Good advice. I'd also add a couple other points:

• Don't buy a game that isn't a daily deal! Unless it's 75% off (and even then) there's a chance it will be cheaper. Wait until the last day of the sale.
• Capcom and Activision are notorious for not having good discounts. If one of their games is 66% off or more, grab it because it may not be that cheap again.
• AAA or major publisher games generally don't drop below $20 non-sale price and $5 (75% off) sale price. If you see one at this price you want, grab it.
• Valve, Sega, THQ, SquareEnix/Eidos, and 2K are known for having very good discounts. Expect every Valve first-party game to be at least 75% off at least once during the Winter sale. Expect high profile 2012 games from the others to drop in price considerably (ex: Borderlands 2).
• Corollary: Sometimes the best deals on the above publishers' games aren't on Steam -- and that's fine! These publishers are all known for using Steamworks almost exclusively now, so odds are you'll be buying a key that activates on Steam. If you have any doubt though, ask in this thread.
• Indie games are usually a "bad" purchase. Many of them end up in indie bundles that provide a handful of Steam keys for anywhere from $1-8.

Edit: I keep thinking of new points

Since Steam sale tips are flowing, I'll just gently remind everyone to click on the link in my sig for the ultimate guide to Steam sales.

Originally Posted by Genocidal Good advice. I'd also add a couple other points: Don't buy a game that isn't a daily deal! Unless it's 75% off (and even then) there's a chance it will be cheaper. Wait until the last day of the sale. Capcom and Activision are notorious for not having good discounts. If one of their games is 66% off or more, grab it because it may not be that cheap again. AAA or major publisher games generally don't drop below $20 non-sale price and $5 (75% off) sale price. If you see one at this price you want, grab it. Valve, Sega, THQ, SquareEnix/Eidos, and 2K are known for having very good discounts. Expect every Valve first-party game to be at least 75% off at least once during the Winter sale. Expect high profile 2012 games from the others to drop in price considerably (ex: Borderlands 2). Corollary: Sometimes the best deals on the above publishers' games aren't on Steam -- and that's fine! These publishers are all known for using Steamworks almost exclusively now, so odds are you'll be buying a key that activates on Steam. If you have any doubt though, ask in this thread. Indie games are usually a "bad" purchase. Many of them end up in indie bundles that provide a handful of Steam keys for anywhere from $1-8. Edit: I keep thinking of new points

EXCELLENT points!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I definitely agree w/ paying attention to Daily Deals & often waiting for final recap day.

Sometimes, buying a BIG BUNDLE from a publisher can save a lot of $, too - provided you don't own most of the games in the Bundle already.
This always seems to be a thing for me - b/c I often ALREADY own most of the games in a bundle!

You also need to add something for those rare "white whale" sales - i.e. games like Vampire: Bloodlines and Jade Empire - b/c they hardly EVER go on sale! :P

Originally Posted by Genocidal Edit: I keep thinking of new points

I'd add these points:

If a game and its sequel(s) is on Steam, it's possible you might be able to get better than 75% off individual titles by waiting on a bundle deal. Amazon is a good source for these.

Likewise, if it's a game with copious DLC, you might be best served watching for a bundle deal or holding out for a GotY version if it seems one is likely to be on the horizon. Some games like Magicka and Sanctum work out to be amazing deals when you buy their complete packs compared to what previous owners have to pay to get the pieces that have come out since.

The 75% off rule is a good one, but if you don't have many games on Steam yet, the Publisher Packs during the Summer and Winter Sales are a superior value. (Sadly, the last round of these featured incomplete publisher packs that left out games that had been included in previous sales, but they're still fantastic values.)

Originally Posted by DPsycho Likewise, if it's a game with copious DLC, you might be best served watching for a bundle deal or holding out for a GotY version if it seems one is likely to be on the horizon. Some games like Magicka and Sanctum work out to be amazing deals when you buy their complete packs compared to what previous owners have to pay to get the pieces that have come out since.

Saints Row: The Third, anyone?
There's like 20 DLC's for that game. :P

EDIT:
Awesome game, BTW.

