So after re-reading the content in the sticky at the top of the forum I found on caveat to the entire explanation. And that is once all the content has been coded and uploaded to to the server it requires only occasional maintenance, for bugs, glitches and content corrections or additions, that it. Yes I know that takes time and a small staff to to do it's still not 49.99 worth of book content cost. And from what I understand is if I own content on beyond I can also use it on other platforms so I don't have to buy content multiple times.
If you look at the cost of digital books on Amazon and the few remaining booksellers they only cost as much as a regular book for the first year or so the book is new, then the price significantly drops. Honestly a system where I pay 1/2 or 1/4 the cost of the digital book would make sense heck even if having to buy a subscription to get a lower cost makes even more sense than the system in place. I also understand licensing fees etc. are involved, but there has to be a better way.
So after re-reading the content in the sticky at the top of the forum I found on caveat to the entire explanation. And that is once all the content has been coded and uploaded to to the server it requires only occasional maintenance, for bugs, glitches and content corrections or additions, that it. Yes I know that takes time and a small staff to to do it's still not 49.99 worth of book content cost. And from what I understand is if I own content on beyond I can also use it on other platforms so I don't have to buy content multiple times.
If you look at the cost of digital books on Amazon and the few remaining booksellers they only cost as much as a regular book for the first year or so the book is new, then the price significantly drops. Honestly a system where I pay 1/2 or 1/4 the cost of the digital book would make sense heck even if having to buy a subscription to get a lower cost makes even more sense than the system in place. I also understand licensing fees etc. are involved, but there has to be a better way.
Cheers,
Bill
1) "books" here do not cost $49.99, at least not in US dollars; if all you want is the digital book (which is what you seem to be describing here), they typically cost around $20 in US dollars for the compendium only version.
2) if you also want to use the content in the character builder, spell/monster magic item listings, then they tend to cost about $30 US. But with this price, there is far more involved than just "upkeep," as the tools are continually being updated and expanded. Actually, this is even somewhat true of the compendium option, as several of the compendiums have been "revamped" to add a lot more links, update the styling and formatting, etc. Plus, whenever WOTC issues errata, those changes are made to the compendium.
3) It is not (generally) the case that you can use content purchased here on other platforms. There are some third party, unsupported browser extensions that connect DDB content with Roll 20, Foundry and the like, that allows some interactivity; but "owning" the content here does not give you access to it in another RPG related service/site. (If it did, it no doubt would cost even more, as the other site would need to receive a "cut")
One other tidbit you may not be aware of: Before DDB, official 5e content on sites like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds cost around $50 US a book, that is the MRSP (Manufacturer's recommended Selling Price). In other words, it was more expensive than what you could get the hardcover books for at Amazon, and the same prices as hardcovers at FLGS. (Friendly Local Gaming stores). As it was gearing up, DDB made a strong pitch to WOTC to offer content at prices lower than that (and to offer Ă la carte purchases of character options). They made their case, and when DDB's beta ended and they offered non-SRD content for purchase, the prices were what they are now. Shortly thereafter, Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds also lowered their prices. So DDBs entrance on the scene actually lowered the costs of digital 5e material not just for its own customers, but for Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds customers, too.
If you don't think that the services here are worth the cost, then don't purchase content/use the site. That's absolutely your right, and no one should tell you otherwise.
Arewens Daughter - Thanks for clarifying. 1. I may not be digging to see the compendium versions.
2. I do sometimes forget how often things can get changed and that does translate into more dev work. And even in todays plug and play website tools, code functionality still needs to be built. But even with that once it's live most of the cost is recouped faster than that of a physical thing. (esp if your site runs adds in the background)
3. Ahh, I must have miss understood how the cross platforming between sites worked.
4. I'm relatively new to 5e lat time I played was before the lunge of 3e! Only got back into the game recently cuz my kiddos and one of their friends got bit by the bug. I don't have a problem with the cost of product for my self. There are plenty of folks getting into the game that may not have the monetary resources to access the game with some of the costs associated with some of the content. Which may not allow them to enjoy the game to the extent they wish. But knowing those early costs, insane!
Even after all that I have said I like how beyond works and I'm glad there are all these online resources for us to enjoy a game we all love.
