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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In hand
DJ Disgaea Complilation
DJ Disgaea 3
Prima Viva Trouble in Paradise
Nintendo Wario Shake It!
Prima Far Cry 2
Prima Spyro Dawn of Dragon
Prima God Of War
Prima Rise of the Argonauts
Prima SW The Clone Wars
Prima Naruto Path of the Ninja 2
Prima Naruto The Broken Bond
Prima Ultimate Ninja Storm
Prima Sonic Unleashed
Prima Battlefield Bad Company
Prima Somic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood
Prima Too Human
Prima Fracture
Prima Sims2 Apartment Life
Prima Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway
Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy Premier
Prima EA Madden 09 Limited Edition
Prima Spore Limited Edition
Prima Mass Effect

I actually saw the Pokemon guides noted earlier.
Add to the list!

Passed but could have taken -
Warhammer Online Atlas
Warhammer Online OSG

Saw Assassin's Creed LE but the one copy was held for a staff member
 
Two GS hooked me up, the other two were nice but didn't help me. I got

C&C Red Alert 3
Spore LE
Zelda Phantom Hourglass PE
WoW Beastiary
God of War
Sonic Chronicles
Mana Khemia
Disgaea Comp.

I left a bunch behind at the first store and a few behind at the second. I was really hoping for a Lost Odyssey or Mass Effect guide but the DoubleJumps were good consolation prizes.
 
i had to look in the dumpster to get mine. there were a whole bunch, but i only grabbed the ones i might use: SMG, COD4, and DMC4.

I really wanted Lost Odyssey but no dice.
 
[quote name='tindall311']i had to look in the dumpster to get mine. there were a whole bunch, but i only grabbed the ones i might use: SMG, COD4, and DMC4.

I really wanted Lost Odyssey but no dice.[/quote]

How long after they pull the guides do they throw them out. That night>? And is the dumpster like in the back of the store?
 
Hit 7 GS today. Only got lucky at 3 of them. The DMs were making their rounds and they also had conference calls today. The one store had literally 65-75 guides stacked on the floor and the DM walked in when I was going to ask the employee for a few. Did manage to pick up: Spore LE x3, Madden LE, God of War, Star Wars LD, Disgaea comp x2, and Disgaea 3 x2. All the stores in my district said they have to sell/give the guides if they didn't pull them, but it is limit 1 of each guide. They are not allowed to sell/give them if they have already been pulled. (This is supposedly from corporate).
 
These guys threw theirs out around 4 or so. This was a dumpster at the mall, at the other end from the food court, so no mess or anything.

I actually got caught by the store manager who came out for a smoke. He had just told me inside that they were all thrown out. When he saw me out there, he apologized for not being able to give me any in store and handed me the COD4 he had brought out to throw away.
 
I have practice tonight so afterwards I'm-a dumpster diving!! LOL If I can't find a Mana Khemia guide anywhere I'm officially offering up BOTH my extra Disgaea guides for MK.
 
I had a mana guide in my stack, but it was gone when i left the store...i think the guy pulled it for himself! But he was cool about getting me 1 of each guide, so I am dtill happy to get 4 guides i could actually use.
 
Man it seems like such a waste for them to throw them out when so many people would be happy to take them off their hands. One GS I went to had over 70 guides put to the side ready to go to their graves, rather then going to a good home.
 
The concept of throwing away guides... quality guides... makes me a little sick, but from my understanding most store employees take the guides... or so it has been the case at most of the stores here.

*shrug*
No Spore, Disgaea Compilation or MK! Another strike-out in a long list of strike outs. It's weird that I have better luck at best buy.
 
I'd like to see the average price of guides just drop in general. I think that way they wouldn't have to worry about throwing the guides in the trash because people would actually buy them...if they were 5-10 bucks instead of 20-30 I would definatly buy them more often. Just my opinion though, I know people still buy them some times, I have bought a few at normal prices, but still...
 
[quote name='dyeknom']The concept of throwing away guides... quality guides... makes me a little sick, but from my understanding most store employees take the guides... or so it has been the case at most of the stores here.

