The Half Price Books Thread

BudzMcGee

BudzMcGee

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As a big fan of Half Price Books I thought a thread discussing the various discounts, promotions and of course our finds was more than well deserved.

All deals posted in the OP and in this thread are YMMV by nature. Some things have universal prices (or damn near) but still.

Always remember to check our local store's page on the HPB.com website to see if it has any additional specials (such as comic Wednesdays)!

Current Promotions:

Upcoming Promotions:


Miscellaneous contest and other deals:

Educator's Discount: If you are an educator you can apply for the Educators Discount Card to save 10% every day at HPB. http://www.hpb.com/community/educators/

Notable Deals (Items that seem to be more universal):
This is not to add every single descent deal found at HPB, but to post ones that seem to be more universal (i.e. items marked with SuperBuy rather than clearance or is reported in multiple places).

 
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Hoping to see that 20/30/40/50% sale week soon.  Last year, they sent out the notification email on March 9th and had the sale from the 12th to the 18th.

 
I was in Half price last week and they were saying something about a coupon drop around the 11th I believe.  I told her they already had my email so I didn't sign up (which I don't). 

 
Nice, been waiting for a reason to hit up all my local stores. Have been having a lot of luck with rarer anime/movie based books but have been passing on everything else
 
SideQuestsSuck said:
The HPB's in my area have very unrealistic prices for videogames...in many cases, their used copies are higher than what a brand new copy would cost at a big box store. I have contacted their Customer Service on the occasion when I really wanted a game and they reduced the price on that game to reflect today's marketplace. But by and large, their prices seem to be a few years out of date and they've never bothered to update them. That makes using the 50% coupon for games somewhat of a waste. The end prices are nowhere near as good as they should be, using it.

Your experience may be different but mine has been pretty disappointing.
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I think they price them differently depending on the store, but the one by me is typically priced in the realm of absurd. Just recently I saw a CIB Super Famicom copy of Star Fox that they were trying to sell for $80! Pretty sure that a CIB copy is worth roughly $30 and the condition of this one wasn't great. Then I also just bought a complete and very nice copy of Typing of the Dead with a boxed Dreamcast Keyboard for $35 which is a great price.

 
Sigma said:
I think they price them differently depending on the store, but the one by me is typically priced in the realm of absurd. Just recently I saw a CIB Super Famicom copy of Star Fox that they were trying to sell for $80! Pretty sure that a CIB copy is worth roughly $30 and the condition of this one wasn't great. Then I also just bought a complete and very nice copy of Typing of the Dead with a boxed Dreamcast Keyboard for $35 which is a great price.
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Price absolutely varies by store. Generally HPB tends to price their stuff based on Amazon pricing from what I've seen. If the person doing the pricing doesn't know video games and the only seller for something on Amazon has it way over-priced as can happen, you wind up with something priced waaaay out of wack.

I can always tell the stores where the person doing the pricing actually knows games because they'll usually be pretty in line with pricing.

That said, some stores definitely seem to inflate the pricing on some things to make sure that the 50% off coupons don't really screw them over.

 
Got my coupon too. Going to SXSW so I’ll hit up the HPB in ATX. They usually have some good stuff. Found a huge Saturn collection at the Lamar location once
 
bonesawisready said:
Got my coupon too. Going to SXSW so I’ll hit up the HPB in ATX. They usually have some good stuff. Found a huge Saturn collection at the Lamar location once
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Nice. I'm debating going to SXSW for interactive/film, need to look into some events, went to the Westworld event last year and that was pretty nice

 
nitrosmob said:
Always want to go to SXSW. I don't live very far but the timing is always bad. Someday.....
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theres usually something cool and free. Imo I enjoy just roaming the clubs and seeing random bands playing, you can discover stuff you’d never have heard of that way.

But the gaming event and film event are cool. Gaming conference is next weekend I think and $20, I believe
 
Only good game I found was Hitman 2 for :ps4: for $12.50 after the 50% off. Got some good records though. It seems like most of my stores only have 2 or 3 year old games for this gen and I don't think I've ever seen a Switch game at any of them.

 
BudzMcGee said:
Price absolutely varies by store. Generally HPB tends to price their stuff based on Amazon pricing from what I've seen. If the person doing the pricing doesn't know video games and the only seller for something on Amazon has it way over-priced as can happen, you wind up with something priced waaaay out of wack.

I can always tell the stores where the person doing the pricing actually knows games because they'll usually be pretty in line with pricing.

