Hard Decisions...

[ffutures]

By far my biggest expense in sending out the Forgotten Futures CD-ROMs is postage.

A detailed breakdown of costs of sending out the Forgotten Futures CD-ROMs is quite complicated, but the bottom line is that the extra pound I charge users in the US and Europe now doesn't come close to covering the extra cost of postage, since every purchaser actually gets two mailings - the FF CD-ROM initially, and the next release of the game eventually.

A big part of the shortfall is down to using a jewel case for the FF CD-ROM; it needs a padded envelope, weighs more, and can only be sent as a small packet, not as an airmail letter. And jewel cases don't actually give the disk more protection than they get in a vinyl pouch in a card envelope; since I started using the card envelopes for the charity disks etc. I've had no damage reports, whereas about one jewel case in 15 or 20 arrives broken, and a couple have the disk damaged.

Bearing these points in mind, I think that with the next release of the FF CD-ROM I'm going to have to start supplying it in a pouch, not a jewel case - I'll include the jewel case insert, of course, for anyone who wants to use one. Unless people think that this will have an adverse effect on sales.

So - another poll...

[Poll #1149303]

Comments

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

The important thing is that it gets there alive. Heck, in a year it might be cheaper to put them on 1GB USB drives and send them out that way.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Still a way to go there, I think. Cheapest I've seen 1gb for is four pounds so far, and it would fall into the "thick envelope" trap that helps to make jewel cases so much more expensive.

Hinc illae lacrimae

[akicif.livejournal.com]

It's maybe not so important with CD-ROMs you're producing yourself, but I've had too many incidents of being sent a CD or DVD in a soft packet and having it arrive in pieces to be at all comfy with the lack of a hard case of some description....

Re: Hinc illae lacrimae

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

The mailers are hard card - with the jewel cases the envelopes are padded but less resistant to bending etc.

Re: Hinc *illae* lacrimae

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Aarrgh. Filled in poll without having read the text above it - scrolling too quickly!

Will revise my answers.

[ggreig]

Always nice to get a jewel case, and yes, I would feel some initial disappointment if there wasn't one, but would it actually affect my opinion of the product? Certainly not in the case of a personally produced one like FF.

If it's both cheaper and more reliable to use a pouch, you don't even need a poll (nice to be asked though :-)

It wouldn't matter to me

[johnreiher.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I have a tonne of jewel cases and slim jewel cases. Old games get tossed and I reuse the case.

I would also spend the extra shilling or two to make sure you don't go broke mailing this stuff out.