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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Confirmed, I went to 3 diff GS's during lunch and I got 45 of em (not 45 different ones, just a total of 45):

God of War
Lost Odyssey
Madden 2009 LE
Mass Effect
Naruto Broken Bond
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm
Naruto Path of Ninja 2
NCAA 09
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Pokedex
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
Sonic Chronicles
Sonic Unleashed
Spore LE
Star Wars Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels
Too Human
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Warhammer Online Atlas
Warhammer Online OSG
Wario Land Shake It
Super Mario Galaxy
 
[quote name='pulsar0510']Just bacl from Best Buy.
Penny:
DMC4
Conan-Hyborian Adventures
Army of Two ltd. Edition
GOW:Chains
Put back, still full price:
Hard cover & Soft Soul Caliber IV
Hard Cover Gears of War 2[/quote]GOW: COO is an old drop. I think AOT is as well.
 
[quote name='yuy104']I just came back from BB to pick up Bioshock for the PS3, and noticed half an aisle full of guides! Please!!!! Let the drop happen!!! xP[/quote]

lol thats how my BB is, except its both sides of an aisle..FULL.
 
[quote name='KABUKISTAR']None of those are that old except Fable 1.
I work at Hollywood, and I actually did a price check on those last time I was there, because I figured Fable had to be pennied, but none of them were.[/quote]

sorry if im asking too much from you but I would really appreciate it if you could possibly keep me updated and let me know if they ever do drop in price at HWV, cus not many people go to this HWV i go to, and even less gamers go there (probably me and 5 other people) so I really want those guides lol, thanks if you can just try scanning them every once in awhile if things arent busy :D
 
[quote name='GuardianE']So, basically if I see any Doublejumps, I should grab them now.[/quote]

The three of them all got pulled from them website, but not Persona 4. I wish I had more time to root around this morning. Now I won't get a chance until 6. I hope to find those DJ guide if they did penny, although I did buy Mana Khemia a couple weeks ago for $9 because I didn't want to miss the chance to get it.
 
[quote name='iNFiNiTE HORiZON']sorry if im asking too much from you but I would really appreciate it if you could possibly keep me updated and let me know if they ever do drop in price at HWV, cus not many people go to this HWV i go to, and even less gamers go there (probably me and 5 other people) so I really want those guides lol, thanks if you can just try scanning them every once in awhile if things arent busy :D[/QUOTE]

If he works there he would have a list when there is a drop
 
[quote name='neocisco']Crap. I saw a bunch of these I wanted on shelves yesterday and they're probably all pulled by now.[/quote]

Well la de frickin dah, so did I...I hope the 'cool' guy held them for me.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']So, basically if I see any Doublejumps, I should grab them now.[/quote]Any DJ's that get to $10, you should bite the bullet and get them, since they're pretty much impossible to find when they penny out. Employees tend to liberate them when they're at that point.
 
[quote name='Rave Child']Many guides have been removed from the website. Ones I notice are missing are:

Assassin's Creed
Battlefield Bad Company
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Disgaea Compilation!!! - I'm really hopeful!!!
Disgaea 3!!! - I'm really hopeful about this too!!!!
Far Cry 2
God of War
Lego Indiana Jones - I actually remember seeing this, if I didn't mention it earlier
Lost Odyssey
Madden 2009 LE
Mana Khemia
Mass Effect
Mercenaries 2
Naruto Broken Bond
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm
Naruto Path of Ninja 2
NCAA 09
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Pokedex
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
Sonic Chronicles
Sonic Unleashed
Spore LE
Star Wars Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels
Too Human
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Warhammer Online Atlas
Warhammer Online OSG
Wario Land Shake It

Wait a minute. They all popped back up again by the time I finished typing the list.... How strange. I'd watch for all of them.[/quote]

Man I wish I would have waited longer for the full list. I met the most awesome employee today. He was the man. He would have given me like every penny guide.(The had a box full ready to throw out) but another ass employee just walked in and said Oh YOU CANT SELL THOSE. What an ass, but the awesome employee still gave me some,I only took the ones I wanted most. I picked up these for $.00 not .01.

Naruto Broken Bond
Too Human
Spore LE
Fracture
Mario Galaxy Soft Cover
Okami Wii
and I think like 2 more.

I wish I knew that Lost Oddosy was pennied. Same with mass effect.
I have to try and get more tonight. Man this was a great drop. I want to try to get another Spore LE. My store has 5!!
 
