Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine

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IAmTheCheapestGamer

IAmTheCheapestGamer

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First off, let me welcome you all to the new guide thread. Second, I'd like to ask you all to please keep conversations not pertaining to guide drops or which ones you've grabbed to a minimum to avoid cluttering the thread. It's not that I don't enjoy the chit chat, but that it may stop others from locating information on the newest drops.

That being said, let me thank Cheapy for creating this site, without which I would've spent probably 10 times what I HAVE spent on games and guides. Moreover, let me thank each and every one of my fellow CAGs for continuing to contribute to making this site a great place to find out about sales and clearances of the items we as gamers use most. Without a great community, NONE of this would be possible.

Furthermore, I would like to thank our Wiki editors HeatDolphin and Rocko for updating the Wiki. Great job.

Now, with that out of the way(and before I get to rambling), let's get on to making this new thread.

Useful Information(and links):

Game Guide Trading Clearinghouse(old one, locked now):
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102021

Game Guide Trade Thread(KEEP ALL TRADE REQUESTS HERE OR IN PM'S)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175548

PLEASE keep ALL trade requests in there or PM's. Thank you.

Reduced Price Guide Discussion Thread(KEEP ALL DISCUSSION NOT RELATED TO GUIDE DROPS HERE!!!)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists(master drop lists and recent drops):

Master Drop List(by store, alphabetically):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28master_lists%29

Recent Guide Drops(by date,also check the second post in this thread):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28recent_drops%29

What is the purpose of this thread?

The purpose of this thread is to let our fellow CAGs know when a guide has dropped to a low price(it's NOT ALWAYS A PENNY), so they can go out and grab guides for themselves and for trading with other CAGs.

Anytime you have guide drops to report, post them here. Please specify at which store you found them and which guides you found and list them in alphabetical order. Thank you.

What are penny guides?

Penny guides are guides which have been on the market for a while and the publisher(or store chain) decide that the remaining stock of these guides have little to no chance of selling, so they issue an order to pull them from the shelves and destroy them. At that time, they are also marked as .01 in their inventory system, except in the case of BBV, which marks them .01 only AFTER pulling them.

Most stores have an agreement with the publisher that states that if they destroy the remaining stock of those items, they will receive a credit for their value from the publisher. This is why many stores are usually annoyed when we CAGs come in and buy the guides AT the penny price, since otherwise they would've received a full credit for those items.

According to an employee at a local BB, they also have a recycling program for the pennied stock, so as to not clutter landfill space with the guides. As to how true it is, I cannot confirm, but I would hope that the paper is at least recycled instead of just dumpstered.

Prior Reduced price game guide threads:

Guide Three:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50515&highlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167157

Finally, below is a list of website links, each of which goes to their respective guide page. Whenever possible, I will update the links with better ones(if available).

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
BestBuy
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuides.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, Guinavere and anyone else who has created and maintained the guide thread before, as well as to all of those who find out either advance information on drops or provide a list of which ones dropped when we do have a drop.

The post below this one contains a list going back at LEAST six months of the more current guide drops, which stores they occured at and which ones dropped. Note that sometimes(Oblivion guide, Quake Wars: Enemy Territory)there are multiple versions of a guide, be it that there are Prima versions, Brady versions and the occasional Nintendo and Doublejump guides.

Please specify WHICH version has dropped when mentioning possible guide drops. Thank you.


 
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[quote name='KABUKISTAR']I'm confused about exactly which Zelda:TP guide is pennied at Gamecrazy.

Is it the new, thicker one that doesn't say "Gamecube" or "Wii" on it?[/quote]

I don't have a clue, which is why I always ASK people who are reporting on possible guide drops to actually mention which guides dropped and WHICH VERSION(S) dropped.

This ends any real confusion and makes my job of updating the second post a whole hell of a lot easier.

I am thankful for the info when we do get it, but in the cases where there ARE multiple versions of guides(as some Nintendo games also have a PRIMA version guide besides the Nintendo Power one), PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH VERSION DROPPED!!!!
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH VERSION DROPPED!!!![/quote]

Here is what I got since pictures seem like the only real proof.

100_0013.jpg
 
[quote name='Torrwin']Well, like I said above (and highlighted as requested), the Zelda TP Hardcover pennied at GC.[/QUOTE]

Not sure why people are having a problem as he clearly said it is the Hardcover version, and there is only one hardcover version
 
[quote name='62t']Not sure why people are having a problem as he clearly said it is the Hardcover version, and there is only one hardcover version[/quote]

That's because I didn't clearly mark it in the second post. But at least I will say one thing, we haven't had many asking 'what dropped lately' repeatedly in the thread anymore.

:applause: Small miracles are still miracles.