That said, some stores definitely seem to inflate the pricing on some things to make sure that the 50% off coupons don't really screw them over.
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Yup, for sure. I saw "Last of Us Remastered" @ HPB this weekend for $19.99. Used copy, of course. This game has been $19.99 new for almost two years at every retailer I have seen, online and in-store. It took nearly 30 minutes of negotiating for them to drop the price down to $9.99. I know it was just a $10 difference but it was the principle of the thing. None of their reasoning made any sense. Then, with 50% off for coupon Sunday, it was 5 bucks. Cool, but does every video game purchase @ HPB have to be like pulling teeth? It's not just that game. Went up and down the shelf and the prices are most definitely not half price. The prices are typically about 3-5 years out of date. In some cases, the prices were even HIGHER than current retail. $29.99 when the game has been $19.99 for 2-3 years...that kind of thing. I'm not talking about rare, out-of-print games. Just seems like no one bothers to update these video game prices from the day the games were first launched. This is pretty much the situation at every HPB location I have visited. Good that you have encountered some stores where the prices are more reasonable.

As far as 'do they hold games during coupon sale weeks', I have found that they do, at least in my own experience. YMMV, perhaps...may depend on your own store and who you deal with.

 
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Jurai said:
saw someone on reddit say they were holding items, which is apparently a 3 day hold
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Well crap, maybe I should have tried to get them to hold on to that copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day so it would have still been there when I went to grab it on Friday. Oh well.

Wound up not getting anything this time around, as I was waiting until 40% day, and by that time both of my stores had been picked clean of anything interesting.

 
Churchbus said:
Well crap, maybe I should have tried to get them to hold on to that copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day so it would have still been there when I went to grab it on Friday. Oh well.

Wound up not getting anything this time around, as I was waiting until 40% day, and by that time both of my stores had been picked clean of anything interesting.
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Yeah idk, tbh to me holding items during a big sale like that is kinda eh, should just let the person who puts the most effort into the hunt get it

 
I always buy anything I REALLY want by the 30% days, all 4 of the stores by me were picked clean of most things of good value by Friday and Sunday was just a madhouse. Seems like the games are the first things to go, all of the Switch games I were eyeing were gone by Wednesday.

Ended up with some really nice grabs this time though. A lot of niche anime art books, even found a Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire one from the Pokemon Centers in Japan.

 
Anybody sold games to HPB before? Curious how they stack up compared to GS and Vintage Stock. Still have quite a few last gen games that were perennial good traders at Gamestop before the Fall, and would like to unload them.
 
WarGames92 said:
Anybody sold games to HPB before? Curious how they stack up compared to GS and Vintage Stock. Still have quite a few last gen games that were perennial good traders at Gamestop before the Fall, and would like to unload them.
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With games, they're not worth it. However, for old blurays that you upgrade (4k, digital, etc) and go for under $5 on ebay; it's worth it to me to just get rid of them for a dollar or two. Saves the hassle of garage sale (and people lowball worse than that) and you can get cash for their offer in just a few minutes. I usually save up a few movies I replaced and take them in for a few bucks each time. Anything I can make more selling online, I do that instead. Just take a few seconds to research and make an informed decision.

 
If I have a bunch of crap I just want to get rid of and make a few bucks, HPB is fine.  If I actually want to make some money, selling online is much better. 

 
ZForce said:
If I have a bunch of crap I just want to get rid of and make a few bucks, HPB is fine. If I actually want to make some money, selling online is much better.
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Our point is, even for what it is, half price is still pretty shitty when it comes to selling. Of all the resale chains in my state half price is definitely the worst.
 
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ZForce said:
If I have a bunch of crap I just want to get rid of and make a few bucks, HPB is fine. If I actually want to make some money, selling online is much better.
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Agreed. I only take things to Half-Price when I'm just trying to unload stuff and don't want to bother with actually selling it. Any money I make from the transaction is just icing on the cake.

 
When it comes to trade-ins, Half-Price Books is the "Plato's Closet" of media. Their offers are so bad that I'd feel guilty accepting them instead of just donating my items somewhere.

With that in mind, it amazes me that my local stores receive quality/rare items on the regular. Great place to shop, but I'll never be seeking store credit there. 😅
 
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At least up here in Wisconsin, HPB will hold items up to seven days. There is a limit of 10 items on hold/per person.

I will go in the Sunday before the coupon sale starts to put items on hold to purchase at 40-50% off the following weekend. 

The only exception I have heard is brand new board games having a 24-hour hold, but in the coupon sale a few weeks ago, they had no issues holding brand new games for the week. 

 
The_Central_Scrutinizer said:
When it comes to trade-ins, Half-Price Books is the "Plato's Closet" of media. Their offers are so bad that I'd feel guilty accepting them instead of just donating my items somewhere.

