Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread XI

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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.


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 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

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 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/...d.php?t=187222
Guide Ten:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219547

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, Guinaevere 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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Thanks for bumping this thread with the.. hey someone go to BB and let me know what guides dropped..

I usually wait to see if this thread gets bumped on Mondays with new drops. But its always these posts that bump it. :(
 
[quote name='HaLLuZiNaTiOnZ']lol @ post like these.

"Hey guys how bout you go check BB for me and see if the prices dropped while I sit in my chair browsing CAG?"

I can't go to BB usually so I just hope somebody updates, but I don't go out of my way to say "Hey, go check for me so I won't waste gas but you will." such as the this guy.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree. That was my precisely my point that I made, albeit somewhat subtly.

I usually don't have the time or wherewithal to do it, but I also don't ask others to do something I can't or won't do myself.
 
[quote name='Coyotezeye']Thanks for bumping this thread with the.. hey someone go to BB and let me know what guides dropped..

I usually wait to see if this thread gets bumped on Mondays with new drops. But its always these posts that bump it. :([/QUOTE]

Ya, I never understood those type of post/bumps.

I think everyone who cares about price drops KNOWS BB drops Mondays, so they'll check themselves and update if there is anything or just post if it's nothing.

It's not like we're going to be like "Oh shit, it's Monday, thank god this guy asking for drops reminded me".
 
I've always avoided this thread because I HATE YMMV type of deals, but for no reason I decided to try it yesterday, and went to my 2 local gamestops. One had the Cheats & Codes Winter 2010 and the other had Fossil Fighters (dropped 4.1.10 lol). In each case the employee had a stunned look on their face and mumbled something about 'missed that one'. I only had a buck on me so in both cases they just gave it to me for free. NEAT!

...ymmv still scares me tho. /end of line
 
I was in my BB yesterday, and I noted that all the FFXIII LE and Dragon Age LE guides were missing. I thought some fleabayer bought them up, but now I'm wondering if it was a 'pre-drop pull' similar to what we saw a couple months back...
 
you guys are crazy about the bumpage..its not such a bad thing. Most of us get so wrapped up in the work day, we may forget its Monday completely..or are too tired form pAArtying over the weekend..plus when posts that have consolidated information are on the front page, its a lot easier (read: quicker) for me to check from my phone should I notice a guide I may think has been pennied out..

but my cool story bro was finding an Operation Flashpoint (which was so gonna be for shrike ;) ) and a Forza 3 on Saturday at GS. Feeling very confident in front of the manager, b/c he had hooked me up before, when he greeted me, I responded, "eh, hoping you can hook me up with these!" very nicely and politely. He looked absolutely puzzled, started ringing them up and said, "Oh, I can't sell these to you." then, me now looking puzzled back, I said, "really, you remember hooking me up about a month ago?" He said, "sure, but they've actually been coming down on us, so we can't do that anymore." At that point, I just gave up, didn't feel like offering a pre-order b/c I wasn't in my part of town. Oh well..
 
I dont see why all the hubbub about the "did anything drop posts?". Ill even do it for the sake of bumping. Alot of people have more time or dont work and can check BB while the rest of us check our iphone/droids hoping a drop happened :)

With each passing Monday though it makes you sad not seeing a BB drop. Last fall when BB had a few giant drops it was very fun grabbin dem shits (as I can tell from everyones trade list on the trade forums, everyone el hoarded pennied guides on that last drop in fall). Unless someone confirms something, it looks like we will see again next monday... BB please bring back that old penny guide feeling to us CAGs!
 
Last time there was a pre-pull I found the list in the system. I asked my manager what's up with not pennying guides and he said nothing has come up in employee news.

I'll check again tomorrow night when I work to see if there's anything in the 3-4 different access points with guide drop info.

So far everything from my previous list of Discontinued and Deleted guides remain the same with the exceptions of LoZ Spirits Tracks LE, Bioshock 2 LE and New SMB going back to Active (not gonna drop)

My stores inventory says we have 2 Dragon Age LEs but there's only one on the shelves. I've looked everywhere for it. I think someone stole it. I found a store today that has 7 copies. On this same trip I found a Fallout 3 CE at Gamestop and they denied me, said it had to be destroyed.
 
Well my friends, I've been in the store for what the clock says has been one and one half hours but my body and mind say 8 hours. I searched every where and found no new info. I went through every guide in the system again looking for changes in price or status and everything is the same.
 
