Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Eight(MODS: Please lock, Thread Nine is up)

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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 or which ones you've grabbed 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/showthread.php?t=102021

Game Guide Trade Thread(current one):
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(please keep all conversation NOT related to guide drops HERE. Thanks.): http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists:

Master Drop List(by store, alphabetically):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28master_lists%29

Recent Guide Drops(by date):
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.

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/showthread.php?t=50515&highlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142400

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
B&N
BestBuy
Borders
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuide.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, who did threads 3,4,5 and 6 and provided me with the links to them.

Thanks to Gwen for allowing me the honor of giving something back to CAG by doing this new guide thread. I hope you all enjoy it and it isn't TOO hard to read.
 
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Found a few of the guides at my BB. In addition, the person working in the video game section also showed me the list. It had the previously mentioned guides along with The Sims 2: Seasons. No mention of anything else.
 
Checked the sims boxed set, paper mario, blue zelda HC and none are pennied. **I still can not locate a viking guide to check it.

Has the purple sims guide been pennied at BB? I think it may be called 'freetime'.
 
Just noticed a surplus of Old Guides at my local Target on the clearance racks. Most of them are 3.xx-9.xx. Picked up LOZ:TP Premier (White Cover) for 4.98 and there were about Six Pokemon D/P's for 3.xx. Might be worth it to check your local target, they might be clearing out stale inventory.
 
I examined the local Target's selection; they had several guides that were clearanced at half price.

Specific guides I saw were Prima's Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Vol. 2 Pokédex, Nintendo Power's Pokémon Diamond & Pearl strategy guide, and 50 Cent: Bulletproof among others.

Prima's Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Vol. 2 Pokédex was $9.48, normally $19.99
Nintendo Power's Pokémon Diamond & Pearl was $7.48, normally $14.99
 
I saw some of those Pokedex guides at Target, but decided against buying them since they were in horrible condition. Unlike BB or CC, the Target I go to places them in those plastic magazine racks instead of a shelf. That's why I went to Borders and bought that guide with a coupon.
 
It makes you wonder who was running Target these past few years because all of these guides, GBA Micros, etc. seem to be popping up out of the stockroom and thrown into clearance.
 
[quote name='monkeydeew']got pikmin 1 for 3.24 at target, too bad i dont have the game haha[/quote]

You're very lucky in my eyes.
The only worth buying guide I found at my Target was Mario Kart: Double Dash.
I think it was being used as home plate for store room baseball.
The cover was kinda scratchy but overall, I give it a 37 out of 41.
 
Guides picked up at Target:

Kotor 2 - $3.74
Halo 2 - $4.24
Yoshi's Island DS - $3.74
God of War - $4.98 (missing bonus dvd) :headache:

Also, picked up Fire Emblem: PoR (GC) and Kotor guides for $5 total at local swapmeet. :D
 
The only target guide I've seen worth mentioning was Zelda: TP (GC) but the price was 12.00. I actually don't think I've seen a target guide under $6
 
[quote name='emg28']Guides picked up at Target:

Kotor 2 - $3.74
Halo 2 - $4.24
Yoshi's Island DS - $3.74
God of War - $4.98 (missing bonus dvd) :headache:

Also, picked up Fire Emblem: PoR (GC) and Kotor guides for $5 total at local swapmeet. :D[/quote]

I found a mini version of the KOTOR guide when I was going apeshit going all over creation for guides a couple of years ago. It's about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a normal guide.
 
