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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Looking at the BB site, it looks like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon Battle Revolution went missing from the site (along with another guide I can't figure out right now).

Now all the Nintendo-published guides are gone from the site. Feels like the end of a ere.
 
[quote name='supaet']I don't know why you guys are checking bb's price today.

bb guides only gets pennied the first monday of the month.[/quote]Not true.

BB's guide normally penny out on the first Monday on the month, though we've seen drops in the middle of the first week of the month, as well as drops in random times during the month, Mondays and other days.

It's the general rule that they do the drops on first Monday of the month, though there's been numerous exceptions to that rule.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Not true.

BB's guide normally penny out on the first Monday on the month, though we've seen drops in the middle of the first week of the month, as well as drops in random times during the month, Mondays and other days.

It's the general rule that they do the drops on first Monday of the month, though there's been numerous exceptions to that rule.[/quote]

Do not question Shrike's knowledge of "TEH GAAM-GUYDS." He 's right, he is always right and he owns nearly every game guide ever published.

I have seen plenty of single drops outside the first Monday of the month at BB.
 
Don´t know if this has been posted but found last night at target

pokemon mistery dungeon time explorers darkness
pokemon diamond and pearl guide

each for 9.98

in case somebody needs pokemon guides

:)
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']Do not question Shrike's knowledge of "TEH GAAM-GUYDS." He 's right, he is always right and he owns nearly every game guide ever published.

I have seen plenty of single drops outside the first Monday of the month at BB.[/quote]Heh.

I wouldn't say that I own nearly every game guide, though I do have more than a few of them. :D When they're in bookcases (yes, plural) in my soon-to-be-finished basement, there will be pictures, I promise. :D
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Heh.

I wouldn't say that I own nearly every game guide, though I do have more than a few of them. :D When they're in bookcases (yes, plural) in my soon-to-be-finished basement, there will be pictures, I promise. :D[/QUOTE]

You might want to add those pics to the game room gallery over at Digital Press. The pics would probably fit in quite well over there and there probably aren't many people with as large guides collections.
 
I should post pics...I think I'm just over 350. However, I don't collect them, I only get guides for games I have or will eventually get.

When the game goes, so does the guide.

Would love to see shrike's though... ;)
 
I'll have to count how many i have.

I'm pretty conservative about what ones i collect for myself though , so don't have as many as I could have had.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']I'll have to count how many i have.

I'm pretty conservative about what ones i collect for myself though , so don't have as many as I could have had.[/quote]On last count, I think it's 600+ guides.

Might be time and do some house cleaning for guides to games I don't have any more.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']On last count, I think it's 600+ guides.

Might be time and do some house cleaning for guides to games I don't have any more.[/quote]


I dumped a bunch of 'not even good enough for trade fodder" guides at Goodwill in Dec just in time to count for 2007 taxes myself :)
 
[quote name='supaet']I don't know why you guys are checking bb's price today.

bb guides only gets pennied the first monday of the month.[/quote]

Actually, they have done middle and end of the month drops before and some of the guides showed up like the ones which pennied the week before(limited availability on the store pickup thing). So, I thought maybe they pulled a Gamestop and pennied one bunch one week and one bunch another week, like GS did last year I believe with one massive drop that took two weeks.

Oh and for the record, I had about 500-600 guides, with most of them being crap like MK Shaolin Monks and WOW 3: Frozen Throne. So, they all but completely went away recently to a local shop. I found it alot easier than giving them to Salvation Army, since the store I dropped them at is like 6 blocks from my house. Plus, the guy only charges $3 for them, whenever I've seen a guide at SA, they want $5-7 for it.
 
Do you guys have self-scanners at your BBs? None of the ones in this area do so I'm always stuck taking guides up to the register to "check the price" even though I'm 99.9% sure they are pennied based on the great info on this thread. It would obviously be alot easier if there were scanners like there are in Target in the store. So I guess my question is do most BBs in your area have self scanners or do you have to get someone to come around with the scanner gun or take it to the register?

I took up some Uncharted and MoH: airborne guides today that were not marked down on the price tags and the guy at the register looked at me like I was crazy when I went to check out and they scanned at a penny. He even typed in the UPC code to make sure. :lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']Do you guys have self-scanners at your BBs? None of the ones in this area do so I'm always stuck taking guides up to the register to "check the price" even though I'm 99.9% sure they are pennied based on the great info on this thread. It would obviously be alot easier if there were scanners like there are in Target in the store. So I guess my question is do most BBs in your area have self scanners or do you have to get someone to come around with the scanner gun or take it to the register?[/QUOTE]

I ask people at the CS area to pricecheck it for me.
 
So everyone is talking about how many guides they have so I started counting. Roughly 40. Beat that, punks!

