Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Seven

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[quote name='jgamezcua']Was at a BB for something else and checked Crackdown and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. All the same price. Didn't check any other because all the BB people at the particular BB I went to are tools about checking prices (guides or otherwise).[/QUOTE]

For the 1 bazillionith time, if it's regular price on the website, it's regular price in the store. Vahn will keep us updated on any drops. There's no need to go into a store for a price check and then post on here when guides are clearly full price on the BB website.
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']For the 1 bazillionith time, if it's regular price on the website, it's regular price in the store. Vahn will keep us updated on any drops. There's no need to go into a store for a price check and then post on here when guides are clearly full price on the BB website.[/quote]

Well, not everyone here has the internet...be nice.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']Well, not everyone here has the internet...be nice.[/QUOTE]

How did he post then? Never the less, sorry my outburst...it's a bit of a sore spot...
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Honestly phear, I've noticed that when I kind of 'alert them' that they have items on the shelf that SHOULDN'T be there already, any other ones that were pennied are LONG GONE by the time I decide to come back for them.

Of course, the exact opposite could always happen and you go to grab multiples of each and they say NO to all of them, which has happened to me in the recent past.

Either way, good find and hopefully your local stores DM won't crack down like the one here did.[/quote]

yeah i know i should have gone back but i may look like a hoard of some sort if i grab everything i see. because like literally all of their guides i believe are pennied except for final fantasy xxii hard covered guides.. its got to be the most guides ive seen lately at any gs's. well since this is really new to me, i have a few questions.

1- what if you KNOW and have CONFIRMED that the guide is pennied, and yet when you checkout they refuse to sell or give it to you, what do you do or say to them?

2- how many guides have you guys gotten from 1 store alone?

3- would you get banned from the 1 store from doing this too much?

thats all for now maybe ill come up with a few more later on.. thanks in advance
 
[quote name='phear3d']
1- what if you KNOW and have CONFIRMED that the guide is pennied, and yet when you checkout they refuse to sell or give it to you, what do you do or say to them?

2- how many guides have you guys gotten from 1 store alone?

3- would you get banned from the 1 store from doing this too much?

[/quote]

1. If they say no, theres not much you can do besides give them puppy eyes, or offer to reserve a couple games.
2. Ive gotten 50+ from stores that just wanted to get rid of them.
3. Doubtful, since it just points out that they aren't doing their job.
 
Hmm. Too bad there's no drop at BB.

If the penny guides I didn't buy are still there on the weekend I'll nab 'em. I'll also pick up the few I didn't find last time since I didn't know they were pennied. I might also stop at the two GS's at the mall and see if I can nab anything.
 
[quote name='jgamezcua']I don't care if it's a sore spot or not. You don't need to be a tool about people sharing info, especially penny drops.

I've posted drops on here that weren't covered by Vahn or others and I don't ever recall seeing anything from you. So until you can contribute anything other than another bazillionth post about your pet peeves, STFU!!!!

Maybe I'll just keep penny drop information to myself next time on account of punks like you who have nothing better to do than bash people on forums, which is a sore spot of mine.

Jeez, give a guy a break for forgetting to check the web this morning before having guides scanned.[/QUOTE]


Maybe you need some anger management? Anyway, like I alluded to earlier I probably could have been a tad more constructive in my post. My point was only to bring to light the fact that there are a lot of posts on here that are a good attempt at being helpful, but are really unnecessary and superfluous. It just makes it tougher to navigate this topic (my favorite on CAG, btw) when I have to sift through posts that don't really add value, or spawn posts by others that are equally superfluous. While I don't regret my underlying point in my original post, I can see how I was being a tad rude.

Anywhoo, back on-topic. Is there any rhyme or reason to BB guide drops anymore? It seemed as if they were in-line with their end of fiscal month, but the last end saw no drop, but 2 weeks later there was one (Scarface, LSWII, etc.). Perhaps there really isn't a set plan?? Anyway, it's good that we have Vahn to help sort out this confusion. He has been the sole reason I have been so lucky in getting so many .01 guides at BB....
 
Before Vahn started posting guides list, a lot of people went to BB and scan guides 1st monday every month. If I happen to be at BB today I would scan a few myself in case there is an unexpected price drop.

For years now it is the first Monday of every month and a few times it was delayed. It is only in the recent months that they change the pattern.
 
[quote name='phear3d']yeah i know i should have gone back but i may look like a hoard of some sort if i grab everything i see. because like literally all of their guides i believe are pennied except for final fantasy xxii hard covered guides.. its got to be the most guides ive seen lately at any gs's. well since this is really new to me, i have a few questions.