Well i finally got shot down at a Best Buy.....i went on a small trip to a big city a few hours from where i live and decided to check the BBs in that area...i got a few guides from each but then i stubled across what i called THE MOTHERLOAD...there were guides from drops as far back as a year maybe a year and half ago....alot of stuff i'd missed out on....i was sooo happy i could have cried...so i filled a basket with two or three copies of the guides i really waned and proceeded to the checkout....the checker girl was super sweet and nice and found my love for collecting guides unique....she had rang up almost all the guides when some 20 yr old kid who worked there walks up and asks if they're a penny....she replies yes and then he informs her that the store does NOT sell anything that drops to a penny....i then replied that i had purchases guides in the past from many BBs including that store and plus they were on the shelf....the snot nosed kid said he would have the manager come talk to us....waited what seemed like forever when the kid appreared again and said he checked with the manager and he agreed that it was the stores policy to NOT sell items that drop to a penny....so i politely asked to speak with him and the kid replied that he was on his lunch break....so i graceful told the cashier that it was a please to at least met her and left with a sad heavy heart!!!! This is the ONLY time i'd been shot down but i'm grateful to have gotten guides in the past and i will continue to do all my shopping at Best Buy excluding that location!!!!
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Well i finally got shot down at a Best Buy.....i went on a small trip to a big city a few hours from where i live and decided to check the BBs in that area...i got a few guides from each but then i stubled across what i called THE MOTHERLOAD...there were guides from drops as far back as a year maybe a year and half ago....alot of stuff i'd missed out on....i was sooo happy i could have cried...so i filled a basket with two or three copies of the guides i really waned and proceeded to the checkout....the checker girl was super sweet and nice and found my love for collecting guides unique....she had rang up almost all the guides when some 20 yr old kid who worked there walks up and asks if they're a penny....she replies yes and then he informs her that the store does NOT sell anything that drops to a penny....i then replied that i had purchases guides in the past from many BBs including that store and plus they were on the shelf....the snot nosed kid said he would have the manager come talk to us....waited what seemed like forever when the kid appreared again and said he checked with the manager and he agreed that it was the stores policy to NOT sell items that drop to a penny....so i politely asked to speak with him and the kid replied that he was on his lunch break....so i graceful told the cashier that it was a please to at least met her and left with a sad heavy heart!!!! This is the ONLY time i'd been shot down but i'm grateful to have gotten guides in the past and i will continue to do all my shopping at Best Buy excluding that location!!!![/quote]

Twenty bucks says that kid slid those out into "the dumpster" the minute you were out the door.
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Well i finally got shot down at a Best Buy.....i went on a small trip to a big city a few hours from where i live and decided to check the BBs in that area...i got a few guides from each but then i stubled across what i called THE MOTHERLOAD...there were guides from drops as far back as a year maybe a year and half ago....alot of stuff i'd missed out on....i was sooo happy i could have cried...so i filled a basket with two or three copies of the guides i really waned and proceeded to the checkout....the checker girl was super sweet and nice and found my love for collecting guides unique....she had rang up almost all the guides when some 20 yr old kid who worked there walks up and asks if they're a penny....she replies yes and then he informs her that the store does NOT sell anything that drops to a penny....i then replied that i had purchases guides in the past from many BBs including that store and plus they were on the shelf....the snot nosed kid said he would have the manager come talk to us....waited what seemed like forever when the kid appreared again and said he checked with the manager and he agreed that it was the stores policy to NOT sell items that drop to a penny....so i politely asked to speak with him and the kid replied that he was on his lunch break....so i graceful told the cashier that it was a please to at least met her and left with a sad heavy heart!!!! This is the ONLY time i'd been shot down but i'm grateful to have gotten guides in the past and i will continue to do all my shopping at Best Buy excluding that location!!!![/quote]

I would have stood right there and said "really? the store manager said a customer cannot buy stock on the floor? and now they are at lunch?, Ok I'll just wait right here till they return"
 
I found a local BB that had all the recent drops... but someone had gotten there literally 2 minutes before I had. The guy had already cleaned the shelves, taking every copy of every $.01 guide. That's the first time I've seen guides at this particular store in a long time and the first time I've ever seen someone hoarding guides in person.
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Well i finally got shot down at a Best Buy.....i went on a small trip to a big city a few hours from where i live and decided to check the BBs in that area...i got a few guides from each but then i stubled across what i called THE MOTHERLOAD...there were guides from drops as far back as a year maybe a year and half ago....alot of stuff i'd missed out on....i was sooo happy i could have cried...so i filled a basket with two or three copies of the guides i really waned and proceeded to the checkout....the checker girl was super sweet and nice and found my love for collecting guides unique....she had rang up almost all the guides when some 20 yr old kid who worked there walks up and asks if they're a penny....she replies yes and then he informs her that the store does NOT sell anything that drops to a penny....i then replied that i had purchases guides in the past from many BBs including that store and plus they were on the shelf....the snot nosed kid said he would have the manager come talk to us....waited what seemed like forever when the kid appreared again and said he checked with the manager and he agreed that it was the stores policy to NOT sell items that drop to a penny....so i politely asked to speak with him and the kid replied that he was on his lunch break....so i graceful told the cashier that it was a please to at least met her and left with a sad heavy heart!!!! This is the ONLY time i'd been shot down but i'm grateful to have gotten guides in the past and i will continue to do all my shopping at Best Buy excluding that location!!!![/quote]
I had a similar situation over a year ago. I found a motherload of guides from a recent drop at that time and I only took a couple of each guide. Some kid and a manager looking prick walked over to me and told me those would be full price. Ok. I put some back and took only a copy of those that I really wanted (about 4 of them). After some more browsing at other departments I went to checkout. During checkout, the kid walked over again and told the cashier to change the price back to full price, whatever the sticker says on the cover of each guide. At the end, they allowed one guide to slip through just because it had no price sticker on it and it looked like it went through the dumpster and back.
 
