Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread X(Ten)

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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 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/...d.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. Please, whenever possible, use RED font to make the drop info stand out. Thanks again.

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/...ighlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/....php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...ad.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=167157
Guide Nine:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187222

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
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.

Common Guide Drop Related Questions(FAQ):

FAQ - If you are new (or a vet with a few questions) look here SECOND! (After reading the above!)

Q: What Are Penny Guides?
A: 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.

Q: Do all guides from all stores drop at the same time?
A: No. While most chains have nationwide drops within their own store (as in every BB will have the same drops coast to coast), not every different chain drops at the same time (what drops at BB is NOT necessarily dropped at GS). When in doubt, check post TWO for drop info.

Q: I found a penny guide and a clerk denied me! I'ma report 'em!
A: Whoa, hold your horses there, pardner! First of all, not a question. Second, just because something is on the shelf, the clerk does NOT have to sell you that item. Most stores are PRIVATE property and as such can deny you just about anything they want - including a sale. The best advice is to not be rude, not be arrogant, and just try hard to get them to have pity on you.

Q: Why don't the clerks want to sell me their penny guides? Aren't they just throwing them away?
A: As stated above, the stores are ordered by the publisher to trash the guides, and are then given credit for those guides. If they don't do this, the publisher won't give them the credit - it's like losing a sale. On the employee level, selling a penny guide can sometimes get them in trouble (or even fired!) I know it seems silly, but this is their job we're talking about! Respect the man (or woman) behind the counter and you'll get a lot more guides than otherwise!

Q: Should I just ask if the store has penny guides then?
A: No, since that denotes that you have some insider information as to the runnings of these businesses.

Q: What if the clerk wants to know how I know so much about guide drops?
A: If asked where you got your info about guides that pennied, simply say either 'the internet' or 'a friend of mine told me they're on clearance'.

Q: But clerks will know what a penny guide is, right? I can talk to them like anyone else here...
A: Never use the word pennied to ANY store clerks unless you have built up a good rapport with them. Even then, it may seem a little fishy if you know more about their shop than they do.

Q: Are guides labeled as a penny on the shelf?
A: Sometimes. Most times, no. GS seems to label everything that gets a price drop, so often times guides will be stickered. But even so, they most likely won't sell them to you. A sticker does not mean 'have to sell'.

Q: I tried to buy a guide that this thread said was pennied and it didn't ring up as such! What gives?
A: Either 1) Our source was wrong (this rarely happens and is usually verified a FEW times within maybe an hour of posting), or 2) The clerk changed the price. It's usually number 2.

Q: What's the easiest way to get penny guides? This sounds like TONS of work!
A: Best Buy is probably the best place to get guides, followed by GameStop, GameCrazy, Toys R Us and then Blockbuster. From what I've seen though, probably 95% of guides that people get are snagged at BB - the rest come from the other stores. But it never hurts to try!

Q: Has there been a drop recently?
A: If you are asking this question you didn't fully understand the OP - go back and read it once more. When a drop happens, it will be posted, and then placed in the second post - trust us.

Q: How do you guys know so much about penny guides?
A: We sometimes have inside sources with the information from the stores themselves; other times, fellow CAGS just like you or me simply take suspected guides to the register and ask them to ring them up, to check their prices. Feel free to do this yourself, and help give back to the community by telling us what you find! However, DON'T ask "Has anyone checked XXX lately?", unless you are in the right thread (discussion area).

Thanks to GrilledWitOnions for creating the above FAQ, which should eliminate the need for such questions popping up in the thread from this point on out.
 
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[quote name='62t']even if it doesnt show up on store locater it doesn't mean it is OOS[/quote]

& anything that shows up "in stock" may end up actually being out of stock :cry:
 
[quote name='loxthefox']Everything missing and/or limited is listed in the 2nd page.[/quote]

that's from a month ago, i'm talking about any other guides removed from the site this weekend that anybody has noticed that maybe a potential drop tomorrow or next month?

[quote name='mvp828']Haha... Kind of misleading on my previous post. To answer your question, she is really really cute. That being said, I met her at a party my first year at school, and have partied with her many times since. I have helped her with some personal things in the past few years, and so it is more like a brother-sister relationship where I just look out for her and she helps me out in return.



I try to only have her help me occasionally. She really has only gone beyond policy 2 or 3 times with the PMs. Otherwise she has just helped me out by setting stuff aside for me or looking away when penny guides rang up and not raising any questions to her manager. For instance last week she set aside 3 of the $10 games that I wanted since I couldn't get in to the store until Monday.[/quote]

