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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Got just about everything except the late-reported things and the RE5 hardcover was nowhere to be found. I may have multiples if anyone needs some help.
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']You're best not using your rewards card, also pay cash. You'll get labeled a "demon" customer. You want to remain a "Buzz."[/QUOTE]

DAMN!! So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all this time? We were supposed to stay UNDER the radar and NOT go scope out the store first, then come back in with a cart and proceed to pull a SD/FW move and just push all the shit that's pennied into our carts?:cry:

Awww hell. But it's so much fun watching the clerks(and other customers) jaws drop when you bring up a stack(or nine) of guides all clearly marked $19.99 or higher, only to have them ring up .01 each and have your total come out to less than a pack of gum.:lol:

Even funnier is when the manager says 'those are the last you'll EVER get from here' and then 2-3 months later at the next big drop you hit up another clueless cashier and walk out with another 30-50 guides. :D

It was just funny the first time I ever tried for a guide and had it ring up a penny, but having it ring up that price when you've been almost effectively blackballed from the store and STILL walking out with at least one as a trophy, now that's satisfying.;)
 
I dont understand why everyone thinks Best Buy is going to track your penny purchases and blackball you from their store. Did someone actually confirm this happens or is everyone here a criminal that thinks everyone else is out to get them? I used my Rewards Zone card twice now on both of my penny guide purchases, so I will let you all know if the man comes down on me or not.

Guess what? Even if they do want to "blackball" me, I wont ever shop at their stores again and I will have lost nothing, so come on guys, enough with the doomsday scenario..."Oh my god, you never get to shop at Best Buy again" The horror!
 
[quote name='wrencrest']I dont understand why everyone thinks Best Buy is going to track your penny purchases and blackball you from their store. Did someone actually confirm this happens or is everyone here a criminal that thinks everyone else is out to get them? I used my Rewards Zone card twice now on both of my penny guide purchases, so I will let you all know if the man comes down on me or not.

Guess what? Even if they do want to "blackball" me, I wont ever shop at their stores again and I will have lost nothing, so come on guys, enough with the doomsday scenario..."Oh my god, you never get to shop at Best Buy again" The horror![/QUOTE]

I haven't bought a single thing besides penny guides at their stores since the Prima $10 game guide sale made guides that were $10 come up .00 and they gave me a $20 gift card to apologize for how the one manager treated me.

Even funnier was that I spent that $20 gift card on alot of penny guides.:lol:
 
[quote name='wrencrest']I dont understand why everyone thinks Best Buy is going to track your penny purchases and blackball you from their store. Did someone actually confirm this happens or is everyone here a criminal that thinks everyone else is out to get them? I used my Rewards Zone card twice now on both of my penny guide purchases, so I will let you all know if the man comes down on me or not.

Guess what? Even if they do want to "blackball" me, I wont ever shop at their stores again and I will have lost nothing, so come on guys, enough with the doomsday scenario..."Oh my god, you never get to shop at Best Buy again" The horror![/QUOTE]

Well, will they do anything to you if you buy penny guides and use your RZ card? I'm guessing more than likely they wont, but you just never know. They were cracking down on people for buying multiple copies of the 007 game when the gamer's club coupon overlapped a weekly ad deal. Granted alot of people were giving out their RZ info for people to use, which I'm sure raised some flags when the same card was being used in 5 different states, but some people did have their RZ account shut down for just buying multiple copies.

Is this on the same level? Probably not, since its the media manager's job to pull these when they penny, but why take a risk for negligible RZ points? I have too many points built up on my account to risk being flagged and having my account shut down, especially when there is basically no reward for using your RZ card on a .10 purchase.

Just go in, tell them you do not have a card, pay with cash and walk out with your guides. Quick and easy.
 
[quote name='wrencrest']I dont understand why everyone thinks Best Buy is going to track your penny purchases and blackball you from their store. Did someone actually confirm this happens or is everyone here a criminal that thinks everyone else is out to get them? I used my Rewards Zone card twice now on both of my penny guide purchases, so I will let you all know if the man comes down on me or not.