[quote name='Frosty The Batman']I searched every where and found no new info. I went through every guide in the system again looking for changes in price or status and everything is the same.[/QUOTE]

Frosty The Batman: our (mostly) silent guardian, our watchful protector (from stealth drops), our Cold Dark Knight.
 
[quote name='gantt']Frosty The Batman: our (mostly) silent guardian, our watchful protector (from stealth drops), our Cold Dark Knight.[/QUOTE]

I'm man enough to admit that this brought a small tear to my eye. :cry:







:lol:
 
Anyone else planning on checking tomorrow?

Also, I stopped at the GS that time forgot a few days ago.

It had Bourne Conspiracy and other older guides. None were pennied though afaik. (I kindly asked the clerk to check the Bourne Conspiracy one)
 
[quote name='dabamus']Anyone else planning on checking tomorrow?

Also, I stopped at the GS that time forgot a few days ago.

It had Bourne Conspiracy and other older guides. None were pennied though afaik. (I kindly asked the clerk to check the Bourne Conspiracy one)[/QUOTE]
Not me. I have yard work I gotta do tomorrow(was supposed to do it today but I friggin' hibernated till like 4-5pm and got up just in time for dinner:lol:) and then I'm debating if I wanna hit the midnight release tomorrow night for Red Dead Redemption.

This is assuming they don't send me the copy I pre-ordered online in the mail tomorrow thus negating having to go in store to get my copy on Weds.
 
[quote name='dabamus']Whelp, today's the 3rd monday of the month. Anyone else planning on checking?[/QUOTE]

Do you mean besides yourself?
 
[quote name='jling84']I think this really just depends on the respective managers of each store.[/QUOTE]It depends more upon the district managers. They are the ones responsible for field destroying the pennied guides. But there are many DMs who will either give their code out to managers to register or in some other way fake the field destruction of the guides.
 
[quote name='dabamus']Whelp, today's the 3rd monday of the month. Anyone else planning on checking?[/QUOTE]


yeah can someone on the east coast go now and let the rest of us know!
 
I have a good idea. Why don't people just take initiative and go check themselves instead of asking others to spend their gas money and time to do it.

And if your excuse is "I would but I can't" then don't ask someone else to do something you aren't going to do yourself. I mean, if you have time to come to CAG and ask someone to do something for you, you should have time to go to Best Buy.
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']I have a good idea. Why don't people just take initiative and go check themselves instead of asking others to spend their gas money and time to do it.

And if your excuse is "I would but I can't" then don't ask someone else to do something you aren't going to do yourself. I mean, if you have time to come to CAG and ask someone to do something for you, you should have time to go to Best Buy.[/QUOTE]
But that takes effort and the desire to want to actually help the community and we all know that those who want the deals wait until they're confirmed by others so they can go 'grab dem shitz' as much as they can.;)
 
Is it as simple as wandering into a store and asking what has been pennied out? Do they take a little offense to that? Or is there another way to check?
 
[quote name='midloo']Is it as simple as wandering into a store and asking what has been pennied out? Do they take a little offense to that? Or is there another way to check?[/QUOTE]

Depends on who you ask and where you go. I'd advise against it since they most likely don't know. If we knew from frosty or lox, then they would most likely know at your store.
 
[quote name='midloo']Is it as simple as wandering into a store and asking what has been pennied out? Do they take a little offense to that? Or is there another way to check?[/QUOTE]

not to LOL, but that idea is crazy! first, you'll more than likely get a blank stare from somebody on the floor. Only that departments 'supervisor' should have a price change list, or a different team all together..

best bet would be to just get a stack of guides your interested in, or we CAGs have been discussing ones that are getting really old (like SW:TFU) and taking them to the register. Have the blonde girl ring them up, if they are full price, decline the sale and be a nice person and tell them you'll put them back. If some are a penny, have her delete the full price ones and see if you can snag the penny ones..ALWAYS keep pennies in your pocket when going to BB b/c they will most likely never hand them over for free like GS does..
 
[quote name='midloo']Is it as simple as wandering into a store and asking what has been pennied out? Do they take a little offense to that? Or is there another way to check?[/QUOTE]
Read the first post and check for any of the guides in the second and third posts at your local Gamestop or Best Buy and they should automatically come up as a penny. But if they don't and you saw the employee hit a few buttons after scanning the guide, then they've marked the price back up to cover price to cover the fact they missed a penny guide on the shelf when pulling them.

