New DRF Weekly Charts

[Valuist]

Ok, Marc at DRF, maybe you can explain this one: I just purchased the "new" DRF Weekly Charts, plunked down my 4 $1 bills and started to walk away. I was then informed that the price had been raised to $5. I defended Crist in the other forum, about how the DRF had improved since he became publisher. But I'm still trying to figure out how they are justifying the price increase. It's all the same information, just with slightly different packaging. Certainly not worthy of the 25% price hike, IMO.

[takeout]

The cost of paper must've gone up again. ;)

Just how dumb do these people think we are? I'm serious. They must think all of their customers are sharing the same IQ or something. First they raise the price of the Form with that same old paper excuse. Then they're the last ones on line to realize that some people only play one track (or only one at a time) and had to change their pricing "schemes" to include them. Then, first the Manual is $60 and then it's $40.

All they are saying with moves like that is, we just wanted to see how many ______ (you can fill in the blank) would pay $60 for it. Now that's just a slap in the face.

I used to buy a Manual every year and quit when a former ownership of DRF did essentially the same thing. I wouldn't buy one now for $10 because they've pissed me off. Just something they might want to think about as they continue to alienate their customers with these constant insults to their intelligence.

Now they turn around and up the price of the Weekly. Why am I not surprised? Charles Manson would probably have more stable pricing policies.

I quit taking the Weekly some 18 months ago because their printing company couldn't seem to get ink on the paper and I got tired of calling for replacement copies that I got sooner or later. Probably just as well.

Over the years DRF has managed to put me off of every one of its products.

Maybe Formulator will save them. Who knows?

And, on the bright side, there's always that 800 number. :D

[Marc At DRF]

This is a quote from the guy who oversees Simo Weekly, Irwin Cohen:

"The subscription price remains the same, and cover price is actually the same as it was before Simulcast Weekly was reformatted over three years ago. In that time the number of pages have increased by half with the addition of winners' books, trainer patterns, handicapping features, diaries, horses to watch, racing and stakes schedules, etc., etc."

So it's a 50% bigger book, for the extra buck. You can say you didn't ask for the bigger book, but a lot of people did.

Takeout: It's tricky to make a profit on the American Racing Manual, tricky enough that previous ownership abandoned the book altogether. We brought it back at $60, and eventually I and a few others here were able to have enough success discounting it at the $40 level that we've decided to keep it at that price, in the hopes that it will spur enough sales to keep it there for good. We dropped the price from $60 to $40 and yet you seem unhappy about that, too...

[alysheba88]

Marc, my suggestion is make it available online. Kill less trees and its easier for most players. You can still have the print version but there should be an additional option, as there is with the form itself. Just a suggestion.

[Marc At DRF]

Circ is way too small to take it online. Cannibalization of print sales would render the print version unprofitable.

Follow up question: When is the tipping point where it makes sense to JUST have it online and not in print?

Answer: I dunno, but if I had to guess, I'd say 7 or 10 years.
But that is only one man's opinion, nothing more. And it's predicated on the sort of growth on the 'net to be even more explosive than it currently is... which can certainly happen as technology improves. One of these decades...

[alysheba88]

Appreciate the response. Think its somewhat of a catch 22. Print circulation is small so it cant go online. But if it was online I have to think overall circulation would increase. Maybe the print version wouldnt be as profitable but presumably you could still make a profit on the online version.

I use "paper" myself most of the time, but thats mainly because I go to the track in person. However many do not and bet at home with their computer ( I know you know this). This segment continues to grow and grow.

On a positive note I appreciate the ability to get a $2.50 single race card (which in my case cannibilizes your print version sometimes) online. Most of the time I stick to one track and this is very convenient for me. I still get the paper version many times, but its nice having this available.

[ceejay]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
Circ is way too small to take it online. Cannibalization of print sales would render the print version unprofitable.

Follow up question: When is the tipping point where it makes sense to JUST have it online and not in print?

Answer: I dunno, but if I had to guess, I'd say 7 or 10 years.
But that is only one man's opinion, nothing more. And it's predicated on the sort of growth on the 'net to be even more explosive than it currently is... which can certainly happen as technology improves. One of these decades...

Hi Marc,

Yes, you would canalbilize some print users if available on-line. But you would add at least some on-line subscribers that do not want the paper copies. As I said before on this forum, I did not renew my SW because standard delivery was so that the pub was rendered useless.

I wonder if you could try to survey your former SW subscribers and test the waters to see what it might add to tbe bottom line.

[Marc At DRF]

We've surveyed Simo Weekly users on this topic-- the numbers are no good.

Without getting into the specifics, there are minimum print runs, and if we start going below certain numbers the losses pile up rapidly.

Moving the product online would take a matter of a couple weeks (no re-engineering involved!). We'd do it in a second if we hadn't concluded that it would screw us in print...

Also: Keep in mind that the core simo weekly user is a charts handicapper, which is, for lack of a better term, old school. A lot of these old school handicappers are print purists.

[takeout]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
We dropped the price from $60 to $40 and yet you seem unhappy about that, too...
You guys knew that thing wasn't worth a penny over $40 when you first put it out there. You were just trolling for suckers and you didn't find many. And that stuff about "enough success discounting it" is laughable. Why don't you raise the Form to $7.50 and then discount it back to $5 in the hopes that it will "spur enough sales to keep it there for good"?

Poleeze! :rolleyes: