Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread XI

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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.


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.
 
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[quote name='ballbarfer']hey it's the first monday of the month guys....woot woot woot!!!!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]Try to behave. I understand if it might be a reach for us to assume you will, though there's ways around that.
 
yeah but by doing that and knowing that you do it every single first monday....it just looks bad.

Anyways my local bb had some star wars tfu guides as of friday, they were gone now. not sure if they were pulled or not. They also had both editions of assassin's creed 2 and they didn't ring up as a penny. I also checked a few others but no luck. seems like nothing. hopefully somebody had some better luck than me.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Eh, I'm not worked up. It's just that ballbarfer is a complete idiot and a nuisance to this thread.[/QUOTE]

Relax dude, he's just excited at the prospect of new drops. Is there really a need to call him an idiot and an asshole?
 
[quote name='kataztrophik']Relax dude, he's just excited at the prospect of new drops. Is there really a need to call him an idiot and an asshole?[/QUOTE]

It's not that ballbarfers excited that he doesn't like, its that ballbarfer comes in every monday and bumps the thread to just ask if anybody else checked on the any new drops, and never doing it himself.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Eh, I'm not worked up. It's just that ballbarfer is a complete idiot and a nuisance to this thread.[/QUOTE]


I agree his a real pain in the ass
 
[quote name='HaLLuZiNaTiOnZ']It's not that ballbarfers excited that he doesn't like, its that ballbarfer comes in every monday and bumps the thread to just ask if anybody else checked on the any new drops, and never doing it himself.[/QUOTE]

I can see how that can be annoying, but does that give confoosious the right to berate another member of this board? In two posts, he called ballbarfer a jackass, an asshole, an idiot and a nuisance. Neither post contributed to the thread itself and their only purpose was to make someone else feel bad. If ballbarfer's post deserved a warning by Shrike to "behave", then why doesn't Confoosious need to behave?

I don't get it.
 
[quote name='kataztrophik']I can see how that can be annoying, but does that give confoosious the right to berate another member of this board? In two posts, he called ballbarfer a jackass, an asshole, an idiot and a nuisance. Neither post contributed to the thread itself and their only purpose was to make someone else feel bad. If ballbarfer's post deserved a warning by Shrike to "behave", then why doesn't Confoosious need to behave?

I don't get it.[/QUOTE]

Do I think it gives him that right? Ya, I do considering ballbarfer has been told numerous times by fellow CAGs that it's annoying. I doubt it makes ballbarfer feels bad either, because he seems to be egging people on.

geez i was just giving a woot woot...never asked anyone to check guide...good lordy!

In that post he knows perfectly well what he's doing, he's just playing(?) stupid/innocent.
 
[quote name='kataztrophik']I can see how that can be annoying, but does that give confoosious the right to berate another member of this board? In two posts, he called ballbarfer a jackass, an asshole, an idiot and a nuisance. Neither post contributed to the thread itself and their only purpose was to make someone else feel bad. If ballbarfer's post deserved a warning by Shrike to "behave", then why doesn't Confoosious need to behave?

I don't get it.[/QUOTE]Thank you for your input. The issue will be dealt with.
 
If you check Ballbarfer's past posts, which I had previously done because I figured nobody could possibly be that stupid, he intentionally goes into threads and posts stuff he knows will definitely piss people off. He's the very definition of a troll. It's just too bad these people are allowed to stay on CAG and cause trouble everyday. It brings down this whole website to his level.
 
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[quote name='gordojones88']If you check Ballbarfer's past posts, which I had previously done because I figured nobody could be that stupid, he intentionally goes into threads and posts stuff he knows will definitely piss people off intentionally. He's the very definition of a troll. It's just too bad these people are allowed to stay on CAG and cause trouble everyday. It brings down this whole website to his level.[/QUOTE]

Right. It's not like I jumped on him for one post. Ballbarfer's sole reason for existence is to cause trouble. I could see why people who don't know his past posts would think I'm out of line but ballbarfer does this on a regular basis. He's like snotboogie from the wire. He just can't help himself.
 
[quote name='kataztrophik']If ballbarfer's post deserved a warning by Shrike to "behave", then why doesn't Confoosious need to behave?