*shrug*
No Spore, Disgaea Compilation or MK! Another strike-out in a long list of strike outs. It's weird that I have better luck at best buy.[/QUOTE]

It is fairly common in a book store, but at game store most people dont know about it and thats why we can get away with it.
 
Hit up 3 gamestops in my travels today and struck out at all three. One had the pulled guides sitting right there on the counter but the guy told me no dice...he couldn't give them or sell them to me. Bummed, I really wanted a copy of the Wario and Mass Effect guides. :cry:
 
Man I dont think my gamestop even has a dumpster. They are surrounded by other stores and there are houses behind it. I wonder whats going to happen to the guides.
 
[quote name='donut']In hand
DJ Disgaea Complilation
DJ Disgaea 3
Prima Viva Trouble in Paradise
Nintendo Wario Shake It!
Prima Far Cry 2
Prima Spyro Dawn of Dragon
Prima God Of War
Prima Rise of the Argonauts
Prima SW The Clone Wars
Prima Naruto Path of the Ninja 2
Prima Naruto The Broken Bond
Prima Ultimate Ninja Storm
Prima Sonic Unleashed
Prima Battlefield Bad Company
Prima Somic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood
Prima Too Human
Prima Fracture
Prima Sims2 Apartment Life
Prima Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway
Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy Premier
Prima EA Madden 09 Limited Edition
Prima Spore Limited Edition
Prima Mass Effect

I actually saw the Pokemon guides noted earlier.
Add to the list!

Passed but could have taken -
Warhammer Online Atlas
Warhammer Online OSG

Saw Assassin's Creed LE but the one copy was held for a staff member[/QUOTE]

Rise of the Argonauts? Didn't that just come out this month, and it's already pennied?
 
no dice at the two GS's i went to, at least for new drops.
Found a random Operation Darkness guide sitting at the one which hopefully can turn into a guide i do want =]

Wasn't a total bust since I went next door to a Microcenter and grabbed 2 copies of DMC4 CE PS3 for $50 total.
 
I actually got some guides from a new store

Disgaea Compilation (for myself)
Lost Odyssey X2 (Extra)
Spore LE (For myself)
Madden LE (for trading)
Assasin's Creed (For trading)
Mass Effect X 2 (For trading)

Only 2 on my list i didnt get were Disgaea 3 and Mana Khemia. Already have a Mana Khemia guide for myself though, was trying to get one for a friend though so no biggie.
 
I got turned down at a GS today, but I chatted with the guy who worked there and he said he'd let me know if he could give me some guides next time.
 
Went to Gamestop today and they had put the guides behind the counter. The two employees picked out the guides they wanted and the ones that their fellow employees might want. They put the rest in a box and took it to the back. What the fuck!
 
Ahhhhh....thank you all...I scored just about everything on this recent drop.....I am more then willing to trade some...I really want the Gears of War 2 LE and the Fable 2 LE guides...pm me with offers....

The only thing I think I didn't get was Rise of the Argonauts....other then that....I pretty much got everything...including the hard to find God of War guide.
 
Ugh, I wish I had a car to put all the guides in. I managed to go to 5 stores tonight, and 3 of them had pulled their guides. 2 of those stores were giving them away for free, and the third let me root through and buy them. I managed to get a lot of the list, but I only got more than one copy of the three DoubleJump books, SMG softcover, and Pokemon Emerald. I had to pass on a lot of stuff for my trade list because I couldn't carry it, and now it's all going to get thrown out. Hopefully I can hit up the other two again soon and get the stragglers.
 
Today was easily the most epic drop of my 1+ years at GameStop. I cried and threw up a little when I had to throw about 50 guides in the dumpster. I had no choice, the district manager was in the back room. He personally instructed me to take them all to the dumpster. The store manager on duty was equally depressed.

Of course, I did check the dumpster a bit once I finally got off work, but I was too afraid he'd come out the back and see me (which would be immediate termination), so I only grabbed what was easily within reach.

Also, for those who asked, Mercs 2 and Argonauts pennied today. Argonauts was the weirdest drop I've ever seen since it JUST came out and was kind of a big deal.
 