[quote name='onikage']I found a local BB that had all the recent drops... but someone had gotten there literally 2 minutes before I had. The guy had already cleaned the shelves, taking every copy of every $.01 guide. That's the first time I've seen guides at this particular store in a long time and the first time I've ever seen someone hoarding guides in person.[/quote]
I had a similar situation over a year ago. I found a motherload of guides from a recent drop at that time and I only took a couple of each guide. Some kid and a manager looking prick walked over to me and told me those would be full price. Ok. I put some back and took only a copy of those that I really wanted (about 4 of them). After some more browsing at other departments I went to checkout. During checkout, the kid walked over again and told the cashier to change the price back to full price, whatever the sticker says on the cover of each guide. At the end, they allowed one guide to slip through just because it had no price sticker on it and it looked like it went through the dumpster and back.
 
[quote name='onikage']I found a local BB that had all the recent drops... but someone had gotten there literally 2 minutes before I had. The guy had already cleaned the shelves, taking every copy of every $.01 guide. That's the first time I've seen guides at this particular store in a long time and the first time I've ever seen someone hoarding guides in person.[/quote]


I will admit I am now one of those people. When I see penny guides I grab all of them and buy them. The stores around me recognize me and immediately get their drop lists when I come in, so I have to work fast. Last time I missed the EA guide and the CC guide, because 'the manager' had already pulled some guides.

I used to only buy 2 of each guide (1 for myself, 1 for my bro or to keep mint), but they started pulling the guides when I walk in now. Now I race the 'media manager' at a couple of stores (since I never get a full drop)! Last drop this 20 y.o. nerd who is the media manager told me the frontlines guide and the turok guides were "not a penny". Then he said "we can not sell them to you for a penny" I said I have bought penny guides at other BBs, some are marked .01, and I have even seen guides with a .01 shelf tag. At one BB the employees told me I was doing them a favor by buying them. I said well, I'll take my chances and went up to the checkouts. He followed me up there and said "This will be the last time you get penny guides at this store!"
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I will admit I am now one of those people. When I see penny guides I grab all of them and buy them. The stores around me recognize me and immediately get their drop lists when I come in, so I have to work fast. Last time I missed the EA guide and the CC guide, because 'the manager' had already pulled some guides.

I used to only buy 2 of each guide (1 for myself, 1 for my bro or to keep mint), but they started pulling the guides when I walk in now. Now I race the 'media manager' at a couple of stores (since I never get a full drop)! Last drop this 20 y.o. nerd who is the media manager told me the frontlines guide and the turok guides were "not a penny". Then he said "we can not sell them to you for a penny" I said I have bought penny guides at other BBs, some are marked .01, and I have even seen guides with a .01 shelf tag. At one BB the employees told me I was doing them a favor by buying them. I said well, I'll take my chances and went up to the checkouts. He followed me up there and said "This will be the last time you get penny guides at this store!"[/QUOTE]

Sounds like that media manager is from the same breed as the evil-bitch-from-hell media manager that refuses to sell me penny guides at on BB every time.

I also think she may have infiltrated the other local BB that used to have all the drops, but the last two have been wiped clean before I got there. Though, there are still two copies of Warhawk on the shelf, go figure.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I will admit I am now one of those people. When I see penny guides I grab all of them and buy them. The stores around me recognize me and immediately get their drop lists when I come in, so I have to work fast. Last time I missed the EA guide and the CC guide, because 'the manager' had already pulled some guides.

