Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine

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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(KEEP ALL TRADE REQUESTS HERE OR IN PM'S)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175548

PLEASE keep ALL trade requests in there or PM's. Thank you.

Reduced Price Guide Discussion Thread(KEEP ALL DISCUSSION NOT RELATED TO GUIDE DROPS HERE!!!)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists(master drop lists and recent drops):

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

Recent Guide Drops(by date,also check the second post in this thread):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28recent_drops%29

What is the purpose of this thread?

The purpose of this thread is to let our fellow CAGs know when a guide has dropped to a low price(it's NOT ALWAYS A PENNY), so they can go out and grab guides for themselves and for trading with other CAGs.

Anytime you have guide drops to report, post them here. Please specify at which store you found them and which guides you found and list them in alphabetical order. Thank you.

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
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167157

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
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuides.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, Guinavere and anyone else who has created and maintained the guide thread before, as well as to all of those who find out either advance information on drops or provide a list of which ones dropped when we do have a drop.

The post below this one contains a list going back at LEAST six months of the more current guide drops, which stores they occured at and which ones dropped. Note that sometimes(Oblivion guide, Quake Wars: Enemy Territory)there are multiple versions of a guide, be it that there are Prima versions, Brady versions and the occasional Nintendo and Doublejump guides.

Please specify WHICH version has dropped when mentioning possible guide drops. Thank you.


 
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[quote name='ferant316']Not sure if this has been brought up yet, but I just figured out the In Store Locater for Best Buy to get stock information for guides not posted on their website. Worked for the Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition Guide, as well as Penny Guides. Will post instructions if people want.[/quote]

To get to the In Stock Locater for items not listed on the website (i.e. penny guides) take the link from a valid Store Finder link like so:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...product&skuId=8988321&productId=1218022587248

Look where it says SKU ID, this is what you need to change. Above is the SKU for the Infinite Undiscovery game guide. Unfortunately, so far I can only find a way to get the SKU off my receipt or from the website while they are still there but we could start tracking the SKUs as guides get pennied or before to know how to better track down guides kind of like how the Target Clearance thread records DCPI numbers.

I do have the following:
Socom Confrontation - 9078589
Silent Hill Homecoming - 9047435
Soul Calibur IV - 8943851
Infinite Undiscovery - 8988321

EDIT: Fixed link, works on my end let me know if it works for you.

EDIT 2: After checking on another computer you have to go onto the Best Buy site and lookup availability on something else, after that the link should work.
 
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Unfortunately, I must add my name to the list of people who have found a pennied guide that they want on the shelve at gamestop, only to be told at the counter, "I'm sorry sir, but we can't sell that to you". I must say, until it actually happens to you, it's hard to realize how infuriating it really can be.
 
Hey guys. Got a few extras of some recent penny guides:

HAVE
Infinite Undiscovery (x2)
Fable II LE (x1)
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (hardcover) (x2)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009
C&C Red Alert 3 (x2)
Bourne Conspiracy (x3)
Frontlines Fuel of War
Condemned 2
Bioshock
Super Mario Galaxy (hardcover)
Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon
Socom: Confrontation
BIA: Hell's Highway
GTA: Liberty City Stories
Far Cry 2
Need for Speed Pro Street
Crysys
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Xmen Legends 2

WANT
Blue Dragon Plus
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Resistance 2
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
 
The GS I'm closest too is freakin' badass. Walked in today, they had everything stillon the rack, I brought it up, the manager zeroed it out for me.
I actually let that store know what has pennied. The employees don't seem to care, and they just take what they want from the guides I pick up.
Of course, the three other EB/GSes near me would never dare let a customer walk away with a penny guide, so I guess it evens out.
 
Went for a Harvest Moon guide...Rang up full price. The guy acted like a dick, so I'm assuming his wonderful establishment changes the prices.

Did I mention that I 1000G'd Halo 3 last night? Yip!
 
[quote name='thehoweller']Went for a Harvest Moon guide...Rang up full price. The guy acted like a dick, so I'm assuming his wonderful establishment changes the prices.

Did I mention that I 1000G'd Halo 3 last night? Yip![/quote]

Maybe you got Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility? That didn't penny.
 
Went to my fave store, they didn't have P4, but they could look it up in their system, found a nearby store, and had them hold it for me. Love those guys (too bad they can't sell penny guides, but the store is clean/organized/run well, so it's all good)

Also, since there was possible confusion on Star Ocean First Departure's penny status, I found one at a dif. store and asked the guy to check the price. After pointing at the price tag and giving me a look like "u dumb shit, teh price is right hur" he scanned it and said it was full price. Dude was a douche though, and I didn't see the screen, so not really confirmed either way still. sorry.
 
