become one of “those people” that customer service reps would make voodoo dolls of if they had my hair. Not once have I ever experienced any level of dissatisfaction with the level of service I have received from DDB.
If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
In this example, D&D Beyond and your local gaming store are Xbox and PS4. Wizards of the Coast is a publisher who releases their game (D&D) through both platforms; XBox and PS4. Your purchase of the xbox version (physical) doesn't entitle you to a copy on ps4 (digital) because, although it's the same game, they're being distributed and sold through two completely different platforms by two different companies.
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast (D&D stuff) are different companies.
Creating the digital book takes time and they have to pay licenses to provide you access. It also costs money to host content, the domain, the servers, advertisement, staff, and more.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
Do you honestly think the Dndbeyond website with all of the forums, content, streams, developments, features, and content is free to run? This website gets zero money from the sale of physical books.
If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
Wrong.
Not only are DND Beyond and D&D owned by different companies, but it costs money to make an online copy of a book, run a server to host that book and the bandwidth to have that information available to how many ever thousands of people access it.
It's not like DND Beyond is one guy scanning the books in and selling them with no support.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
same way people propose DDB to make money off codes being used
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
same way people propose DDB to make money off codes being used
Yes but most of those people don't have the business or financial knowledge to implement this in a way financially viable for WotC, D&D Beyond and the consumer, especially factoring the complication that if WotC agree to D&D Beyond doing this they have to allow it for the other official tools like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds (who are just as official as D&D Beyond is).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
same way people propose DDB to make money off codes being used
Yes but most of those people don't have the business or financial knowledge to implement this in a way financially viable for WotC, D&D Beyond and the consumer, especially factoring the complication that if WotC agree to D&D Beyond doing this they have to allow it for the other official tools like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds (who are just as official as D&D Beyond is).
I think you missed the entire point of what i posted. Its just as reasonable to assume a local shop to accept a discount code on physical media from an online purchase as it is for DDB to give one for physical purchase.
So my new reply to everyone wanting a digital code is, I want physical codes for digital purchases. Its just as reasonable, so why not go at it from the opposite direction.
Company A creates Digital content for company B to sell, and and identical physical content for company C to sell. Assuming B should take a hit for C's sales is just as reasonable at assuming C should take a hit from B's sales, since A has nothing to do with either other than creating the merch for the others to sell.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
same way people propose DDB to make money off codes being used
Yes but most of those people don't have the business or financial knowledge to implement this in a way financially viable for WotC, D&D Beyond and the consumer, especially factoring the complication that if WotC agree to D&D Beyond doing this they have to allow it for the other official tools like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds (who are just as official as D&D Beyond is).
I think you missed the entire point of what i posted. Its just as reasonable to assume a local shop to accept a discount code on physical media from an online purchase as it is for DDB to give one for physical purchase.
So my new reply to everyone wanting a digital code is, I want physical codes for digital purchases. Its just as reasonable, so why not go at it from the opposite direction.
Company A creates Digital content for company B to sell, and and identical physical content for company C to sell. Assuming B should take a hit for C's sales is just as reasonable at assuming C should take a hit from B's sales, since A has nothing to do with either other than creating the merch for the others to sell.
Company A (WOTC?) isn't creating digital content for company B (DDB, FG, R20). Company A licenses its IP to company B to develop digital platforms, and sells physical books to company C (FLGS) to sell. It's completely unreasonable to expect any discounting between the B's and C's, because they're all trying to make money and they want each others business. If WOTC owned the online platform and the FLGS, they'd have reason to think differently, but they don't, so they don't.
Plot twist - it turns out that in this particular case, some DMs like me are buying more than once because we want the flexibility at the table, whether it be virtual or physical. So we end up supporting the FLGS and/or DDB and/or a VTT.
I myself have stopped buying the dead tree version of the work and only buy from DDB due to finance issues. I have a Tablet, a Chromebook and my smartphone so every book I purchase here gets me 3 offline copies for reading/use. If I wanted multiple copies of dead tree I would have to pay full price for each copy regardless of where I got said copy. DDB is a great value and I myself am getting so tired of reading these "but I'm a special person and I deserve free stuff"
I myself have stopped buying the dead tree version of the work and only buy from DDB due to finance issues. I have a Tablet, a Chromebook and my smartphone so every book I purchase here gets me 3 offline copies for reading/use. If I wanted multiple copies of dead tree I would have to pay full price for each copy regardless of where I got said copy. DDB is a great value and I myself am getting so tired of reading these "but I'm a special person and I deserve free stuff"
I have bags full of DnD, Palladium, other games... I can't bring myself to buy more. DDB has the best tablet reading experience of the 5e digital options, so I buy here for my personal copies. For gaming, I use FG - it's janky as heck, but apparently so am I, so it works really well for run-time rules and organisation.