IGX leftover

Originally Posted by MysterD Saints Row: The Third, anyone?

Ah, yes, another perfect example! I forgot that one because I got to take advantage of that amazing complete price last sale. I guess I only remember the ones that DON'T benefit me.

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Originally Posted by MysterD My advice - you'll want to hit those 75% off and (the much rarer) better percentage-off sales. Those are hard deals to pass up - b/c if you're throwing it into your backlog, there normally won't be much of a risk of a better sale is possibly coming soon + you do have the good chance that you ain't even touched the backlogged game yet when the next sale comes around! You only buy a game on a Steam sale that is 75% off or lower, if it's really for something you believe will be amazing & that you're fiending to download it + play it ASAP. Trust me - there'll be a few titles that'll speak to you like that. I think for those games, those should be time-sink games (normally, RPG's fall under that category). For me, Skyrim was one of those games - as it's that game that I constantly end up going back to...and have logged around 105 hours into since I first got it (last X-Mas 2011, it was 33% off back then). EDIT: Also, there's a few titles that very rarely hit sales on Steam. You'll want to watch for these titles. If you ever see Vampire: The Masquerades - Bloodlines or Jade Empire: Special Edition hit the $5 or less club, if for some reason you don't own them already & you do love RPG's - TAKE THEM. Jade Empire is much rarer to see on sale than Bloodlines - as Bloodlines has been popping up on sale a little bit more often than its usual (once and a full moon); but still, Bloodlines doesn't hit a Steam sale VERY often. Jade Empire might be on sale ONCE a year, if that...

This man speaks the truth. Especially about VTM : Bloodlines and Jade Empire SE both great games that don't go on sale very often.

I have this feeling Condemned Criminal Origins might become similar. Let's hope that doesn't happen cause I would really love to play that game.

Originally Posted by DPsycho Ah, yes, another perfect example! I forgot that one because I got to take advantage of that amazing complete price last sale. I guess I only remember the ones that DON'T benefit me.

Dawn of War 2: Retribution, anyone?
Always seems to be THQ games loaded w/ 15+ DLC's - i.e. DOW2: Ret + SR: The Third.

EDIT:
Oh, that SR3: Franchise Pack deal for $13 or $14 w/ most DLC in there (except Genki Girl Pack, which was brand new at that time) was amazing.
Problem for me was - I didn't see that Franchise Pack deal coming and got totally trolled, as SR3 (base game) was $10 a few days before-hand on Amazon DVG!

I'm not all that excited about this year's winter sale, to be honest. Just hard to see what else that's really tempting can go on sale.
I feel like I've gotten everything I've wanted during the summer's sale (my first one) and all the smaller sales since. All the recent games that came out will still cost more than I would like even at 75% off.
Basically, I'm not expecting a lot of titles that everyone here doesn't own already hitting the $5 or $2.5 price point. Hope I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by evildeadjedi This man speaks the truth. Especially about VTM : Bloodlines and Jade Empire SE both great games that don't go on sale very often. I have this feeling Condemned Criminal Origins might become similar. Let's hope that doesn't happen cause I would really love to play that game.

I actually have Condemned 1 PC from Retail, bought it years ago.
REALLY good game.

I wish Condemned 2 would've gotten ported to the PC.
Still would love to see that happen, actually.

EDIT:
To add to that list, I'd love to see Microsoft get off their XBox Horse and just port these to the PC...
Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and Halo 4;
Gears of War 2, 3, and upcoming Judgment;
and Fable 2.

EDIT 2:
To continue my ramblings, someone tell Rockstar to bring RD Redemption to the PC.

Originally Posted by g6grim I'm not all that excited about this year's winter sale, to be honest. Just hard to see what else that's really tempting can go on sale. I feel like I've gotten everything I've wanted during the summer's sale (my first one) and all the smaller sales since. All the recent games that came out will still cost more than I would like even at 75% off. Basically, I'm not expecting a lot of titles that everyone here doesn't own already hitting $5 or $2.5 price point. Hope I'm wrong.

For starters, I'll probably be looking for deals on Hotline Miami, Borderlands 2 & Dishonored.