[quote name='Zmonkay']Went to my fave store, they didn't have P4, but they could look it up in their system, found a nearby store, and had them hold it for me. Love those guys (too bad they can't sell penny guides, but the store is clean/organized/run well, so it's all good)

Also, since there was possible confusion on Star Ocean First Departure's penny status, I found one at a dif. store and asked the guy to check the price. After pointing at the price tag and giving me a look like "u dumb shit, teh price is right hur" he scanned it and said it was full price. Dude was a douche though, and I didn't see the screen, so not really confirmed either way still. sorry.[/QUOTE]

someone else also confirmed that both SO guide are full price
 
[quote name='62t']someone else also confirmed that both SO guide are full price[/QUOTE]

oh, must've missed that. thanks. Good to know he wasn't just being a douche and pocketing the guide (though he was a complete dick to the customer before and after me too...)
 
[quote name='fairtrade']Well a strategy guide I think counts with most stores that sell video games as an accessory, but since you threw down the challenge:

PA.03515.001.jpg


http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2002/10/26/sex_in_games_rezvibrator.html#000141 [/quote]

:lol::lol::lol: The 'review' for that is quite hilarious, if I must say so myself.
 
Checked the GS's around my area and struck out at 3 of them. I only want the Valkyria Chronicles guide since I just bought the game a couple of days ago. Anyone who got multiples hook a fellow CAGer up please?
 
I know everyone is thinking about this gamestop drop right now, but I scanned about every guide in my Gamecrazy and nothing new dropped yet. I was hoping for the eternal sonata/lost odyssey to be dropped but it wasn't.

My gamecrazy isn't run by corporate. They basically run them selves, for like the last year so they are all cool. They said they will let me know if new guides drop.
 
[quote name='BarbblerElf']I know everyone is thinking about this gamestop drop right now, but I scanned about every guide in my Gamecrazy and nothing new dropped yet. I was hoping for the eternal sonata/lost odyssey to be dropped but it wasn't.

My gamecrazy isn't run by corporate. They basically run them selves, for like the last year so they are all cool. They said they will let me know if new guides drop.[/quote]

Gamecrazy and Toys R'Us are pretty sporadic when it comes to guide drops, though we should've already seen at least one more recent drop from TRU, since it's been a while since they pennied any guides.

Don't we have a 'source' who works for them who could verify if anything dropped recently? I thought we did for a while there.

Oh and it's been said before, but PLEASE KEEP TRADE REQUESTS TO THE APPROPRIATE THREAD!!

THIS IS NOT THE APPROPRIATE THREAD FOR TRADE REQUESTS THOUGH!!
 
Ive been waiting for Valkyria Chronicles and it looks like I just may have missed it. I will try tomorrow but GS guides tend to go really fast
 
[quote name='Rave Child']Maybe you got Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility? That didn't penny.[/quote]

Possibly...I don't remember, all I know is that Gamestops are unmotivational when it comes to penny guides.
 
I got lucky at 1 store & struck out at another. The guy at the one store remembered me & told me if I don't take everything they are just going to the dumpster so I ended up with:
Resistance 2 x1
Valkyria Chronicles x1
Harvest Moon IOH x1
Midnight Club x2
WOW Atlas x9

Wanted Tales Of Symphonia & Blue Dragon + but no dice.
 
went yesterday to preorder a DSi and got one each of Tales of Symphonia, Harvest Moon, Blue Dragon Plus, and Valkyria Chronicles
 
[quote name='bummy']went yesterday to preorder a DSi and got one each of Tales of Symphonia, Harvest Moon, Blue Dragon Plus, and Valkyria Chronicles[/quote]

I preordered a DSi because the dbag manager said "How about this - I'll let you have the Valkyria Chronicles and Blue Dragon Plus guides for free if you preorder two games." I told him I'd preorder three games if he gave me the Persona 4 guide for free, and he said "I'm selling it to you for $9.99 so I'm already giving you a discount." I told him it wasn't a discount since it price dropped to $9.99, just like the others dropped to a penny. Then he started on about field destroying them and I preordered a DSi to satiate him.
 
Exactly how much did those pre-orders cost each of you JUST to get fuckin' penny guides? I mean, I know you can cancel them and all, but to pre-order a system just to get a guide or three is absurd.

Then again, I guess I'm just brazen anymore. I go in, if I find a guide that shouldn't still be out, I use the 'clearance' line. If they say no way, then I walk out.

Unless I have super cheap credit at Gamestop from flipping games where I'm getting the better end of the deal, I don't spend a dime there.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Exactly how much did those pre-orders cost each of you JUST to get fuckin' penny guides? I mean, I know you can cancel them and all, but to pre-order a system just to get a guide or three is absurd.

Then again, I guess I'm just brazen anymore. I go in, if I find a guide that shouldn't still be out, I use the 'clearance' line. If they say no way, then I walk out.

