thread: 2012-03-03 : Ben Lehman: Caveat Scriba: Margret Weis Productions
On 2012-03-04, UserClone wrote:
With regards to small sample size and views on fair business practices:
My experiences with D. Vincent Baker (Lumpley Games):
1. I ordered a copy of Apocalypse World, this great new game that seemed to be revolutionizing the Indie RPG scene. Week or two go(es) by. It does not show up in my mailbox. I get pissed. Vincent Baker is not a reliable person with whom to do business.
2. I send a gently prodding email asking about my order, and I get the response that he "is pretty certain my book was sent out with the last shipment." Vincent Baker is either a patronizing dick OR not a reliable person with whom to do business (or both, I guess).
3. I wait like another week, and I get an email stating that the book was returned as undeliverable. A couple emails later, it's discovered that I neglected to change my PayPal address when I moved. Vincent is sympathetic and immediately ships my book to the correct address. Vincent is a damn fine dude.
4. Vincent trades me a copy of Kill Puppies for a link to a hilariously specific webcomic with a related theme. I subsequently accidentally destroy the thumb drive upon which my copy is located. He replaces it immediately. Vincent is a pretty awesome guy.
5. I have amassed a largish collection of AW Playbooks. One day, my entire Lumpley folder disappears mysteriously (I'm assuming I accidentally deleted it somehow without noticing?) I post one(1) post on S-G about how it bummed me out and within minutes, Vincent swoops in like fucking Batman and resupplies me with all the Lumpley PDFs I used to have, including a 6-Pack of all the LE Playbooks, even though I had gotten them all through trades with other gamers. Vincent Baker is a fucking great guy, and I can't imagine another game publisher I'd rather give my money to.
LESSON LEARNED: SAMPLE SIZE MATTERS.
NOTE: I am not trying to belittle Ben or his (or his friends') experiences with MWP; rather I just want to illustrate that one really needs to have a substantial body of (shareable) evidence regarding the business practices of any business, large or small, before one really ought to go around asking one's community to boycott that business's products. Thank you.
