Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread X(Ten)

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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 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/...d.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. Please, whenever possible, use RED font to make the drop info stand out. Thanks again.

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/...ighlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/....php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...ad.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=167157
Guide Nine:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187222

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
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.

Common Guide Drop Related Questions(FAQ):

FAQ - If you are new (or a vet with a few questions) look here SECOND! (After reading the above!)

Q: What Are Penny Guides?
A: 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.

Q: Do all guides from all stores drop at the same time?
A: No. While most chains have nationwide drops within their own store (as in every BB will have the same drops coast to coast), not every different chain drops at the same time (what drops at BB is NOT necessarily dropped at GS). When in doubt, check post TWO for drop info.

Q: I found a penny guide and a clerk denied me! I'ma report 'em!
A: Whoa, hold your horses there, pardner! First of all, not a question. Second, just because something is on the shelf, the clerk does NOT have to sell you that item. Most stores are PRIVATE property and as such can deny you just about anything they want - including a sale. The best advice is to not be rude, not be arrogant, and just try hard to get them to have pity on you.

Q: Why don't the clerks want to sell me their penny guides? Aren't they just throwing them away?
A: As stated above, the stores are ordered by the publisher to trash the guides, and are then given credit for those guides. If they don't do this, the publisher won't give them the credit - it's like losing a sale. On the employee level, selling a penny guide can sometimes get them in trouble (or even fired!) I know it seems silly, but this is their job we're talking about! Respect the man (or woman) behind the counter and you'll get a lot more guides than otherwise!

Q: Should I just ask if the store has penny guides then?
A: No, since that denotes that you have some insider information as to the runnings of these businesses.

Q: What if the clerk wants to know how I know so much about guide drops?
A: If asked where you got your info about guides that pennied, simply say either 'the internet' or 'a friend of mine told me they're on clearance'.

Q: But clerks will know what a penny guide is, right? I can talk to them like anyone else here...
A: Never use the word pennied to ANY store clerks unless you have built up a good rapport with them. Even then, it may seem a little fishy if you know more about their shop than they do.

Q: Are guides labeled as a penny on the shelf?
A: Sometimes. Most times, no. GS seems to label everything that gets a price drop, so often times guides will be stickered. But even so, they most likely won't sell them to you. A sticker does not mean 'have to sell'.

Q: I tried to buy a guide that this thread said was pennied and it didn't ring up as such! What gives?
A: Either 1) Our source was wrong (this rarely happens and is usually verified a FEW times within maybe an hour of posting), or 2) The clerk changed the price. It's usually number 2.

Q: What's the easiest way to get penny guides? This sounds like TONS of work!
A: Best Buy is probably the best place to get guides, followed by GameStop, GameCrazy, Toys R Us and then Blockbuster. From what I've seen though, probably 95% of guides that people get are snagged at BB - the rest come from the other stores. But it never hurts to try!

Q: Has there been a drop recently?
A: If you are asking this question you didn't fully understand the OP - go back and read it once more. When a drop happens, it will be posted, and then placed in the second post - trust us.

Q: How do you guys know so much about penny guides?
A: We sometimes have inside sources with the information from the stores themselves; other times, fellow CAGS just like you or me simply take suspected guides to the register and ask them to ring them up, to check their prices. Feel free to do this yourself, and help give back to the community by telling us what you find! However, DON'T ask "Has anyone checked XXX lately?", unless you are in the right thread (discussion area).

Thanks to GrilledWitOnions for creating the above FAQ, which should eliminate the need for such questions popping up in the thread from this point on out.
 
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[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Was it the LE or the standard edition? I ask because I think when they're both shrink wrapped they only have the barcode up on a sheet of paper behind the guide and under the wrapping.

But, did the SMG guide have a yellow Best Buy sticker on it? If so, they could've just entered the SKU number from it(usually on those price stickers UNDER the price). That's how I picked up two standalone Assassin's Creed artbooks which were torn away from the guide/artbook bundle they normally came in.[/QUOTE]


It was the premiere edition with a hugh ass marion on the cover, it's all black and says "Premiere edition" at the top of the guide.
 
[quote name='Estebon']It was the premiere edition with a hugh ass marion on the cover, it's all black and says "Premiere edition" at the top of the guide.[/QUOTE]

That's the softcover one then. I have about 3-4 of them here. I used to have 4-5 but I gave a copy of it to my one buddies' brother in law for the copy of the game I thought he was grabbing for the kids for Christmas.
 