Unless I have super cheap credit at Gamestop from flipping games where I'm getting the better end of the deal, I don't spend a dime there.[/quote]

yeah, ive gotten guides plenty of times without pre-ordering, i was going to pre-order the DSi cause my gf asked me to get one for her using my store credit...so as an extra I asked the person at the register about them and he told me he had some left to give to me
 
I went to a Gamestop back in my hometown and I managed to get one of each of Resistance 2, Tales of Symphonia, Valkyria Chronicles, and Blue Dragon Plus. They had several, but I didn't feel like hoarding. Now that I look back, I should have at least got both of the Valkyria's.

I ended up taking the Resistance 2 (should have got some of the other guides like Midnight Club: LA) to Half Price Books and found a Rogue Galaxy and Final Fantasy Chronicles in decent shape. I didn't pay a penny a piece for those, but I did manage to get both of them together for $10 and some change (only got paid $2 for Resistance, lawl).
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Exactly how much did those pre-orders cost each of you JUST to get fuckin' penny guides? I mean, I know you can cancel them and all, but to pre-order a system just to get a guide or three is absurd.

Then again, I guess I'm just brazen anymore. I go in, if I find a guide that shouldn't still be out, I use the 'clearance' line. If they say no way, then I walk out.

Unless I have super cheap credit at Gamestop from flipping games where I'm getting the better end of the deal, I don't spend a dime there.[/quote]

I don't really see what the big deal is. I'm just going to cancel it anyway, and they can't do anything about that. If they have guides I want and I need make a preorder to get them, I'll put the $25 down on the system, since I'm just going to go next week and cancel it and get my $25 back. It will have no bearing on my cash at hand, since it'll get charged and subsequently credited to my credit card. Also, this is the only time out of over a hundred that someone at Gamestop has pulled this one on me.
 
[quote name='Rave Child']I don't really see what the big deal is. I'm just going to cancel it anyway, and they can't do anything about that. If they have guides I want and I need make a preorder to get them, I'll put the $25 down on the system, since I'm just going to go next week and cancel it and get my $25 back. It will have no bearing on my cash at hand, since it'll get charged and subsequently credited to my credit card. Also, this is the only time out of over a hundred that someone at Gamestop has pulled this one on me.[/quote]

Well, I know better than to even try at more than 50% of my local GS stores, since they just deny me straight away.

But if it gets you what you want and you can get your money/credit back without alot of hassle, then so be it.

Would I do it though? Not a chance in hell anymore, unless I knew 100% for certain that I'm going to get something else out of the deal.
 
[quote name='cdul']I went to a Gamestop back in my hometown and I managed to get one of each of Resistance 2, Tales of Symphonia, Valkyria Chronicles, and Blue Dragon Plus. They had several, but I didn't feel like hoarding. Now that I look back, I should have at least got both of the Valkyria's.

I ended up taking the Resistance 2 (should have got some of the other guides like Midnight Club: LA) to Half Price Books and found a Rogue Galaxy and Final Fantasy Chronicles in decent shape. I didn't pay a penny a piece for those, but I did manage to get both of them together for $10 and some change (only got paid $2 for Resistance, lawl).[/QUOTE]

about how much does Half price books give for guides?
 
hit up 7 GS stores today and was able to find Valkyria Chronicle at only one. The back was pretty beat up but I guess at least I managed to find one
 
[quote name='bug_nuts']about how much does Half price books give for guides?[/quote]


I have a local used bookstore that gives me $2 - $3 store credit per strategy guide. That is a whole lot more than other places give. In the last month I've traded in my penny guides and used that credit to get :

Fallout 3
Fallout 3 CE hardcover
Gears of War 2 LE hardcover
Fable 2 LE
Mirror's Edge hardcover
Left 4 Dead
GTA IV
Resistance 2
Street Fighter IV
Killzone 2

I had no idea until recently I could even do this. Who in the hell is returning Killzone 2 and Street Fighter IV so soon? I feel like I got very lucky here. Sadly, I've run out of any good wants on my list to trade.
 
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[quote name='Ryouko']About 25 cents per guide if you're lucky.[/quote]

+1 on HPB trade-in values. They will make you sit around for 30 minutes to an hour and then tell you they will give you $5 for a whole crate of strategy guides. Not worth it.
 
[quote name='fairtrade']+1 on HPB trade-in values. They will make you sit around for 30 minutes to an hour and then tell you they will give you $5 for a whole crate of strategy guides. Not worth it.[/quote]

Depends. If you're the first to hit up HPB with some penny guides, they usually give 2-3 dollars per guide, depending on how new or old the guides are. I usually try to just take one or two guides at a time that I know they don't have and it usually pays for for lunch, a book, or another strat guide.
 
I've gotten $70.00 in trade credit from the last BB drop at one of my local bookstores so far. Can't wait for more drops. For those thinking "What good is trade credit?", I use the trade credit to buy guides that can actually get me money on eBay.
 
