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='180husher']Don't get me wrong...I like Neo, he ran a kick-ass CC clearance thread back in the day. But the Geek Squad aren't coming to my house to work me over for using my credit card/reward zone when purchasing penny guides. It has nothing to do with risk cause it just isn't happening.[/QUOTE]

I think we all know that your hypothetical situation would never happen, but I still have yet to see an upside.

If you told me that BBY is having a RZ deal this week where you get 100 RZ points for a guide you buy, then that would be worth the risk.

Otherwise, again, what is the upside? I still haven't heard anyone mention an upside.
 
I have 3 times, but no one understands it. If you are close to a RZ cert, it works great as filler. Now that BB will be changing the program 10/31/09, it may come in handy to have a few penny items on there.

  • Lastly, for the following two conditions, points will be cashed out, available certificates will be sent, and any remaining points under 250 will be forfeited:
- You will need to use your points in the year they are earned. Reward Zone is becoming an annual program, which means that points no longer roll over from year-to-year.
- You will need to make one purchase every 12 months to remain in the program.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I have 3 times, but no one understands it. If you are close to a RZ cert, it works great as filler. Now that BB will be changing the program 10/31/09, it may come in handy to have a few penny items on there.[/QUOTE]

Assuming 10 penny guides were purchased, how is a tenth of a point considered filler? I'm not arguing to be a jerk. I genuinely don't understand the point. 1/10th of a point for a risk of issue with the store? Or do I not understand how RZ points are earned?
 
[quote name='Ubiiquitous']Assuming 10 penny guides were purchased, how is a tenth of a point considered filler? I'm not arguing to be a jerk. I genuinely don't understand the point. 1/10th of a point for a risk of issue with the store? Or do I not understand how RZ points are earned?[/QUOTE]

Reward zone points are displayed in whole dollars, but they are tracked in cents as well. I have 210 points right now, but I actually have 210.62.

Lets say in a month I will be at 249.88, I can buy 12 penny items to get over the cusp to print a certificate, rather than buying a big purchase and having to wait until my next big purchase to use the cert.

I do not regularly use my RZ card for penny items, but I do use it if I am close to a cert.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Of course no Geek Squad member is coming to your house. It's not even like Best Buy is going to call you or ban you. But since there is NO UPSIDE, all you're doing is giving more data to Best Buy. And unless you're completely naive, BB (and every major retailer out there) analyzes the shit out of all the sales data they have. They do it primarily to gain more sales. But if an anomaly shows up, they might act on it...

Again, why kill (or contribute in any way) to killing the Golden Goose? Why give BB more information than they need to have? It's not about YOU. It's about the greater good. Oh but I forgot, it's every man for himself.



People... are fucking stupid.[/QUOTE]

Oh, I didn't realize that BB only tracks reward zone transactions and not all transactions in general. My bad. Good thing I've got smart guys like you looking out for me.

[quote name='slowdive21']

The "risk" everyone is talking about involves DMs seeing their avg sales drop because of low dollar amount transactions. Best buy isn't going to hunt you down, but the DMs may start to take notice and tell the stores not to sell them anymore.[/QUOTE]

Their policy is to not sell them to begin with. Buying penny guides causes their avg sales to drop...it doesn't matter how you pay or whether or not you show them your reward card.
 
[quote name='180husher']Oh, I didn't realize that BB only tracks reward zone transactions and not all transactions in general. My bad. Good thing I've got smart guys like you looking out for me.



Their policy is to not sell them to begin with. Buying penny guides causes their avg sales to drop...it doesn't matter how you pay or whether or not you show them your reward card.[/QUOTE]

As I said previously, people are who dumb asses will continue to do whatever they want to do.

There's a reason BB pushes the Reward Zone on everyone -- it's because it's easier to track purchases by individuals and profile them. Even if they never act on their information, it's there.

So when you use your RZ card and they analyze people like you, they see average order size being very small and it *might* raise red flags.

The masses who don't use a reward zone card are harder to study even though they are also analyzed.

Again, since there is no upside, why bother?

But you're too cool. :roll: What's the point in explaining to you that using a RZ card for penny guides is just foolish?

Anyway...

for everyone else, remember the Sims Card deal from BB a while ago? I had a manager deny me on a raincheck because he checked my account and saw that I bought them from all over the area and stocked up. I wasn't gonna argue with him because I did stock up.

Since then I never use my RZ card for stuff like that.