[quote name='emg28']I don't think CoD4:MW has ever been pennied at BB. It's on the list of guides the were checked and NOT pennied and Fuss didn't mention it. Can anyone else confirm? I don't even recall seeing CoD4:MW in the BBs in my area.[/QUOTE]

I was the one that mentioned it but I actually made a mistake it wasen't Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that I checked it was actually Call of Duty World At War which I checked and noticed was even still on the Best Buy site last night, so pretty bad mistake on my part but I guess I was bound to slip up on at least one guide somewhere since I was doing everything by memory without a list.
 
So LOTR:Conquest is pennied at GS but not at BB, right?

[quote name='FOnewearl']I was the one that mentioned it but I actually made a mistake it wasen't Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that I checked it was actually Call of Duty World At War which I checked and noticed was even still on the Best Buy site last night, so pretty bad mistake on my part but I guess I was bound to slip up on at least one guide somewhere since I was doing everything by memory without a list.[/QUOTE]

Just to be clear, you checked CoD:WaW (not CoD4) at BB and it's NOT pennied, correct?

This thread grows like kudzu when there's a drop.
 
[quote name='neocisco']So LOTR:Conquest is pennied at GS but not at BB, right?



Just to be clear, you checked CoD:WaW (not CoD4) at BB and it's NOT pennied, correct?

This thread grows like kudzu when there's a drop.[/QUOTE]

CoD:WaW is still on the site if that is any help.
 
Thanks guys. I went in to get MadWorld and HOTD : O for $20 each and ended up getting a dozen or so guides for a dozen or so pennies. Left a ton for others, this was Culver City. I couldn't find the Metal Gear Solid 4 LE, everything else was in stock x 4 minimum, except for the Gear of War 2 LE, of which I picked up the last copy.

I just wish the white Zelda Twilight Princess was pennied out.
 
Bah. Now that my work blocks CAG, I can't really check until after work on Mondays, meaning I can't go until Tuesday afternoons out to my local stores. I went to 3 today and it looks like they all were pulled (guides looked all neat and organized). Lame, since all 3 stores were usually pretty lax about guides in the past.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']fuck i missed a bb drop. I can't believe I wasn't on CAG for 2 days. :bomb: Is the list final on page 1?[/QUOTE]

That it is, unless someone else can add another one we may have missed to it.


[quote name='neocisco']So LOTR:Conquest is pennied at GS but not at BB, right?

Just to be clear, you checked CoD:WaW (not CoD4) at BB and it's NOT pennied, correct?

This thread grows like kudzu when there's a drop.[/QUOTE]

If not for the bumps on Adult Swim at 1-2 am about their 'kudzu', I would've never even known wtf you were talking about.
 
Arragh!!! Took a day off yesterday to drive an hour to the nearest BB and they had pulled ALL the penny guides. Total waste of efforts :cry:

Then drove to TRU and they were out of Singstar and Buzz bundles. Sigh!

I'm desperately interested in GOW II LE, MGS4 LE and Resistance 2 guides. If anyone has spare or willing to help, please PM me.
 
Big score yesterday after trying my to local best buys who pulled everything. Had to pick my brother up so decided to stop by his best buy just out of curiosity and they had everything on the racks except for SSMB, Saints Row 2, MGS4 CE, and GW2 CE. Walked out with about 25 guides. Employees were real cool about it and didnt even care.
 
[quote name='neocisco']Thanks. Don't forget to try cheapyd.com at work to bypass the CAG block.[/QUOTE]

Here's a method that I use:

Go to Google.com and search for "Cheap Ass Gamer Blockbuster." You can substitute Blockbuster for another retailer... as long as it has a prominent thread.

Then I look specifically for a link that has "forums" in the URL and click it... it usually works. I avoid "cheapyd", "blog", and "archive" because those get blocked.
 
Managed to score a few of the Metal Gear 4 LEs, one of the Gears 2 LEs, Haze, Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Afro Samurai, and a few other odds and ends. Waiting for Spore and Fallout 3 LE to penny out, dammit!
 