Guess what? Even if they do want to "blackball" me, I wont ever shop at their stores again and I will have lost nothing, so come on guys, enough with the doomsday scenario..."Oh my god, you never get to shop at Best Buy again" The horror![/QUOTE]Up to you on deciding to pick up fractions of points for using your RZ card, though the company that runs the RZ program for BB isn't as clueless as you might think. They do keep track of oddities and abuse of the RZ program, so why give them any reason to draw attention to penny guides at your store?
 
You probably won't get banned but it's very likely that the store's management will be told not to let these items be sold again. By using your RZ card you're basically alerting the store to the fact that these are supposed to be pulled and thus practically eliminating your future chances of getting them. And for what? Like shrike said, a fraction of a point, essentially worthless. Think it through, people.
 
Picked up RE5 (hardcover), Prince of Persia LE, Left 4 Dead, and Mirror's Edge and Rise of the Argonauts. Funny thing was that they where all marked as $0.01 on the shelf and on the cover. Don't know how these managed to stay on the shelves that long with the penny price clearly marked
 
Thanks for the responses guys and none of you bashed me for being somewhat of a jerk back there (bad day at work, but what isnt).

I didnt use my card just to get the fractions of the points either. To be honest, I just didnt think about it. Its like automatic to give it to them. At the same time, I will probably continue to do it anyways. Now I am really curious to see if these guys really are paying attention. It isnt like I am doing anything wrong anyway, I dont buy thousands of these things.
 
[quote name='wrencrest']Thanks for the responses guys and none of you bashed me for being somewhat of a jerk back there (bad day at work, but what isnt).

I didnt use my card just to get the fractions of the points either. To be honest, I just didnt think about it. Its like automatic to give it to them. At the same time, I will probably continue to do it anyways. Now I am really curious to see if these guys really are paying attention. It isnt like I am doing anything wrong anyway, I dont buy thousands of these things.[/QUOTE]

The way I look at it, you have nothing to gain by doing it. However you (and the greater CAG community) have a lot to (potentially) lose. I'd urge you to rethink that decision.
 
[quote name='wrencrest']Thanks for the responses guys and none of you bashed me for being somewhat of a jerk back there (bad day at work, but what isnt).

I didnt use my card just to get the fractions of the points either. To be honest, I just didnt think about it. Its like automatic to give it to them. At the same time, I will probably continue to do it anyways. Now I am really curious to see if these guys really are paying attention. It isnt like I am doing anything wrong anyway, I dont buy thousands of these things.[/QUOTE]It's not that you're doing something wrong, that's not what I was trying to say. Penny guides are a "grey market" item at a BB store, they're marked down a penny because it's an internal sign that they're supposed to be pulled and sent back to the publisher. If they do it or not is one issue, and if they're going to sell it is another issue.

If you use your RZ card, it ties a name/address/phone #/email address to that purchase, as well as a store number and transaction number. If you don't use your RZ card and just pay cash for it, there's nothing to tie you to it.

With the changes they've been doing with the RZ program, there's some internal changes they've likely been making to give them better visibility on "questionable" uses, such as overuse of promotions/coupons, and other oddities.

I'm not saying they're suddenly going to serve you with persa non grata paperwork and kick you out of the store, though if they see repeated penny guide purchases at a specific store, you're likely to run into issues getting penny guides again in the future. Or anyone else at that store, or possibly that area/district.
 
Yeah, it's cool that you slipped up and gave them your RZ info; I did the same thing once. Don't sweat it, everyone makes mistakes. Just try to be mindful of it next time you're in the store.
 
It's not something that everyone thinks about.
You are right in that you are likely not going to get banned from the store, you just might not ever be able to find any more pennied guides. You don't want to end up like me and have the DM/AM make the pulling of guides a priority.

I do everything I can to cover the purchase and stay low profile. Sticking to only one or two of each and buying some gum or a drink on top of everything. I even pay cash now since I found out they can compile transactions and purchase history and patterns from your CC#'s.
 
Picked up a couple of each at my local store about 16 guides total. On my wait out I heard a manager saying something about a limit of three each, not an issue for me as long as they mean three of each guide and not three total.
 
I always make big transactions at BB with penny guide purchases, and have already become a 2010 Premier member and it's only September. By the end of this year, I would have wasted about $5000 at BB alone. I think they will say, "if he keeps coming back for penny guides, let him, he makes up for it big time".
 