I don't get it.[/QUOTE]

But for the fact that ballbarfer trolls, Confoosious wouldn't have made his comments. Ergo, it falls on ballbarfer.

I hope there are a ton of penny guides below the bus you just threw Confoosious under for his sake.
 
seriously, i'm not trying to make anyone feel bad (and if i do with such a short sentence then PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PUT ME ON IGNORE) and was just saying i'm down with a hopefully drop but it looks like we'll have to wait until the 3rd monday of the month. Can we plz get back on topic....any guide removed from the website lately that anyone's noticed?
 
[quote name='ballbarfer']seriously, i'm not trying to make anyone feel bad (and if i do with such a short sentence then PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PUT ME ON IGNORE) and was just saying i'm down with a hopefully drop but it looks like we'll have to wait until the 3rd monday of the month. Can we plz get back on topic....any guide removed from the website lately that anyone's noticed?[/QUOTE]

Ignored
 
Check Confoosious's past posts and you'll see who the troll is. He never adds anything to any thread he has posted in. All he does is insult posters, name call, and thread crap. In all the time I've been on CAG, Confoosious is the only member I've had to put on ignore. If Ballbarfer's posts bother you, do the same.
 
My local BestBuy had about 30-40 copies of Star Wars Force Unleashed Guide but I didnt want to feel like an idiot and bring them up to the checkout because I wasnt sure if they were a penny or not haha
 
[quote name='supaet']slightly OT for first Monday of the month.
Did they stop dropping guides at gs on Thursdays? No drops for the last full month?[/QUOTE]

No GS drops for awhile. I'm hopeful as each week passes, but since hardly anything new has come out, no new games mean no new guides. No new guides to put on the rack means no pennying to clear space for them.
 
Picked up Red Steel 2 and Nintendo DS Pocket Guide for a penny today at Gamestop.... There were a couple of others but I can't recall what they were since they were already gone.
 
Hopefully someone has more of a complete list. I'll hold off updating the second and third posts until we get some more confirmations and a bigger list.

Thanks for the info nonetheless though, microchip2378.
 
Red Steel 2 is still on Gamestop's website for $15. Is it normal and/or possible for a guide to penny out in-store without being removed from the website?
 
ha! was wondering what was up with this. I was on my way home from a funeral when I was like, I wonder what happened to the penny guides at GS, and I'm sure tons of CAGs have reported in, check from my phone b/c I could have stopped at one and see it hasn't updated..

guess I may go out later, but its unlikely I can confirm more if the store I hit didn't change the tags and doesn't have a stack of them..what? would I actually ask?? noooo..... ;)
 
[quote name='elrobo8']Red Steel 2 is still on Gamestop's website for $15. Is it normal and/or possible for a guide to penny out in-store without being removed from the website?[/QUOTE]I know I've seen lags in the information being updated on the GS website when it pennies out, though the real test would be to see if you can find it tomorrow morning.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I know I've seen lags in the information being updated on the GS website when it pennies out, though the real test would be to see if you can find it tomorrow morning.[/QUOTE]
It definitely lagged. I just went to Gamestop and they had Red Steel 2 guides and Nintendo DS Pocket Guides sitting on top of the guide rack marked at a penny. Not sure if anything else dropped; those were the only ones marked at a penny. If there were other guides, somebody already snatched them up.

EDIT: Thanks for saying that, ragingst0rm6. I just checked the website again and Battlefield Bad Company 2 dropped as well.
 
[quote name='ragingst0rm6']I can confirm Red Steel 2. If you do a search for it on the GS website, you only see the downloadable version now.

No idea if any others dropped.[/QUOTE]

Well if you click on the actual name of the title it will advance screens and give you store locations withit in stock.
 
OK. So thus far the list is looking like this:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Nintendo DS Pocket Guide
Red Steel 2

Both Red Steel 2 and the BF:BC2 guides are those mini versions btw, for those of you who might not have seen them before. They have the wire binding along the left hand side.

I'll update the second and third posts in a little while in the event we don't get any further confirmations, though I do like to wait until we're pretty sure we have the entire list from a drop so I'm not adding 1-2 at a time.
 
i would have checked that this morning but my gs hasn't had either of those for a long long time. i can confirm red steel and bfbc2. man i hate these mini guides though.
 