[quote name='Wolve11']Gamestop headquarters told me if you walk up to the register with guides and they ring up as $0.01 that they can not deny to sell them. I was also told that it is up to the DM to decide to pull them and recycle them or to keep them on the shelves.
So get them before they pull them I guess. Call up corporate if you really want the guide I suppose. I'm going to run out and check em before they get pulled today I hope.[/quote]

The manager at my gamestop tells the employees that "You cannot sell the guides if they ring up a penny.". What did you do call headquarters and they told you that they have to sell them to you?

[quote name='smaaug']Just hit two Gamestops... All the guides were already pulled. The racks were like 90% empty[/quote]
Mine are loaded with guides, but they just won't sell them to you when you bring them up.

Edit: OH YEAH, FREAKING SWEET. Just got my social security card replacement in the mail today. Finally I can get an ID. No more getting denied at gamestop trying to buy an M rated game. NICE. Leaving now to get my ID at the DMV and might as well stop at the GS on the way to try and get some more guides. YES!!. Sorry, Just a little excited.:bouncy::bouncy::bouncy:
 
Hit 2 so far, only walked away with 1 Wario Land: Shake It! guide.

First one, one of the employees got them all...he went out to his car to get the WL:SI guide when I asked for it. As I left, I saw a 1ft stack of guides in his front seat, poking out from under his jacket. At least he gave me one of his WL guides...but I'm not sure I believe him when he said there were no other dupes. It's unfortunate...this is the one I gave a preorder to last week for giving me some of the guides.

Second one hadn't pulled any but wouldn't sell them when I brought some to the register.

FWIW, I'm only grabbing the ones I want to keep...and in most cases, only 1 copy unless I want to get one extra for a single, specific friend. I'm leaving quite a few behind when I can.

So, I've got a guide trade link in my sig? Might want to check it out. A little out of date...but I was able to get some of the guides from GS last week that are not listed yet.
 
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[quote name='BarbblerElf']The manager at my gamestop tells the employees that "You cannot sell the guides if they ring up a penny.". What did you do call headquarters and they told you that they have to sell them to you?[/quote]

Whenever they would give me that line about 'we can't sell them to you', I usually say 'well nothing says you can't just GIVE them to me, right?'. They just look at me puzzled and annoyed that I would continue to press for them to let me have them and about 20-30% of the time they just say 'here' and hand me them and say to take them.

The 'you could just give me them if you can't sell them' line doesn't work too often though, but it IS worth a shot if you're otherwise shot down.

Oh and if someone can verify whether or not the Mercenaries 2 guide pennied at Gamestop, let me know since I'd definitely want a copy.
 
Yea man I called GS headquarters and they stated that if you bring them to the front from the rack and they ring up as a penny they have to sell them to you. Now it is up to the DM whether or not to pull them or sell them. HQ said that they recycle them. The person on the phone even asked her supervisor on this. Now I doubt you'd make many friends playing the HQ card but if you really want to you could play that card.
 
[quote name='Wolve11']Yea man I called GS headquarters and they stated that if you bring them to the front from the rack and they ring up as a penny they have to sell them to you. Now it is up to the DM whether or not to pull them or sell them. HQ said that they recycle them. The person on the phone even asked her supervisor on this. Now I doubt you'd make many friends playing the HQ card but if you really want to you could play that card.[/QUOTE]

Not that I would ever do this but I suppose you could always threaten the store that you are going to report them for not pulling the guides from the shelves. I imagine the manager might get in trouble for not pulling the guides, if what you are saying is indeed true about them having to sell the guides if they are on the shelves.
 
^ & ^^ Ya know, I don't think I even want to consider going that route. I'm trying to stay on the good side of all the GSes around here. That seems like it would be detrimental to our...uh, special relationship.

So I didn't get a guide. Big whoop. Worse things could happen. :)
 
[quote name='eugaet']^ & ^^ Ya know, I don't think I even want to consider going that route. I'm trying to stay on the good side of all the GSes around here. That seems like it would be detrimental to our...uh, special relationship.

So I didn't get a guide. Big whoop. Worse things could happen. :)[/quote]

Yeah, I agree absolutely. The way to get guides is to have employees be cool to you. Employees are more likely to be cool to you if you're nice and friendly, try to make small talk on a regular basis, give them preorders, and probably most importantly DON'T CALL OR THREATEN TO CALL CORPORATE on them. That seems like a really dick way to to get some some guides that you really shouldn't be allowed to have in the first place.
 