Second post updated to reflect the TP version.
 
[quote name='FiendCameron']Pennied at Game Crazy:
Bioshock (Brady, Original, Not the PS3 version)[/quote]

Another confirmation here. This was sweet after striking out at GS after their drop. Thanks, Fiend!
 
zeldadl1.jpg


this version of Zelda is pennied out as well. And that is the SC4 guide i got as well.

and sorry for the blur, camera phone. the top says "Premier Edition" and it reads "Wii Version" under the TP logo.
 
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You DO know there's TWO versions of the white Wii cover TP guide too, right Fiend? I know there's a newer one out that has a $14.99 sticker on it at numerous stores right now(including GS and BB).

Just saying, so there's no confusion.
 
That's alright, as I know a few employees from the one Best Buy used to grab EVERY fuckin' guide and never left ANY behind, kind of like I've done now the past couple times I found guides.

I was actually tempted to open a flea market stand for the holidays and try to sell the ones I have now for $5 a guide, with some exceptions(Phanton Hourglass and any other hardcover ones being $10 each).

But I'm short on cash, so I opted not to.
 
Anyone know of a database of ISBN or UPC codes for these penny guides? I was browsing the guide section at Best Buy and saw a couple of guides that I thought were pennied but the cashier scanned them and quoted their standard prices.
 
Well fudge, I went in to my favorite GS on Tuesday, since the place I was going to for my birthday was practically next door. I just found out that most of my pals no longer work there. One got fired due to an issue with authority (boo!) the other is starting a new career as a teacher (yay!) Considering these two were pretty much the heads of the store, I can only hope they guy that takes over will let me keep my system going.

I did manage to get 3 FF4 guides though, but no SC4 - a shame too, I wanted that damn soundtrack.
 
[quote name='arctic00']Anyone know of a database of ISBN or UPC codes for these penny guides? I was browsing the guide section at Best Buy and saw a couple of guides that I thought were pennied but the cashier scanned them and quoted their standard prices.[/quote]

Typically, one of the barcodes on the back of the guides won't work at all. It'll bring up some error at the registers, same deal with the computers in the media department as well.

However, there ARE multiple versions of some guides. Like, for example, the guide for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has had easily 5-6 versions if not more.

There have been: a plain tan version that covered ONLY PC, a tan version that covered PC and 360 and so on. Currently, there is a black covered version that covers PS3,360 and PC and may contain the Shivering Isles expansion information as well.

Expanding on that point, the version of the hardcover TP guide that's probably pennied at Gamecrazy is the OLDER one without the little bit of updated info.
 
Sorry for my lack of knowledge in this guide department, but how does this work with getting guides for a penny?

Is it anywhere where guides have been on the shelf a long time or something?

Id love to know, thanks in advance.

And if anyone sees the fallout 3 or tomb raider U guide for a nice price, please let me know, thanks!
 
[quote name='EdgeOfThorns']Sorry for my lack of knowledge in this guide department, but how does this work with getting guides for a penny?

Is it anywhere where guides have been on the shelf a long time or something?

Id love to know, thanks in advance.

And if anyone sees the fallout 3 or tomb raider U guide for a nice price, please let me know, thanks![/quote]

At least you apologized in advance for the lack of knowledge, while some just go 'duhhhh whut dropped where' without looking at the second post of the thread.

Just checked out posts #1 and 2 on the first page of the thread for info on what penny guides are and who may carry them.
 
[quote name='EdgeOfThorns']

And if anyone sees the fallout 3 or tomb raider U guide for a nice price, please let me know, thanks![/QUOTE]

You're probably going to have to wait at least 3-6 months before either of those guides get pennied. They are still relatively new.
 
Weird. Went to try and snag a Pokemon D&P guide at CC and it didn't scan as a penny. Will have to try another store tomorrow, maybe it was one of the ones going out of biz...
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Typically, one of the barcodes on the back of the guides won't work at all. It'll bring up some error at the registers, same deal with the computers in the media department as well.

However, there ARE multiple versions of some guides. Like, for example, the guide for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has had easily 5-6 versions if not more.

There have been: a plain tan version that covered ONLY PC, a tan version that covered PC and 360 and so on. Currently, there is a black covered version that covers PS3,360 and PC and may contain the Shivering Isles expansion information as well.

Expanding on that point, the version of the hardcover TP guide that's probably pennied at Gamecrazy is the OLDER one without the little bit of updated info.[/quote]

Thanks. If I'm able to buy a penny guide anywhere, I'll post the store and the guide's ISBN or UPC too.
 
