Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread XI

Status
Not open for further replies.
IAmTheCheapestGamer

IAmTheCheapestGamer

Banned
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.


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 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

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 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/...d.php?t=187222
Guide Ten:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219547

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, Guinaevere 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.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
[quote name='Visc']That's actually illegal to do in some states too. Michigan was one example, I think.[/QUOTE]

In the state of PA if you're a big corporation you've got a friend in the state and many, many municipalities. Case in point, the one local township gave away the farm to TJ Maxx so they'd build a distribution center here. They promised all sorts of 'great wages'($10 and up is considered phenomenal in this depressed area), yet when they opened the distribution center they lowered the rate to...$6.25 a fuckin' hour.:roll:

Hell, even fuckin' Amazon started out paying $15 or so an hour and now they're using temps and giving them $8 an hour for their distribution center.:roll:

As for buying shit from stores though, I still think the state won't do shit, since they don't want to have the companies threaten to take their 'great paying' jobs away.:roll::roll::cry: I've had more success bitching directly at the managers and the corporate customer service people than trying to get the state to force a store to stand by their products/prices.
 
[quote name='jterp7']so I went looking for some deals and found an unmarked SFIV guide, didn't really need it but I thought it was one of the deals seeing as it was almost a year old now. There was no cover, no sku and long story short the store could not sell it, yet it still sat on the shelf. WTF?[/QUOTE]

Well, technically, the stores are under no obligation to sell it to you. After my first Gamestop run, I went to another and managed to find Resident Evil 5 LE, Fallout Anchorage/Pitt and Chinatown Wars PSP. Resident Evil 5 LE was $9.99 and the other two were a penny, but they refused to sell the other two to me because it was supposed to have been pulled, they just didn't yet. The cashier was on my side, since his reasoning was "Well, if they're going to get destroyed anyways, why not sell it to him?" But the manager was adamant because the store was closing and they said they check what they sell very closely, and they still wanted jobs after the store close.

Normally I would try to argue, but I didn't want them to lose their jobs. Has other people tried arguing/asking politely, and how effective was it?
 
I've tried before. It depends on how new the employees are.

If you find a newbie employee who doesn't know they're supposed to pull/destroy the guides, then you're in luck.

Just start out by saying that you heard they're on clearance, which may help when they come up .01.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I've tried before. It depends on how new the employees are.

If you find a newbie employee who doesn't know they're supposed to pull/destroy the guides, then you're in luck.

Just start out by saying that you heard they're on clearance, which may help when they come up .01.[/QUOTE]

Do you usually get something to pad it with, say a game or a guide at normal price so the final price doesn't show up as 10 cents or something, thus making the employee shocked? I didn't for my first Gamestop and it worked fine, but if Best Buy has a big drop soon, I don't know if I should risk it...wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to get a LOT of guides.
 
[quote name='ithebigc']Do you usually get something to pad it with, say a game or a guide at normal price so the final price doesn't show up as 10 cents or something, thus making the employee shocked? I didn't for my first Gamestop and it worked fine, but if Best Buy has a big drop soon, I don't know if I should risk it...wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to get a LOT of guides.[/QUOTE]

I don't usually bother with padding my penny guide purchases anymore. If they're going to say no or try to mark up the guides back to $20 or whatever each, I figure they're going to do it whether or not I'm buying something else.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I don't usually bother with padding my penny guide purchases anymore. If they're going to say no or try to mark up the guides back to $20 or whatever each, I figure they're going to do it whether or not I'm buying something else.[/QUOTE]

That's why you bring other stuff up to purchase (assuming you wanted to get the other stuff anyway). That way, if they deny the penny guide, you let them know they lost a sale on everything else. Or at Gamestop, bring up a bunch of penny guides and ask to do a couple preorders. If they deny the guides, tell them you'll preorder at another store.
 