However, the chances of you being sold or given them for a penny or free are 50/50 usually. If the employees at the store are sticklers for policy, they may tell you they have to destroy them(since the penny price is NOT an actual price for customers to buy them at but an indicator for the employees to pull and destroy them).

Sometimes you'll get lucky and find a couple on the shelf and get them for free or a penny each, but sometimes you'll get a clerk or manager who will say they have to destroy them and take them off of you.

I've found that it does help your case if you give the employees who give you the occasional pennied guide a pre-order deposit(even if you end up cancelling it or moving it to another game the next month or whatever).

But again, your chances are 50/50 usually.

But whatever you do, DO NOT....I repeat DO NOT go into a store and ask 'where's the pennied guides?' since they will probably ask you how you know about them and then you'll have to fumble for an answer.

Whatever you do though, if you're asked where you found out about pennied guides say 'the internet' and leave it at that.
 
right^ and some bestbuys are damn good at pulling guides (mine used to be horrible) and another issue u can run into is employee stockpiling. I'm not sure which one is going on at my store but i havn't been able to catch a drop in about 6 months.

On that lovely note i am going into best buy here in a few so i will scan the regulars and post back anything i find, btw if anyone is waiting for me to confirm Dragon Age guide drops, dont bother mine have been gone for about a month now.
 
[quote name='DragynFyre']right^ and some bestbuys are damn good at pulling guides (mine used to be horrible) and another issue u can run into is employee stockpiling. I'm not sure which one is going on at my store but i havn't been able to catch a drop in about 6 months.
[/QUOTE]

I don't think employees are taking your guides, there just hasn't been many drops in the last six months. The last one was pretty universal when it came to stores actually pulling guides, so that's why you didn't get any.
 
[quote name='ballbarfer']so is anyone gonna go scan some guides or should i just call my local Best Buy and asking them which are a penny?[/QUOTE]

LOL QFT!!! yeah, call them up! say you're a manager from another store and you got some jerk-ass kid in here asking where the penny guides are. Something about the kid being pissed off b/c there haven't been any penny guides in 2 months and the last time there was a rogue pull performed at all the stores.
 
[quote name='token2k6']LOL QFT!!! yeah, call them up! say you're a manager from another store and you got some jerk-ass kid in here asking where the penny guides are. Something about the kid being pissed off b/c there haven't been any penny guides in 2 months and the last time there was a rogue pull performed at all the stores.[/QUOTE]


ok i tried that but they acted like i was a crazy person.....they said the guides are 9.99 and up!
 
[quote name='ballbarfer']ok i tried that but they acted like i was a crazy person.....they said the guides are 9.99 and up![/QUOTE]
You should def. have a hissy-fit and call corporate!
 
[quote name='Doomstink']I don't think employees are taking your guides, there just hasn't been many drops in the last six months. The last one was pretty universal when it came to stores actually pulling guides, so that's why you didn't get any.[/QUOTE]

You'd be surprised. Last time I picked up some penny guides at a BB the employee when I took up to the counter said he had grabbed a copy of that guide himself and took the last Prototype guide.
 
[quote name='ballbarfer']whats the area code?[/QUOTE]

Don't call anyone, just go back into the store knock over the magazine rack and throw glitter everywhere if they don't give you every guide in the store for a penny.
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']Don't call anyone, just go back into the store knock over the magazine rack and throw glitter everywhere if they don't give you every guide in the store for a penny.[/QUOTE]
I was gonna suggest an Al Bundy-esque end zone run with the guide they want most towards the exit door.;) Of course, in true Al Bundy fashion they'd be crushed by 2-3 burly security personnel right at the door in a slo-mo sequence.:lol:
 
[quote name='shieryda']I took a trip and scanned some guides for you lazy bastards.;)

None of the LE/CE guides dropped.[/QUOTE]

thanks
 
[quote name='shieryda']I took a trip and scanned some guides for you lazy bastards.;)

None of the LE/CE guides dropped.[/QUOTE]
Thank you kindly. My closest BB still has guides from the prior drop on the shelf(POP softcover, Champions Online, a ton of Warhammer Online), but that's because I actually showed restraint when grabbing all dem shitz this past drop at the local store.

Well....that and the local store only had a handful of the guides from the drop besides those I left behind.:roll: Now the other local store....was a goldmine, but I fucked that one up bad.:cry:
 
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