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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Yeah grab a couple while you are at it. All the Best Buys I've gone to haven't given me any problems when they ring up a penny. They just sell them to you unlike some Game Crazys and Gamestops which they always refuse but I don't mind since they have the right to sell them to you or not.
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']Any word on when the Dead Space guide might drop? There are several at my local BB.[/QUOTE]

It's literally impossible to say. There is no rhyme or reason.

Also, to cut down on all the questions, please consult the first couple posts of this thread as they will answer all of the basic questions.
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']Any word on when the Dead Space guide might drop? There are several at my local BB.[/quote]


i checked my wigi board and it says that guide will drop on july 21st so mark your calanders for that being the next huge drop!
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']i checked my wigi board and it says that guide will drop on july 21st so mark your calanders for that being the next huge drop![/quote]

Is that anything like a Ouija board?
 
[quote name='hellmutt']Any Gamestop drops today? the website didn't change.[/quote]

Nope. Just some random drops on old accessories and used GBA games. Nothing to write home about.

P.S. inside source suggests that Game Day sales has a TON of repeated games this year, such as House of the Dead 1+2 on Wii and Worms. The only new thing we saw that looks especially great is Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution on DS. We got 8 of these shipped to us, which is pretty weird, but every other thing is pretty much garbage (Rattatoie PS2) and UMDs (Beauty Shop?!). I'm not feeling optimisitc at all.
 
[quote name='SirChadlyOC']Nope. Just some random drops on old accessories and used GBA games. Nothing to write home about.

P.S. inside source suggests that Game Day sales has a TON of repeated games this year, such as House of the Dead 1+2 on Wii and Worms. The only new thing we saw that looks especially great is Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution on DS. We got 8 of these shipped to us, which is pretty weird, but every other thing is pretty much garbage (Rattatoie PS2) and UMDs (Beauty Shop?!). I'm not feeling optimisitc at all.[/quote]

Firstly, by drops, do you mean pennied out? And if so, what accessories and GBA games?

And sorry if I'm just an idiot, but what do you mean in the second paragraph? I dont understand any of that...
 
[quote name='2sday']Firstly, by drops, do you mean pennied out? And if so, what accessories and GBA games?

And sorry if I'm just an idiot, but what do you mean in the second paragraph? I dont understand any of that...[/QUOTE]

they are not pennied, they are some of the stuff that will be on sale for the upcoming gamer day
 
My BB is weird...a few weeks ago all of their strategy guides were gone, then last night they tons out, including tons of pennied guides. I picked up Fire Emblem, Infinite Undiscovery and probably the strangest find, a Folklore guide, which was pennied out a long time ago. Weird.
 
[quote name='rarebucky']My BB is weird...a few weeks ago all of their strategy guides were gone, then last night they tons out, including tons of pennied guides. I picked up Fire Emblem, Infinite Undiscovery and probably the strangest find, a Folklore guide, which was pennied out a long time ago. Weird.[/quote]

That's how my local two Best Buy stores were for the longest time. They would reorganize the guides by pulling every last one from the floor. Then, when they reappeared, there would be tons of older ones that had pennied out on the shelf.

They haven't done that in a while though, so maybe they finally started destroying the guides like they were supposed to be doing, since if the guides weren't out all you had to do was ask and they'd bring out whatever guide you wanted.
 
Man, I found and picked up a Persona 3 guide from a Gamecrazy today for full price ($20) It's the only guide I've paid full price for in years since Persona 3 is one of my favorite games and it's decent eBay and Amazon value. Good day....
 
Not too long along some Best Buys around me were reducing those Halo 3 guides to $2.00. I don't really feel the need to buy it since I got a pennied one from Blockbuster.

I also paid full price for my Persona 3 when I saw it at Game Crazy since it seems to have double its price at Amazon.
 
[quote name='OmegaSora']My gamestop never seems to penny guides but I did get Halo 3 there for $5 the other day, anyone else see it marked down that far?[/quote]It's been marked down to $5 since before Christmas, discovered it randomly one night and was tempted to buy on price alone.

