With everything that has happened over the last few years and with inflation, a lot of prices are changing. They change because it takes longer and costs more to ship, because cost of goods have gone up and because inflation is adding to the price. And the industry, or part of the board gaming world it’s probably hit the most is Crowdfunding.

For better or worse, and really better and worse, crowdfunding is really hard for small creators. Bigger ones are even running into issues. But for small creators, it’s hard to get noticed. That means, for better, that people with ideas that have been done before or reskins of Monopoly can’t get their game made. On the downside, creators who really have put a lot of passion into a game and turned out something great are having a harder go of it.

But that’s got nothing to do with the question for today.

Which Is Better For Crowdfunding – Cheaper Game or Shipping

I know there might be some who disagree, but for a lot of games it’s just not possible to get the price down. Or the game would not be the same without those nicer components, minis, custom meeples, or metal coins. Does it mean that companies shouldn’t be looking to save money, no, they should be. But as consumers backing on Crowdfunding, there is a certain level that is expected.

However, those expectations now might not match up to what the consumer expects. Linen finish cards, I generally expect that. But more so, good card thickness, an insert that makes sense, stuff that really isn’t that common place in retail board games. It might be getting more common, but it’s not common place. So costs are going to go up for games.

Cheaper Shipping

Costs can go up in two areas. The first being that the game can cost more. The additional cost of a game, all of it, from materials to shipping can be added to the cost of the game. This will keep the shipping price more stable.

And in fact, this way can help cover more general variability in pricing. And it makes the most sense, between the two, for a business. But it’s less ideal for the consumer. Mainly because once a price goes up, rarely will it come back down. So even if shipping costs go down, or material costs go down, the price is still going to stay higher. But from a business side of things, it allows them to “hide” the costs more or the buffer more.

And I don’t mean this in a bad way, but being able to hide your margin somewhat means that people won’t complain about shipping costs. What I’m not talking about is taking on an extra $20 that would never get used to the cost. Something that would just purely be profit.

Cheaper Game

On the flip side, you could keep the price of the game lower. This means splitting out the costs over two things. First the cost of the game, which would go up slightly no matter what because of material costs and inflation. The other part would be the shipping costs.

From a consumer side of things this is a bit nicer. You aren’t actually paying less, but the payment is split over two. You pay once on the crowdfunding platform and then again with shipping. It also allows the companies to get the most accurate estimate for their shipping. If shipping goes up, they can add to the cost, if it goes down, they can reduce the cost.

But there is a downside for the consumer. If a company completely misestimates a the cost of shipping a game, now the new shipping estimate is higher. And that can erode consumer confidence. It shouldn’t, every company, new and established are needing to ask for more funds to help cover shipping differences. I do think that will become less common, but we still have early 2020 or even 2019 crowdfunded games shipping. Those estimates are no where near right.

So What’s the Best Answer?

Honestly, I do not believe that there is a best answer. I would be curious to know what people thing on it? If I had to guess, I think that more people would prefer a more expensive game and cheaper shipping. Mainly because they don’t get that big hit twice. Even though, in the long run, I think that methodology might be worse for the consumer. It locks in prices potentially more so.

But it’s an easier pill to swallow when it’s one bigger hit and a smaller hit to the wallet. And I think people are more apt to overlook that it might not be quite the same value as before. People should know that inflation and shipping crisis are a thing, though some lessening, and know to expect to pay more. It seems like a lot of people don’t though, so hiding that cost, might be best.

Final Thoughts

I know I cover the cost of things and shipping pretty often. Mainly because it’s a topic that keeps on coming up. And I get why it does. Inflation hits everything. That means the cost of everything is going up, and all those lousy things you need for your life are costing more. I run into the same issue.

And the desire is that board games stay at the same price. The things that we want to make us feel better should stay cheap so that we can indulge once in a while. Now, is that reasonable, no, but I get wanting it to be the case. I want to back more games than I do, I want to buy more games than I do. But sometimes things take a back burner. The people I feel worst for with it are the small creators who have a great project that is harder to get scene because of everything.

Do you find yourself buying or backing fewer games now?

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