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='62t']Orange Box is on the website, oos at $9.99[/QUOTE]

You're right I see it there. Apparently there's a difference in searching between 'video game guide' and 'game guide'.
 
[quote name='jgamezcua']From 8/22 BB drop??:

Picked up the following today for 0.01 at BB:

Crysis
Pirates of the Burning Sea
Burnout Paradise (new)
Condemned 2 (new)

Looks like another non-Monday non-beginning of the month drop at BB? genfuyung posted that some of these rang up non-pennied on 8/18.[/quote]

Added Burnout Paradise and Condemned 2 to the BB list and Rock Band to the CC list. Now, I just have to go out today to grab a few of these for myself.
 
My Game Guide Run

All came up $.01

Circuit City

Halo 3
Rock Band

Best Buy

Crysis
Condemned 2
Burnout Paradise
Pirates
Dark Sector
Super Paper Mario
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I stopped in FYE earlier while out to mail a guide out and I checked 3 older guides(Copyright on the back cover is usually a decent indicator IF the guide may be pennied, these were all 2006).

Resistance: Fall Of Man-full price
Splinter Cell: Double Agent-full price
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom- one penny

However, the manager(who worked prior at a Gamestop in the same mall)said he 'couldn't sell it to me'. I didn't press the issue. I told them I found out that stores 'clearance' guides from 'the net'. He told me that I 'heard wrong'.

The only other guides I've ever heard of pennying from FYE are:

GTA Double Pack(PS2 version)- covers GTA III and Vice City
Psi-Ops(PS2/Xbox)-picked this one up personally in NY someplace a LOOOOONG time ago

Although, I will say that it's a safe bet that any guide older than a year or two old SHOULD be .01. Don't quote me on that though. Do we have anyone who works for FYE/Transworld on CAG, so we might have a source?

Just like Circuit City, getting guides from FYE is an EXTREME YMMV, especially if a manager is the one price checking them for you.[/QUOTE]

Funny you should mention this. I haven't been on CAG in two weeks and I also discovered this last week. I brought up a couple random older guides to the register at FYE (Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom and Eragon). As you mentioned, Untold Legends scanned for a penny. Eragon was still $15.99 so it went back on the shelf. The cashier let me buy the Untold Legends: DK for a penny after checking with her manager, who said it was fine :D
 
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[quote name='Josef']Funny you should mention this. I haven't been on CAG in two weeks and I also discovered this last week. I brought up a couple random older guides to the register at FYE (Untold legends: Dark Kingdom and Eragon). As you mentioned, Untold Legends scanned for a penny. Eragon was still $15.99 so it went back on the shelf. The cashier let me buy the Untold Legends: DK for a penny after checking with her manager, who said it was fine :D[/quote]

I only ever found Psi-Ops prior at FYE, but I know they penny out the guides on occasion too. Although, the one FYE in the one mall up in Johnson City, NY(outside Binghamton) still had a Vice City stand alone guide for PS2 there as of a year or two ago when they stopped carrying games at that store. It still came up full price until they started with the discounts.
 
Sent my gf to CC while I was in BB. She said the manager manually overrode the penny and put it to 19.99. So fuck him. I got condemned 2, burnout, and crysis guides at BB though. I also check mass effect with artbook and lost odyssey. Both are the same as usual price. If anyone missed out on this bb drop but got DMC4 pm me.
 
Could somebody explain to me why this Thread is NOT a STICKY?
What could better represent CAG (Cheap Ass Gamer), than getting something for one penny?
Thanks to this thread, I am down by 8 penny's.
CC: DMC4, Slinter cell doulbe agent, Rock band, and Halo 3
BB: Crysis, Burnout paradise, Condemned 2, and Oblivion.
 
Damn, DMC4 is .01 too? I KNOW there were half a dozen guides at a far-away CC where I got my last drop... probably not the case at the local CC.
 
Went to BB checked CoD4, OB (4.99), AoTwo/with graphic novel (9.99), Super mario galaxy, DMC4, Assasin's creed both versions, FF7 Crisis Core, God of war chains, Sims 2 (purple guide), FFXII, Bully. None were pennied out.


God of War 2 is .01 at CC. Sorry this is wrong!
 
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[quote name='sunnysky']Could somebody explain to me why this Thread is NOT a STICKY?
What could better represent CAG (Cheap Ass Gamer), than getting something for one penny?
[/quote]

This thread was actually stickied awhile back but lost its stickiness. I speculate because guide drops are so sporadic. When it was stickied, I believe there was a long period with no drops so the thread got little activity and thus lost its sticky status and never regained it. Follow the thread regularly and you'll see the sporadic behavior of guide drops.

Also there has been some discussion in forums about NOT making it Sticky so as to not draw attention to the drops. Check the old threads for more details, links I believe are on page 1 of this thread. I think for a little while, at the time, there were alot of posts about penny drops showing up on FatWallet and SlickDeals and that was rubbing people the wrong way.

Anyway, a little history on the Stickiness of this thread. Anyone, feel free to add/correct.