I used to only buy 2 of each guide[/quote]

That's what I do, if they have 2 of each. One for me, one for my trade list. I tried grabbing a full basket of guides once and it didn't work out too well. Besides, I'd hate to draw any unnecessary attention, possibly giving away any future opportunities at a particular store. That's definitely something that should be considered if you do come across a good find.
 
[quote name='donut']I would have stood right there and said "really? the store manager said a customer cannot buy stock on the floor? and now they are at lunch?, Ok I'll just wait right here till they return"[/quote]


Yeah i thought about it but i didn't want to be a jerk and i didn't want to kill my karma but damn there were about a 100 guides there but i only wanted maybe 20 at most....alot were still sitting on the shelf when i left the store but i'm sure the jerk pulled them after i left so i won't be going back there again for ANY of my shopping in the future!!!
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Yeah i thought about it but i didn't want to be a jerk and i didn't want to kill my karma but damn there were about a 100 guides there but i only wanted maybe 20 at most....alot were still sitting on the shelf when i left the store but i'm sure the jerk pulled them after i left so i won't be going back there again for ANY of my shopping in the future!!![/quote]

You're not being a jerk. He is.

And I'm sure if you'd told the manager that he wouldn't be seeing any more of your business because of this douchebag, then he'd be reprimanded like he should have been.
 
[quote name='freshzen']Don't sell anything for a penny!!!! Sounds like a future Game Stop DM =P[/quote]

That sounds like the DM from my area, a real customer service oriented fellow he is.

Oh and SlowDive, Best Buy USUALLY goes in spurts where they're good at pulling the guides and other times they'll leave everything on the shelf. Although, around here lately they're super good at pulling EVERY pennied guide, since I haven't found a single one in the past couple of drops really.

You just have to give them time to get someone new in the media department, it's inevitable in retail that someone who thinks they're a 'manager' will either quit or be fired or just finally move up and out of the department. Then, with any luck, you'll get a very lax individual working that dept and you'll be back to scoring guides with no problem.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']You're not being a jerk. He is.

And I'm sure if you'd told the manager that he wouldn't be seeing any more of your business because of this douchebag, then he'd be reprimanded like he should have been.[/quote]

yeah that's true but i guess i'm too kind...my bad cuz right now i'd be sitting on a stockpile of guides that i never got...oh well, easy come, easy go!
 
Finally was able to get a BB employee to look up the guide for Viking. Still $16.99.

He checked inventory on the 20 closest BB's to me for this item. All showed zero inventory! He said they were all called back b/c the game wasn't selling well and they were able to get a credit back for the Viking guides.

I know the inventory isn't always accurate, but with gas prices the way they are, it's not worth it to me to go hunting around, even if it were pennied out. Good luck finding one at a BB.
 
I hit a BB today, no luck. Any chance we can get some east coast CAGs to check their stores early next time? It would be nice to have a list, since I have to manually bring random guides up to the cashier to find the pennied ones. We don't have scaners in any of the area stores (not even the "new" one).
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I will admit I am now one of those people. When I see penny guides I grab all of them and buy them. [/quote]

Why would you buy all of them, and not just one or two?

OP: I've been to two BBs, and both are selling Enemy Territory Quake Wars for regular price. Is there more than one version available? And thanks for the info, since I was able to score 12 guides in the past 2 days (all one of each). :bouncy: And to make it even more special, the female cashier was generous enough to offer to pay the dime bill out of her own pocket, because she didn't want to have to break my five dollar bill. :)
 
[quote name='Mysterio']Why would you buy all of them, and not just one or two?

OP: I've been to two BBs, and both are selling Enemy Territory Quake Wars for regular price. Is there more than one version available? And thanks for the info, since I was able to score 12 guides in the past 2 days (all one of each). :bouncy: And to make it even more special, the female cashier was generous enough to offer to pay the dime bill out of her own pocket, because she didn't want to have to break my five dollar bill. :)[/quote]

Quake wars has been reissued with PS3 info added...The old one is a penny. I buy all of them so that other CAGs can trade for the ones they want. They are being pulled/destroyed anyway. Unless there is another CAG there at that moment, then I am not keeping anyone else from getting the guides. Like I said I used to buy 1 or 2 until they started pulling the guides when I walk into the store.
 
[quote name='Mysterio']Why would you buy all of them, and not just one or two?