Again -- just no upside to it.
 
roc's feather;6319361 said:
After striking out on literally the last five BB drops, I finally hit a jackpot. I'm so pleased. I found LotR, Mirror's Edge, Pop HC, and Rise of the Argonauts. Unfortunately they did not have the one guide I really wanted (Fire Emblem), but maybe someone in the trade thread can help. Either way, good times.
Click to expand...

Try ebay Roc. I just bought one for literally $4.25 shipped. Hell, shipping alone will probably cost the seller $3 which is what you would pay to trade a guide with someone.
 
[quote name='confoosious']As I said previously, people are who dumb asses will continue to do whatever they want to do.

There's a reason BB pushes the Reward Zone on everyone -- it's because it's easier to track purchases by individuals and profile them. Even if they never act on their information, it's there.

So when you use your RZ card and they analyze people like you, they see average order size being very small and it *might* raise red flags.

The masses who don't use a reward zone card are harder to study even though they are also analyzed.

Again, since there is no upside, why bother?

But you're too cool. :roll: What's the point in explaining to you that using a RZ card for penny guides is just foolish?

Anyway...

for everyone else, remember the Sims Card deal from BB a while ago? I had a manager deny me on a raincheck because he checked my account and saw that I bought them from all over the area and stocked up. I wasn't gonna argue with him because I did stock up.

Since then I never use my RZ card for stuff like that.

Again -- just no upside to it.[/QUOTE]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I didn't know there were so many rules and guidelines involved in buying penny guides. I guess it's good that we have someone like you to call usfucking stupid or dumbasses when we step out of line.

This thread is full of hoarders and non-hoarders, people who pay with cash and those who pay with credit, people who just buy a stack of guides and those who buy other items with the guides, those who show their reward cards and those who don't, people who share locations and those who don't share locations, etc. But it's the people who come in here and try to impose their will and ideas on the others that just sucks the fun outta this thread.
 
You know what would REALLY suck the fun out of this thread?

No more penny guides.

So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides. Because nothing good can come of drawing attention to the fact that they're selling what they're not supposed to be selling. It doesn't matter if you think that best buy or gamestop doesn't care. Or if it's the employees' faults for being lazy. Attention = no good.

Is that really that hard to comprehend? Is it that hard to do?

I'm not telling you how to act or what to do. Clearly, you will do whatever you want. I don't care if you wipe your ass with the 200 penny guides you've amassed. But what I do like is getting them for myself. So try your best to lay low and hopefully we can keep getting them.
 
[quote name='180husher']I didn't know there were so many rules and guidelines involved in buying penny guides.[/QUOTE]

Yes there are, since you find out about penny guides from this very thread, it would be polite to abide by a few simple ideas that other members have figured out and learned from the hard way. If you cannot fit into this little society here, do not visit this thread, do not post, and do not reap the rewards from this thread any longer. Thanks.
 
I never bought the penny guides before. Do you guys price check them or just walk up to the cashier with them and see what they ring up as? I don't recall seeing scanners evr in any Best buys around here. Thanks in advance.
 
[quote name='TheWooz']I never bought the penny guides before. Do you guys price check them or just walk up to the cashier with them and see what they ring up as? I don't recall seeing scanners evr in any Best buys around here. Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]

I never have them price check it unless I know the cashier. I don't like bringing attention to the fact that the guides are a penny.

If the guide has been confirmed a penny in this thread then it should be a penny; at least at GS and BB since they seem to have standard pricing across the nation. Game Crazy seems to be a bit more YMMV in my experience.

If a guide doesn't come up as a penny I just say I don't want it.
 
[quote name='kell']I never have them price check it unless I know the cashier. I don't like bringing attention to the fact that the guides are a penny.

If the guide has been confirmed a penny in this thread then it should be a penny; at least at GS and BB since they seem to have standard pricing across the nation. Game Crazy seems to be a bit more YMMV in my experience.

If a guide doesn't come up as a penny I just say I don't want it.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info.
 
[quote name='confoosious']So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides...
Is that really that hard to comprehend? Is it that hard to do?[/QUOTE]

Yes. Yes it is.