Not sure if this has been posted or discussed, but I found out today that GameStop's margin on your average guide is 60% AFTER Edge discount. So your average guide costs the publisher $7.20 to make, and GameStop makes $10.80 for every one sold. That's why guides are pennied, and your average GS employee likes to push them with your game.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']It's been marked down to $5 since before Christmas, discovered it randomly one night and was tempted to buy on price alone.

Not sure if this has been posted or discussed, but I found out today that GameStop's margin on your average guide is 60% AFTER Edge discount. So your average guide costs the publisher $7.20 to make, and GameStop makes $10.80 for every one sold. That's why guides are pennied, and your average GS employee likes to push them with your game.[/quote]

A store that likes to make a profit? Wth!? You say that the guide costs $7.20 to make so Gamestop is buying them at cost? I doubt that. Also, every other store would probably make about the same profit on guides, I don't know why you are picking on GS.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']It's been marked down to $5 since before Christmas, discovered it randomly one night and was tempted to buy on price alone.

Not sure if this has been posted or discussed, but I found out today that GameStop's margin on your average guide is 60% AFTER Edge discount. So your average guide costs the publisher $7.20 to make, and GameStop makes $10.80 for every one sold. That's why guides are pennied, and your average GS employee likes to push them with your game.[/QUOTE]

Brother, you don't know the half of it. Any item like a guide, HDMI cable, controller, SD card/memory stick, anything that isn't a game or system, that's where the store actually makes money.
So yeah,that's why they try to push stuff like that. And for Gamestop, especially why they push used stuff. Used stuff basically means "this is free money for us, we got it so stupidly cheap and we are overcharging you to a hilarious degree"
 
[quote name='SDC']Brother, you don't know the half of it. Any item like a guide, HDMI cable, controller, SD card/memory stick, anything that isn't a game or system, that's where the store actually makes money.
So yeah,that's why they try to push stuff like that. And for Gamestop, especially why they push used stuff. Used stuff basically means "this is free money for us, we got it so stupidly cheap and we are overcharging you to a hilarious degree"[/quote]

Stop reminding me why I dislike Gamestop...They're masters of annoyance, taking money from idiots, and of the capitalist system.
 
[quote name='mvp828']Best Buy only drops on 1st Monday of each month.[/QUOTE]

there been drop on second or third week of the month. In fact there also been drop on Tuesday and Wednesday
 
[quote name='Visc']wrong.[/quote]

Chill out, no need to be a dick.

[quote name='62t']there been drop on second or third week of the month. In fact there also been drop on Tuesday and Wednesday[/quote]

Thanks 62t. I had seen numerous posts that had said that they were only on the first Monday of each month. On another note, upon looking over the previous drops at BB in the 2nd post, it does seem that most mid-month drops only occur from October-Feb. Possibly due to the fact that in Oct. they are clearing room for the upcoming guides to go along with all of the hot releases of the holiday season.
 
[quote name='shoe478']A store that likes to make a profit? Wth!? You say that the guide costs $7.20 to make so Gamestop is buying them at cost? I doubt that. Also, every other store would probably make about the same profit on guides, I don't know why you are picking on GS.[/quote]Picking on GameStop? I think this is fucking awesome.

I'm not stupid, I know how this shit works, I was just letting you know HOW MUCH stores make on guides.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']That's how my local two Best Buy stores were for the longest time. They would reorganize the guides by pulling every last one from the floor. Then, when they reappeared, there would be tons of older ones that had pennied out on the shelf.
[/quote]


Had a similar thing happen to me today...go into my local BB, and what do I find on the shelf but Fable II LE and Mass Effect w/ Artbook. I go to this store fairly often, and have gotten a lot of stuff from the last drop there but NEITHER of these were here last time.

Also, a Xbox360 SF IV Ken fightpad also miraculously appeared...:D
 
I was wondering why exactly does a guide drop at one store but not another? i mean it can drop at BB but not game stop? is it just the guide company thinking it may sell at one over the other? or is put into effect by bb corp and gs corp?

cheers
bug_nuts
 
[quote name='bug_nuts']I was wondering why exactly does a guide drop at one store but not another? i mean it can drop at BB but not game stop? is it just the guide company thinking it may sell at one over the other? or is put into effect by bb corp and gs corp?

cheers
bug_nuts[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure the individual stores decide when they want to penny a guide.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']Picking on GameStop? I think this is fucking awesome.