[quote name='smaaug']Just hit two Gamestops... All the guides were already pulled. The racks were like 90% empty[/quote]

[quote name='Rave Child']Yeah, I agree absolutely. The way to get guides is to have employees be cool to you. Employees are more likely to be cool to you if you're nice and friendly, try to make small talk on a regular basis, give them preorders, and probably most importantly DON'T CALL OR THREATEN TO CALL CORPORATE on them. That seems like a really dick way to to get some some guides that you really shouldn't be allowed to have in the first place.[/quote]
I wouldn't threaten the employees either. I met a really cool employee today and I would like to stay on their good side. So 3 out of the 8 employees so far would sell me guides. I really want to go back to pick up the guides I missed, like lost oddosy and masseffect. They have like 10+ of each. I only want one so hopefully when I go back in a few days they are still there.

Edit: Just wanted to say this is my favorite thread. ^_^
 
Some of the employees I'm cool with will give me guides, but others will tell me to go to Barnes and Noble. It's really obnoxious when I hear that.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']The 'you could just give me them if you can't sell them' line doesn't work too often though, but it IS worth a shot if you're otherwise shot down.[/quote]
I usually ask them if they want any help throwing them out.
Went to 3 stores and got really lucky - grabbing pretty much everything I wanted. At each I talked with the manager and they were gracious enough to give me the guides; one manager I had to talk into it. If they continue to get these great managers in their stores, I may have no choice but to change my opinion of GS.
 
ARGH! My two contacts at two different GS's were gone today!! After a little pleading (and begging) I ended up with (most of) the ones I wanted plus a few for the tradelist.

I REALLY want that Mana Khemia guide!!! :whistle2:(
 
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[quote name='snakeneck']Add the smaller sized guides for Disgaea and Mana Khemia to the list.[/quote]

I'd like to know if you are confirming this because you actually picked them up for yourself at a penny, or just because they got pulled from the site. The huge list I posted was just all the guides that were pulled from the site, so it may not be 100% accurate (although there's a good chance it is). One thing I really hate is expecting something to be a penny and it ringing up as normal price. For some reason I feel embarrassed at GS (but not at BB) when I tell them I don't want it if it's not a penny. I guess it won't stop me from trying, though.
 
Wow this is shaping up very nicely. I'm wondering if I should even try the other two stores that usually shut me down on guides or if I should just go straight to the store that usually sells them to me (but had all guides pulled before I could get there during the last drop).
 
ya know, I think I'll just give em time to throw em out... and dumpster dive that shit. A new GS just opened near me that, while they won't sell the guides (are are really really good at pulling em) don't have anything messy in their dumpster (I checked last drop, but they were too burried to dig out :(
 
I went into a GS today and asked the manager for a ToV guide, and he went into the backroom at got it for me =)
 
[quote name='Rave Child']I'd like to know if you are confirming this because you actually picked them up for yourself at a penny, or just because they got pulled from the site. [/quote]

I can confirm Mana, Disgaea 3, and Disgaea Compilation being pennied out. Also the Unofficial 360 Achievement book.

FYI, the stores did get a heads up yesterday on this drop because it was so big. But don't let that stop you as the GSs I went to still didn't pull the guides until today even with the notice.
 
[quote name='kell']I can confirm Mana, Disgaea 3, and Disgaea Compilation being pennied out. Also the Unofficial 360 Achievement book.

FYI, the stores did get a heads up yesterday on this drop because it was so big. But don't let that stop you as the GSs I went to still didn't pull the guides until today even with the notice.[/quote]

DAMN IT! I'm pretty sure i saw the mana and xbox books just yesterday!
 
Found copies of Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey at GameStop.

Question: What does "LE" designate? Does it mean Limited Edition, or? If so, what do they look like? Hardcover? I saw some "normal" guides (GoW2) that were just paperback like the ME and LO guides.

Thanks.
 
After a rather long drout, today was a pretty acceptable score.
Still wish I would have found Gears 2 LE though. Anybody wanting to trade, send me a PM.
Today I got
Far Cry 2
Soul Saliber IV
Spore LE
Mass Effect
God of War
Madden LE
 
[quote name='jwbrown77']Found copies of Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey at GameStop.

Question: What does "LE" designate? Does it mean Limited Edition, or? If so, what do they look like? Hardcover? I saw some "normal" guides (GoW2) that were just paperback like the ME and LO guides.

Thanks.[/quote]

LE is Limited Edition. They are kind of hard to miss. Most of the time they will have "Limited Edition" somewhere on the cover.