EDIT:
Add also Torchlight 2 and maybe Skyrim DLC's to the list.

EDIT 2:
Also, add Max Payne 3 to the list, if cheap enough.
I really don't wanna DL something that is 35 GB.

Not too excited either...I'll buy up the indies on sale and mainly looking for Torchlight 2 discount and well...that's about it.

Originally Posted by MysterD For starters, I'll probably be looking for deals on Hotline Miami, Borderlands 2 & Dishonored. EDIT: Add also Torchlight 2 and maybe Skyrim DLC's to the list. EDIT 2: Also, add Max Payne 3 to the list, if cheap enough. I really don't wanna DL something that is 35 GB.

Yeah, but judging by the summer sale the big games probably won't go down by more than 50%-66%, right? So you'd still be paying $20-$30 for something that would most likely go into your backlog. Are you sure it's not huge enough already? :-)
You can't possibly play all of these at once, so no point in buying them unless it's $5 or less. That's the way I see it, anyway.

I've still got 30+ games on my wishlist, and while I didn't add all of them since the last major sale, I did add quite a few.

@p-spiddy, when an actual Steam sale does hit (they seem to alternate between a "fall sale" and a "Thanksgiving sale" now prior to the big winter one), this thread goes bananas but people dig out great deals on lesser known games. Just stick around for the fun.

Originally Posted by radioactivez0r I've still got 30+ games on my wishlist, and while I didn't add all of them since the last major sale, I did add quite a few. @p-spiddy, when an actual Steam sale does hit (they seem to alternate between a "fall sale" and a "Thanksgiving sale" now prior to the big winter one), this thread goes bananas but people dig out great deals on lesser known games. Just stick around for the fun.

Like when I passed on the summer sale KOTOR for $2.50?

So, 75% off or what I think is rational? Thanks, guys. No lie. You guys have helped me know when or when not to jump. It's sort of a skill depending on your wallet. Like CAG in general. Thanks.

The Steam franchise packs this summer sale were pretty bad I felt. A lot of titles were missing from the set and you'd be pretty much better off buying them separately almost for the ones you really want. It's been pretty rare for games to go > 75% off lately on Steam and the best deal seems to be steam keys on Amazon in a bundle. Prices get knocked down to ~$1.50 - $2 / game which is about as low as I've seen.

Looking forward to hopefully new price cuts or better deals this winter.

Originally Posted by g6grim Yeah, but judging by the summer sale the big games probably won't go down by more than 50%-66%, right? So you'd still be paying $20-$30 for something that would most likely go into your backlog. Are you sure it's not huge enough already? :-)

As a CAG - my backlog can NEVER get HUGE enough. :P

I made the mistake once of not purchasing a copy of System Shock 2 when I saw it on the shelves when I was younger, which currently NOW impossible to find (b/c of legal matters, EA, Irrational, and who knows what other reasons) - and I'll never make that mistake AGAIN.

I eventually wound-up w/ a friend who hated the game giving me his copy. So grateful for such acts of kindness.

You can't possibly play all of these at once, so no point in buying them unless it's $5 or less. That's the way I see it, anyway.

Nope. Though, I do pound through games pretty quickly - since I really do have no real life and all.
I've already logged over 22 hours into Dark Souls: PTD, and I've had it since last Sunday.

Originally Posted by MysterD I actually have Condemned 1 PC from Retail, bought it years ago. REALLY good game. I wish Condemned 2 would've gotten ported to the PC. Still would love to see that happen, actually. EDIT: To add to that list, I'd love to see Microsoft get off their XBox Horse and just port these to the PC... Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and Halo 4; Gears of War 2, 3, and upcoming Judgment; and Fable 2. EDIT 2: To continue my ramblings, someone tell Rockstar to bring RD Redemption to the PC.

I would have loved Condemned 2 on PC so I could have both in one place.

I'm not a huge Halo fan but I would love to see GOW 2 & 3 along with Fable 2 on PC.

YES YES YES!!!!!!!! Red Dead Redemption needs to be on PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, where is a thread on STEAM or is this it? Like trading codes or dropping codes for non-lurkers.