[quote name='Bezerker']Found 2 copies of 10 different guides at one store. Unfortunately the cashiers I knew were not working so the guy called over the manager. She interrogated me on how I knew the guides were a penny, I just said that I saw it on "the website". She said that she would have to raise the price to 50 cents per guide. I just said no thanks and walked off to the CS counter since I had to pickup an online locator. They were still at the register looking at me the whole time I was at the CS area.[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='confoosious']
So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides. Because nothing good can come of drawing attention to the fact that they're selling what they're not supposed to be selling. It doesn't matter if you think that best buy or gamestop doesn't care. Or if it's the employees' faults for being lazy. Attention = no good.

[/QUOTE]

I think we've clearly seen that attention matters not very much with these guides. It's more of a store/manager based decision. Like I said before, out of the 2 stores I hit yesterday, one had actually stickered some of the guides with 1 penny stickers. The other called the manager and he bs'ed with me and didn't even answer the cashiers question about selling the guides. We lauhed and chatted and I walked with the guides. At least one of the others I frequent actually stickers the guides with penny stickers and the other has a cashier that regularly sees me. We talk, shoot the breeze and she rings me up. No muss, no fuss.

I'm not sure why some stores are cool and some are not, but I'd imagine that at least a little of the reason is that I'm not a douche when I go in. I make eye contact, talk with the salespeople, joke with the managers and act like I am not doing anything wrong. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have to guess that has something to do with it.
 
I agree that there is no real upside to the idea of using RZ cards while purchasing penny guides, but I still dont see where everyone think Best Buy is really that smart that they will catch on. If you buy stacks of penny guides, yes, you will get caught. But if you buy one or two here and there I dont see anyone catching on unless you have a good store or district manager. If they really are good, it wont matter anyway as they would be damn sure to pull all penny items. I have yet to figure out why any store would leave their stock out as a penny anyway. Seems like if Best Buy really cared that much they would put out notices to all stores everytime an item drops to a penny.
 
You guys are silly with this... who cares if someone puts this on their reward zone or not... the only store location in my area to keep them sitting on the shelf, prices them at 0.01 on the tag. Why would Best Buy care that you are taking these... they might have a different contract on guides than Gamestop has.
 
All the CE's were gone from this current drop at two Best Buys I visited. They still had guides up from the last drop, though. I don't think there's anything that special this time that I'd be willing to make special trips out for the guides, so it looks like I'll be missing out. Thanks to all who reported anyway.
 
Pro tip:

Do not take your mother with you while buying penny guides at Best Buy.

"Why are those only a PENNY!?". "Why would they sell them so cheap!?". "Why don't they charge 10 cents for them or something!?" "What are you going to do with all of those anyway!?".

All said about 5 times louder than necessary such that everyone within 20 feet could hear #-o

Fortunately the cashier just kept laughing. My mom was buying some new earbuds for her iPhone so I had the guides rung up with her purchase to mask it a bit but she blew the cover right off that one.
 
[quote name='crazedracerguy']I think we've clearly seen that attention matters not very much with these guides. It's more of a store/manager based decision. Like I said before, out of the 2 stores I hit yesterday, one had actually stickered some of the guides with 1 penny stickers. The other called the manager and he bs'ed with me and didn't even answer the cashiers question about selling the guides. We lauhed and chatted and I walked with the guides. At least one of the others I frequent actually stickers the guides with penny stickers and the other has a cashier that regularly sees me. We talk, shoot the breeze and she rings me up. No muss, no fuss.

I'm not sure why some stores are cool and some are not, but I'd imagine that at least a little of the reason is that I'm not a douche when I go in. I make eye contact, talk with the salespeople, joke with the managers and act like I am not doing anything wrong. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have to guess that has something to do with it.[/QUOTE]



You're lucky you have a manager that doesn't give a shit. But you never know when a district manager just happens to be in the store. Or maybe someone from corporate.

Hey, if the manager is gonna bs with you, you should be friendly back and joke around.

I'm just saying don't draw undue attention to the penny guides.

wrencrest -

Some people here have no restraint. Instead of picking up 3-4 guides at a time, they pick up 10-20. Add no other purchases and a RZ card and you're just raising red flags. Your local best buy monkeys probably aren't smart enough to catch on. But there are people in corporate offices that only do these things. Their job is to maximize sales but if they find leaky faucets, they'll fix those too.

all it takes is one eager beaver jr analyst to decide he wants to get up the corporate ladder by exposing this loophole. Again, all we're talking about is to give LESS data to work with.