2. I do sometimes forget how often things can get changed and that does translate into more dev work. And even in todays plug and play website tools, code functionality still needs to be built. But even with that once it's live most of the cost is recouped faster than that of a physical thing. (esp if your site runs adds in the background)
Unless you have access to Beyond's or Fandom's financials, I would not assume recouping cost is as easy as you make it sound to be. People without a background in finance/business often underestimate how much expenses can eat into revenue and significantly reduce profit. Beyond seems pretty short staffed and stretched thin on manpower, but that does not necessarily mean they are a small team. If I remember correctly, they have several different development teams, with some in North America and some in Europe, and each of those teams also need a place to work, so rent, utilities, and various other costs besides software development also needs to be factored in. There are also advertising, admin, license fees, server maintenance, and various other expenses that can all adds up. Just because a product is digital does not mean it is going to shower its creator with tons of profit.
2. I do sometimes forget how often things can get changed and that does translate into more dev work. And even in todays plug and play website tools, code functionality still needs to be built. But even with that once it's live most of the cost is recouped faster than that of a physical thing. (esp if your site runs adds in the background)
Unless you have access to Beyond's or Fandom's financials, I would not assume recouping cost is as easy as you make it sound to be. People without a background in finance/business often underestimate how much expenses can eat into revenue and significantly reduce profit. Beyond seems pretty short staffed and stretched thin on manpower, but that does not necessarily mean they are a small team. If I remember correctly, they have several different development teams, with some in North America and some in Europe, and each of those teams also need a place to work, so rent, utilities, and various other costs besides software development also needs to be factored in. There are also advertising, admin, license fees, server maintenance, and various other expenses that can all adds up. Just because a product is digital does not mean it is going to shower its creator with tons of profit.
Just to piggy-back on that comment, in a recent Dev Update, Dave Hartless mentioned that when they started they had a dev team of 2, himself and a front end engineer. I think he said that is now closer to 50, although that could have been more than developers/engineers. If that number is "just" developers, there are all the other roles that aren't developers but are necessary. So their expenses have certainly gone up over time. It's also possible (although none of us who aren't staff can know for sure) that this least year they had additional expenses transitioning to working from home due to the pandemic. It's possible that not everyone had sufficient internet bandwith, hardware and software to do so, especially since DDB had been resistant to remote work prior to the pandemic. (Several times in pre-pandemic dev updates, when DDB was hiring, Adam fielded questions about whether or not folks could remote work or whether the expectation was relocating to Huntsville. The answer was always that they wanted people to be in the same place. That has obviously changed, and they've embraced working from home.)
Again thank you for giving me great responses and not calling me an idiot, etc. After reading your replies and thinking on it, I still think it would be nice to have some kind of discount offered for content either here or on roll 20 etc. Though after thinking on it, it should be wizards that offers the discount and not the digital folks just unsure of how it would work. Though the easiest would be similar to the Menards way of doing rebates. You buy said product, provide proof of NEW purchase. submit receipt and a form and get a discount code to use for a percentage off on the digital content. and to make it fair you have to use the code within a certain time frame from date of recipt of the code. It can work because Wizards had a code to get a percentage off the PHB in the essentials set. I don't see how they could do something similar for other products. They could even have the forms be all digital that way there are no printing costs surrounding the discount.
No matter what I do understand better why things cost the way they do on beyond and other portals.
Again thank you for giving me great responses and not calling me an idiot, etc. After reading your replies and thinking on it, I still think it would be nice to have some kind of discount offered for content either here or on roll 20 etc. Though after thinking on it, it should be wizards that offers the discount and not the digital folks just unsure of how it would work. Though the easiest would be similar to the Menards way of doing rebates. You buy said product, provide proof of NEW purchase. submit receipt and a form and get a discount code to use for a percentage off on the digital content. and to make it fair you have to use the code within a certain time frame from date of recipt of the code. It can work because Wizards had a code to get a percentage off the PHB in the essentials set. I don't see how they could do something similar for other products. They could even have the forms be all digital that way there are no printing costs surrounding the discount.
No matter what I do understand better why things cost the way they do on beyond and other portals.
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks for taking our replies seriously. The Essentials kit worked because it was a shrink wrapped/fully enclosed item. The books are not. So it would be relatively easy for someone to come into a store and steal the code from a book without purchasing the book. Menards' system works in part because they only have to deal with one Point of Sale System (cash register program). Trying to do something similar with receipts across a large number of retailers (Amazon, Target, Mom & Pop FLGSs, etc.) and POS systems would be a nightmare.