Mods prob have more insight on the stickiness of the penny guide thread.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Went to BB checked CoD4, OB (4.99), AoTwo/with graphic novel (9.99), Super mario galaxy, DMC4, Assasin's creed both versions, FF7 Crisis Core, God of war chains, Sims 2 (purple guide), FFXII, Bully. None were pennied out.


God of War 2 is .01 at CC.[/quote]


can anybody else confirm god of war 2
 
[quote name='sunnysky']Could somebody explain to me why this Thread is NOT a STICKY?
What could better represent CAG (Cheap Ass Gamer), than getting something for one penny?
Thanks to this thread, I am down by 8 penny's.
CC: DMC4, Slinter cell doulbe agent, Rock band, and Halo 3
BB: Crysis, Burnout paradise, Condemned 2, and Oblivion.[/quote]

I'm glad it's not stickied. It helps it stay under the hoarders' radar.
 
At CC I got Halo 3, Rock Band, and DMC 4 for a penny. Ever since me and my friend cleaned out the guides section, the new rule is that you can only buy one. I'm gonna try again tomorrow for more. Also GOWII still rang up full price for me.

At BB the penny guides were already thrown out. >_>
 
[quote name='jgamezcua']This thread was actually stickied awhile back but lost its stickiness. I speculate because guide drops are so sporadic. When it was stickied, I believe there was a long period with no drops so the thread got little activity and thus lost its sticky status and never regained it. Follow the thread regularly and you'll see the sporadic behavior of guide drops.

Also there has been some discussion in forums about NOT making it Sticky so as to not draw attention to the drops. Check the old threads for more details, links I believe are on page 1 of this thread. I think for a little while, at the time, there were alot of posts about penny drops showing up on FatWallet and SlickDeals and that was rubbing people the wrong way.

Anyway, a little history on the Stickiness of this thread. Anyone, feel free to add/correct.

Mods prob have more insight on the stickiness of the penny guide thread.[/QUOTE]

pretty much sum it up. People were complaining about having too many sticky, and this thread along with the clearance thread were unsticky. There is that one time someone did post the list on SD and no one was able to find anything. It will take you a little work to follow the topic, but it really isnt too bad.
 
[quote name='neocisco']I'm glad it's not stickied. It helps it stay under the hoarders' radar.[/quote]

Well, actually, as long as I Bookmark this thread, I'm probably better off anyway.
Not having to go through the main page, and as you said, keeping it under the Radar.

BTW, has anybody else had issues with GS?
I have seen plenty of listed penny guides at my local GS's. But they all have a newer $9.99 sticker/UPC label on the front. I imagine this is their way of going around the original UPC.
Kind of sucks though when I see one, and I just know it should be a penny.
Oh well.
 
I went to my closest CC and only found Madden 08 left on the shelf, but they HAD Rock Band AND DMC 4 last week. I went up to the service desk to pay, since AS USUAL the normal registers were abandoned/closed, and the clerk up there told me they pulled DMC 4 and Rock Band. So surprisingly, he let me grab a copy of DMC 4 with the Madden 08 guide for $ .02.

Then, it was off to BB, where I found 2 copies each of Burnout Paradise and Condemned 2. But before heading up to the register, I had the as it turns out media supervisor check the following guides, all supposedly came up their marked price(cept for one I think which made the telltale 'beep' that it does on their hand scanners when it's .01, but he bullshitted me that they were ALL normal price).

I checked:

MGS Limited hardcover
Halo 3
Spring 2008 Code Book
Madden 08
Mass Effect normal edition

and about 3-5 other ones

So, being the nice consumer I am sometimes, I put all of those guides back after they came up 'normal price' and proceeded to the one register. I started the shpeel about 'someone told me these may be on clearance' to the girl working the register.

I also took up Super Mario Galaxy hardcover to price check, it was still $14.99 unfortunately.

So she scans the four guides, looks confused even though I said they were 'clearance', then says 'I gotta go ask my manager about these', then comes back after a bit saying 'they're not supposed to be on the shelf, we must've missed them, he said they're $9.99 each'. I told them to stick them for that price and walked out.

So, I'm guessing that BB is now going to be a dead zone in my own neighborhood for these things, especially if the one manager is working media.

EDIT: Even with the new UPC on the front cover, the guides SHOULD ring up as .01 if they're the RIGHT versions, Sunny. There have been multiple versions of the guides for Oblivion(a ton of tan cover ones and the current black cover one), Pokemon guides and the re-released 2-3 times Godfather guide, where they added stuff for PS3 and Wii long after the other versions had been out.
 
Here's another one to add to the Best Buy list: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 $0.01

EDIT: God of War 2 is NOT .01 at CC. The girl told me it was, but then said it was 17.99...I just checked my bag and realized it wasn't in there!
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Here's another one to add to the Best Buy list: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 $0.01

EDIT: God of War 2 is NOT .01 at CC. The girl told me it was, but then said it was 17.99...I just checked my bag and realized it wasn't in there!
[/quote]
damn i saw some of those today.
 