I assume you guys like your penny guides too. So why the cavalier attitude? Why not just play it safe. It's actually LESS work to not pull out your RZ card

[quote name='lordopus99']You guys are silly with this... who cares if someone puts this on their reward zone or not... the only store location in my area to keep them sitting on the shelf, prices them at 0.01 on the tag. Why would Best Buy care that you are taking these... they might have a different contract on guides than Gamestop has.[/QUOTE]

There is no contract in the world that makes sense to sell something at a penny. Not to BB, not to the publisher.
 
I'll be sure to pack my tin foil hat when I use my reward zone card next time!

I am more worried about the security guy trying to find a reason to bust me though!

lol!
 
[quote name='confoosious']
There is no contract in the world that makes sense to sell something at a penny. Not to BB, not to the publisher.[/QUOTE]

Except for cell phone contracts that are subsidized by the company providing the service, of course. :roll:
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First of all I just want to THANK everyone that keeps this thread updated and available.

I don't understand what worry is with the Reward Zone. You are legally buying something you found on their shelves that were being sold. The one person that would get in trouble is the employee that was designated to remove the guides from the shelves and didn't do so. You are legally buying and paying for an item no matter what the cost is. I bought guides without any problems, no filler items, no hesitation. A lot of the BB employees are mostly amazed at the price rather than confrontational. The worst they can do is say no, that's when you try again at a later time.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Except for cell phone contracts that are subsidized by the company providing the service, of course. :roll:
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[/FONT][/QUOTE]

I was referring to the GUIDES, jackass. "Not to BB. Not to the publisher."

I didn't realize cell phone companies were publishers.

Edit: oh, i see from your sig that you're one of those people who have a desperate need for attention. Nevermind, I get it.
 
[quote name='Chatomairi']
I don't understand what worry is with the Reward Zone. You are legally buying something you found on their shelves that were being sold. The one person that would get in trouble is the employee that was designated to remove the guides from the shelves and didn't do so. You are legally buying and paying for an item no matter what the cost is. I bought guides without any problems, no filler items, no hesitation. A lot of the BB employees are mostly amazed at the price rather than confrontational. The worst they can do is say no, that's when you try again at a later time.[/QUOTE]

Let me try and boil down what has already been said, as I think it's valid.

While you are correct in that we are legally buying something I am sure you are aware that the managers (and by proxy the store) don't want to sell them at this price and actually aren't being priced AT $.01 to be sold at this price. Just in case you aren't aware: BBy uses the $.01 price, when updated in their inventory, as method to pull the guides remove the cover to be sent in to the distributor for compensation.

Buying large numbers of them in a single transaction and creating easily traceable patterns of these transactions calls it to the attention of the managers. Believe me, if you like buying pennied guides you wanna keep a low profile.

Best Buy pays very close attention to their metrics. Compiling them and analyzing is easily done- but there is no need to make it easier on them (with a RZ card or CC).

You can read this article and this "demon customers" article to see how they are taking this information and using all the way down to the floor rep and POS level. Now imagine what the store managers and district managers are reading.

It's your choice. If you think a few fractions of a cent reward is worth the additional risk of losing the ability to buy the guides completely, then by all means. However, you're probably not the only one getting them in your area and there is a good chance you could (or help to) spoil it for everyone in your area.

Considering the likely alternative is that if the pulling of the guides becomes a priority then pennied guides go away completely (unceremoniously pulled before opening). [This is what I am experiencing at the three closest BBy's to me.]

I'll tell you this, trying to buy pennied guides (even at $4-5; should they not become available to you) on CAG is definitely a sad and futile prospect. Trading is a little better, but if all you have is guides from 2 drops back and older your SOL.

There is no guarantee that doing it either way is going to affect the store manager's position on them but why piss on a good thing, for literally nothing.

tl;dr:

Personally, I think anyone who would jeopardize their supply of pennied guides for a reward amount that is too low to even round to a whole cent is of questionable intellect.

[Edit] For reference:
are-you-one-of-best-buys-demon-customers?

leaks-of--best-buys-internal-customer-profiling-document
 
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[quote name='confoosious']I was referring to the GUIDES, jackass. "Not to BB. Not to the publisher."

I didn't realize cell phone companies were publishers.

Edit: oh, i see from your sig that you're one of those people who have a desperate need for attention. Nevermind, I get it.[/QUOTE]

I see from your comments that you are a person in desperate need of an asskicking. Are you done trolling yet? Have you EVER added anything to this thread? Go out and find some deals, then you will be worth something.