1- what if you KNOW and have CONFIRMED that the guide is pennied, and yet when you checkout they refuse to sell or give it to you, what do you do or say to them?

2- how many guides have you guys gotten from 1 store alone?

3- would you get banned from the 1 store from doing this too much?

thats all for now maybe ill come up with a few more later on.. thanks in advance[/quote]

1. Like others have said offer to reserve a few games if they will let you get a few of your highest wants with guides. Or at worst case ask if they can rip off the cover and still let you have the guide. Tell them you want it for personal use and don't care if its damaged. A guide with no cover is better then no guide at all.

2. 172 guides from an EB tucked into a mall 98% of which were over a year old. Good ones too like Baten Kaitos, Makai, Phantom Brave, Nocturne, Silent Hill's etc. Took 4 trips to carry em all out. Don't think there are many CAG's here who can match that haul.

3. Not really. I mean what are they going to do, ban you for buying stuff they sold you?

Also 62t i remember those days. I used to be one of those who would go on monday's and comandeer a computer and price check guides like crazy. So much easier with an inside person.
 
So if I go to Gamestop looking for guides and see no pennied guides on the floor, how should I go about asking if they've stashed them somewhere? "Hey, do you have any obscenely low-priced guides hidden away back there?" :lol:
 
Sorry I've been absent from this monday, but I've had to work non-stop all weekend and today. This is a good thing cause it gives me the ability to hear about a guide drop, but unfortunately, nothing at all has been posted as of today. So once again, if I hear anything or see anything, i'll let yall know.
 
[quote name='phear3d']
1- what if you KNOW and have CONFIRMED that the guide is pennied, and yet when you checkout they refuse to sell or give it to you, what do you do or say to them?

2- how many guides have you guys gotten from 1 store alone?
[/QUOTE]

I also managed two big boosts from an EB where I was quite well know (something like 40 each time) I think I managed as many as 20 from BB and one time I liberated about 20 from a shopping cart that was headed for the backroom at TRU--the clerk was really cool and I ended up with a couple of the old Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for a penny (they were promos) that traded in for $12.50 in an EB scam at the time.

I think the key thing to getting penny guides is what you say and do before they are scanned.

At BB or TRU, I have found success by saying "can you check the price on this? I think its on clearance" with a very polite--please kind of voice. As the price comes up a penny and the confused look dawns, I say "yeah, they penny them out when they want to get rid of them." This formula seems to normalize the transaction enough that they don't call over a manager or question the deal.

This won't work at EB or GS where the clerks can be real jerks but if you know them and stroke their egos enough they might deliver big time. My EB happened to have a few clerks who were really very cool.
 
[quote name='sixersballernum3']So if I go to Gamestop looking for guides and see no pennied guides on the floor, how should I go about asking if they've stashed them somewhere? "Hey, do you have any obscenely low-priced guides hidden away back there?" :lol:[/QUOTE]

The only way to open the magic door to the kingdom of guides is to pay your dues by shooting the breeze in a respectful way and contributing your business for an extend period of time.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']for a penny?[/quote]

yes it has been pennied out. one of the emplyees printed out a list of pennied guides for me
 
[quote name='boyboy1080']yes it has been pennied out. one of the emplyees printed out a list of pennied guides for me[/quote]


and what do you remember from that list? We have nothing here.
 
[quote name='Brian9824']1. Like others have said offer to reserve a few games if they will let you get a few of your highest wants with guides. Or at worst case ask if they can rip off the cover and still let you have the guide. Tell them you want it for personal use and don't care if its damaged. A guide with no cover is better then no guide at all.

2. 172 guides from an EB tucked into a mall 98% of which were over a year old. Good ones too like Baten Kaitos, Makai, Phantom Brave, Nocturne, Silent Hill's etc. Took 4 trips to carry em all out. Don't think there are many CAG's here who can match that haul.

3. Not really. I mean what are they going to do, ban you for buying stuff they sold you?

Also 62t i remember those days. I used to be one of those who would go on monday's and comandeer a computer and price check guides like crazy. So much easier with an inside person.[/quote]

LOL I thought I was bad with the guides with my hauls of 50+ from one Best Buy near Philly and 50-60 from a Best Buy up in NY state. But, 172 guides beats me by miles.

I talked to this one CAG who grabbed some guides from me a while back and they told me the one mall by them had guides going back as far as FFVIII stashed in a back room that they JUST cleared out. They were told there were OVER 200 pennied guides(alot of good ones too I bet) that were cleaned out in one fell swoop.