Don't get me wrong, i think it would be nice/helpful if WOTC would do something like this, but I can see why doing so isn't feasible, at least not without increasing the cost of the physical books.
I hope this is the right place to post this because I feel compelled to provide feedback to Fandom that the recent bulk 25% off of everything sale that happened end of April 2021 encouraged me to go ahead and buy a few books...and by a few I mean everything possible.
I love to collect things and unfortunately when it comes to digital assets...I'm just the type never to pay full price (or sometimes anything at all /naughtynaughty). I bought a few of the hardback books and want to collect them overtime however that didn't stop me from seeking out all the official 5e information I could gather up in digital format. I knew of DDB however didn't use it all that much with everything being behind a paywall. With this recent sale I bought a few of my hardback books so I could quickly reference the material online. Your website is pretty dang optimized and your character sheets are awesome. Whatever internal search engine you use is fantastic. There's always room for improvement but offering a discount coupled with a highly functional site and ever improving mobile app experience won me over.
Over the course of the sale (I'm sure DDB can check my purchase history) I started with just a few books, then completed the source books, then few more adventures, eventually bought the legendary bundle, signed up for a subscription and then upgraded to master tier to share the books with my family. Having the discount on preorder as well as applying the discount for already owned content to the bundle purchases make sure to squeeze every last drop out of this customer and I plan on picking up all new digital books through here too. I know not everyone has enough disposable income to do the same but I'm happy to "go legit" with digital content through your company and support the content creation efforts from WotC.
I don't know how often those sales happen but I hope your marketing team has seen a fantastic bump in revenue due to that sale. I look forward to continued development on existing products as well as the whispered topic of a VTT someday. Please be sure to pass along this feedback to everyone involved. Well done DDB. Well done.
Of course! It was helpful that you treated my inquiry as it were the very first time you had to deal with it! That is always a hard thing!
Yeah having the codes in book would be a nightmare. I'm sure a clever coder could come up with something that could work for all retailers. And digital systems. That's definitely not me!
I am a little miffed that I have to buy the full digital book of Tasha's just to get the new class features (i.e. Ranger - Beast Master) instead of just being able to buy them individually like I can for subclasses, items, spells, etc. I like buying my books in hardcopy then purchasing what I need as needed for when I build characters. I know that D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast are separate entities, but I just can't help but feel a bit cheated :(
I love D&D Beyond and I know, as a company, it needs to make money; but I also don't understand why this type of content can't be handled the same way other book sections are.
The fact you get anything as a piecemeal option is a blessing from D&D Beyond. Let's not get all fussy about it. It's a privilege, not a right. You haven't been cheated out on anything, the site already offers more budget options than any other competitor and is already the absolute cheapest place to get D&D 5th Edition content.
The optional features are a lot harder to code as a sellable plug and play standalone like whole subclasses, spells, etc. The dev team are already massively swamped with other things.
I appreciate it would be nice to buy the Tasha options separately, so any post going "I would like this" is one I'm in agreement with. But people posting about being "miffed" it wasn't just automatically made available and feeling "cheated", are just being overdramatic Karens which is being disrespectful to the Devs. You're not entitled to anything, you have not been cheated at all. If you got the hardcover, then fantastic, use the homebrew tools and recreate the stuff for free: all of Tasha's extra options can be homebrewed rather easily. So you can, with a bit of time, get everything you want on here at no extra cost.
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What would happen if DDB were to quit their activities? We still bought the books on here but if DDB as a whole shuts down, we still lose access to those books if I'm not mistaken. Most people here spent quite some money on the books and I for one would be frustrated if I suddenly lost all of that, I would feel ripped off.
What would happen if DDB were to quit their activities? We still bought the books on here but if DDB as a whole shuts down, we still lose access to those books if I'm not mistaken. Most people here spent quite some money on the books and I for one would be frustrated if I suddenly lost all of that, I would feel ripped off.
Just like for any other website, you can save web pages on here for your own use.
The app should also still work even if they discontinue support for it. My Beyond Reader app still works even though Beyond stopped supporting it.
Is there a way, or has there been discussion about providing a way, to purchase a redemption code outright from a local game store? To be clear I'm not talking about bundling a physical product with a code, simply selling a code all by itself in such a way that I could be supporting my LGS by making the purchase?
Not sure if there is a better explanation that someone who understands the situation fully could answer for you, though I've copied this from the article.