As far as my sig goes: I don't need attention, I just thought it was a funny story.
 
Thank you deathbringer for summing up what I've said.

Although you said it nicer than I did. I tend to lose patience with self centered stupid people.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I see from your comments that you are a person in desperate need of an asskicking. Are you done trolling yet? Have you EVER added anything to this thread? Go out and find some deals, then you will be worth something.

As far as my sig goes: I don't need attention, I just thought it was a funny story.[/QUOTE]

nice comeback! Really inventive!

Are you still mad cause I said if you couldn't afford a coke to put your reward card over the top that you got other issues? Sorry about that, kid. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.


Wanna hug it out?
 
[quote name='confoosious']nice comeback! Really inventive![/QUOTE]

We can take this to PMs. This thread already has too much chatter.


Edit: The funny thing is I was already essentially on ralph's side, but he is too ignorant to realize it.
 
[quote name='confoosious']You know what would REALLY suck the fun out of this thread?

No more penny guides.

So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides. Because nothing good can come of drawing attention to the fact that they're selling what they're not supposed to be selling. It doesn't matter if you think that best buy or gamestop doesn't care. Or if it's the employees' faults for being lazy. Attention = no good.

Is that really that hard to comprehend? Is it that hard to do?

I'm not telling you how to act or what to do. Clearly, you will do whatever you want. I don't care if you wipe your ass with the 200 penny guides you've amassed. But what I do like is getting them for myself. So try your best to lay low and hopefully we can keep getting them.[/QUOTE]

this. :applause:
 
I went back to my BB and managed to find a Godfather 2 and another ME guide. Everything else was cleaned out. I'm not sure if it was actually cleaned out or if everything was pulled since they had alot of LotR guides that were nowhere to be found.

LOL @ io's post.
 
I never can find penny guides :whistle2:( it seems all my local stores are vigilant about it

one of the local gamestops I swear the manager finds a perverse pleasure in ripping the covers off and throwing them in the dumpster
 
[quote name='confoosious']You know what would REALLY suck the fun out of this thread?

No more penny guides.

So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides. Because nothing good can come of drawing attention to the fact that they're selling what they're not supposed to be selling. It doesn't matter if you think that best buy or gamestop doesn't care. Or if it's the employees' faults for being lazy. Attention = no good.

Is that really that hard to comprehend? Is it that hard to do?

I'm not telling you how to act or what to do. Clearly, you will do whatever you want. I don't care if you wipe your ass with the 200 penny guides you've amassed. But what I do like is getting them for myself. So try your best to lay low and hopefully we can keep getting them.[/QUOTE]

I'm fortunate that my local Best Buy stores don't seem to care...they just limit the amount to 5 per customer...which is great. There is still a Killzone 2 guide up at one of my stores.

I did find some hiding places of employees/other CAG members though...they seem to be hiding them under the shelving...they lift up like a bench storage.

Anyone who 'grabs 10+ of them shits' is definitely going to draw well deserved attention.
 
I actually found some penny guides this time! (at a different store, that had tons of them)

Picked up Godfather II, Left 4 Dead, Mirror's Edge Hardcover, Prince Of Persia LE, Resident Evil 5 LE, Rise Of The Argonauts, and the earlier drops (Dead Space, Terminator: Salvation, & Xmen Origins: Wolverine)
I was hoping for Lord Of The Rings: Conquest for my son - I'll check the trade thread.

Thanks to all for maintaining the thread.

My 2 cents - I would think it would be simple common sense to not buy multiples in the same transaction, not use your Rewards card, and buy something else along with the guides to smooth the purchase.
That's simple common decency, and polite society basics.
Sadly, it's no wonder why those aren't universal in a videogame community. :(
 
[quote name='io']Pro tip:

Do not take your mother with you while buying penny guides at Best Buy.

"Why are those only a PENNY!?". "Why would they sell them so cheap!?". "Why don't they charge 10 cents for them or something!?" "What are you going to do with all of those anyway!?".

All said about 5 times louder than necessary such that everyone within 20 feet could hear #-o[/QUOTE]

Too funny. Could be added to a long list of "Do not take your mother with you while _______." Although I have to admit, I ask myself that last question sometimes.

[quote name='confoosious']There is no contract in the world that makes sense to sell something at a penny. Not to BB, not to the publisher.[/QUOTE]
Might not make sense to the publisher, but as far as BB goes, penny guides get me in the store. Just this last drop, I have purchased several non-penny items that I would not have bought otherwise. BB could look at penny guides as loss leaders, except for those grasshats that buy a stack of pennied guides and nothing else.
 