Shame really, since I was to that same mall about 6-7 months ago when I was out that way for work and never even thought to ask if they had any older guides in the back. Then again, my friend who met me out there to hang out that night after I got off probably would've been roped into grabbing them with me.

I have grabbed some other pennied items from GS brand stores in recent months though, like 2-3 copies(2 sealed, 1 open 'display' copy) of that Bad Day LA PC game which pennied.

I spotted the Penny Arcade books at one of the local GS stores which USED to be good for grabbing guides from, had them scan them and was like 'I guess they came up a penny and you can't sell them, huh?' when I got 'the look'. I was there to pick up Transformers for PS2(the older game) anyway and was hoping my back and forth banter would loosen up their tight fistedness lately.

Nice haul nonetheless, Brian, though hopefully you didn't end up stuck with bajillions of common guides like me. I really have to clean out these dreck guides sometime soon when I have a spare moment or three.
 
[quote name='vahn401']Sorry I've been absent from this monday, but I've had to work non-stop all weekend and today. This is a good thing cause it gives me the ability to hear about a guide drop, but unfortunately, nothing at all has been posted as of today. So once again, if I hear anything or see anything, i'll let yall know.[/quote]

Thank You Brother Vahn!!!!!!!
 
BTW, I believe the guide that dropped @ GS with the Pirates Of The Carribean name was Legend Of Jack Sparrow, NOT Dead Man's Chest. The copy I got from my local EB confirms it. LOL

I just figured I'd mention that, since the wiki says Dead Mans Chest.
 
That could be, though I'm still waiting on definitive confirmation on the Scarface guide @ GS, since I still do see it around and it still does ring up full price.

And, if it IS pennied, I wish someone would actually have a copy for trade/sale for a reasonable price.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']That could be, though I'm still waiting on definitive confirmation on the Scarface guide @ GS, since I still do see it around and it still does ring up full price.

And, if it IS pennied, I wish someone would actually have a copy for trade/sale for a reasonable price.[/quote]
It was pennied already at BB, ya know ;)
 
[quote name='62t']maybe both are pennied?[/quote]
I don't think there was a Dead Man's Chest guide. The game was only on portable systems anyway. The Jack Sparrow guide is definitely pennied at EB/GS, I picked it up a while ago.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']It was pennied already at BB, ya know ;)[/quote]

I know it was, I just wish my local BB's weren't so damned close fisted when it came to letting guides go for .01 anymore. They're as bad as GS's stores here anymore. Last one I got for .01 was the Oblivion guide which pennied about 2-4 months ago or so. It was SO lonely, sitting on that bottom shelf where I put it those many months ago.

Actually, I was kinda shocked it was even still there, since they moved most of the guides to one central location in the local stores.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']LOL I thought I was bad with the guides with my hauls of 50+ from one Best Buy near Philly and 50-60 from a Best Buy up in NY state. But, 172 guides beats me by miles.

I talked to this one CAG who grabbed some guides from me a while back and they told me the one mall by them had guides going back as far as FFVIII stashed in a back room that they JUST cleared out. They were told there were OVER 200 pennied guides(alot of good ones too I bet) that were cleaned out in one fell swoop.

Shame really, since I was to that same mall about 6-7 months ago when I was out that way for work and never even thought to ask if they had any older guides in the back. Then again, my friend who met me out there to hang out that night after I got off probably would've been roped into grabbing them with me.

I have grabbed some other pennied items from GS brand stores in recent months though, like 2-3 copies(2 sealed, 1 open 'display' copy) of that Bad Day LA PC game which pennied.

I spotted the Penny Arcade books at one of the local GS stores which USED to be good for grabbing guides from, had them scan them and was like 'I guess they came up a penny and you can't sell them, huh?' when I got 'the look'. I was there to pick up Transformers for PS2(the older game) anyway and was hoping my back and forth banter would loosen up their tight fistedness lately.

Nice haul nonetheless, Brian, though hopefully you didn't end up stuck with bajillions of common guides like me. I really have to clean out these dreck guides sometime soon when I have a spare moment or three.[/quote]

Actually it was almost entirely pure gold. That was shortly after i just started collecting guides and penny guides so i was able to trade them here for other guides. Let me tell you carrying 170 guides to your car is not fun. I ended up making 4 trips.
 