Yeah... I tend to only go after guides for games I have or might get. Though sometimes I really don't even care about getting a guide for a game I have or might get. I tend to be more selective about for what games i get guides for. o_o;;;; I have failed you, penny guide gods?
 
LOL I've become pretty selective lately too, especially considering that I think the local shop I've been selling to is getting picky about which guides they'll take anymore.

It might have something to do with me dumping off duplicates numbering more than 10 of many guides on them when I dropped all of my guides to them. Of course, I kept most of the RPG guides, though I did dump off a few FFIV guides, a couple Devil May Cry(1,2 and 3) guides and one Xenosaga III guide in the bulk lot I got rid of. Otherwise though, I kept all of the 'good' stuff while dumping the dreck that NO ONE wanted.
 
Oh, You mean Madden 06? I was actually considering getting that from you the one time I got the 4 guides... But then I decided to get DOA4 even though I don't have the game.... or a 360. I just love the DOA series so i couldn't help myself. :)
 
[quote name='erehwon']You might want to add those pics to the game room gallery over at Digital Press. The pics would probably fit in quite well over there and there probably aren't many people with as large guides collections.[/QUOTE]

I know Dangerboy has at least a full bookshelf of 'em

Also it's always fun to see pictures of game guide collections. Come on guys, don't be shy.
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']Do you guys have self-scanners at your BBs? None of the ones in this area do so I'm always stuck taking guides up to the [/quote]

Same here, neither Circuit City or BB will install price scanners for some reason.
 
So did the MoAA with sticker drop at BB? Are there any other drops since the Uncharted one? (To anyone who PMed me for a trade, I will get back to all of you...it is a very busy week for me)
 
[quote name='slowdive21']So did the MoAA with sticker drop at BB? Are there any other drops since the Uncharted one? (To anyone who PMed me for a trade, I will get back to all of you...it is a very busy week for me)[/quote]

confirmed MoAA with sticker is .01

Checked orange box, Army of 2, Turok, Bully wii?, none pennied yet
 
When people were saying that they were buying "Penny Guides" I thought it was more of a figure of speech. I had no idea that there was really such a thing as buying game guides for a penny. Consider my mind officially blown =O
 
LOL Thanks but no thanks :) I mean shipping guides isn't exactly cheap (they tend to be pretty heavy anyway). I guess I could bundle them with games as a freebie of sorts, but I doubt I'd make any serious money just selling game guides. The reason they're a penny after all is that they never sold in the first place =P haha.
 
[quote name='goomba478']LOL Thanks but no thanks :) I mean shipping guides isn't exactly cheap (they tend to be pretty heavy anyway). I guess I could bundle them with games as a freebie of sorts, but I doubt I'd make any serious money just selling game guides. The reason they're a penny after all is that they never sold in the first place =P haha.[/quote]

Ship 'em media mail...not very expensive at all.
 
[quote name='goomba478']LOL Thanks but no thanks :) I mean shipping guides isn't exactly cheap (they tend to be pretty heavy anyway). I guess I could bundle them with games as a freebie of sorts, but I doubt I'd make any serious money just selling game guides. The reason they're a penny after all is that they never sold in the first place =P haha.[/quote]

Media Mail is the cheapest available rate to ship out books with. It's what I was using for the longest time when I was shipping out just 1-2 books. But, if I was shipping out 8-12 of them, I'd cram them into a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box from the USPS. It costs about $10 or so to ship that way and it's a great deal if you want to make a few bucks while getting people their guides faster than Media Mail.

That's the only crappy part about Media, is that it's the SLOWEST rate out there. It can and has taken almost 2 weeks for some to get their items, so while it's a bargain, the old adage is true 'you get what you pay for'.

Delivery Confirmation is also a given amongst the traders here. I have very rarely received a package without it from anyone on CAG, though I did send out one of my first deals on here without it I believe.

It typically costs about $3 something to ship out one guide with Media, not including the cost for a bubble mailer. Also, when you do ship out guides, put a piece of cardboard on AT LEAST one side of the guide, since some postal carriers tend to take letter sized packages as a challenge to cram them into a mailbox. Oh and definitely put DO NOT BEND!! on the package, to make doubly sure they don't try and stuff it into someone's mailbox.
 
Thanks for all the tips IAmTheCheapestGamer...now you have me seriously considering to sell Game Guides lol. I actually have a few that I got in the past with games from other sellers. Maybe it's time I try it out. I like the idea of the flat rate box :) I hadn't considered that. Thanks!
 
[quote name='detectiveconan16']Goomba, get them and sell 'em on eBay for Profit![/quote]

That is the reason BB refuses to sell penny guides in my area. The quote I was given from the manager: "I trashed them, so people do not sell them on ebay".
 