[quote name='buckythekat']I never can find penny guides :whistle2:( it seems all my local stores are vigilant about it

one of the local gamestops I swear the manager finds a perverse pleasure in ripping the covers off and throwing them in the dumpster[/QUOTE]

Yeah, this is tragic. When I worked at GS, I loved Penny Guide day!! However, some day's my manager would get there before me and rip all the covers off. She was just following policy and I could keep them as long as I didn't mind (just got some tape out)...I don't think we even did a transaction for them, so I just got them for free.
 
[quote name='confoosious']You know what would REALLY suck the fun out of this thread?

No more penny guides.

So the rule of thumb that EVERYONE should follow is not to draw attention to yourself when getting penny guides. Because nothing good can come of drawing attention to the fact that they're selling what they're not supposed to be selling. It doesn't matter if you think that best buy or gamestop doesn't care. Or if it's the employees' faults for being lazy. Attention = no good.[/QUOTE]
QFT. Common sense, people, really.
 
Picked up RE, POP, and FE

They had a sign that said 50% off of guides(specific skus listed) when purchased with the game. Most of the recent drops were on the list.

The guy at the register tried void them and rescanning but eventually said, "nice deal" and sent me on my way.
 
I'm in the keep it polite, mellow, and no silly RZ card (uh, they created the card to track purchase data...)
The back and forth banter/blogging is a bit much (I kept thinkin...new drops...) but appreciate h3llbring3r view.

Just one more bit of food for thought, on a very rare occasion, I will be asked by a staff member, "how do you know about these?"
I never say the internet, I just say a friend works at BBuy in another state...
Those of you that believe they "don't care" "it's insignificant" and they do not data mine or monitor the internet..or that no jr. exec needs a feather in their cap to retain their position...are quite mistaken.

When in doubt use the Kiss principle - Keep It Simple Stupid...

 
[quote name='confoosious']
wrencrest -

Some people here have no restraint. Instead of picking up 3-4 guides at a time, they pick up 10-20. Add no other purchases and a RZ card and you're just raising red flags. Your local best buy monkeys probably aren't smart enough to catch on. But there are people in corporate offices that only do these things. Their job is to maximize sales but if they find leaky faucets, they'll fix those too.

all it takes is one eager beaver jr analyst to decide he wants to get up the corporate ladder by exposing this loophole. Again, all we're talking about is to give LESS data to work with.

I assume you guys like your penny guides too. So why the cavalier attitude? Why not just play it safe. It's actually LESS work to not pull out your RZ card

There is no contract in the world that makes sense to sell something at a penny. Not to BB, not to the publisher.[/QUOTE]

Again, I know what you and others are saying about not wanting to lose penny guides, and I wont even use my RZ card if I only buy a penny guide, because I see now it MAY affect others (and it doesnt benefit me)and I dont want to be a reason for that.

Having said that, it really wont matter if I or anyone uses their RZ card. When you buy a penny guide, it is recorded in the BB POS. It will not make a diff how you bought the guide, the sale will come up as a penny and anyone with a brain will know they should not have sold it at that price. ALL of us are bringing up red flags when we buy penny guides, EVERYTIME. The problem is when someone buys a stack at a time, every person in the store knows there has to be something up and the manager and loss person at the exit will notice.
 
Sorry for double post. Forgot to add that I saw the same guides in my BB again today. Also had the sign stating 50% off guides with purchase of the game. Someone stated they saw this earlier too.
 
Lose penny guides? They are going to dump them in the trash anyways!

You might as well go dumpster diving to find more guides!

We just trying to save these guides by recycling them for one penny!
 
[quote name='wrencrest']Sorry for double post. Forgot to add that I saw the same guides in my BB again today. Also had the sign stating 50% off guides with purchase of the game. Someone stated they saw this earlier too.[/QUOTE]

I believe I saw those signs a few weeks ago so they might be a last ditch effort to move them before they get pennied. Who knows, could save some time for the dedicated here who do all the leg work.
 
[quote name='DeathBringer']Lose penny guides? They are going to dump them in the trash anyways!

You might as well go dumpster diving to find more guides!

We just trying to save these guides by recycling them for one penny![/QUOTE]

Not sure if you're being facetious... but wow.
 
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