[quote name='shiningslade']Can anyone confirm Pokemon Mystery Dungeon dropped at EB/GS? I had my friend scan both and they were still full price?![/quote]

It was the NINTENDO guide, not the Prima one. Check that.
 
i got the list from ebgames not best buy

most the stuff on the list was already posted. bullet witch xbox 360 was the only one i didnt see posted eyt
 
[quote name='Brian9824']Actually it was almost entirely pure gold. That was shortly after i just started collecting guides and penny guides so i was able to trade them here for other guides. Let me tell you carrying 170 guides to your car is not fun. I ended up making 4 trips.[/quote]

when i heard about your guides that day i went to ebgames and bought all guides they had on the counter, 77 guides
 
[quote name='Cmosfm']So answer me this...why is it ok to hoard guides but not hoard games?[/quote]

While I don't hoard penny guides I don't really care about people who do, as it's only a matter of time before they're pulled from the shelves and thrown away anyway.


Back on topic, perhaps BB will pull another middle of the month drop. I'm still waiting for NSMB to finally drop for God's sake.
 
[quote name='Cmosfm']So answer me this...why is it ok to hoard guides but not hoard games?[/quote]

Most of us will agree that hoarding guides is wrong. When you go to a store and find guides that were clearanced over a year ago then its fair game. I mean people had ample time to get them.

Also like people said guides will tend to be caught and disposed of at most places. If anyone remembers the haul i got I was selling the guides and trading them at fair prices.

Glad someone actually remembers that haul. I wish CAG kept posts from that long ago. I'd love to post a list of that haul.
 
[quote name='Brian9824']I wish CAG kept posts from that long ago. I'd love to post a list of that haul.[/QUOTE]
When was it? Do the forums delete messages after a while? They seem to go back to early 2004 at least.
 
Many people I see mention leaving guides. I went to BB and saw a few guides pennied and when I go next weekend I'll be grabbing another copy of at least one (Yoshi's Island DS) since the one I picked up has some rips in it... I see nothing wrong with getting a few of a guide as long as it isn't in one swoop. Better than having them go unsold, anyway.
 
[quote name='sixersballernum3']Many people I see mention leaving guides. I went to BB and saw a few guides pennied and when I go next weekend I'll be grabbing another copy of at least one (Yoshi's Island DS) since the one I picked up has some rips in it... I see nothing wrong with getting a few of a guide as long as it isn't in one swoop. Better than having them go unsold, anyway.[/QUOTE]

Back in the day, when I did penny guide runs a lot (and it was easier to get guides), I'd generally grab every single one there.

Penny guide's are WAAAAAAY different than clearance games, because if I leave clearance games there, they aren't going to get destroyed when I leave.

I remember grabbing some guides at TRU back in the day, and the guy asked me if I wanted to take anymore, since after me they were all going in the garbage. I have to imagine it is a similar situation anywhere, that as soon as the employees know penny guides are out there, most of them will work on trashing the remaining copies. Something similar happened at Best Buy once, after I grabbed some guides and rang them up, the cashier called the media guy and told them what was going on - I assume all the guides I left were trashed after that.

So it's either I get a ton and trade / sell them to other CAG's, or they all end up in the garbage.

I'm grateful for the CAG's who do take tons of extra copies so people like me, whose stores now pull asap, get a chance to grab some of these guides.
 
My attitudes on guide hoarding have changed as the crackdown has gotten more and more extensive. I used to get no more than three of any particular guide if there were a lot. If there was only a couple, I'd always leave one.

Now, I have a rather more complex system.

If it is a "good" (non-sports) guide:
-If a lot, I take all but one or two
-If only a few, I take enough to leave one guide.
-If only two, I take them both.

I never take more than a couple "bad" guides, though, since they tend to just take up space.
 
i had a feeling this would happen.. i reported a few post back that i was able to find some pretty good penny guides at 1 particular gs. i didnt grab a bunch thinking they might not let me do alot, and since it was my first time i didnt really care for alot. well, i went back today and guess what, ALL pennied guides were gone, vanished from the front register. looks like they threw them out, or the employees hoarded them, cause i remember them have 3 guide holders and now they have 2. oh well. i guess i'll have to try better next time...
 
[quote name='phear3d']i had a feeling this would happen.. i reported a few post back that i was able to find some pretty good penny guides at 1 particular gs. i didnt grab a bunch thinking they might not let me do alot, and since it was my first time i didnt really care for alot. well, i went back today and guess what, ALL pennied guides were gone, vanished from the front register. looks like they threw them out, or the employees hoarded them, cause i remember them have 3 guide holders and now they have 2. oh well. i guess i'll have to try better next time...[/QUOTE]
Your best bet is going out to EB/GS the day the e-mail gets sent out. If you go in the next day the guides will most likely be pulled. If there isn't any other customers in the store (I know its usually rare) then I wouldnt thing twice about grabbing a huge stack of guides. The main thing is they don't want average customers to find out people buy the guides for a penny. I wouldn't even mention a penny, just put the guide(s) you want on the counter and hope they let you take 'em...it also helps if you're already buying a video game ;)
 
LOL It didn't help me the other night with the 2 Penny Arcade books that I was buying a copy of Transformers for PS2. That 'buy a game to mask the penny guide purchase' is bunk most times, since the employees know whether or not they're going to let you have them or not from the moment they scan them and they come up .01.