I mentioned upthread that I kind of understand why people think there might be a digital code - we live in an age where digital subscriptions are often 'all you can consume', and blu-rays have code inserts for digital copies. But I'm fairly sure that there's always a commercial reason for it being possible, and there's nothing here or in the hardcovers that implies a digital copy is available for a purchase made elsewhere.
I'm curious if anyone who wants free stuff has sought action with WotC in any official regard about them producing codes for the valuable assets and resources, some that aren't even proprietary to their business. If not, is this forum just for venting frustrations at the lack of available FREE resources which should be paid for to begin with, or is their genuine intentions for a movement to have these code given to us? I am genuinely curious because i am subscribed to this thread for, evidently, different reasons than I thought this was originally created. I wouldn't even go so far to say that ideally a physical copy purchase should warrant a code for digital discounts or purchases, but to be quite honest if it was gifted to us that would be very pleasant.
Analogies aside, if you don't feel like you should pay for content twice, then simply don't and you can deal with the challenges you're faced with until the production of these codes you feel entitled to are initiated. You could just as easily and readily take these queries and complaints through the proper channels with WotC and engage in actual, legally binding agreements. Most of this thread is the equivalent of complaining and hoping someone else will do the leg work, and/or hoping that someone important enough will notice and feel obligated to grant everyone something they're not entitled to.
I think it's unreasonable to ask any of the companies to "take a hit" so that you get access across multiple locations. If the physical books include a code for a digital copy, then everyone who buys a book pays more, even if they have no interest in digital - essentially helping cover the cost for someone else. Same with digital. If I buy a digital book on Beyond, the price would have to be higher if they included a discount code for the physical copy. That sucks for me too - I've gone fully digital and don't buy anything in hardcopy now. Should I pay more here for the inclusion of a discount I won't use? No thanks.
As so many others have pointed out, WotC, DDB, Amazon, my FLGS , Roll20, FG - all are independent companies. Yes, they have various licenses and contracts that link them (just back to WotC, not between each other), but any discount offered by one of them for a purchase on another is a complex problem and highly unlikely to happen except under very specific circumstances such as the FLGS pre-order discount for buying Theros (which is very limited - 20 per store I think?) or the Essentials box, which had codes for the digital version here free plus 50% off the PHB. You'll note that is 50% off here on DDB, and not also off a hard copy of that book.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
They were being facetious, inverting the request to illustrate a point. Since the request of physical coupon when purchasing digital is utterly ridiculous, it shows how equally unreasonable the initial request is of demanding a digital coupon in physical copies.
If you buy a copy of a video game for Play Station, do you also demand a fee X-Box version since you “already payed for the game once?” Of course not.
If you buy a pair of Levi Jeans at Target, do you go to Walmart and demand a feee pair of jeans “because you already payed for one pair?” Of course not.
If you buy a copy of a book at your local Barnes & Nobles, do you go onto your digital device and demand a free digital download as well “because you already payed for one copy?” Of course not.
So if you buy a physical copy of the PHB anywhere, why would one expect to come to this particular online retailer and expect a free digital version?!?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Say, for instance, you go to Amazon and purchase a copy of the PHB for $30. Amazon gets a little bit of that money. The distribution network that gets books from warehouses owned by WotC’s (the game’s publisher) to warehouses owned by Amazon (the retailer) also gets some of that money. The Publisher also gets some of that money. All of those companies take the money they got from the sale and pay all of their employees with some of it, they pay taxes with some of it, and the rest goes to the shareholders (technically partial owners) of those companies.
Notice that the company that owns DnD Beyond (this online retailer) never got a dime of that money. They also have employees, taxes, and shareholders. None of them will ever get any of the money that you chose to give to Amazon. So why should they give us stuff without us giving them money?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Does anyone remember the late 90's? That was my turn at moaning about rebuying the books in another format - the AD&D books came out on CD-ROM and it was mind blowing to have all that on one disc, butIalreadyhadthemwhyamIpayingagain. I figure (as I did back then) that the branding here on dndbeyond is so... authentic? that it looks like a legit service operated by WOTC. I know FG gets the same question/complaint, but perhaps it's more prominent here because people are steered here (i.e. from the Essentials Kit).