With that in mind, it amazes me that my local stores receive quality/rare items on the regular. Great place to shop, but I'll never be seeking store credit there. [emoji28]
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When I was leaving this weekend I saw an employee just dumping two or three huge garbage bins of books into the trash. Why the hell don't they donate them? It pissed me off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don't think I got an email but I got a physical mailer, the coupon week starts this coming Monday, 20% off on 8/9, 30% off on 10/11, 40% off on 12/13,50% off an item is Sunday July 14th

20% off online with code SUMMER20 during the sale period
 
Not sure If anyone here is around Phoenix AZ, but they are doing a Clearance sale at the Mesa convention Center July 19th-21st. Looks like everything will be 4$ from what I read.

 
Jurai said:
I usually use the 40/50 on manga anthologies
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The manga stuff always seems to get cleared out pretty quickly here, especially for popular series. I tend to aim for the art books and print collections, especially since they apply to my career as well and don't go as fast.

I have had some pretty good luck in finding out of print books that would have cost way more elsewhere.
 
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SgtWiggles said:
The manga stuff always seems to get cleared out pretty quickly here, especially for popular series. I tend to aim for the art books and print collections, especially since they apply to my career as well and don't go as fast.
I have had some pretty good luck in finding out of print books that would have cost way more elsewhere.
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Yeah I got lucky last year and walked in right as they were shelving some stuff
 
Happened to me a few times as well and it's always the best feeling, got a Japanese Pokemon ORAS and Soul Eater Artbook recently because of it.
 
i found out that the birthday 15% off coupon you get can be used more than once going to different stores.  In other news, i am looking forward to the coupon deal week. couple of my local stores have some good items that have my interest.  Actually just picked up a sealed copy of X-Men legends II for the GameCube the other day.

 
SideQuestsSuck said:
Yup, for sure. I saw "Last of Us Remastered" @ HPB this weekend for $19.99. Used copy, of course. This game has been $19.99 new for almost two years at every retailer I have seen, online and in-store. It took nearly 30 minutes of negotiating for them to drop the price down to $9.99. I know it was just a $10 difference but it was the principle of the thing. None of their reasoning made any sense. Then, with 50% off for coupon Sunday, it was 5 bucks. Cool, but does every video game purchase @ HPB have to be like pulling teeth? It's not just that game. Went up and down the shelf and the prices are most definitely not half price. The prices are typically about 3-5 years out of date. In some cases, the prices were even HIGHER than current retail. $29.99 when the game has been $19.99 for 2-3 years...that kind of thing. I'm not talking about rare, out-of-print games. Just seems like no one bothers to update these video game prices from the day the games were first launched. This is pretty much the situation at every HPB location I have visited. Good that you have encountered some stores where the prices are more reasonable.

As far as 'do they hold games during coupon sale weeks', I have found that they do, at least in my own experience. YMMV, perhaps...may depend on your own store and who you deal with.
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I never even considered haggling on the price in the price in there. Have you had much success doing that? who do you speak to, to make it happen? I've found more than a few games I would have bought had the pricing been even around ebay.

 
Sparky01GT said:
I never even considered haggling on the price in the price in there. Have you had much success doing that? who do you speak to, to make it happen? I've found more than a few games I would have bought had the pricing been even around ebay.
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I asked to speak to the store manager, since the employee in question wasn't budging on the price. The manager did a lot of digging online and finally agreed with me that their price for the game should be $9.99. Then, with the 50% coupon, it was $5. I am not 100% sure if this particular HPB is the worst I've been to or whether their video game pricing is typical of all HPB's. I know in my first post I said that the situation was the same at "every HPB" I've visited but I haven't been to that many, so I don't have enough information to blanket-proclaim this to be the case at all the locations. It seems to me that they set their "half" price when a game first releases and then they don't bother to ever update that price. They're probably still asking us to pay $29.99 for a used copy of Bloodborne...that type of thing. These games in 2019 should be dirt cheap at HPB.

If you run into issues, I'd first ask to speak to the store manager. Might help to show the price from Amazon or BB on your phone, to show the difference. If they don't budge, I'd call HPB Customer Service. I believe their # is (800) 883-2114. I called them a couple of years ago when that same store refused to come down in price on a 4-year-old PS4 game and CS agreed with me, apologized, and ultimately mailed me the game for free.