Point of Sale code verification systems have an overhead that smaller gaming stores can't afford
I think in some way that either D&D Beyond or the LGS would somehow be worse off depending on how it would work (don't quote me on that though - I'm by no means an expert on the subject)
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 thought I was buying a physical copy of the books, even though I did see this message buried beneath the product descriptions:
This purchase unlocks the contents of this source for use with D&D Beyond, including the book in digital format in the game compendium and access options from the book in the searchable listings, character builder, and digital sheet.
However, this description never says that the purchase includes only a digital book, just that it “includ[ed] the book in digital format.” Based on that description, I believed that the digital book was a bonus.
If DnDBeyond sells only e-books, that should have been explicitly stated in the product’s title and the Marketplace categories, not buried beneath the product descriptions. The title Player’s Handbook should have been “Player’s Handbook (digital),” and the category “Sourcebooks” should have been “Digital Sourcebooks.” By making one category “Digital Dice,” it is clear that DnDBeyond sells only digital dice, but not tangible dice. The descriptions for the bundles say “Purchasing this bundle unlocks all __ official digital [adventure books/sourcebooks] on D&D Beyond.” By sporadically using the word “digital” for only the category “Digital Dice,” and by only sporadically describing the books as digital, DnDBeyond’s omission of the word “digital” in most categories, titles, and product descriptions led me to believe that I was buying a physical book.
What makes this especially egregious is that the product pages warn that there are no refunds for digital purchases. Because it is foreseeable that customers will buy the books believing they will receive a physical copy, the “no refunds” policy on digital purchases (and specifically digital purchase) makes it very easy for DnDBeyond to take people’s money without ever reaching a true meeting of the minds (mutual assent) for what the customer is actually buying.
I am not asking for a refund, to be clear. I like having digital books. I am only saying that DnDBeyond should be careful not to deceive its customers, even if unintentionally, because when someone buys something, they should know what product they’re actually paying for. As this thread makes very clear, the physical copies of the books are entirely separate products sold by entirely separate entities.
The title Player’s Handbook should have been “Player’s Handbook (digital),” and the category “Sourcebooks” should have been “Digital Sourcebooks.” By making one category “Digital Dice,” it is clear that DnDBeyond sells only digital dice, but not tangible dice. The descriptions for the bundles say “Purchasing this bundle unlocks all __ official digital [adventure books/sourcebooks] on D&D Beyond.” By sporadically using the word “digital” for only the category “Digital Dice,” and by only sporadically describing the books as digital, DnDBeyond’s omission of the word “digital” in most categories, titles, and product descriptions led me to believe that I was buying a physical book.
In all honesty, I actually very much agree with the points you've made here; a lot of confusion sometimes comes from this being almost advertised as the 'Official Site' for D&D, so those not in the know or fail to do the research may end up thinking they will get something when they won't.
I would actually be in favour of changing the titles in the Marketplace from 'Player's Handbook' to 'Player's Handbook (Digital)' or 'Digital Player's Handbook'. This small change would hopefully prevent any mishaps/misunderstandings when customers are making an order.
In D&D Beyond's defence though, I will mention that at the 'My Cart' section, it does say the following prior to making a purchase - note the bit in red (Example here of a pre-order of one of the sourcebooks):
Subtotal$23.99
Total before tax$23.99
Tax (calculated after address)$0.00
Order total$23.99
All purchases are for digital products for use on dndbeyond.com. You will NOT receive physical item(s).
Minimum cart total of $1.99 regardless of the coupons or previously purchased content credits that are applied.
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.
Admin Stormknight kindly got back to me after I put the suggestion forward for the slight change in name in the Marketplace:
'D&D Beyond are not allowed to change the name or description of the books, as per contract with Wizards of the Coast.
That said, I have passed this feedback on to the marketing team.'
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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 didn't know this was digital only. I preordered Fizbans, thinking I will get a hard cover book. Now I only got a digital copy that I didn't want and 30 wasted Euros.
I didn't know this was digital only. I preordered Fizbans, thinking I will get a hard cover book. Now I only got a digital copy that I didn't want and 30 wasted Euros.
On the My Cart page it does state in Red under the totals: All purchases are for digital products for use on dndbeyond.com. You will NOT receive physical item(s).