[quote name='Josef']That's why you bring other stuff up to purchase (assuming you wanted to get the other stuff anyway). That way, if they deny the penny guide, you let them know they lost a sale on everything else. Or at Gamestop, bring up a bunch of penny guides and ask to do a couple preorders. If they deny the guides, tell them you'll preorder at another store.[/QUOTE]

I used to do this...but it really just gives the impression that you're a dick. A much better way is to just generally be nice and friendly to the employees, pre-order things when you want them and actually buy them, and generally build up goodwill. If they recognize you as someone who shops at their store often and isn't an asshole customer, you can build good enough rapport that sometimes they'll just give you the drops after they've been pulled and properly eliminated from their system.

Win, win. You get your guides and they don't get written up.
 
[quote name='Mike Toole']Saw that, too. Thought it was kind of funny. I wonder which happens first: one or more of these pennies at BB, or they drop to $4.98?



Almost a year old? I thought this dropped in like October. Anyway, if you want it that badly, I'd recommend just bringing it to the front and asking if you can have it. It's out of the wrapper, there's no barcode or SKU, and it's probably banged up. Worst thing they can do is tell you no.

If you DON'T want it (I usually don't, if they're missing stuff), just have fun watching it slowly deteriorate every time you come back.[/QUOTE]

The game itself, which came out last february..anyways I could see the cashier implying that they could just give it to me, but the manager on duty said no and to look up the SKU..of course it's not even in the system anymore so I was just SOL at that point.
 
Went to BB to pick up a car charger for my G1 (blue tooth uses a fair amount of battery) and picked up the Army of Two guide and a Terminator Salvation guide. Those rang up as two pennies, the cashier did a double take at the screen then just smiled at me. The army of two one looks pretty sweet, it comes with a 112 page graphic novel. I want to read it, I just can't bring myself to open the seal...
 
[quote name='Josef']That's why you bring other stuff up to purchase (assuming you wanted to get the other stuff anyway). That way, if they deny the penny guide, you let them know they lost a sale on everything else. Or at Gamestop, bring up a bunch of penny guides and ask to do a couple preorders. If they deny the guides, tell them you'll preorder at another store.[/QUOTE]

I don't even try 90% of the time at Gamestop stores around here since they're all sticklers for not selling the pennied guides anymore. As for Best Buy, I tried that bs the one time(bringing something else up)and the cashier still called for a manager who denied the guide sale.

I'm just a devil customer anymore, who only goes for loss leader items and nothing else at BB. I'm not about to waste money on other crap, since there's nothing I ever really want at BB anymore(since it seems they stopped their clearance cycle on games, no more big $.99-$10 clearance list of older games anymore).
 
Sources tell me GameStop pennied some stuff out this morning. I can confirm them when I go to work later today.

Fable 2 DLC
Infamous
Jak & Daxter: Lost Frontier
Nostalgia

also...
Beanies
Mario Kart trading cards

There's probably more than just this. Good luck!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I can confirm Fable DLC, inFamous, and JakLF all from gamestop as well as:
Phantasy Star 0
Lich King Atlas (hardcover)
Saw
UFC
LBP Stickerbook
Guitar Hero Stickerbook
Silent Hill Shattered Memories
Gears of War 2
Nostalgia

there might be more, but that's what I got.
 
Solid Drop...although I've never had any luck at finding .01 guides at Gamestop. All 5 of them in my area are very good at pulling their guides the day of drops.
 
I haven't had any luck at a GS in several months, thankfully I'm on good terms with everyone at this one, so hopefully my offering to preorder endless ocean 2 ( I was considering doing it anyways) will sway someone a wee bit today.
 
Looks like it's more times to rely on the goodness of other CAGs, since none of the GS stores around here have been leaving penny guides around. The RM's and DM's have been anal about getting them pulled on the drop day and not letting them get out.
 
You can usually get good luck on the first day of a drop (especially the morning) because even if the guide has been pulled, it's probably still sitting out, either on the back counter or in the back room. It's hard to get all of them, but if you're just looking for one certain guide, it's usually not too hard to just ask the employees for the one guide and see where it goes from there.

For example, if you bought Nostalgia on DS and now want a guide for it, the employee will probably hand the guide to you today, but by tomorrow, it will most likely be trashed.
 