I stopped by another GS after work to pick up my Afro Samurai preorder, and the guy was nice enough to actually show me the list of penny guides.
I got:
Disgaea 3
Disgaea compilation
Mana Khemia
Mass Effect
Naruto Ninja Storm
Naruto Path of Ninja 2
Naruto The Broken Bond
Spore LE
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The list also had Legend of Spyro but they crossed it off, I think b/c they didn't actually have any.

The guy told me he was literally going to throw them out anyways, so good thing I stopped by. He also said that it might be a while before they drop guides again.
 
I hit it big surprisingly, but I'm still missing LO. >_<

I got turned down at 2 out of 3 though. One of them had them still on the rack and I grabbed it and instantly was told not to be excited because I'd pay full price for it. I got in this back and forth convo about what he'd do if someone didn't know and he said he'd tell them it was a penny but still mark it up and force them to pay the price on the back. That kind of ticked me off.
 
[quote name='yuy104']The list also had Legend of Spyro but they crossed it off, I think b/c they didn't actually have any.[/quote]
Yeah, it's the Dawn of the Dragon one and it is pennied.
 
[quote name='iNFiNiTE HORiZON']How come some people are saying they recycle them and others are reporting digging them out of the garbage, lol.[/QUOTE]

Some people want the guides to keep and trade, some to sell, and others think it is ridiculous that GS blatantly throws away and wastes paper. All in a matter of preference. I recycled about 4 copies of quake wars because nobody would really want it anyway.
 
Well, kind of a depressing run...but I got 1 of each of the 4 I was interested in. They're definitely cracking down around here.

So the Spore LE has an art book? Is it any good? Should I (ahem) direct people to my tradelist? (I'm on an art book kick.)
 
[quote name='gordojones88']Went to my local Gamestops and the shelves were empty. They had a bunch of FarCry2 guides there yesterday. I'm in tears. Weep for me.[/quote]

:cry::cry::cry:
 
Got the call at 1:45 today that a bunch of guides were pennied. Didn't realize there were so many until I got there, it took 2 trips to the car.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']Got the call at 1:45 today that a bunch of guides were pennied. Didn't realize there were so many until I got there, it took 2 trips to the car.[/quote]
Wish I had a car. 10+ guides get really heavy.
 
struck out (no surprise here). Even the dumpster was empty. They must've just thrown the stuff in the back (or employees actually took ALL of it). the funniest thing was seeing the guide racks filled with Game Informer, cuz they barely had any guides left after these drops.
 
couple gs i went to havnt drop yet
i was happy thinking that im able to score a bunch

but all ring up regular price
200+dollars i just turn and left
 
[quote name='supaet']couple gs i went to havnt drop yet
i was happy thinking that im able to score a bunch

but all ring up regular price
200+dollars i just turn and left[/quote]

I think it's pretty common for them to lie to you, as all these prices are Universal. Someone just told you with a straight face.

I used to call them out, and ask them to show me the price on the screen, but after getting turned down a few dozen times, I haven't bothered with gstop.
 
[quote name='supaet']couple gs i went to havnt drop yet
i was happy thinking that im able to score a bunch

but all ring up regular price
200+dollars i just turn and left[/quote]

Try tomorrow. Some stores are a day or so behind in their pricing. I tried to buy 4 Gears 2 LE guides last Thursday and it came out to $130+. I went the next morning at opening and bought them for $0.04.
 
[quote name='dragonjud']I think it's pretty common for them to lie to you, as all these prices are Universal. Someone just told you with a straight face.

I used to call them out, and ask them to show me the price on the screen, but after getting turned down a few dozen times, I haven't bothered with gstop.[/quote]

I always look at the Credit Card Keypad thing. When they scan anything it appears on it. Every penny guide they scan for me rings up .01. It's so hard to keep a stright face when you see the guides come up $.01 and when at the end they ask you for 12 cents for a stack of guides. :lol:
 
I needed to go pick up the guide for Last Remnant tonight anyways, and saw four stacks of pennied guides behind the counter. :< Half already had their covers torn off... made me so very sad. Didn't even bother to ask if I could buy any.
 