[quote name='jaysapathy']Managed to score a few of the Metal Gear 4 LEs, one of the Gears 2 LEs, Haze, Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Afro Samurai, and a few other odds and ends. Waiting for Spore and Fallout 3 LE to penny out, dammit![/QUOTE]Spore LE pennied out a few months ago @ GS or BB, if memory serves.
 
I decided to try looking for penny guides for the first time today. There weren't any good ones left, but I did get Pokemon Ranger (x2), MySims Kingdom (x2), Lego Indiana Jones, and Legend of Spyro.

Cashier was totally cool about it, fortunately.

There were an absolute TON of some games, like Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Far Cry 2, and Halo Wars. Is it somewhat safe to assume that games like those will be in one of the next batches?
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']I decided to try looking for penny guides for the first time today. There weren't any good ones left, but I did get Pokemon Ranger (x2), MySims Kingdom (x2), Lego Indiana Jones, and Legend of Spyro.

Cashier was totally cool about it, fortunately.

There were an absolute TON of some games, like Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Far Cry 2, and Halo Wars. Is it somewhat safe to assume that games like those will be in one of the next batches?[/QUOTE]
You may find that your LEGO Indy is pretty popular.
 
I checked the Athens, GA (or technically bogart, according to the Navi) BB, but it was obviously thinned out. Nothing.

I feel like BB really prepared for this drop by not only pulling penny guides, but also rearranging the guide sections. 2 formally massive selections are now down to a freaking metal rack's worth.

If anyone has a MGS4 LE guide they want to sell for cheap, hit me up. I've been wanting that one since I bought the game back in April 08.
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']I decided to try looking for penny guides for the first time today. There weren't any good ones left, but I did get Pokemon Ranger (x2), MySims Kingdom (x2), Lego Indiana Jones, and Legend of Spyro.

Cashier was totally cool about it, fortunately.

There were an absolute TON of some games, like Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Far Cry 2, and Halo Wars. Is it somewhat safe to assume that games like those will be in one of the next batches?[/QUOTE]

I'm shocked that GTAIV didn't penny out as of yet, since it's been OVER a year now since the game released. But I guess just like Halo 2's guide taking forever to penny @ GS, BB is now keeping guides for popular games on the shelves until they really think there is no chance in hell left for them.

That being said, I wouldn't expect the three you mentioned for a while, though the hardcover PH guide already did penny a couple of months ago or so.
 
[quote name='dinobot']sigh... figures, BB decide to drop when I am out of internet.[/QUOTE]
You don't need the Internet to check guides on the first Monday of the month at BB.
 
thanks for keeping up this thread CAG users and TC!

Decided to jump in on the guide buying, picked up (at GameSTOP)

Pikmin Wii X2
F.E.A.R. 2 X2
Prince of Persia (soft)
End War X2
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Do most of you guys just resell these on amazon or something (besides keep for trading additions on CAG)?
 
Went back and found a sealed Mario Galaxy with the barcode and got it this time.That and Pokemon Ranger S0A. They had a mess load of those. The cute cashier girl (aren't they always) was surprised at the price and was like "wow, thats cool".

Is the Gears of 2 guide that dropped the one that has a Bestbuy map in it?
 
Went back after work tonight -- store manager apparently had kittens early in the day and was "personally" destroying the penny guides. Tried to pick up some that pennied in March.. "I can't sell those to you." "Why not?" "Because they're out of our system." "Can I just have them?" "I can't do that.." "So, because you were supposed to toss them out months ago, you're going to chuck them rather than let a customer have them?"

Left her speechless and walked out. Damn.
 
[quote name='Estebon']Went back and found a sealed Mario Galaxy with the barcode and got it this time.That and Pokemon Ranger S0A. They had a mess load of those. The cute cashier girl (aren't they always) was surprised at the price and was like "wow, thats cool".

Is the Gears of 2 guide that dropped the one that has a Bestbuy map in it?[/QUOTE]

Nope, penny one has the red, hard cover.
 
[quote name='jaysapathy']Went back after work tonight -- store manager apparently had kittens early in the day and was "personally" destroying the penny guides. Tried to pick up some that pennied in March.. "I can't sell those to you." "Why not?" "Because they're out of our system." "Can I just have them?" "I can't do that.." "So, because you were supposed to toss them out months ago, you're going to chuck them rather than let a customer have them?"