I'm not stupid, I know how this shit works, I was just letting you know HOW MUCH stores make on guides.[/quote]

Personally I don't understand why people hate one store over another, especially when it's because a store is trying to be profitable. I don't agree with GS policy of taking in scratched games with no cover art, but I can see where they're coming from; most people don't give a fuck, so why should they? What I'd really like to see is a large game store that caters to nerds and collectors more. GS doesn't do this as much because there is probably not as high a profit margin, and collectors use more discretion when buying games. If GS tried to please collectors, they'd probably lose the idiot base that supplies them with so much profit, since those people wouldn't get why a game can't be taken in w/o cover, or costs more because it has a cover. But I think if a store specifically tried to cover the collectors, they would have to charge more sure, but people that knew would choose it over GS. I know there are internet outfits that cover this, but a B&M would be neat to have, to compete w/GS. That's my only complaint with GS, is not that they make money, or how they make it, but that they've basically got a monopoly on games.
 
There is no doubt in my mind that we'll be getting a drop at Best Buy in the next two weeks. I stopped by Best Buy today to pick up the Venture Brothers Blu-Ray and swung by the guide rack and the rack was literally overflowing with guides. They actually had to pile some onto the ground to make space.

This was all due to about 40 of the 600+ page Pokemon Platinum guides hogging the shelf space. If BB wants to keep their aisles looking clean, they're going to have to do a drop really soon. I'm putting money down on April 6th being the date, but I'm hoping it might be next Monday due to the overflowing nature of the guide rack at my store (and presumably other stores).

I'm crossing my fingers that the Fallout 3 + Fallout 3 LE guides will be pennied since they are the other guides that are taking up so much space at all the BBs in my area.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']I'm putting money down on April 6th being the date

I'm crossing my fingers that the Fallout 3 + Fallout 3 LE guides will be pennied[/quote]

My $$$ is with yours on the 4/6 date. I wouldn't hold my breath on the Fallout guides dropping anytime soon.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']I stopped by Best Buy today to pick up the Venture Brothers Blu-Ray...[/quote]
Just wanted to say I'm jealous. Really want this but it'll have to wait; maybe it'll get thrown into an Amazon Adult Swim sale they have every so often.
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']Just wanted to say I'm jealous. Really want this but it'll have to wait; maybe it'll get thrown into an Amazon Adult Swim sale they have every so often.[/quote]

Are you guys buying these series on Blu-Ray just for the "Collection" factor...Or is it really that much clearer than the DVD release?

Sorry, but I am insulting you if your decision's based purely on collection value...Blu-Rays are just so damn expensive compared to their DVD counter-parts.
 
[quote name='thehoweller']Are you guys buying these series on Blu-Ray just for the "Collection" factor...Or is it really that much clearer than the DVD release?

Sorry, but I am insulting you if your decision's based purely on collection value...Blu-Rays are just so damn expensive compared to their DVD counter-parts.[/quote]This season was the first made in HD, and for only $10 more why not? If that's so damn expensive maybe you shouldn't be posting on a game buying forum.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']This season was the first made in HD, and for only $10 more why not? If that's so damn expensive maybe you shouldn't be posting on a game buying forum.[/quote]

I just fail to see how a cartoon can be "HD"...Maybe I'm wrong but you offered no support.

And I'm here because I'm a cheap ass...I just want to understand why you're not being one.
 
[quote name='thehoweller']I just fail to see how a cartoon can be "HD"...Maybe I'm wrong but you offered no support.

And I'm here because I'm a cheap ass...I just want to understand why you're not being one.[/quote]
the benefit of the bluray release is that the image will fit the widescreen resolutions of widescreen hdtvs that most of us have today instead of A., having a box with a black bar on the left and right side or B., having a horizontally stretched image to watch. so yes, i would buy the bluray release if its only $10 more. also has probably only 1 disc versus the standard 3 or 4 of dvds.
 