[quote name='hellmutt']The way I look at it, you have nothing to gain by doing it. However you (and the greater CAG community) have a lot to (potentially) lose. I'd urge you to rethink that decision.[/QUOTE]

Think about it this way.. your going to have to get used to the fact that eventually getting penny guides is just not going to happen...

It really has nothing to do with using the RZ card or anything else for that matter.. GS has pretty much buckled down nationwide with the few exceptions, Gamecrazy is following suit and Bestbuy is slowly going the same route and I don't think it has anything to do with a few people buying 3 guides and putting it on the RZ cards.. it is these people that are leading to the end of penny guides.. "The look on the managers face (Etc.) when you bring a whole pile of guides up that are marked $19.99 or more and your total comes to $0.30....

It is the people buying tons of them on one visit that is leading to the death of penny guides..... Sorry to slow the RZ card hate wave down but be realistic people and see it like it is.
 
They can track every pruchase as well as 0.00 if you use your reward zone card. The only time I use it on penny guides is when I need a few cents for my certificate (since they give you 9.99 for a game instead of $10.00).
 
[quote name='hellmutt']The way I look at it, you have nothing to gain by doing it. However you (and the greater CAG community) have a lot to (potentially) lose. I'd urge you to rethink that decision.[/QUOTE]
I hear what you're saying about me being denied, but I highly doubt me using an RZ card will affect the decision by the store to crack down on these purchases. It doesnt matter if you pay with cash or a card, the store still has the record showing they sold a penny item. If they want to crack down they will, but based on the purchases, not based on who bought them or what method was used.

I would think people going in and buying 10 guides or more at a time will be the trigger that tells BB to get their act together.
 
[quote name='neocisco']By using your RZ card you're basically alerting the store to the fact that these are supposed to be pulled and thus practically eliminating your future chances of getting them.[/QUOTE]

I see no reason to use a RZ card with penny guide purchases, unless you're buying your guides with other items of significant cost (see the post above about buying with a PS3 - a joke (I think)). OTOH, if you're just buying penny guides and your total transaction is pennies, you're asking for trouble regardless of RZ card use.

However, I fail to see how using your RZ card alerts the store these are supposed to be pulled. Any POS system worth a damn will track the purchase in a database, and presumably could be configured or programmed to alert the store (and possibly higher up) of anomalies like $0.01 items - regardless of whether a RZ card (or credit card) is used.
 
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I've discovered that by wearing a tin foil hat, I can avoid being tracked by any of the BB tracking devices.

I know it's working well, as I'm always greeted with large smiles throughout the store.
 
[quote name='stoned99']I've discovered that by wearing a tin foil hat, I can avoid being tracked by any of the BB tracking devices.

I know it's working well, as I'm always greeted with large smiles throughout the store.[/QUOTE]

Either that or its because you really are stoned all the time and you just think they are smiling at you
 
[quote name='gantt']However, I fail to see how using your RZ card alerts the store these are supposed to be pulled. Any POS system worth a damn will track the purchase in a database, and presumably could be configured or programmed to alert the store (and possibly higher up) of anomalies like $0.01 items - regardless of whether a RZ card (or credit card) is used.[/QUOTE]

I agree. Using your reward zone card doesn't do any more to alert them the guides are being sold, it just alerts them that you are the one buying them (as does using a credit card). I generally don't bother using my RZ card if all I am buying are guides, but yesterday the guy pretty much forced me to (I told him it wasn't worth the trouble for 12 cents, and I didn't even have it on me, and I said I'd connect it later online if I felt the need, but he insisted on looking it up by phone number). What's worse is that I only had 7 cents cash on me, and 12 guides, so I had to use my credit card for a 12 cent purchase. Now every time I get in my car, I feel like I am being followed by a geek squad-mobile.
 
[quote name='wrencrest']Thanks for the responses guys and none of you bashed me for being somewhat of a jerk back there (bad day at work, but what isnt).

I didnt use my card just to get the fractions of the points either. To be honest, I just didnt think about it. Its like automatic to give it to them. At the same time, I will probably continue to do it anyways. Now I am really curious to see if these guys really are paying attention. It isnt like I am doing anything wrong anyway, I dont buy thousands of these things.[/QUOTE]

I use my BB credit card for any and all purchases, no matter how big or small. The best way to get penny guides for me is by getting something else with them...it raises less suspicion and makes it less likely that they will deny me since I'm purchasing other items as well.