dude, the brother - sister or really good friends relationship can be turned to wild mclovin by coming up with a good story! I've done this on many occations with a few different methods. The very first one which worked well was first to invite her over to hangout and have some drinks before we'd goto a club. Then i'd confide in her that i wasn't always successful with picking up woman and ask her if i could practice on her. The goal here is to allow her to plant your lips on hers and from there go wild. Another trick was to ask her to be a date and tell her that we'd have to act like a couple, say to piss off an ex-gf. Then do the same thing with planting a kiss on her. If you can get her to passionately kiss you then from there it should be easy. Oh and a trick that worked with a super hot friend was to by "accident" send her a picture of my johnson which is above average and she soon after made a pass with me. This only worked i think because she was a little bit slutty compared to some femails. Other tips would be to always talk about how busy you are socially and how you have a lot of females persueing you even tho you're very picky and interested in none....oh and don't play it like your a male slut cuz that'll hurt you but don't sound desperate or lonely. Anyways good luck scoring!
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']
dude, the brother - sister or really good friends relationship can be turned to wild mclovin by coming up with a good story! I've done this on many occations with a few different methods. The very first one which worked well was first to invite her over to hangout and have some drinks before we'd goto a club. Then i'd confide in her that i wasn't always successful with picking up woman and ask her if i could practice on her. The goal here is to allow her to plant your lips on hers and from there go wild. Another trick was to ask her to be a date and tell her that we'd have to act like a couple, say to piss off an ex-gf. Then do the same thing with planting a kiss on her. If you can get her to passionately kiss you then from there it should be easy. Oh and a trick that worked with a super hot friend was to by "accident" send her a picture of my johnson which is above average and she soon after made a pass with me. This only worked i think because she was a little bit slutty compared to some femails. Other tips would be to always talk about how busy you are socially and how you have a lot of females persueing you even tho you're very picky and interested in none....oh and don't play it like your a male slut cuz that'll hurt you but don't sound desperate or lonely. Anyways good luck scoring![/quote]

Wasn't saying I was trying to get with her... Plus, I don't think that would go over with my girlfriend too well.

IATCG- Sorry for going so off-course, because I too hate it. I will be sure to delete these tomorrow.
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']that's from a month ago, i'm talking about any other guides removed from the site this weekend that anybody has noticed that maybe a potential drop tomorrow or next month[/QUOTE]

The post on the 2nd page is one that I keep updated whenever something disappears on the site. I tried to get it on the 1st page when this topic was created, but by the time I noticed it, I was too late.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't a CAG'er give us the SKU a day or two during the last major drop? Is it for certian the guides that are not on the site will 1c drop?
 
[quote name='Dhuk']Is it for certian the guides that are not on the site will 1c drop?[/QUOTE]

No, the guide could be gone on the site for months before there is a drop
 
That useless OT ranting is gone. Poster that started it won't be posting for a little while.

Let's not have any more of it, shall we?
 
[quote name='Dhuk']Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't a CAG'er give us the SKU a day or two during the last major drop? Is it for certian the guides that are not on the site will 1c drop?[/quote]


Vahn is often nice enough to provide us with a drop list, however for that drop you are referring to was the drop when many of us, including me were shut out from the guides. That list came out a couple of days early and instructed the managers it was priority to pull the guides, which really sucked cuz I am the only penny guide CAG in my area and the guide racks were overflowing before that drop.
The only thing for certain about guides being pulled from the website is there is a good possibility that it has/will be pennied.

Let's hope tomorrow that if there is a drop, these intercompany manager memos do not exist!
 
got
Valkyria Chronicle, Resistance 2 from GS.
Soul Calibur 4 (soft cover) from BB.

and went to other BB to grab Bioshock and Orange Box,
both rang up as penny but the assistance gave me the famous BS that two guide are not for sale and they were about to pull it out from the shelves to send it back to the manufacturer TODAY.
And then when I asked them I can't buy the guides even when I paid the full price, they said they will sell it for full price and tell the manufacturer that they sold it to a customer instead of returning it.
So I walked away with empty hand.
 
[quote name='lamuh13']got
Valkyria Chronicle, Resistance 2 from GS.
Soul Calibur 4 (soft cover) from BB.

and went to other BB to grab Bioshock and Orange Box,
both rang up as penny but the assistance gave me the famous BS that two guide are not for sale and they were about to pull it out from the shelves to send it back to the manufacturer TODAY.
And then when I asked them I can't buy the guides even when I paid the full price, they said they will sell it for full price and tell the manufacturer that they sold it to a customer instead of returning it.
So I walked away with empty hand.[/quote]
Lucky you managed to find VC so late. The stores over here were too diligent pulling penny guides off the shelf.

Yeah. I had a similar experience at BB. Found Bioshock at BB in Tualatin, OR and when they rang it up, they ran around and finally said they couldn't sell it to me because they were supposed to send it back. So I walked out empty handed.
 
If anyone can check the MGS4 LE guide if there is indeed a drop tomorrow that would be awesome. Store a little over an hour away has 11 of them.

Will delete this tomorrow to clear up some clutter in the thread.
 
[quote name='reicaden']fingers crossed, ill try and hit up my BB tomorrow, they had 1 Fallout3CE last i saw, but that was a bit ago[/quote]


I tried it.
It rang up as full price, $35.
I don't know about the regular edition.
 
[quote name='lamuh13']I tried it.
It rang up as full price, $35.
I don't know about the regular edition.[/quote]

Guides drop on the first Tuesday of the month for BB... You rang it up on a Monday.
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']Guides drop on the first Tuesday of the month for BB... You rang it up on a Monday.[/QUOTE]

Pretty sure it's on the first Monday of every month not Tuesday. Anyone else confirm this or want to save me a trip tomorrow?
 