I started D&D in the early ‘90s, so I remember that. And then when WotC picked up the rights from TSR and 3e came out soon after the CDROM 2e stuff. Then those fools barely had loosened up their spines and 3.5 came out, and 4e.... (that was when I dipped out for a while until 5e looked like it was gonna stick around.)
And yes, I get it about the branding. But look at it this way. If you go on Amazon and buy any book by any publisher, that publisher has no responsibility to give you a feee ebook copy as well, and that is the exact same company.
Everyone here will probably agree that DDB has plenty of super awesome features with plenty more to come. Right? Guess what? That’s because they have spent a lot of $$$ to build those features, and the piles of $$$ that they continue to spend every year to continue improving their service to the comunity. Notice how every single person on the plant (7,000,000,000+ of us) can use the base features on this site for free. Absolutely, 100% free. What pays for all of that? Some of it comes from subscriptions that a fraction of the site’s users actually have, and the rest comes from the fractional amount that they actually get to keep from the sale of each book sale.
I am one of the first people who will jump all over a company about unfair business practices or poor business ethics. The list of companies and products that I boycott would shock you. I am more than happy to not only support this site through book sales, but also a master subscription. Even if I didn’t need a master subscription, I would still get a hero tier sub, just to support their work because of the value I find in what they do, and because of the genuinely ethical business practices I have witnessed.
eg-
Recently Adam heard about some dissatisfaction in one of the forums about users’ perceptions of the communication level coming from DDB in regards to what was being included in the Dev Updates. LINK He actually went into the thread personally posting long, detailed explanations about everything and even took the time to personally answer questions posted by us. Let me repeat that, Adam took it upon himself to personally address the concerns of DDB users.
eg-.
Ever have a question or concern about why a Homebrew isn’t working, or some other confusion about the site’s system and post about it in the forums? Notice how the small handful of Mods manage to service thousands of users with answers? Ever notice how prompt they are about it? Ever notice that service comes whether we are free users or paid subscribers? If we have purchased products from them or not?
eg-.
Has anyone here ever had need to use the “CONTACT US” link all the way down at the bottom of the every page on this site? I have. And I have always gotten a response within 72 hours if I send my request over a weekend, and less during the week. The response is always more detailed and thorough than what I have gotten from any other company, and never once have I been upset afterwords. If I am ever dissatisfied about a level of service I have received I become one of “those people” that customer service reps would make voodoo dolls of if they had my hair. Not once have I ever experienced any level of dissatisfaction with the level of service I have received from DDB.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
That’s different because X-Box and Play Station are different brands, unlike DDB and D&D physical stuff. They are owned by the same company. Also, it costs nothing to make an online copy of a book, unlike making a video game or a pair of shoes.
In this example, D&D Beyond and your local gaming store are Xbox and PS4. Wizards of the Coast is a publisher who releases their game (D&D) through both platforms; XBox and PS4. Your purchase of the xbox version (physical) doesn't entitle you to a copy on ps4 (digital) because, although it's the same game, they're being distributed and sold through two completely different platforms by two different companies.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast (D&D stuff) are different companies.
Creating the digital book takes time and they have to pay licenses to provide you access. It also costs money to host content, the domain, the servers, advertisement, staff, and more.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Do you honestly think the Dndbeyond website with all of the forums, content, streams, developments, features, and content is free to run? This website gets zero money from the sale of physical books.
Wrong.
Not only are DND Beyond and D&D owned by different companies, but it costs money to make an online copy of a book, run a server to host that book and the bandwidth to have that information available to how many ever thousands of people access it.
It's not like DND Beyond is one guy scanning the books in and selling them with no support.
I think it should be the other way.... but buying it in D&D Beyond, I should get a coupon in my email that i can take to any local shop for a discount on the physical book.
And how would you propose the local shop make their money? They did not get a discount on buying the book to resell, after all. So the discount means a loss to them.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
same way people propose DDB to make money off codes being used
Yes but most of those people don't have the business or financial knowledge to implement this in a way financially viable for WotC, D&D Beyond and the consumer, especially factoring the complication that if WotC agree to D&D Beyond doing this they have to allow it for the other official tools like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds (who are just as official as D&D Beyond is).