And there is no way someone is tracking my credit card/reward zone purchases and cracking down on the stores selling me the penny guides. That is some crazy, paranoid conspiracy thinking there. They have enough real fraud to track.

But I guarantee that walking out the door with an armful of guides after flipping the cashier a dime is going to eventually be noticed by a do-gooder cashier, the security guy up front, or even management.

Hell, posting here has damaged my ability to get guides far more than my reward zone card.
 
After getting all the guides I did last night at the 4 BBs near me, I went back to all 4 again today to get Godfather, Argos and LOTR. Dont think Ive had to double dip a BB penny guide drop before lol but 40 cents well spent.
 
Look, here's a simple way to look at it:

RZ Card with penny guides:

Pro: NONE
Con: Your transaction might cause a red flag.

Whether they can/will ban you isn't the issue. The issue is (unless you do it reflexively without thinking) there is nothing to gain for yourself or anyone by using your RZ card with these transactions -- ESPECIALLY IF ALL THAT'S IN YOUR TRANSACTION IS PENNY GUIDES. If you're buying a $1000 TV with penny guides, clearly Best Buy won't give a shit. But most of the people here don't do that.

It's not about paranoia or what rights Best Buy has. It's about keeping a low profile so you don't fucking ruin it for everyone else.

It's not as bad as yelling out "look what I got! Penny guides!" but why even make any noise at all.

That's the problem I have with some people. If you lay low and act like business as usual, nothing really happens. I swear, it's like some people have never read about the Golden Goose.

If you need to be a dick, confront managers/employees, brag about it, and draw attention to yourself or the fact that penny guides exist... well you're just being a dumbass.

Penny guides might or might not go away in the near future. But please, let's not hasten their extinction by buying TONS of guides or doing something that has no pros like using your RZ card.

Now, if you are a dick and get off on "scoring" so many penny guides, then go ahead and do whatever you want. Aholes tend not to ever change despite what's actually good for them.
 
^^^Here is a pro ralph:

The only time I use it on penny guides is when I need a few cents for my certificate (since they give you 9.99 for a game instead of $10.00).
 
That's not a pro. That's just having filler.

Plus, if you can't even afford a bottle of coke to put you over the top for a certificate, you got other issues.
 
[quote name='polishpride212']to make it less conspicuous of me grabbing guides, i just wheel the whole rack to the checkout counter.[/quote]

lmao
 
Ended up going out of town today for work and being able to hit a couple of out of the way Best Buys. Picked up a couple of each guide.

One store, the cashier called the manager over and he looked at the total. He asked me what I do with them. I told him trade them, give them to friends, whatever. He said "I'm your friend". I told him to grab what he wanted. If he needed me too, I'd put them on the front seat of his car. He laughed and walked away and the cashier bagged my purchase.

The other store, the guy said "Ahhh... The penny guides! I saw some guy buy one a couple of days ago. That's cool!".
 
[quote name='crazedracerguy']Ended up going out of town today for work and being able to hit a couple of out of the way Best Buys. Picked up a couple of each guide.

One store, the cashier called the manager over and he looked at the total. He asked me what I do with them. I told him trade them, give them to friends, whatever. He said "I'm your friend". I told him to grab what he wanted. If he needed me too, I'd put them on the front seat of his car. He laughed and walked away and the cashier bagged my purchase.

The other store, the guy said "Ahhh... The penny guides! I saw some guy buy one a couple of days ago. That's cool!".[/QUOTE]

Damn you got cool managers. I always have to try to find the most carefree cashier so they don't call one over.
 
After striking out on literally the last five BB drops, I finally hit a jackpot. I'm so pleased. I found LotR, Mirror's Edge, Pop HC, and Rise of the Argonauts. Unfortunately they did not have the one guide I really wanted (Fire Emblem), but maybe someone in the trade thread can help. Either way, good times.
 
I often buy penny guides with other items (Cds/DVDs/games) at the same time and obviously use my RZ card. Been doing this for years and have never had any issues.

If I'm just buying penny guides and nothing else then I don't use my RZ card. Not worth it in my opinion.