Had a surprisingly good experience at a local GameStop. Found Persona and one penny guide-- Tales of Symphonia. Grabbed both, and the register clerk smirked and said "Waited for this one to penny, huh?" I replied that I don't hunt for penny guides specifically, but always grab them if I happen to notice them when I'm out shopping. He said to come by when the drops happen, because his store likes to quietly let the pennied books walk out the door instead of getting stacked in the dumpster. Assistant manager was behind him, and nodded along to everything he said.

Dude didn't even pump me for a preorder. I think I'll check back in a couple of weeks... :D
 
Sounds like a cool store Mike.

One of the assistant managers at a local store just gave me a couple of penny guides today. I walked in and bought Tales of Symphonia for GC and he asked me if I had a Wii and was going to get the newer Tales game for it. I said yes and he went to the back and came back with a guide for it. Then he asked me if I wanted a Valkyria Chronicles guide and said yes to that. He walked to the back and got me that one :). He's a pretty cool guy. Even hit him up with a SMT: Devil Summoner 2 pre-order just for being cool. I also think this store sells their penny guides. They actually had them all label $0.01, but they didn't have them out. Maybe I'm just missing them everytime they do put them out or something.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']I've gotten $70.00 in trade credit from the last BB drop at one of my local bookstores so far. Can't wait for more drops. For those thinking "What good is trade credit?", I use the trade credit to buy guides that can actually get me money on eBay.[/quote]

Is this brag post really necessary?

Giving up sellers secrets is smart. Would you like to give any of the lurkers more ideas?
 
Actually, my local game shop was only giving me .25 for the majority of what I sold to them. I still made around $100 on stuff that cost me WAYYYYY less than that.

So, I was happy in the end, especially since I kept most of the RPG guides and any of the ones I had that were worth anything.
 
Late to the party but I'll try against all odds to atleast pick up P4 for $9.99. GS.com shows several GS in my area with the guide in stock. I've been really busy at work (working crazy hours) and haven't been able to stop by a GS to check for the pennied guides.

My apologies in advance for the non-contributing post.
 
I was finally able to pick up my first penny guide. I was at 5 different gamestops today browsing around and one of them had a copy of the Tales of Symphonia guide on the rack.

The clerk was surprised and asked the manager (who seems annoyed that he missed one to remove) if it was okay to sell. No muss no fuss. It wasn't in the greatest condition, but I can't complain about it

The GSs I usually hit up are pretty good about removing pennied guides quickly, but I lucked out on this one.
 
Picked up Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2 and Operation Darkness. I was really happy to find OD since it was pennied 6 months ago. At the second GS, I picked up Castlevania: OoE and a beat up Lego Indiana Jones. At the last GS, I found Tales of Symphonia, Valkyria Chron, Resistance 2 and Harvest Moon but the clerk told me she couldn't sell them to me. I used my charm to convince her to let me choose atleast 1 guide. I chose ToS and got it for free.

Also, I got a P4 guide for $9.99 at the first GS. They still had 1 left.
 
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Managed to find like five Valkyria Chronicles at my local GS but employees totally had no clue what was going on with them, so I was super-denied. I guess I will have to go back when a manager is there...
 
[quote name='shoe478']Is this brag post really necessary?

Giving up sellers secrets is smart. Would you like to give any of the lurkers more ideas?[/quote]

1. The lurkers don't know where I live.
2. They can have fun trying all of the 100+ used bookstores in my area because I didn't name the place.
3. You can stop acting elitist every time I go a little OT. If you'll notice, there was a conversation going on about trading in penny guides for cash, even the OP of this thread posted something below you along the lines of what I posted.
 
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I hate the district manager in our area. I was able to grab 10 guides including some from previous drops like Eternal Sonata and Mass Effect but was denied because of that d'bag. Funny that all of the guides have 0.01 sticker on them. I always see the guy whenever I do branch-hopping.
 
is the legend of zelda phantom hourglass softcover version pennied out? It dosen't show on the website, and theres about 20 at my local best buy.
 
There are several guides that are not on the website that each store seems to be able to price themselves. Other examples are Lego Indiana Jones ($2.50 to $9.99), Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (this one might still be on web, but I've seen it for as little as $5.00), Metal Gear Solid 4 LE ($7.50 to cover price), and most obviously Halo 3 ($2.00 to $9.99). This is not including guides that were pennied and then redisplayed at varying prices.
 
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[quote name='Doomstink']1. The lurkers don't know where I live.
2. They can have fun trying all of the 100+ used bookstores in my area because I didn't name the place.
3. You can stop acting elitist every time I go a little OT. If you'll notice, there was a conversation going on about trading in penny guides for cash, even the OP of this thread posted something below you along the lines of what I posted.[/quote]

1. Raleigh
2. Probably Ed McKay's
3. No, I can't.
 
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