I'm fairly certain that everyone here is bored awaiting something guide related to talk about, because there is so much NON-PENNY GUIDE crap here, it's ridiculous.

Who gives a crap about Street Fighter pads, blu-ray discs about whatever, etc.

Got some penny guide news - this is the thread.

For everything else, find the right thread to post in. Christ.
 
[quote name='malfuncti0n']the benefit of the bluray release is that the image will fit the widescreen resolutions of widescreen hdtvs that most of us have today instead of A., having a box with a black bar on the left and right side or B., having a horizontally stretched image to watch. so yes, i would buy the bluray release if its only $10 more. also has probably only 1 disc versus the standard 3 or 4 of dvds.[/quote]

Thanks for putting things into perspective. I did just read that the increased resolution would give a higher clarity also...But once again I don't see how the lackluster video of a cartoon takes more space on a disc than that of a film. (i.e. eluding to "why couldn't they just make the DVD release a high resolution?")

But yeah, I see where you're coming from, I do hate the squeezed feeling I get when watching movies on my parents' bigscreen, since I've an HDTV.

[quote name='Orrimarrko']Got some penny guide news - this is the thread.[/quote]

Mmm...Penny guides...
 
[quote name='Orrimarrko']
Who gives a crap about Street Fighter pads, blu-ray discs about whatever, etc.[/QUOTE]

People that want SF pads and like blu-ray discs do.
 
This is the PENNY GUIDE THREAD!!! It's bad enough when people post about their finds in stores that nobody cares about. It's even worse when people post about things not even remotely associated with guides.
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']This is the PENNY GUIDE THREAD!!! It's bad enough when people post about their finds in stores that nobody cares about. It's even worse when people post about things not even remotely associated with guides.[/quote]

Actually, it is the Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine.

And Persona 4 is $9.99 at Gamestop.
I'm halping again.

It is still listed at 19.99 on the site, but I saw a 9.99 tag on it at the store. Hmmm.
 
[quote name='Orrimarrko']I'm fairly certain that everyone here is bored awaiting something guide related to talk about, because there is so much NON-PENNY GUIDE crap here, it's ridiculous.

Who gives a crap about Street Fighter pads, blu-ray discs about whatever, etc.

Got some penny guide news - this is the thread.

For everything else, find the right thread to post in. Christ.[/quote]

:applause::applause::applause::applause::applause::applause:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Now, if we could just get everybody who clutters up the thread asking 'duhhhh did anything drop today at Best Buy/Gamestop/etc/etc?' every fuckin' Monday instead of getting off their own lazy ass and going out to check to stop posting such idiocy and the rest of the mindless drivel(that I am sometimes responsible for myself)to stop, then this thread wouldn't be at such a huge size already.

But, that's like asking for a miracle, so I digress as usual. I mean, if asking numerous times hasn't stopped the silly banter, nothing will. Heck, I even had Gwen come in here and post a ginormous 'warning' to stop yammering bout stupid shit in here and if even the warning of a mod won't stop them, nothing will.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']:applause::applause::applause::applause::applause::applause:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Now, if we could just get everybody who clutters up the thread asking 'duhhhh did anything drop today at Best Buy/Gamestop/etc/etc?' every fuckin' Monday instead of getting off their own lazy ass and going out to check to stop posting such idiocy and the rest of the mindless drivel(that I am sometimes responsible for myself)to stop, then this thread wouldn't be at such a huge size already.

But, that's like asking for a miracle, so I digress as usual. I mean, if asking numerous times hasn't stopped the silly banter, nothing will. Heck, I even had Gwen come in here and post a ginormous 'warning' to stop yammering bout stupid shit in here and if even the warning of a mod won't stop them, nothing will.[/QUOTE]

I agree, but it's not even just about that. I don't understand why people even ask about a drop. Do they think that someone has all the information and is simply waiting for someone to ask? If you don't see a post on drops, then either a) nothing dropped or b) nobody has checked. I don't know why people continue to ask that question week after week.

We need to create a standard phrase or sentence for when somebody asks that question so they get the point.
 
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