[quote name='SirChadlyOC']You can usually get good luck on the first day of a drop (especially the morning) because even if the guide has been pulled, it's probably still sitting out, either on the back counter or in the back room. It's hard to get all of them, but if you're just looking for one certain guide, it's usually not too hard to just ask the employees for the one guide and see where it goes from there.

For example, if you bought Nostalgia on DS and now want a guide for it, the employee will probably hand the guide to you today, but by tomorrow, it will most likely be trashed.[/QUOTE]Doesn't happen here. First thing stores do around here is pull their penny items, and if the guide's made it down to the penny stage, it won't be out on the floor here.

Even if it's pennied and on the floor, they won't sell it to anyone. Been there, done that.
 
I'll update the second and third posts a bit later today, since I wanna see if there's anything we missed that someone else will report on first.

Thanks to all who reported the drop and verified what dropped thus far.
 
Another fantastic list of drops from Gamestop. Too bad my Gamestop stores are virtually impossible to get penny guides from. I got to stop at a few stores anyway so I guess I'll try my luck.
 
Confirming:
inFamous
Jak and Daxter
Phantasy Star 0
Lich King Atlas (hardcover)
Saw
UFC 2009
Guitar Hero Stickerbook
Silent Hill Shattered Memories
Nostalgia


Sure would have liked to find the LBP Sticker book.
 
I am stopping by tonight on the way home as i want to try to find a copy of the $10 Williams Collection. Hope to get a Saw guide. Just love the movies (the first two at least) and would like to have it around when I finally get the game from Gamefly.
 
[quote name='hellmutt']Confirming:
inFamous
Jak and Daxter
Phantasy Star 0
Lich King Atlas (hardcover)
Saw
UFC 2009
Guitar Hero Stickerbook
Silent Hill Shattered Memories
Nostalgia


Sure would have liked to find the LBP Sticker book.[/QUOTE]

did you pick those up to confirm?
 
[quote name='Gbear09']did you pick those up to confirm?[/QUOTE]

Yes, I have that stack in my car to confirm. No receipt as they were just given to me.
 
GS penny-guide drops have been dead to me for well over a year now. Stopped by during lunch anyway, and, yep, confirmed, dead to me.

At least I'm not fighting employees for them anymore. Last time I was successful at GS, I gave the employee a preorder as way of thanks (and hopefully future penny-guides). The next couple drops, that same employee had placed everything that pennied in his car before the store opened. Occasionally, he would give me something that there were multiples of (and yes, I had to follow him out to his car to get them). Haven't seen him at any GS in a very long while, so I guess that worked out, though.
 
[quote name='SirChadlyOC']Sources tell me GameStop pennied some stuff out this morning. I can confirm them when I go to work later today.

Fable 2 DLC
Infamous
Jak & Daxter: Lost Frontier
Nostalgia

also...
Beanies
Mario Kart trading cards

There's probably more than just this. Good luck![/QUOTE]

So if the mario and zelda beanies are pennied, could the hats be pennied? They were last reported as being 50% off the $19.99 price. I'd check myself but I dont have time to go to GS today.
 
I only managed to get one guide using me previously mentioned method - the Silent Hill one. On the bright side, I did find a ps2 network adapter and a ps3 memory card reader while I was there, and I got a free 380 points towards club nintendo from the blockbuster next door.
 
I am going to try the gamestop drops before going to work.

I went back to BBY that I saw pennied guides when I picked up Sudoku Ball Detectives. There ended up being 5 penny guides (atleast from what I could remember), Twilight Princess, Wolfenstein, UFC, World at War, and Gears of War 2. I picked up the last copy of guide, except for GoW2 as I have a copy already. I proceed to the register and for the first time I got called out. The lady at the register scanned the manuals, canceled the order, rescanned everything, canceled it again, and scanned manual three times, making sure she scanned every barcode she could find, every time coming up with a penny. She then called over a fellow employee, who proceeded to call over the manager. Luckily, the manager goes, "Are they game guides? Yeah, it is fine. They close out all the time."

I am thinking about going back and picking up the 30 copies of Gear of War 2 guides they have, but I don't know what I would do with all of them.
 
