Cost of D&D Editions, then and now

[Zardnaar]

Unearthed Arcana was a later 1e book. I'm talking the original printings of the PHB, MM, and DMG. Those things were beasts!

I've heard that they were printed by the same people who made school textbooks (that would also get beat up by students carrying them around) or something like that which is why they could take so much damage.

I have one MM that has a cover so fragged around the edges and beaten to heck and back, but the binding is still strong and the pages still there! The cover is like it was in a hurricane, then an explosion, and then smashed under a train for good standing, but inside it still is great!

Stitch binding vs "perfect" binding.

My 1st 5E book fell apart in less than a year. 2/3 were crap.

Went through 3 or 4 phb on my second MM.

 

[MerricB]

Unearthed Arcana was a later 1e book. I'm talking the original printings of the PHB, MM, and DMG. Those things were beasts!

I've heard that they were printed by the same people who made school textbooks (that would also get beat up by students carrying them around) or something like that which is why they could take so much damage.

I have one MM that has a cover so fragged around the edges and beaten to heck and back, but the binding is still strong and the pages still there! The cover is like it was in a hurricane, then an explosion, and then smashed under a train for good standing, but inside it still is great!

It's amazing looking at the jump upwards in quality: little OD&D booklets and supplements... not that great.

Initial printing of AD&D books: Will survive several apocalypses!

Later printings were sadly downhill.

Cheers,
Merric

 

[Parmandur]

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE

So, the new price for D&D books going into the revisions is $60. So it will cost $180 MSRP to get all three core books as of next February.

With inflation, the 2014 MSRP would be $65 per core book, so a complete three book set in 2014 was $195 in today's money.

Well, well, well, folks we have a twist: all 3 Core books for the 2024 revision will have a $49.99 price tage, each coming in at 384 pages, that is approximately one Spelljammer ox set longer than the 2014 Core books.

So, the direct comparison is now $150 2024 MSRP as opposed to $195 in inflation adjusted 2014 MSRP, and maybe even the cheapest Core set of books yet?

 

[Parmandur]

Yup, a quick check shows that the 2024 PHB will be, in actual financial terms, the cheapest and the largest PHB ever.

 

[Meech17]

Yup, a quick check shows that the 2024 PHB will be, in actual financial terms, the cheapest and the largest PHB ever.

Let's all just hope that content wise, it proves to be the most value packed as well.

 

[Parmandur]

Let's all just hope that content wise, it proves to be the most value packed as well.

Well, we g[t a big juicy taste in Unearthed Arcana which is quite promising, and the new cover that just got revealed makes this an aesthwtic auto-buy for me: the art is very nice.

 

[Echohawk]

Yup, a quick check shows that the 2024 PHB will be, in actual financial terms, the cheapest and the largest PHB ever.

At that price, it's almost the cheapest PHB per page ever, beaten only by the 2000 version.

Players Handbook (June 1978, 128p): $9.95 --> $47.66 (37c/page)
Players Handbook (October 1983, 128p): $15.00 --> $46.39 (36c/page)
Player's Handbook (April 1989, 256p): $20.00 --> $50.74 (20c/page)
Player's Handbook (May 1995, 320p): $25.00 --> $51.30 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (August 2000, 304p): $19.95 --> $36.06 (12c/page)
Player's Handbook v.3.5 (July 2003, 320p): $29.95 --> $50.87 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (June 2008, 320p): $34.95 --> $49.89 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (August 2014, 320p): $49.95 --> $65.59 (20c/page)
Player's Handbook (September 2024, 384p): $49.99 (13c/page)

 

[Parmandur]

At that price, it's almost the cheapest PHB per page ever, beaten only by the 2000 version.

Players Handbook (June 1978, 128p): $9.95 --> $47.66 (37c/page)
Players Handbook (October 1983, 128p): $15.00 --> $46.39 (36c/page)
Player's Handbook (April 1989, 256p): $20.00 --> $50.74 (20c/page)
Player's Handbook (May 1995, 320p): $25.00 --> $51.30 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (August 2000, 304p): $19.95 --> $36.06 (12c/page)
Player's Handbook v.3.5 (July 2003, 320p): $29.95 --> $50.87 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (June 2008, 320p): $34.95 --> $49.89 (16c/page)
Player's Handbook (August 2014, 320p): $49.95 --> $65.59 (20c/page)
Player's Handbook (September 2024, 384p): $49.99 (13c/page)

Even that was a limited time sale: which for a close comparison, you would have to look at the eventual standard Amazon price, probably under $30.

 

[Echohawk]

Even that was a limited time sale: which for a close co.parison, you would have e to look at the eventual standard Amazon price, probavly under $30.

Personally, I think it's fair to compare list prices at launch. After all, we don't know that $49.99 is necessarily the price that the book will be selling at a year from now.

 

[Parmandur]

Personally, I think it's fair to compare list prices at launch. After all, we don't know that $49.99 is necessarily the price that the book will be selling at a year from now.

In general, probsvly less than $49.99 for anyone who buys from Target, Amazon, etc.

WotC hasn't even raised the price on a single book in the 5E era, even as they raised prices on new books.