This is the editorial I wrote for The Rifter #48, but considering how topical it is, I thought I’d post it here and now. Btw, Dad is back home, so is Arlene (his girlfriend), you can start to order the X-Mas Surprise Package already (don't ship till Oct 9), and sales are up (not spectacular, but much better than the previous 2-3 weeks).
– Kevin
From the Desk of Kevin Siembieda
As I have talked about in previous issues of The Rifter® and many Murmurs from the Megaverse® (on the Palladium website), sales have been up, down and all over the place the entire year. Palladium will have a couple of good months, and then a couple of bad. It keeps your hair standing on end and your mind wondering: “Are we doing really well, or are we in trouble?”
September sales have always been bad. ALWAYS. But this year, they were in the absolute toilet. And that was following a weak August because we had no new product that month nor for the first two-thirds of September.
That meant on September 14 I had to “temporarily” layoff Wayne Smith and Jason Marker for what I expected to be 6-8 weeks. With a little luck and increased sales from new releases and Christmas Surprise Packages, I still hope that period will be shorter.
News of the layoffs touched off a firestorm of worry and concern among Palladium fans online.
Should you be worried?
Maybe.
Interest in Palladium products remains high. We see many new customers ordering all the time (really), and there is a lot of positive buzz and excitement among our thousands of long-time fans and loyal customers.
So why are sales so lousy?
That’s an easy question, the economic conditions around the world have hurt us badly, and changes in postal shipping rates have crushed foreign sales.
Online and mail order sales to Canada have dropped by 60% and sales overseas have plunged by 90%! This is due in part to the “global” cash crunch, but a much bigger villain is changes made by the United States Post Office a year ago. There is no longer any type of inexpensive means to ship books outside the USA. A $60 order with three large books, to England or Europe costs $43 to ship via Priority Mail International ($22 to Canada). Any package over 4 pounds (1.8 kg) must ship via International Priority Mail. The overseas customer is getting hammered with the shipping cost, and that extreme cost is crippling Palladium’s sales outside the USA. And there is nothing Palladium can do to get around that. It stinks.
Back home, money is tight for the majority of our fans. As I discussed in one of my September Murmurs from the Megaverse® postings, I see loyal fans struggling with the decision of which one or two books to purchase out of the 8-10 they want. I saw this at a recent store promotion and book signing where Palladium products were on sale at a 40% discount. Even with the big discount, I saw fans agonize – and I mean agonize for 20 minutes – over which 1-3 books they should get. In every case, the gamer walked in with X to spend, not a penny more, and was wary of spending even that. I see it time and time again at stores and in our online sales and mail order. We are seeing customers who used to purchase a book the second it was available, and now waiting 1-6 months to make their purchase. Since Palladium Books has a close rapport with many of its fans, we are constantly hearing worried stories from gamers who have lost their job, been laid off, forced to take a pay cut or reduced hours of work, fear being laid off or losing their job, have a spouse who has been laid off, are having mortgage problems, or suffering some other financial setback. I can not begin to count the number of fans who have apologized to me for not being able to buy more or support Palladium better.
Times are tough for almost everybody.
What you need to know is that we, at Palladium, understand that. There is no reason to apologize for not having the money to buy the books you might want from us. It is okay. YOU need to take care of yourselves and your families. If Palladium wasn’t already hurt and still recovering from the specter of the Crisis of Treachery, we’d almost certainly be fine, but we aren’t. Palladium is not in immediate danger of going out of business, but, yeah, we are hurting at the moment. And that’s the frustrating thing, we’ve had some months where we were doing great, others where we’ve been doing fair and some that have been . . . well, just pain terrible.
That having been said, Autumn and Christmas sales (including the sale of new releases and Christmas Surprise Packages) have ALWAYS been fantastic. If – and in these scary times, that may be a big “if” – we see the usual range of sales, we should recover at least for the next several months and into the New Year. Our next hurdle will be the slow months of February, March and April. After that, we pray the economy strengthens and sales get back to normal and remain fairly strong.
We can help each other
We can help each other with the 2009 Palladium Christmas Surprise Package, also known as the Palladium “grab bag.” I am increasing the value of the goods in each Surprise Package by $10-$20 and may even include MORE in some. That means instead of the $70+ worth of product in past Christmas Surprise Packages for $35 (plus shipping), you can expect to see $80, $90, and even $100 worth of Palladium product in the ones for 2009.
This is something I want to do. This is something I have been planning on doing since July. It is a way I can help you get the many Palladium RPGs, sourcebooks, non-book products (coffee mugs, magnets, sticky notes, dice bags, T-shirts, art prints, etc.) and things that you’ve been wanting but really can’t afford. It is a way for you to purchase a LOT to give to the special gamer in your life (spouse, brother, parent, G.M., buddy, etc.) for less. Or a way to get a lot and divvy it up as gifts for several friends.
PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY.
We are so pumped up about wanting to make Christmas special during these very tough times, that the Palladium crew is stepping up and going beyond the call of duty.
1. My father, Henry Siembieda, ailing and undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, insisted on coming in and signing books. He signed more than 600 over a two day period (this past Friday and Saturday) as well as helped with some prep work. That’s a bigger deal than you might think, because in addition to feeling under the weather, Hank has always hated signing books.
2. Brian and Allen Manning, other artists and I will be doing quick, convention style sketches to drop into Christmas Surprise Packages so fans of original art can get something special. The sketches can’t be anything specific like your character, and they will be quick, simple pencil or ink drawings, but they’ll be original, one-of-a-kind art. And they are being done by artists who want to make your Christmas special. This was Brian Manning’s idea. Don’t I have the best crew of people working for me?
3. I’ll be packing those Christmas Grab Bags FULL of goodies.
You will be helping Palladium too, by purchasing our product, spreading the joy, and playing our games. Even though the books in the grab bags are selling at a discount, I’d rather be selling them and getting them into the hands of gamers who want them, than letting them sit in our warehouse gathering dust until people can afford them. Games are meant to be played.
It is a win, win situation. It is what Christmas and family are all about. We help each other, show our appreciation, and spread joy.
When things get better for you, keep on buying our books as they come out.
I wish I could tell you everything will be fine. Certainly Palladium’s potential is as tremendous as ever (I wish they’d make that darn Rifts® movie, don’t you?) and we have a zillion ideas for new books. I guess time will tell. Let’s hope the economy picks up soon. In the meantime, try to stay positive, appreciate what you have and enjoy the upcoming holiday season with friends and loved ones. Oh yeah, and squeeze in a little role-playing. Take care.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer & Game Designer
Palladium Books®, Inc. – 28 years of RPG Publishing
© Copyright September 21, 2009 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, Fleets of the Three Galaxies, Mysteries of Magic, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.