Back on topic, it took 3 Best Buys but I was finally able to find all of the latest drops.
 
For those not thinking their purchases aren't being tracked, think again. I worked electronics retail for years and everything--EVERYTHING--that is sold in the store is tracked and seen by managers in their daily and weekly reports. As others have said, there may not be a personal negative for an individual using the RZ card when only buying guides but I can tell you for a fact that it gets noticed by managers. When a manager sees a sale for 8 items and the total is only .08, that gets their attention. It does help to pad it with a CD or DVD or at least a drink or candy. The best way to stay off the radar is to pay cash and NOT use the RZ card. If you're buying other items at the same time use of the RZ card is generally OK. When you're only buying guides or just some candy/drinks with it, I can't emphasize enough that using the RZ card is a bad idea. Even if your store happens to have slack managers (and don't say yours does because you don't know this unless you work there) there is NOTHING to be gained by adding .06 to your RZ balance. It's just not worth it.

[quote name='Josef']I often buy penny guides with other items (Cds/DVDs/games) at the same time and obviously use my RZ card. Been doing this for years and have never had any issues.

If I'm just buying penny guides and nothing else then I don't use my RZ card. Not worth it in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

More succinct and spot on.
 
It's been referred to earlier but lost in all the chatter. I can confirm that Sonic Unleashed is pennied at Best Buy.

I wish I knew how to make text RED.
 
[quote name='hellmutt']It's been referred to earlier but lost in all the chatter. I can confirm that Sonic Unleashed is pennied at Best Buy.

I wish I knew how to make text RED.[/QUOTE]
Done.
 
I love my Best Buy. For a while I thought maybe they just didn't know about penny guides, but now I'm quite certain they just don't care. A drop or two ago they were all labeled at $0.01, and today as I was leaving the guy at the door asked me if I got the guides for a penny. I said I did and he asked to see what I grabbed, and was excited to see the RE5 LE. Since I grabbed all three, I gave him one and my receipt so he could walk out with it.
 
Found 2 copies of 10 different guides at one store. Unfortunately the cashiers I knew were not working so the guy called over the manager. She interrogated me on how I knew the guides were a penny, I just said that I saw it on "the website". She said that she would have to raise the price to 50 cents per guide. I just said no thanks and walked off to the CS counter since I had to pickup an online locator. They were still at the register looking at me the whole time I was at the CS area.

I know 50 cents isnt that much compared to the $20 regular price, but since I didnt have anything that I really wanted (and none of the collectors editions) I just let it go. I'm kinda wishing I had bought them as I would have had a nice Bait & Switch for the BBB to investigate.
 
[quote name='neocisco']For those not thinking their purchases aren't being tracked, think again. I worked electronics retail for years and everything--EVERYTHING--that is sold in the store is tracked and seen by managers in their daily and weekly reports. As others have said, there may not be a personal negative for an individual using the RZ card when only buying guides but I can tell you for a fact that it gets noticed by managers. When a manager sees a sale for 8 items and the total is only .08, that gets their attention. It does help to pad it with a CD or DVD or at least a drink or candy. The best way to stay off the radar is to pay cash and NOT use the RZ card. If you're buying other items at the same time use of the RZ card is generally OK. When you're only buying guides or just some candy/drinks with it, I can't emphasize enough that using the RZ card is a bad idea. Even if your store happens to have slack managers (and don't say yours does because you don't know this unless you work there) there is NOTHING to be gained by adding .06 to your RZ balance. It's just not worth it.



More succinct and spot on.[/QUOTE]

You're telling me that stores and their management don't track cash sales? I pay with a dime and nobody in the store notices, but I pay with a credit card and alarms start going off everywhere?

A sale of 8 items for a total of $0.08 sticks out like a sore thumb on their reports no matter the method of payment.

And I'll eat a fucking penny guide if anyone comes up with some proof that there is somebody tracking penny guide purchases within the reward zone.
 
[quote name='180husher']You're telling me that stores and their management don't track cash sales? I pay with a dime and nobody in the store notices, but I pay with a credit card and alarms start going off everywhere?

A sale of 8 items for a total of $0.08 sticks out like a sore thumb on their reports no matter the method of payment.