[quote name='muhsheesuh']Pretty sure it's on the first Monday of every month not Tuesday. Anyone else confirm this or want to save me a trip tomorrow?[/quote]

Damnit >_
 
I think there will be a drop because of the recent penny drop at Gamestop, since they usually penny out guides when its near the end of their life cycle.
 
[quote name='muhsheesuh']Smileyface.jpg No problem :)
I'm gonna head out tomorrow to check out some guides. Anyone got a list of which ones to check out at BestBuy? I'll report back if you just tell me to scan which ones.[/quote]


please, check Fallout3.
doesn't matter which edition.
thanx
 
I'll check this thread during lunch if anyone can confirm any drops i'll hit up a bestbuy near my work and another on the way home.
 
With some pretty big name titles in there, I wonder (if there is a drop at BB) if they will treat this one like the last big drop. When almost all the stores removed their copies from shelves. That was a major crappy day.
 
[quote name='xtreme_Zr2']Vahn is often nice enough to provide us with a drop list, however for that drop you are referring to was the drop when many of us, including me were shut out from the guides. That list came out a couple of days early and instructed the managers it was priority to pull the guides, which really sucked cuz I am the only penny guide CAG in my area and the guide racks were overflowing before that drop.
The only thing for certain about guides being pulled from the website is there is a good possibility that it has/will be pennied.

Let's hope tomorrow that if there is a drop, these intercompany manager memos do not exist![/quote]

Same here, when the early list came out my local BB pulled all guides and have do so ever since. Don't know if the early list caused my gold mine to pull guides or not. The two may or may not be related.

Here is to hoping that BB will not pull guides when there is another drop!
 
I'd suggest at least checking the ones that dropped at GS last week, Fallout 3 CE, Fable 2 LE and Mirror's Edge CE. Of course, checking as many as possible would be a good idea, though those three for certain.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I'd suggest at least checking the ones that dropped at GS last week, Fallout 3 CE, Fable 2 LE and Mirror's Edge CE. Of course, checking as many as possible would be a good idea, though those three for certain.[/quote]

I think Shrike meant PoP LE instead of Fable 2 LE. Fable 2 had dropped awhile back. Also, I would check GTA IV since it has been reported as being removed from the site. Some other recommendations are Left 4 Dead, Saints Row 2, MGS4 LE, and maybe Gears 2 LE.

Those are just my thoughts of guides that we should probably expect to drop soon since they are older and a lot of them are CEs/LEs.
 
[quote name='sunnysky']With some pretty big name titles in there, I wonder (if there is a drop at BB) if they will treat this one like the last big drop. When almost all the stores removed their copies from shelves. That was a major crappy day.[/quote]

It's been said repeatedly already that last drop the stores and us recieved advance notification several days before drop. There has been no such notification so either no guides are dropping or the stores weren't told like last time.
 
Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but I just talked to a friend who works at BB. He checked with the media manager and was told that nothing had dropped today. Take that for what you will. I'll still be checking the thread to see if anyone has discovered otherwise.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but I just talked to a friend who works at BB. He checked with the media manager and was told that nothing had dropped today. Take that for what you will. I'll still be checking the thread to see if anyone has discovered otherwise.[/quote]
I've heard all that before, and missed out on some good guides. Scan and confirm before you write today off.
 
[quote name='sunnysky']I can't believe nobody on the west cost has run in yet to check.[/quote]


They're all closed on the west coast.
 
[quote name='sunnysky']I can't believe nobody on the west cost has run in yet to check.[/quote]

West Coast stores don't open 'till 10 a.m. & it is now only 7:44 a.m.

I've no idea how far east BB stores spread & hoping somebody in a different time zone will have a chance to scan & check the hoped for price drop guides.

If I don't hear any solid news before 9:30 a.m. my time then I'll boogie to the only BB I could find with a Fallout 3 CE guide (& holding it for me) & see for myself.
 
[quote name='Slim Gatsby']Best Buy wasn't even open at 9:30. Mine (and all of the ones nearby) don't open until 10...I'm heading out to check now.[/quote]

Employees arrive for work around 9:00am. He was working when he called me at 9:30 to inform me about the potential drop. In response to the other person, I think only the media manager is informed of penny drops (it is part of their duties to pull pennied guides). No other employees know about them, though.

In either case, let us know if anything pennied.
 
Ok I just checked with BestBUy and I can confirm that notihng dropped or at least anything good.
Guides I checked that were NOT DROPPED

Left4Dead
Gears of War 2 (regular)
Gears of War 2 (CE)
Fallout 3 (regular)
Fallout 3 (LE)
Far Cry 2
MIrrors Edge (CE)
GTA IV
LittleBigPlanet
Prince of Persia (regular)
 
[quote name='irongolem411']Had a guy scan GTA5, POP Hardback, and Fallout 3 Hardback. All scanned at full price in Cleveland Ohio.[/QUOTE]

nuts.
 
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