[quote name='fairtrade']Weird. Went to try and snag a Pokemon D&P guide at CC and it didn't scan as a penny. Will have to try another store tomorrow, maybe it was one of the ones going out of biz...[/quote]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think there's TWO versions of the D&P guide out there, so maybe you had them price check the one that isn't pennied?

I checked on Amazon and there's THREE guides for D&P. One is a Pokedex and two are straight up guides(one being the Prima version, the other being a Nintendo Power version).

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...-keywords=pokemon+diamond+and+pearl+guidebook

I think I had the Pokedex price checked, since it was the only D&P guide out the last three or four times I hit my local CC and it still came up full price for me.

I used to have the NP D&P guide a while back, but when I sold all of my old guides that went with them.

Oh and before I forget, you're quite welcome arctic. Let us know how you do, but be warned that getting these for a penny is an addicting experience, knowing that others are paying $20 for them.
 
[quote name='arctic00']Thanks. If I'm able to buy a penny guide anywhere, I'll post the store and the guide's ISBN or UPC too.[/QUOTE]

you could, but the ISBN and UPC are available at site like amazon and half.com
 
Just wondering but at gamestop when the scan the penny guides do they scan at $.01 or do they scan at full price and when they hit total it goes to one penny?
 
[quote name='BarbblerElf']Just wondering but at gamestop when the scan the penny guides do they scan at $.01 or do they scan at full price and when they hit total it goes to one penny?[/quote]

They should scan at .01, since I've seen that happen before, back when the GS stores had those credit card kiosk things which displayed the price of items on the screen as they checked you out.

Of course, if they'll sell you them when they ring up .01 or tell you 'we can't sell them to you', that's another story altogether.

Another possibility is that they may tell you they're full price, even when they ring up .01.

It's still a crap shoot really.
 
I have had pretty good luck with gamestop lately. If I bring up 1 guide and act surprised, they usually give the guide to me free. I wonder if they got a memo.

Thanks to all who post the GS drops.
 
[quote name='62t']you could, but the ISBN and UPC are available at site like amazon and half.com[/quote]

Yeah but as previously mentioned by others, since there may be several versions of a guide, it would help to narrow down the version that's been pennied at a particular store. I've searched amazon before and amazon doesn't seem to carry all of the guides or the various versions of a guide. If half.com has a complete list, I'd use it but I'd still need to know which guide and version has been pennied so that I can look it up.
 
I won't be able to check for guides tomorrow. The Best Buy near me this week (since I'm visiting family) has no scanners and care immensely about the penny guides. Sorry. :(
 
[quote name='Antic']I won't be able to check for guides tomorrow. The Best Buy near me this week (since I'm visiting family) has no scanners and care immensely about the penny guides. Sorry. :([/quote]
I work in the morning, I should prob go to bed since I have to be there extra early :bomb::drool::bomb:
 
[quote name='fuss']I work in the morning, I should prob go to bed since I have to be there extra early :bomb::drool::bomb:[/QUOTE]

Nothing better than working retail during the holidays, right?

If you can find out about drops, awesome. If not, then I'm sure we totally understand. You might have a customer or 2 to deal with tomorrow. Thanks either way!
 
[quote name='animemaniac14']:roll: lolz[/QUOTE]

Not sure what you are implying. Are you laughing because you recognize my attempt at humor by suggesting an enormous understatement of fact, or because you really think I don't understand that the last Monday before Christmas will be packed at a Best Buy?

The combination of "lolz" and the eye-rolling smilie suggests the latter.
 
So yesterday I was working at my Gamecrazy and went through our whole wall of strat guides...needless to say I went home with about 35 guides....we still have a back room with TONS of guides that I will have to go through, but got a few gems in the stack.

Notables:

Elder Scrolls Shivering Islands
FF VII: Dirge of Cerberus
New Super Mario Bros.
Phantasy Star Universe
Bioshock

and more.
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']Not sure what you are implying. Are you laughing because you recognize my attempt at humor by suggesting an enormous understatement of fact, or because you really think I don't understand that the last Monday before Christmas will be packed at a Best Buy?

The combination of "lolz" and the eye-rolling smilie suggests the latter.[/QUOTE]

im pretty sure he undertands your attempt at humor. most people who post alot understand humor and do not take everything word for word. just my experience. however at my best buy it doesnt matter what time of year the early mornings are always dead.
 
[quote name='loxthefox']FWIW, Call Of Duty 4, GTA4, and Mario Kart Wii popped back on BB's site. $10 for each, so yeah.[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up...may pick up the GTA one, since I have a $10.00 BB gc itching to get used.:)
 
[quote name='camelking6969']i just noticed orange box guide on best buy website for 9.99, but i know it has pennied, wonder if gta iv pennied also[/quote]

Wondering about a guide? Check the second post.
(Answers are YES and NO, respectively)
 
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