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So after re-reading the content in the sticky at the top of the forum I found on caveat to the entire explanation. And that is once all the content has been coded and uploaded to to the server it requires only occasional maintenance, for bugs, glitches and content corrections or additions, that it. Yes I know that takes time and a small staff to to do it's still not 49.99 worth of book content cost. And from what I understand is if I own content on beyond I can also use it on other platforms so I don't have to buy content multiple times.
If you look at the cost of digital books on Amazon and the few remaining booksellers they only cost as much as a regular book for the first year or so the book is new, then the price significantly drops. Honestly a system where I pay 1/2 or 1/4 the cost of the digital book would make sense heck even if having to buy a subscription to get a lower cost makes even more sense than the system in place. I also understand licensing fees etc. are involved, but there has to be a better way.
Cheers,
Bill
1) "books" here do not cost $49.99, at least not in US dollars; if all you want is the digital book (which is what you seem to be describing here), they typically cost around $20 in US dollars for the compendium only version.
2) if you also want to use the content in the character builder, spell/monster magic item listings, then they tend to cost about $30 US. But with this price, there is far more involved than just "upkeep," as the tools are continually being updated and expanded. Actually, this is even somewhat true of the compendium option, as several of the compendiums have been "revamped" to add a lot more links, update the styling and formatting, etc. Plus, whenever WOTC issues errata, those changes are made to the compendium.
3) It is not (generally) the case that you can use content purchased here on other platforms. There are some third party, unsupported browser extensions that connect DDB content with Roll 20, Foundry and the like, that allows some interactivity; but "owning" the content here does not give you access to it in another RPG related service/site. (If it did, it no doubt would cost even more, as the other site would need to receive a "cut")
One other tidbit you may not be aware of: Before DDB, official 5e content on sites like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds cost around $50 US a book, that is the MRSP (Manufacturer's recommended Selling Price). In other words, it was more expensive than what you could get the hardcover books for at Amazon, and the same prices as hardcovers at FLGS. (Friendly Local Gaming stores). As it was gearing up, DDB made a strong pitch to WOTC to offer content at prices lower than that (and to offer Ă la carte purchases of character options). They made their case, and when DDB's beta ended and they offered non-SRD content for purchase, the prices were what they are now. Shortly thereafter, Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds also lowered their prices. So DDBs entrance on the scene actually lowered the costs of digital 5e material not just for its own customers, but for Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds customers, too.
If you don't think that the services here are worth the cost, then don't purchase content/use the site. That's absolutely your right, and no one should tell you otherwise.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Arewens Daughter - Thanks for clarifying. 1. I may not be digging to see the compendium versions.
2. I do sometimes forget how often things can get changed and that does translate into more dev work. And even in todays plug and play website tools, code functionality still needs to be built. But even with that once it's live most of the cost is recouped faster than that of a physical thing. (esp if your site runs adds in the background)
3. Ahh, I must have miss understood how the cross platforming between sites worked.
4. I'm relatively new to 5e lat time I played was before the lunge of 3e! Only got back into the game recently cuz my kiddos and one of their friends got bit by the bug. I don't have a problem with the cost of product for my self. There are plenty of folks getting into the game that may not have the monetary resources to access the game with some of the costs associated with some of the content. Which may not allow them to enjoy the game to the extent they wish. But knowing those early costs, insane!
Even after all that I have said I like how beyond works and I'm glad there are all these online resources for us to enjoy a game we all love.
Thanks again.
Cheers,
Bill
Unless you have access to Beyond's or Fandom's financials, I would not assume recouping cost is as easy as you make it sound to be. People without a background in finance/business often underestimate how much expenses can eat into revenue and significantly reduce profit. Beyond seems pretty short staffed and stretched thin on manpower, but that does not necessarily mean they are a small team. If I remember correctly, they have several different development teams, with some in North America and some in Europe, and each of those teams also need a place to work, so rent, utilities, and various other costs besides software development also needs to be factored in. There are also advertising, admin, license fees, server maintenance, and various other expenses that can all adds up. Just because a product is digital does not mean it is going to shower its creator with tons of profit.
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Just to piggy-back on that comment, in a recent Dev Update, Dave Hartless mentioned that when they started they had a dev team of 2, himself and a front end engineer. I think he said that is now closer to 50, although that could have been more than developers/engineers. If that number is "just" developers, there are all the other roles that aren't developers but are necessary. So their expenses have certainly gone up over time. It's also possible (although none of us who aren't staff can know for sure) that this least year they had additional expenses transitioning to working from home due to the pandemic. It's possible that not everyone had sufficient internet bandwith, hardware and software to do so, especially since DDB had been resistant to remote work prior to the pandemic. (Several times in pre-pandemic dev updates, when DDB was hiring, Adam fielded questions about whether or not folks could remote work or whether the expectation was relocating to Huntsville. The answer was always that they wanted people to be in the same place. That has obviously changed, and they've embraced working from home.)