And, I have actually walked out immediately after being told 'sorry, we can't sell you this' and leave everything I was about to buy, especially if they try and do a price override on the guides or gimme that crap about 'we can mark it back up, yadda yadda'. Thanks, but no thanks.

BTW, if any CAGs in Northeastern PA want an email the local DM sent me a while back for a chuckle(or a quick 50% off a guide that you KNOW you won't find once it pennies), let me know. The one DM(who cracked down hard) sent me this as a gesture for them not selling me(and ripping up the guide in front of me)a penny guide the one time.

Of course, this is now the same DM who has all but blackballed me from his stores. LOL
 
Speaking of stores with old .01 guides (someone was, I was skimming back a little ;) )

I had an EB here a year or so back I called "The EB That Time Forgot". I got all kinds of rarities there - the biggest being the hardback Arc The Lad Collection guide for .01. Every drop, they NEVER pulled the guides. I'd go in and easily find pretty much everything I wanted.

Then one day I go in & the manager who was always there kinda grins and says something like "you're not going to find many of those .01 guides any more, we've started pulling them like we're supposed to now." I thought it was pretty funny that he actually told me they were just then starting to do their jobs. Anyway, I found one or two they missed & asked if I could get those, and he says ok. Also grabbed a 50' CAT-5 cable they had marked for $1.00. The guy keeps making smart comments to me the entire time he's checking me out, being a real ass. I checked out & left, didn't ever go back. A couple months later that store shut down. :p

I thought it was really sorry of that guy to treat me like that tho - I had always been very polite, never given them any grief. I even pointed out deals to him that I know he took advantage of (those Razer mice that were marked down to $10 but hardly anyone could find them at their stores? Mine had two, I got one and had him price check, and he says something like "wow, that's a deal!" and grabs the other one). Oh well, what can you do?

I'm starting to phase out looking for the guides (except for RPG guides, which I actually use) for several reasons. One, it's just getting harder to find them around here. Two, I don't have the space to store them all. And three, when I do find them, I'm tired of getting grief from clerks who didn't do their job in the first place & pull them. If you don't want me to buy them, take them off the shelf before you open. Once you open, anything on the shelf should be fair game for whatever price it rings up for in the system. Bah.
 
Ugh... who else sells Penny Arcade Vol 2? I wanted to get it but never got around to picking it up, Vol 1 was great stuff =/

Maybe someone has an extra they would like to trade / sell me ;) I'd be willing to do 2, maybe 3 guides for it depending on the guides :D
 
[quote name='argyle'] If you don't want me to buy them, take them off the shelf before you open. Once you open, anything on the shelf should be fair game for whatever price it rings up for in the system. Bah.[/quote]

Keywords there is SHOULD BE. LOL But, the local DM here is an asshat and because his people weren't doing the pulls right away, he had 3 months worth of drops sitting on the shelves in the one store. Know what he had them do to prevent me or anyone else from trying to get guides for .01 again?

He had them stuff the guides in the back and this store is a teeny tiny mall location, so they have a little back room, which I'm sure looks hilarious with the guides stacked all over. Although, more than half of them were pennied guides from the last time I was there when they still had them out, so maybe they don't have THAT many in the back room.


Of course, now NO ONE can buy any guides(not that many do anymore ANYWAY) at ANY price, since few people will actually ASK about them if they don't SEE them. All I can say is 'good going, asshat, you really stopped me'.
 
Well, the hardback Pokedex finally dropped out of BB.com. Maybe a drop is imminent?

(Or maybe not: the 9.99 SC: Double Agent guide is still up...)
 
Stopped at BB today and picked up a few guides. I saw Vice City Stories, but it was full price, and it's listed as 1 cent on the wiki.
 
There's 2 versions of it, like there's 2 versions of the Liberty City Stories one. Although, you really have to look on the VCS one, since I don't think they differentiated between the covers(LCS PSP version had a black cover, PSP/PS2 version had a white cover)so you could easily tell the difference. You have to look near the bottom of the front cover and if you see 'covers Playstation 2' on it, then it's NOT the pennied one.

Hope this helps
 
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