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.

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.

[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.

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.