So Halo 3 is a penny today at CC, not yesterday when it was reported? I stopped by CC last night after it was reported pennied and Halo 3 rang up $19.99...
 
Was at Circuit City tonight picking up DMC4 & Halo 3 guides, went ahead and brought a Dark Messiah Might & Magic guide up to the counter and it rang up as "sell as package" or whatever, so I got that for a penny. Don't believe that has been reported yet. Its the PC guide, there isn't one for the 360 release.
 
[quote name='freshzen']Was at Circuit City tonight picking up DMC4 & Halo 3 guides, went ahead and brought a Dark Messiah Might & Magic guide up to the counter and it rang up as "sell as package" or whatever, so I got that for a penny. Don't believe that has been reported yet. Its the PC guide, there isn't one for the 360 release.[/quote]

Is it Might & Magic: Dark Messiah or is it Dark Messiah: Might & Magic? I just want to clarify that before addding it.

I saw at least one of those Pro Evolution Soccer guides @ my local BB last night too, I'll add that to the list.
 
[quote name='monkeydeew']the dbag manager at my cc overrode the prices on rb and spm to 14.99 and 9.99.[/quote]

thats why you try to befriend or not have the manager ring it up lol.. arent the managers in black shirts? Avoid them.

I always go after the college or high school girls, they never care.
 
[quote name='Ice2Dragon']thats why you try to befriend or not have the manager ring it up lol.. arent the managers in black shirts? Avoid them.

I always go after the college or high school girls, they never care.[/quote]

Tell that to the fuckin' idiot who couldn't think for herself last night @ BB and asked her manager about the 4 guides I came up with.

I've had no problems with other female clerks before, but this girl looked new, so something should've told me to avoid her at all costs.

As far as CC goes, I got a clerk who just didn't care and went out of his way to offer me one of the DMC 4 guides after I asked if they had them.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Tell that to the fuckin' idiot who couldn't think for herself last night @ BB and asked her manager about the 4 guides I came up with.

I've had no problems with other female clerks before, but this girl looked new, so something should've told me to avoid her at all costs.

As far as CC goes, I got a clerk who just didn't care and went out of his way to offer me one of the DMC 4 guides after I asked if they had them.[/quote]

You have the worst luck then.. ive never had a problem lol. A little flirting goes a longggg way.

Or I have my girlfriend go ring them up. They seem to care less if a girls doing it, especially if its a guy. Shes given out her number multiple times in exchange for the guides.

The number is always invalid.. or so I think.. ^_^
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Is it Might & Magic: Dark Messiah or is it Dark Messiah: Might & Magic? I just want to clarify that before addding it.

I saw at least one of those Pro Evolution Soccer guides @ my local BB last night too, I'll add that to the list.[/QUOTE]

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic.
 
Halo 3 and Rock Band, yes, they're pennied at CC. Rock Band scanned OK, Halo 3 wouldn't without the PRI + 13-digit ISBN trick. Oddly, the first one came up as a generic Prima guide description when doing the first Halo 3 guide I found, others came up with the right description. Very odd.

BB, confirmed on Condemned 2 and Burnout Paradise.
 
I went to CC (Lansing, MI) today to get a pennied halo 3 guide but they were out. I instead got Viva Pinata, Rainbow Six Vegas, and Devil May Cry 4. Thanks to all who helped make this guide!
 
Went back to CC and they let me pick up 2 more DMC4 guides. All the rest were cleaned out.

I also bought the Prima Official guide to ICO at Bookman's for $10. Is it worth anything?
 
[quote name='darkslime']Went back to CC and they let me pick up 2 more DMC4 guides. All the rest were cleaned out.

I also bought the Prima Official guide to ICO at Bookman's for $10. Is it worth anything?[/quote]
On ebay right now I see it between $25-$50, and Amazon between $19 and $100. So at least worth the $10, I suppose ;) Not sure how many of these high-priced guides sell, but that's what I see.
 
^^Thanks. I'll try bundling it with an extra ICO I have and flip it.

Anyone know about the Okami, Xenosaga Ep. 1, or Capcom Vs. SNK EO guides? They have them there too for $10 each?

I tried BBV while going to rent a movie, and the oldest guide that they had was Iron Man, which rang up full price.
 
Added Dark Messiah.....how old is that guide? It seems that MANY people have very old guides @ their CC stores. My local stores have been getting better about that lately, but they used to have Rainbow Six 3 guides I believe.
 
[quote name='darkslime']^^Thanks. I'll try bundling it with an extra ICO I have and flip it.[/quote]

You should do VERY well with that combo. Although, it might actually be better to sell them separately.
 
I can also say that all of the Best Buy drops are good. Got the following:

1 x Crysis
1 x Burnout Paradise
1 x Pirates of the Burning Sea
2 x Condemned 2
2 x PES 2008 (One of them was unsealed and the other was sealed along with a DVD)

I'll give a few more stores a check tomorrow.

--Michael
 
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