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I think you missed the entire point of what i posted. Its just as reasonable to assume a local shop to accept a discount code on physical media from an online purchase as it is for DDB to give one for physical purchase.
So my new reply to everyone wanting a digital code is, I want physical codes for digital purchases. Its just as reasonable, so why not go at it from the opposite direction.
Company A creates Digital content for company B to sell, and and identical physical content for company C to sell. Assuming B should take a hit for C's sales is just as reasonable at assuming C should take a hit from B's sales, since A has nothing to do with either other than creating the merch for the others to sell.
Company A (WOTC?) isn't creating digital content for company B (DDB, FG, R20). Company A licenses its IP to company B to develop digital platforms, and sells physical books to company C (FLGS) to sell. It's completely unreasonable to expect any discounting between the B's and C's, because they're all trying to make money and they want each others business. If WOTC owned the online platform and the FLGS, they'd have reason to think differently, but they don't, so they don't.
Plot twist - it turns out that in this particular case, some DMs like me are buying more than once because we want the flexibility at the table, whether it be virtual or physical. So we end up supporting the FLGS and/or DDB and/or a VTT.
I myself have stopped buying the dead tree version of the work and only buy from DDB due to finance issues. I have a Tablet, a Chromebook and my smartphone so every book I purchase here gets me 3 offline copies for reading/use. If I wanted multiple copies of dead tree I would have to pay full price for each copy regardless of where I got said copy. DDB is a great value and I myself am getting so tired of reading these "but I'm a special person and I deserve free stuff"
I have bags full of DnD, Palladium, other games... I can't bring myself to buy more. DDB has the best tablet reading experience of the 5e digital options, so I buy here for my personal copies. For gaming, I use FG - it's janky as heck, but apparently so am I, so it works really well for run-time rules and organisation.
I mentioned upthread that I kind of understand why people think there might be a digital code - we live in an age where digital subscriptions are often 'all you can consume', and blu-rays have code inserts for digital copies. But I'm fairly sure that there's always a commercial reason for it being possible, and there's nothing here or in the hardcovers that implies a digital copy is available for a purchase made elsewhere.
I'm curious if anyone who wants free stuff has sought action with WotC in any official regard about them producing codes for the valuable assets and resources, some that aren't even proprietary to their business. If not, is this forum just for venting frustrations at the lack of available FREE resources which should be paid for to begin with, or is their genuine intentions for a movement to have these code given to us? I am genuinely curious because i am subscribed to this thread for, evidently, different reasons than I thought this was originally created. I wouldn't even go so far to say that ideally a physical copy purchase should warrant a code for digital discounts or purchases, but to be quite honest if it was gifted to us that would be very pleasant.
Analogies aside, if you don't feel like you should pay for content twice, then simply don't and you can deal with the challenges you're faced with until the production of these codes you feel entitled to are initiated. You could just as easily and readily take these queries and complaints through the proper channels with WotC and engage in actual, legally binding agreements. Most of this thread is the equivalent of complaining and hoping someone else will do the leg work, and/or hoping that someone important enough will notice and feel obligated to grant everyone something they're not entitled to.
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Successfully completed the Tomb of Horrors module (as part of playing Tomb of Annihilation) with no party deaths!
I think it's unreasonable to ask any of the companies to "take a hit" so that you get access across multiple locations. If the physical books include a code for a digital copy, then everyone who buys a book pays more, even if they have no interest in digital - essentially helping cover the cost for someone else. Same with digital. If I buy a digital book on Beyond, the price would have to be higher if they included a discount code for the physical copy. That sucks for me too - I've gone fully digital and don't buy anything in hardcopy now. Should I pay more here for the inclusion of a discount I won't use? No thanks.
As so many others have pointed out, WotC, DDB, Amazon, my FLGS , Roll20, FG - all are independent companies. Yes, they have various licenses and contracts that link them (just back to WotC, not between each other), but any discount offered by one of them for a purchase on another is a complex problem and highly unlikely to happen except under very specific circumstances such as the FLGS pre-order discount for buying Theros (which is very limited - 20 per store I think?) or the Essentials box, which had codes for the digital version here free plus 50% off the PHB. You'll note that is 50% off here on DDB, and not also off a hard copy of that book.
They were being facetious, inverting the request to illustrate a point. Since the request of physical coupon when purchasing digital is utterly ridiculous, it shows how equally unreasonable the initial request is of demanding a digital coupon in physical copies.
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