Left her speechless and walked out. Damn.[/QUOTE]

I've done that a bunch. When I get told the 'we can't sell these', I usually come back with 'then you can just give me them, right?'.
 
[quote name='jaysapathy']Went back after work tonight -- store manager apparently had kittens early in the day and was "personally" destroying the penny guides. Tried to pick up some that pennied in March.. "I can't sell those to you." "Why not?" "Because they're out of our system." "Can I just have them?" "I can't do that.." "So, because you were supposed to toss them out months ago, you're going to chuck them rather than let a customer have them?"

Left her speechless and walked out. Damn.[/QUOTE]

It sucks, but technically she's doing what she's supposed to.
 
[quote name='jaysapathy']Went back after work tonight -- store manager apparently had kittens early in the day and was "personally" destroying the penny guides. Tried to pick up some that pennied in March.. "I can't sell those to you." "Why not?" "Because they're out of our system." "Can I just have them?" "I can't do that.." "So, because you were supposed to toss them out months ago, you're going to chuck them rather than let a customer have them?"

Left her speechless and walked out. Damn.[/QUOTE]

What a bitter bitch...assuming she still has to tear the covers off and send those back, she could have at least given you the guides with the covers torn off. So uncool...but no doubt she hates her job and her life and is a miserable cunt 24/7, so...karma!
 
[quote name='karkyco']What a bitter bitch...assuming she still has to tear the covers off and send those back, she could have at least given you the guides with the covers torn off. So uncool...but no doubt she hates her job and her life and is a miserable cunt 24/7, so...karma![/QUOTE]

Karma doesn't exist.
 
[quote name='180husher']Nope, penny one has the red, hard cover.[/QUOTE]

The red hard cover does mention a best buy exclusive calendar on the back. Guess this makes it a best buy CE variant (cover).
 
The lake forest, CA bestbuy had a bunch of guides. But the douche cashier said they have to send it back so they can't sell it.
 
I hope I'm not too late to pick up the LE Gears of War 2 guide. I was eying it last week, and now it has been reduced. There was only 1 left at the time.
 
I went back to the store that had alot of the GTA guides and picked 2 more GTA: L&D and another Chinatown Wars. I also found another Saints Row 2 guide that was stocked right next to the game in the PS3 section. I forgot that this BB does that.

This BB also had SW: Force Unleashed priced at $5. It's tempting since I'm actually playing the game right now but every BB in my area has a ton of that guide.
 
Took a bit of hunting but found a BB that still hadn't thrown the stuff out, picked up

Tom Clancy Endwar (seriously I thought I put this down, have no interest in the game)
Afro Samurai
GTA Lost and the Damned
3 X Super Mario Galaxy (since I was getting the only one with a barcode no point leaving the rest)
Madworld
Gears 2 (which was really the only one I really wanted bad)


Cashier actually frowned ringing the stuff up, not sure what her problem was
 
[quote name='coolsteel']
Cashier actually frowned ringing the stuff up, not sure what her problem was[/QUOTE]

Maybe she had gas? Or PMS? Or maybe it was her job to go to the media section and pull the guides and she was genuinely annoyed because she's one of the few employees who do their jobs well and get mad when they don't do it perfectly?

Either one of those three.....or she was just having a bad day....
or just being a bitch.
 
So was I the only one to find Call of Duty 4 Modern Wafare pennied at BBY? I went by another BBY that I saw had it before I found it pennied at another one, but by the time I got back to the first store all the pennied guides were gone.
 
[quote name='jdawgg76']So was I the only one to find Call of Duty 4 Modern Wafare pennied at BBY? I went by another BBY that I saw had it before I found it pennied at another one, but by the time I got back to the first store all the pennied guides were gone.[/QUOTE]
There was some confusion on that one. I don't believe it was ever confirmed, so you may be the only one. CoD4 was hard to find on the shelves of my BB's before the drop and since they were on top of the pulls this time even more so after. I did visit one that had not pulled that had one copy left, but it was gone when I got there. I was not the first CAG to that store, but if a CAG got it, I think we would have had confirmation.
 
Not necessarily, unfortunately. There are a ridiculous amount of lurkers and hoarders on here now that are nothing more than leaches.
 
I hear ya. That's why I qualified it with "if a CAG got it", meaning a true CAG. In some cases I've started just sending PM's instead of posting specific deals.
 
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