I can't imagine making much on selling guides on eBay. The ones that get pennied out aren't hot 99% of the time, otherwise they would've sold in the first place. Maybe some FF ones or something, but only every few months do you find those. I only pick up ones that I know I may use or someone I know will like for a gift.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']That is the reason BB refuses to sell penny guides in my area. The quote I was given from the manager: "I trashed them, so people do not sell them on ebay".[/quote]

That's the exact reason I was given a couple of times when I was out of town on business and stopped into a random BB or GS and they tried to refuse me the sale of them. The managers just relented though and let me buy them, even though I'm sure they thought my 'I trade them with other people online, since they're not worth crap on Ebay since EVERYONE plops them up there' was just a ruse to get them to sell them to me.

Oh and you're very welcome, goomba. Just another tip though, if you're sending out a buttload of guides(8 or more), put them in a plastic bag or two since it helps them slide into the flat rate box ALOT easier and pack one of the ends with newspaper or something else, so they won't slide around in transit. That's the cool thing about the flat rate boxes, no matter WHAT they weigh, as long as the flaps on both end close and the contents are secured inside the box, it'll ship.
 
I've been out of the game for entirely to long. Hello everyone, its good to see the guide threads are still booming. I work at Best Buy still, so I'm going to try and keep up with penny guide updates like I used to. Its harder for me to do it now since I moved to the car audio install bay, but I have a friend who checks every day for the drops to let me know. I'll be sure to post as soon as I find out, and possibly before they happen if they give enough notice.

As for an excess amount of guides, I've got well over 200 unique guides, about 50%, if not more for games I don't even own. Alot of people think thats ridiculous, but I can't tell you how often i'll buy a game, or my g/f will and I'll be like, "hey, i think i have the guide for that game" and behold, I do. For example the g/f bought Kingdom hearts CoM and new super mario bros. during the last buy 2, get 1 at GS, and I just so happened to have the guide to both games because of my collecting habits.

So I havn't picked up a guide in well over 6 months, and I know there has been drops. So I'm going to update the trade list and see if I can get some things going. Feels good to be back.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']That's the only crappy part about Media, is that it's the SLOWEST rate out there. It can and has taken almost 2 weeks for some to get their items, so while it's a bargain, the old adage is true 'you get what you pay for'.[/QUOTE]

I *used* to believe this too. Then I did a trade w/ someone here - he shipped MM, I shipped Priority. We both shipped out the same day. My Priority package took at least a week longer to reach him than his MM package to me.

I contacted the PO & questioned them, and their response was "there is no guarantee on how long it will take to deliver a Priortiy package."
 
I've always wondered how shipping something first class vs. media vs. priority actually works it way through the system. Do postal carriers run their route and say "eh, this is media mail and i need to get home for dinner, maybe I'll deliver it tomorrow if I have time"? :) Conceptually the whole thing doesn't make sense to me. But I'm not in the biz so I can't really say.
 
In my experience, I can ship Media Mail to either coast in 5 days or less without fail. I've payed for 'upgraded' shipping a few times, but it didn't get there any quicker.
 
I found a VP: Lenneth guide at a GC today, but was told that it was still $14.99. The guy rang it up, though I didn't actually see the price. I thought it had been $.01 for a while?

He probably just didn't know what to do about it ringing up $0.00 and made up a price.
 
Went to BB yesterday and noticed all of the tan hardcover zelda guides were gone. They had about 7 when I was there a week ago. (hopefully these were not pennied) The blue were still in stock and scanned at 14.99. Fire emblem, orange box, condemed 2 were all priced 9.99

(They had also changed their cleance games from 30% off to 50% off YMMV of course)
 
[quote name='rarebucky']I've always wondered how shipping something first class vs. media vs. priority actually works it way through the system. Do postal carriers run their route and say "eh, this is media mail and i need to get home for dinner, maybe I'll deliver it tomorrow if I have time"? :) Conceptually the whole thing doesn't make sense to me. But I'm not in the biz so I can't really say.[/quote]

While it isn't USPS, my ma works at UPS. According to her, different shipping really doesn't make a difference. All packages will go through the same sorting system. Really, the "difference" is in the processing. If you get a quicker method, the fine print will say something like 2-3 AFTER processing. Pretty much in the end, it'll still arrive at about the same time as a 5-7 day package. Not saying this is 100% true all the time, but I'll vouch that I've gotten the paid less for the slower shipping method and got my packages within 3 days anyway.
 
These magically reappeared on the shelf at a local BB, after not being there a week ago:

Lords of the Rings Online x2
Uncharted Drake's Fortune x2

Also, has anyone checked the prices on the guides for Persona 3 + Disgaea 2 @ GS recently? Still $9.99?
 
I believe the delivery time has a lot to do with the size of the package. My postal clerk said that they take media mail as they have space, so the envelopes move faster than the bigger boxes. The delivery confirmation is only an additional 18 cents if you print the shipping label online.
 
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