And I'll eat a fucking penny guide if anyone comes up with some proof that there is somebody tracking penny guide purchases within the reward zone.[/QUOTE]

Neo's point is if you pay in cash, then it's impossible to track the purchaser. If you pay by CC or use your RZ, then it's possible it could be tracked to you. Maybe less than 1%, but possible.

Honestly, I don't know why anybody is even arguing against Neo's point. It's a dumb risk. It may be a very, very low risk, but there's nothing to gain by it. I think people just like to argue for argument's sake and love playing devil's advocate.
 
Personally, my store that I go to is really chill. With both the free Xblades and the penny guides, they didn't even blink an eye. Of course there was always a little chuckle, and the "Only a penny?" questions. Nothing with the managers coming up to me. I think it is in part due to the location. The store is located in a city with two Best Buys, a dozen gamestops, and probably another 30 electronic stores.
 
Picked up a Mirror's Edge guide as well as a FEAR 2 Guide. Also saw the regular PoP guide, but I remember distinctly the LE edition was posted so I didnt even bother with that one. Overall not too bad of a run.

Also, I tend to at least buy a small item with my guides. I actually had to pick up some earbuds so I did that with this transaction.
 
I hit up 6 BBs today and picked up 2 more RE5 LEs, 5 Godfather IIs, a L4D, 2 FEAR 2s, 3 MEs, 3 Pikmins, 3 PoP LEs, and I think that is it.

I left plenty of PoP LEs at the Canton, OH Strip BB along with some other stuff.

The stores up in Cleveland that I hit up(Ridge Rd. and Mayfield Hts.) were weird because they didn't have any of the LEs(a CAG maybe?) but the one had a bunch of old drops(Killzone 2, etc) and also there were a crapload of FO3 regular guides @$12.99 at the Ridge Rd. one.
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']Neo's point is if you pay in cash, then it's impossible to track the purchaser. If you pay by CC or use your RZ, then it's possible it could be tracked to you. Maybe less than 1%, but possible.

Honestly, I don't know why anybody is even arguing against Neo's point. It's a dumb risk. It may be a very, very low risk, but there's nothing to gain by it. I think people just like to argue for argument's sake and love playing devil's advocate.[/QUOTE]

Don't get me wrong...I like Neo, he ran a kick-ass CC clearance thread back in the day. But the Geek Squad aren't coming to my house to work me over for using my credit card/reward zone when purchasing penny guides. It has nothing to do with risk cause it just isn't happening.
 
[quote name='180husher']Don't get me wrong...I like Neo, he ran a kick-ass CC clearance thread back in the day. But the Geek Squad aren't coming to my house to work me over for using my credit card/reward zone when purchasing penny guides. It has nothing to do with risk cause it just isn't happening.[/QUOTE]

Of course no Geek Squad member is coming to your house. It's not even like Best Buy is going to call you or ban you. But since there is NO UPSIDE, all you're doing is giving more data to Best Buy. And unless you're completely naive, BB (and every major retailer out there) analyzes the shit out of all the sales data they have. They do it primarily to gain more sales. But if an anomaly shows up, they might act on it...

Again, why kill (or contribute in any way) to killing the Golden Goose? Why give BB more information than they need to have? It's not about YOU. It's about the greater good. Oh but I forgot, it's every man for himself.

[quote name='Ubiiquitous'] I think people just like to argue for argument's sake and love playing devil's advocate.[/QUOTE]

People... are fucking stupid.
 
[quote name='180husher']Don't get me wrong...I like Neo, he ran a kick-ass CC clearance thread back in the day. But the Geek Squad aren't coming to my house to work me over for using my credit card/reward zone when purchasing penny guides. It has nothing to do with risk cause it just isn't happening.[/QUOTE]

Every rewards card is used to track purchase trends. Reward zone, Jewell, albertsons, dominics, basically any chain with a rewards or discount card program tracks every purchase.

Legally they are supposed to use numbers instead of names to collect/report the data.

It has even gone as far as rewards programs reporting data to insurance companies to possibly deny coverage based on peoples eating habits (allegedly).

The "risk" everyone is talking about involves DMs seeing their avg sales drop because of low dollar amount transactions. Best buy isn't going to hunt you down, but the DMs may start to take notice and tell the stores not to sell them anymore.
 
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