I went to pick up some penny guides at GS, Phantasy Star 0, Fable DLC and Nostalgia. The guy went to scan them and they came up full price! I really wasn't paying attention since I was happy to get the Williams Collection. On my way out I look at the receipt, then walked over to the other GS in the mall and promptly returned them. The guy working there was the manager who told me that they shouldn't have been sold at all and needed to be destroyed (which apparently means they rip the cover off and send back to the parent company I forget if its Barnes and Noble or Borders).

Afterwards checked the a few other GS to see if there were any penny guides but alas all the other stores were on their shit. Annoyed I stopped by BB to see if there were any Endwar bundles left, nope. I did find copies of the SF4 and Spore guides, which I snatched up. I went to check out and the employee scanned it a few times, then called the electronics department, who looked up in the system as a penny. The girl just said what a great deal and I walked out the door. At least I walked away with some guides! (All sealed of course.)

I had no idea Wolfenstein was pennied there, I may need to go back and pic that one up.
 
[quote name='Fire_Thief']I REALLY want PS0 and Nostalgia... PLEASE![/QUOTE]

You've got to be kidding? LMAO
First this is the wrong place to post and you know better.
Second, aren't you the dumba$$ who made and posted a utube video on penny guides and CAG?
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Looks like it's more times to rely on the goodness of other CAGs, since none of the GS stores around here have been leaving penny guides around. The RM's and DM's have been anal about getting them pulled on the drop day and not letting them get out.[/QUOTE]

Same here. They're pulled even before the store opens. I rarely even bother anymore.
 
Thanks for the info! Also Star Ocean Last Hope has been removed from my wishlist on the gamestop site. Slight possibility that guide dropped as well.
 
I'll be hitting up GS tomorrow or the next day and trying my luck with these. I love guides on RPG's, great reading material. :]
 
I was able to pick up a PS0 and a LBP Sticker book... The other GS I went to had already pulled. Too bad. They had 2 copies of Silent Hill. I wanted a copy for my wife - I had just bought SH:SD for her on PS2 last week when it came out... I guess I'll watch for BB's eventual drop.
 


Walked in, a few guides behind the counter. Some labeled full price, a couple w/ a penny. Checked the spindle, had more on there, no tags changed. Grabbed a penny one from practically behind the counter, flashed a stack to the guy w/ a sh*t-eating-grin and said, "Can you hook me up?" He jokingly replied, "IDK, seem's kind of expensive!" :lol: We just chatted back and forth, I ended pre-ordering a GT5 b/c he was a great guy!
 
[quote name='token2k6']

Walked in, a few guides behind the counter. Some labeled full price, a couple w/ a penny. Checked the spindle, had more on there, no tags changed. Grabbed a penny one from practically behind the counter, flashed a stack to the guy w/ a sh*t-eating-grin and said, "Can you hook me up?" He jokingly replied, "IDK, seem's kind of expensive!" :lol: We just chatted back and forth, I ended pre-ordering a GT5 b/c he was a great guy![/QUOTE]

I've learned that no matter how much time I spend bsing with the clerks and getting chummy and how many times I offer a pre-order for a guide or two, I still get turned down.:cry:

That's why I come in and I don't even pretend like I don't know it's going to ring up a penny anymore.

Speaking of which, I saw a Muramasa guide at one of the 2 GS stores I hit today and I completely forgot it had pennied. Oh well.
 
[quote name='Fire_Thief']How much will you send me that Nostalgia for?[/QUOTE]

Take it to the trade thread, Sir Trolls-A-Lot.
 
I actually got lucky today after work. I checked all 5 of my local gamestops and 1 of them still had a few of the drops on the rack.

The guy told me he was about to pull the guides but he'll just sell them to me.

Scored:

inFamous
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising x 2
GTA4: Lost & Damned (old drop I believe)
Saw
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Phantasy Star 0

First time I'm ever scored at Gamestop. Im pretty excited about it...even though I dont have any of these games besides inFamous and I already have the guid from the BB drop :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top