OP: I've been to two BBs, and both are selling Enemy Territory Quake Wars for regular price. Is there more than one version available? And thanks for the info, since I was able to score 12 guides in the past 2 days (all one of each). :bouncy: And to make it even more special, the female cashier was generous enough to offer to pay the dime bill out of her own pocket, because she didn't want to have to break my five dollar bill. :)[/quote]

It's easy to tell the Enemy Territory Guides apart. If it has a little splash explosion on the cover that reads something like "NOW COVERS PS3 and 360", then it's a full price guide. If in the corner it reads PC, then it's a penny guide. Oftentimes they'll just throw the new version over top of the old version, so just look in the back of the stack to make sure.
 
[quote name='yukafls']Yeah, probably not for a while. When you guys go for the guides, do you ask an employee or just stumble upon them??[/quote]

stumble, if you ask most likely they'll be cleared. Unless the rare best buys that rather sell them then take the trouble in trashing them. Usually they even mark their guides $.01.
 
[quote name='ets']stumble, if you ask most likely they'll be cleared. Unless the rare best buys that rather sell them then take the trouble in trashing them. Usually they even mark their guides $.01.[/quote]

So do you guys just take one of each guide to the register and ask for a price check?
 
I usually ask a blue shirt guys who's walking around if I could get a price check on these please (these being a stack of usually five guides in my arms). They scan them, some come up as a penny, I act surprised, we laugh, and then I take them away.
 
[quote name='muhsheesuh']So do you guys just take one of each guide to the register and ask for a price check?[/quote]


To a cpuple very specific employees, yes.
 
This is a general guide question, but I can not find a thread that addresses it. Are there ever coupons that can be used on guides at gamestop?
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']As much as I hate EA, hell yeah on that EA Hardcover. I'll go buy that for sure! Thanks Cheapest Gamer.[/quote]

If you find an extra copy, please pass it along. :D I may not like them anymore, but I'm curious as to their origins and what not.

Oh and slowdive, about the only coupons I ever came across for a discount on a guide was either using the Edge card on one or buying the guide with the game, they typically discount the guide by 1/5(20%) if you buy it with the game.

That is, unless you count the e-mail I had from the district manager of the Gamestops around here, who said I could get 50% ANY guide with the e-mail printed up. This was before he realized I was hitting every damn store in his large district for 30-40 guides each store.
 
[quote name='yukafls']Yeah, probably not for a while. When you guys go for the guides, do you ask an employee or just stumble upon them??[/quote]

[quote name='Nathan_Sama']Does Wally World ever have penny guides?[/quote]

I saw 6 different nintendo power guides for gamecube that scanned at 14.96, if there is a discount its not national wide.
 
[quote name='ets']I saw 6 different nintendo power guides for gamecube that scanned at 14.96, if there is a discount its not national wide.[/QUOTE]

Haha hell yeah 3-cent discount!

Where can I jump on this deal?
 
[quote name='Nathan_Sama']Does Wally World ever have penny guides?[/quote]

Nope. I was wonderin the same thing a few months back when my Walmatr mysteriously put some old Battalion Wars and other guides back on the shelves that were obviously in the dirtiest place in the stockroom. Went to scan them, they came up like check shelf price or ask sales associate or something like that. And the associates weren't very willing to give them to me for a penny. Anyway, after a few weeks, I went back and noticed they had red price tags with their original price on them and a UPC to scan. So so much for getting penny guides at Wally's.

Anyway, as for me, I got 2 penny guides! Brace yourselves, CAGenites! Brace..... BRACE!!! .......Ok, all I got were Advance Wars: DoR and Final Fantasy XII: Reverant Wings at Best Buy. I was surprised they had old drops but nothing from the recent drops. I really wanted that EA book and maybe a few others for CAGs in need. Also, I did see a mint, sealed RE: UC sitting on the shelf. If any CAG in the area wants it, Head to the River, if you know what I mean.
 
[quote name='Nathan_Sama']Does Wally World ever have penny guides?[/quote]

They don't even know how the hell to do clearance properly($2 off an item is NOT clearance, imo), so I doubt you'll ever find pennied guides there or at Blockbuster(where they pull them first, THEN penny them).
 
Yeah off topic. The clearance section at my wally is a clusterfuck of a bookshelf stuffed to bursting with 19.82$ games. Never the less, I did find 3 sealed xenosaga ep 3s and a sealed pyschonauts.
 
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