Today, I'm talking to Brent Kinney, a vice president at Panda Game Manufacturing, about the ins and outs of the printing process.
There are a lot of nuances to the printing process, and the better you understand it, the easier and smoother everything will go. Panda GM is one of the major manufacturers of board games in the world, and Brent brings a ton of experience and insight to the discussion.
You can find the episode here:
http://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/the-ins-outs-of-printing-with-a-vice-p...
Comments
Sort of debating the issue of manufacturing
I find because of Kickstarters, Chinese manufacturers tend to quote higher prices than normal. Yes it makes sense if you are going to KS a product and earn the entire RETAIL price, you can offer discounts and include perks such as free shipping.
But where the challenge lies is pricing the base product you want to retail.
Because manufacturers pre-suppose it is for KS sales, the increase the price knowing that it doesn't really matter to a KS campaign. The problem is when it's Day #1 AFTER the KS and you want to sell via traditional retail channels such as distribution (60% MSRP discount) or retail (50% MSRP discount). The margins may be higher causing you to have unrealistic figures with regards to retail.
If the price is $10 sounds fine for a KS, you can price your game at $45 and still make a good profit. But the reality is that $10 (includes freight) should be sold at $50. Offering the discount is more difficult because the retailer and distributor have expectations regarding the price.
Anyways we're discussing this... I've told my publisher I'll leave pricing in their capable hands. I already expressed my opinion. I'll let them iron out the details...
Also not helping...
I'm not aware about the US (been a while since I visited the US and did any shopping...) but in Quebec (Canada), we have a 15% sales tax.
If the game is $50.00 CAD and gamers need to pay sales tax, then the REAL price of the game is $57.50 CAD which is NEARLY $60.00 CAD.
While I can imagine that $60.00 CAD is not that expensive... I can't help to think: "Will gamers risk paying $60.00 CAD on a less known game???"
If the price was like $44.00 CAD + 15% taxes = $51.75 and therefore closer to $50.00 CAD ... that price point MIGHT attract more buyers.
IDK - I'm just into the whole psychology about what buyers think about the price and how it compares to other games. Ideally more expensive than your average Party Game and less expensive than a game such as Dominion (which is currently retailing for $50.00 CAD on Amazon.ca)...
Blah... Don't like thinking about this.
Personal experiences with Panda?
I saw another post about dice here recently regarding good & bad dice from Panda. I'm wondering how many of you on here might've worked with Panda and what your thoughts on them are?
I'm not quite to the production phase yet - still play-testing! But I really like the idea of a company made up of game enthusiasts. I do have custom dice in my game, among a bunch of other components, so I figured it's worth trying to get familiar with some manufacturers.
If you haven't worked with Panda, what about owning games made by them?
Just look at games
Just look at games from:
Stonemaier Games
Red Raven Games
Plaid Hat Games
Tasty Minstrel Games
Those companies do all or nearly all of their manufacturing with Panda.