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Again thank you for giving me great responses and not calling me an idiot, etc. After reading your replies and thinking on it, I still think it would be nice to have some kind of discount offered for content either here or on roll 20 etc. Though after thinking on it, it should be wizards that offers the discount and not the digital folks just unsure of how it would work. Though the easiest would be similar to the Menards way of doing rebates. You buy said product, provide proof of NEW purchase. submit receipt and a form and get a discount code to use for a percentage off on the digital content. and to make it fair you have to use the code within a certain time frame from date of recipt of the code. It can work because Wizards had a code to get a percentage off the PHB in the essentials set. I don't see how they could do something similar for other products. They could even have the forms be all digital that way there are no printing costs surrounding the discount.
No matter what I do understand better why things cost the way they do on beyond and other portals.
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks for taking our replies seriously. The Essentials kit worked because it was a shrink wrapped/fully enclosed item. The books are not. So it would be relatively easy for someone to come into a store and steal the code from a book without purchasing the book. Menards' system works in part because they only have to deal with one Point of Sale System (cash register program). Trying to do something similar with receipts across a large number of retailers (Amazon, Target, Mom & Pop FLGSs, etc.) and POS systems would be a nightmare.
Don't get me wrong, i think it would be nice/helpful if WOTC would do something like this, but I can see why doing so isn't feasible, at least not without increasing the cost of the physical books.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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I hope this is the right place to post this because I feel compelled to provide feedback to Fandom that the recent bulk 25% off of everything sale that happened end of April 2021 encouraged me to go ahead and buy a few books...and by a few I mean everything possible.
I love to collect things and unfortunately when it comes to digital assets...I'm just the type never to pay full price (or sometimes anything at all /naughtynaughty). I bought a few of the hardback books and want to collect them overtime however that didn't stop me from seeking out all the official 5e information I could gather up in digital format. I knew of DDB however didn't use it all that much with everything being behind a paywall. With this recent sale I bought a few of my hardback books so I could quickly reference the material online. Your website is pretty dang optimized and your character sheets are awesome. Whatever internal search engine you use is fantastic. There's always room for improvement but offering a discount coupled with a highly functional site and ever improving mobile app experience won me over.
Over the course of the sale (I'm sure DDB can check my purchase history) I started with just a few books, then completed the source books, then few more adventures, eventually bought the legendary bundle, signed up for a subscription and then upgraded to master tier to share the books with my family. Having the discount on preorder as well as applying the discount for already owned content to the bundle purchases make sure to squeeze every last drop out of this customer and I plan on picking up all new digital books through here too. I know not everyone has enough disposable income to do the same but I'm happy to "go legit" with digital content through your company and support the content creation efforts from WotC.
I don't know how often those sales happen but I hope your marketing team has seen a fantastic bump in revenue due to that sale. I look forward to continued development on existing products as well as the whispered topic of a VTT someday. Please be sure to pass along this feedback to everyone involved. Well done DDB. Well done.
Of course! It was helpful that you treated my inquiry as it were the very first time you had to deal with it! That is always a hard thing!
Yeah having the codes in book would be a nightmare. I'm sure a clever coder could come up with something that could work for all retailers. And digital systems. That's definitely not me!
I am a little miffed that I have to buy the full digital book of Tasha's just to get the new class features (i.e. Ranger - Beast Master) instead of just being able to buy them individually like I can for subclasses, items, spells, etc. I like buying my books in hardcopy then purchasing what I need as needed for when I build characters. I know that D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast are separate entities, but I just can't help but feel a bit cheated :(
I love D&D Beyond and I know, as a company, it needs to make money; but I also don't understand why this type of content can't be handled the same way other book sections are.
The fact you get anything as a piecemeal option is a blessing from D&D Beyond. Let's not get all fussy about it. It's a privilege, not a right. You haven't been cheated out on anything, the site already offers more budget options than any other competitor and is already the absolute cheapest place to get D&D 5th Edition content.