And great drop today. I just hope some of the GS's near me are a bit late at pulling guides today. I know one specific store that takes a couple of days so I'll hit it up tomorrow. Stuck in school until 8 PM today so I'll be happy if I can just hit up 2 stores.
 
[quote name='jwbrown77']Found copies of Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey at GameStop.

Question: What does "LE" designate? Does it mean Limited Edition, or? If so, what do they look like? Hardcover? I saw some "normal" guides (GoW2) that were just paperback like the ME and LO guides.

Thanks.[/quote]

It designates limited edition, and the cover differs per limited edition. Most of the LEs off the top of my head are hardcover (Gears of War 2, Prince of Persia, Fallout 3) but sometimes it isn't.

On a side note, guides and Amazon are making me think of moving to the west coast and getting a new car. I missed a lot of penny guides because my car broke down, and it seems like Amazon/penny guides screw me so much of the time just because I'm on the East Coast and end up on the late side of the news. I was so close to getting Disgaea 3 too, and I was gonna use it :cry:
 
[quote name='Nirron']It designates limited edition, and the cover differs per limited edition. Most of the LEs off the top of my head are hardcover (Gears of War 2, Prince of Persia, Fallout 3) but sometimes it isn't.

On a side note, guides and Amazon are making me think of moving to the west coast and getting a new car. I missed a lot of penny guides because my car broke down, and it seems like Amazon/penny guides screw me so much of the time just because I'm on the East Coast and end up on the late side of the news. I was so close to getting Disgaea 3 too, and I was gonna use it :cry:[/quote]
thx for the info. I'll know specifically what to look for now (got my first two guides just today).
 
[quote name='jwbrown77']thx DarkRider23. Do you know if they are hardcover? Or just the "LE" designation is what to look for?[/quote]

As the post above you said, most of the time they will be a hard cover (which usually look cooler compared to the generic guide). It might even come with specials such as DVDs and stuff, but that is really just hit and miss.
 
Man I just got back from another gamestop. They had about 5 of every guide that dropped today pulled to the side. I asked the employee what was he going to do with the penny guides. He said they had to ship them back to the warehouse because there was a lot of guides. He said they only throw them out if there are a small amount. He also said that they used to give the guides to the people but ever since the managers in the district got fired for giveing too many out, they stopped giveing them out.

Do you think he was lying about sending them back and really is going to throw them out tonight. I have no problem dumpster diving for them lol.(To an extent)
 
The guy at my GameStop today told me flat out if customers/employees don't take them they just throw them out. He didn't seem to have a problem with it at all... (He did ask me how I knew about it. I told him the Internet is a wonderful thing...)
 
[quote name='kell']I usually ask them if they want any help throwing them out.
Went to 3 stores and got really lucky - grabbing pretty much everything I wanted. At each I talked with the manager and they were gracious enough to give me the guides; one manager I had to talk into it. If they continue to get these great managers in their stores, I may have no choice but to change my opinion of GS.[/quote]

The ONE manager(who is in charge of the 3 GS stores up in the one big shopping district up the road from me)used to let me grab one or two guides if I really wanted them, but lately he hasn't been around AT ALL.

Even if they stickered the damn things .01 and accidentally put them back on the shelf(as they did at least twice since I've been trying again locally), they STILL give me a hard time about it and usually deny me.

So, I hit up the one or two that I know are kind of lenient

Funny thing is, he was the main reason(and I was probably a contributing factor, since I used to hit up goldmine stores which had 4-6 drops worth of stuff on the shelf and clean them out) why they started being such dicks about the pennied items, yet I seem to score the best from his home office store. :lol:

I should try the one that gave me a few guides the other night, see if I can get them to check the guide for Mercs 2 for me.

By the way, does anyone have a compiled list as of yet? I thought we had a source for GS in this thread, much like we have Fuss for Best Buy drops?
 
The manager at my gamestop (the 11th or 12th manager since the store opened five or six years ago) let me have my pick, and gave my son a Pokemon Index as well...so I threw him a couple of reserves.

Picked up (only 1 of each):
Disgaea 3
Disgaea Compilation
Lego Indy Jones
Spore Limited Edition
Super Mario Galaxy
God of War
Warioland Shake It

Not a bad little visit...
 
Both the DM and LP were at my local store today. The pulled guides were trashed before I even read the forums this morning. When I saw Lost Odyssey was pulled, I almost cried.
 
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