 
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SideQuestsSuck said:
I asked to speak to the store manager, since the employee in question wasn't budging on the price. The manager did a lot of digging online and finally agreed with me that their price for the game should be $9.99. Then, with the 50% coupon, it was $5. I am not 100% sure if this particular HPB is the worst I've been to or whether their video game pricing is typical of all HPB's. I know in my first post I said that the situation was the same at "every HPB" I've visited but I haven't been to that many, so I don't have enough information to blanket-proclaim this to be the case at all the locations. It seems to me that they set their "half" price when a game first releases and then they don't bother to ever update that price. They're probably still asking us to pay $29.99 for a used copy of Bloodborne...that type of thing. These games in 2019 should be dirt cheap at HPB.

If you run into issues, I'd first ask to speak to the store manager. Might help to show the price from Amazon or BB on your phone, to show the difference. If they don't budge, I'd call HPB Customer Service. I believe their # is (800) 883-2114. I called them a couple of years ago when that same store refused to come down in price on a 4-year-old PS4 game and CS agreed with me, apologized, and ultimately mailed me the game for free.
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You sound difficult

 
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Voken said:
You sound difficult
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And you sound like a HPB employee. "Difficult"....lol...that's a good one, when their prices are 3-5 years behind. You want to pay "half" prices that aren't really half? You'd rather pay more than half? You're welcome to it. Give 'em more of your money. No sweat off my sack. The rest of us will try to save $$ (hence the idea behind this entire website).

 
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SideQuestsSuck said:
I asked to speak to the store manager, since the employee in question wasn't budging on the price. The manager did a lot of digging online and finally agreed with me that their price for the game should be $9.99. Then, with the 50% coupon, it was $5. I am not 100% sure if this particular HPB is the worst I've been to or whether their video game pricing is typical of all HPB's. I know in my first post I said that the situation was the same at "every HPB" I've visited but I haven't been to that many, so I don't have enough information to blanket-proclaim this to be the case at all the locations. It seems to me that they set their "half" price when a game first releases and then they don't bother to ever update that price. They're probably still asking us to pay $29.99 for a used copy of Bloodborne...that type of thing. These games in 2019 should be dirt cheap at HPB.

If you run into issues, I'd first ask to speak to the store manager. Might help to show the price from Amazon or BB on your phone, to show the difference. If they don't budge, I'd call HPB Customer Service. I believe their # is (800) 883-2114. I called them a couple of years ago when that same store refused to come down in price on a 4-year-old PS4 game and CS agreed with me, apologized, and ultimately mailed me the game for free.
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I live in FL where we dont have an HPB, but I go when I visit my parents in Arlington, TX. So I've been to 4 different ones over the last 2 years, and I've bought 29 games at around $10 a piece on average. I'd say less than a quarter of the games they offer are "half" price. about 50% are ebay/retail price, and the other 25% are wildly over priced.

 
Sparky01GT said:
I live in FL where we dont have an HPB, but I go when I visit my parents in Arlington, TX. So I've been to 4 different ones over the last 2 years, and I've bought 29 games at around $10 a piece on average. I'd say less than a quarter of the games they offer are "half" price. about 50% are ebay/retail price, and the other 25% are wildly over priced.
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Yeah, this seems to be a very big YMMV situation. I think it just depends how often they bother to update their prices....which, sadly, when it comes to video games, seems 'not very often'. At least...not at the stores I've gone to. Would be an interesting experiment to check out some other HPB's and see if their prices are more reasonable. When I asked the employee about their long out-of-date pricing for "The Last of Us", he told me that they sell the game at that price all the time. So I guess if most HPB customers are fine paying "full price" instead of "half price", there's little incentive for them to 'update' the pricing.

 
I'll go ahead and piggyback on this topic. Honestly, for the last 2 years or so HPB has gotten worse at pricing and updating prices. Books usually are still priced well enough...unless it's an OOP book or comic. Which that I understand. But for me board games are the biggest offender. There is usually what I call a "HPB Tax" that is $5 to $10 above half price MSRP on those. 

 
Jurai said:
I don't think I got an email but I got a physical mailer, the coupon week starts this coming Monday, 20% off on 8/9, 30% off on 10/11, 40% off on 12/13,50% off an item is Sunday July 14th

20% off online with code SUMMER20 during the sale period
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I usually go on Sunday(50%off) for rare/out of print graphic novels. Last time HPB ran the sale I was looking for a particular book (Starman Omnibus vol 3)[$120 used at the time]. I asked customer service and they said the book was in another state. The girl said she could order and apply the 50% coupon. I paid $60 plus tax and $4 shipping. I received a new sealed copy(worth $300+).

So, if anyone is looking for rare merchandise customer service can order/ship and apply coupon.

 
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