[quote name='gordojones88']Reading these posts just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.[/quote]

Then you should see this post from the Gameboy & GBC Clearance thread (guide related):

[quote name='Penguin1084']Well here's the haul from the goldmine store from today:

The games:



And while we were there, the guy behind the counter goes "Do you want any pokemon guides?" So I said, "Sure, how much?" and he goes "free." so I was like uhh yea sure, I'll take em! and then, he pulls out more penny guides that were en route to the trash can. 10 minutes later, I ended up with this:



And the overall haul:



I must say, it was a pretty good day :D

EDIT:

Oh yea, and I picked up one of their two copies of big bang mini and their only used copy of Wii Sports. :)[/quote]
 
[quote name='gordojones88']Reading these posts just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.[/quote]
Everytime a guide is thrown in the dumpster I die a little inside.:whistle2:(

Edit: [quote name='Rave Child']Then you should see this post from the Gameboy & GBC Clearance thread (guide related):[/quote]

I seen that. He was so lucky with that hall away. My GS had about a little more guides than that but they wouldn't be that awesome to give them all to me.
 
Had a very interesting day today that started out good, took a dive and then recovered slightly...

GS #1: My usual store that I visit abbout 2-3 times a week. I was looking and everything had been pulled off the shelves. I then asked about the Mass Effect guide knowing that there had been 3 two days ago. He said that they had been pennied and thrown away. I then talked to him about the details and how it was a shame. Then the other customer that was in the store left and the employee headed back and grabbed me one. He came back and replied, "That guy comes in here all the time and looks at PC Games and never buys a single one... Where as you come in here and buy stuff. You spend about as much money as I do here and I am an employee." I continued to drop hints about other guides I needed but was unsuccessful. He did say that he would make sure to hook me up when he could for now on.

GS #2: Had Disgaea, Far Cry 2, and Wario all price checked and all of them came up as full price. Then talked to the employee who started talking about pennied guides and said that he hadn't had any since last week and those were all sold. He said that if they have another drop he will gladly hook me up though.

GS #3: This was the final straw for this GameStop... I go in and asked for a Mercenaries 2 guide. The employee goes back and checks and came back and said he had one. He then paused and said "I'll cut you a deal and sell it to you for $10." I then told him I was going to keep looking and then thinking. I then went back up and asked him if I could see it. He goes into the back room with his co-worker and return about 2 minutes later with the guide and the price-tag ripped off. I looked it over and then asked him how much it was again... Once again he paused and then started to say $15 and remembered he had said $10. I then asked him what his name was, told him that I wasn't interested and told him that I knew it was only supposed to cost a penny. The look on his face and the other workers face was something to that of "Oh shit".

I walked out to my car and proceeded to call Corporate on the jackhole. Needless to say Corportate was not too happy and said that they would be forwarding my case to the DM.

Then I went on down the road and hit up a Best Buy... Found a bunch of Rock Band and Army of Two. The Rock Band guides rang up as full price so I left them behind and walked out with two copies of the Army of Two LE.
 
[quote name='Rave Child']Then you should see this post from the Gameboy & GBC Clearance thread (guide related):[/quote]



Seeing these pics just made me poop in my pants a little bit.
 
Thanks OP!

Not sure if all of these are in the most recent list, so I'll share my find.

Stopped by after work, and picked up the following:

Battlefield: Bad Company
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (sealed)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Disgaea Compilation (don't need)
Disgaea 3
Far Cry 2 (sealed)
Fracture
Legend of Spyro, The: Dawn of the Dragon
Legend of Zelda, The: Phantom Hourglass (sealed softcover) (don't need)
Lost Odyssey
Madden Football 09 (LE) (sealed)
NCAA Football 09
Rise of the Argonauts, The (sealed)
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Sonic Unleashed
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels & Jedi Alliance (don't need)
Super Mario Galaxy (sealed softcover) (don't need)
Too Human
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Wario Land: Shake It! (sealed)
Wario Land: Shake It! (sealed) (don't need)

I left a lot of other guides that I had no interest in; I believe most of them have been mentioned on recent pages.

I hope some of this info helps.

Orri~
 
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