The optional features are a lot harder to code as a sellable plug and play standalone like whole subclasses, spells, etc. The dev team are already massively swamped with other things.
I appreciate it would be nice to buy the Tasha options separately, so any post going "I would like this" is one I'm in agreement with. But people posting about being "miffed" it wasn't just automatically made available and feeling "cheated", are just being overdramatic Karens which is being disrespectful to the Devs. You're not entitled to anything, you have not been cheated at all. If you got the hardcover, then fantastic, use the homebrew tools and recreate the stuff for free: all of Tasha's extra options can be homebrewed rather easily. So you can, with a bit of time, get everything you want on here at no extra cost.
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Something I wonder and hope it doesn't happen.
What would happen if DDB were to quit their activities? We still bought the books on here but if DDB as a whole shuts down, we still lose access to those books if I'm not mistaken. Most people here spent quite some money on the books and I for one would be frustrated if I suddenly lost all of that, I would feel ripped off.
Just like for any other website, you can save web pages on here for your own use.
The app should also still work even if they discontinue support for it. My Beyond Reader app still works even though Beyond stopped supporting it.
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Is there a way, or has there been discussion about providing a way, to purchase a redemption code outright from a local game store? To be clear I'm not talking about bundling a physical product with a code, simply selling a code all by itself in such a way that I could be supporting my LGS by making the purchase?
Not sure if there is a better explanation that someone who understands the situation fully could answer for you, though I've copied this from the article.
I think in some way that either D&D Beyond or the LGS would somehow be worse off depending on how it would work (don't quote me on that though - I'm by no means an expert on the subject)
#Open D&D
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I thought I was buying a physical copy of the books, even though I did see this message buried beneath the product descriptions:
However, this description never says that the purchase includes only a digital book, just that it “includ[ed] the book in digital format.” Based on that description, I believed that the digital book was a bonus.
If DnDBeyond sells only e-books, that should have been explicitly stated in the product’s title and the Marketplace categories, not buried beneath the product descriptions. The title Player’s Handbook should have been “Player’s Handbook (digital),” and the category “Sourcebooks” should have been “Digital Sourcebooks.” By making one category “Digital Dice,” it is clear that DnDBeyond sells only digital dice, but not tangible dice. The descriptions for the bundles say “Purchasing this bundle unlocks all __ official digital [adventure books/sourcebooks] on D&D Beyond.” By sporadically using the word “digital” for only the category “Digital Dice,” and by only sporadically describing the books as digital, DnDBeyond’s omission of the word “digital” in most categories, titles, and product descriptions led me to believe that I was buying a physical book.
What makes this especially egregious is that the product pages warn that there are no refunds for digital purchases. Because it is foreseeable that customers will buy the books believing they will receive a physical copy, the “no refunds” policy on digital purchases (and specifically digital purchase) makes it very easy for DnDBeyond to take people’s money without ever reaching a true meeting of the minds (mutual assent) for what the customer is actually buying.
I am not asking for a refund, to be clear. I like having digital books. I am only saying that DnDBeyond should be careful not to deceive its customers, even if unintentionally, because when someone buys something, they should know what product they’re actually paying for. As this thread makes very clear, the physical copies of the books are entirely separate products sold by entirely separate entities.
In all honesty, I actually very much agree with the points you've made here; a lot of confusion sometimes comes from this being almost advertised as the 'Official Site' for D&D, so those not in the know or fail to do the research may end up thinking they will get something when they won't.
I would actually be in favour of changing the titles in the Marketplace from 'Player's Handbook' to 'Player's Handbook (Digital)' or 'Digital Player's Handbook'. This small change would hopefully prevent any mishaps/misunderstandings when customers are making an order.
In D&D Beyond's defence though, I will mention that at the 'My Cart' section, it does say the following prior to making a purchase - note the bit in red (Example here of a pre-order of one of the sourcebooks):
#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.
Admin Stormknight kindly got back to me after I put the suggestion forward for the slight change in name in the Marketplace:
'D&D Beyond are not allowed to change the name or description of the books, as per contract with Wizards of the Coast.
That said, I have passed this feedback on to the marketing team.'
#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 didn't know this was digital only. I preordered Fizbans, thinking I will get a hard cover book. Now I only got a digital copy that I didn't want and 30 wasted Euros.
On the My Cart page it does state in Red under the totals:
All purchases are for digital products for use on dndbeyond.com. You will NOT receive physical item(s).