[quote name='confoosious']For the jackhole who said I never contribute to this thread?

God of War III CE at GS

Go get em boys.[/QUOTE]
You are the man.
 
[quote name='confoosious']For the jackhole who said I never contribute to this thread?

God of War III CE at GS

Go get em boys.[/QUOTE]

It'll definitely take a preorder or two to convince my local GS employees to sell me one of those for a penny (or give me one for free). lol
 
I managed to pick up the lone copy of Red Steel 2 from the GS that had 3-4 guides from the last drop still on the shelves a week or two after the drop.

But of course BF:BC2's guide has eluded me.:roll:

So thus far we have:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
God Of War III CE
Guinness Book of World Record Gamers Edition
Harvest Moon Sunshine Islands
Iron Man 2
Modnation Racers
Nintendo DS Pocket Guide
Red Steel 2

Keep 'em coming.

At the store I picked up RS2 from I was gonna try and dumpster dive for the others they said they tossed out, but apparently they share a dumpster with the nearby Subway.:puke: I saw some stuff in a few bags with the GS logo on them, but I wasn't about to root through bagloads of Sweet Onion Chicken Terriyaki for some guides.:roll:

I have one more GS store to check a bit later tonight when I go to dinner at a nearby Johnny Rocket's. If I strike out there, then oh well.
 
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[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I saw some stuff in a few bags with the GS logo on them, but I wasn't about to root through bagloads of Sweet Onion Chicken Terriyaki for some guides.:roll:[/QUOTE]

Free guides AND a free meal? You just passed up on a great deal!

I scored a GoW3 guide over lunch. They'd already pulled them at the Gamestop in my local mall, but when I asked the manager about it, he grabbed one from their trash pile and said, "We're technically not supposed to give these out, but you're a regular so I don't see why not." :bouncy: They didn't have any ModNation Racers, unfortunately, so I'll have to check the store across town for that one. Hopefully they'll have Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as well.
 
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You can add:
Guinness Book of World Record Gamers Edition
Harvest Moon Sunshine Islands
Iron Man 2

These also dropped today.
 
Dammit... I hit up Gamestop and the lone employee had already pulled everything... Oh well, at least I managed to score a Metroid Prime Trilogy guide last week.
 
Really, really, really want:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
God Of War III CE
Modnation Racers

I'm surprised ModNation Racers is pennied so fast. It's like 2 months since launch, isn't it?!

Unfortunately, the GS in my area are very much on top of these things. Snatching a guide is harder than pulling teeth from them.

If anyone can get spare, please hook me up.
 
Dang! Late to the game here - I was excited to post some findings to help give back to the CAG community, but others beat me to it.
I can confirm GOW3, Harvest Moon, Iron Man 2, Modnation Racers, Red Steel 2, and Nintendo DS Pocket Guide as I've gotten copies of all at my local Gamestop stores.

I saw all of the price stickers that had been marked to $.01 (the cashier showed me) and I didn't see anything on there that has not been already mentioned, FWIW.

Thanks everyone for the heads up!
 
Man, wish I knew about these other guides last night when I went. Racking my brain now to see if I remember seeing a GoW 3 CE!!! It was pretty bare from the ones mentioned, only had DS Pocketguide, which I didn't even go for b/c I usually have to give a pre-order, so I've been more sparing in what I pick up..might be able to make a haul today though and pre-order Mafia 2!
 
[quote name='Ziv']You can add:
Guinness Book of World Record Gamers Edition
Harvest Moon Sunshine Islands
Iron Man 2

These also dropped today.[/QUOTE]
Sonofabitch. I just saw both Iron Man 2 and HM:SI at one of the GS stores I hit up not too long ago too.:bomb: Again...oh well.

It seems like this thread has died a slow death since TRU stopped pennying guides and BB and GS have slowed on their drops somewhat.

I'm currently compiling the list in post #2721, for those who are wondering what dropped that's been mentioned thus far.
 
Fable II was missing from one of my stores as well as the pennied guides. You guys may want to check it. Metal Gear did not penny, Kingdom Hearts is now 9.99.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Fable II was missing from one of my stores as well as the pennied guides. You guys may want to check it. Metal Gear did not penny, Kingdom Hearts is now 9.99.[/QUOTE]
I forgot to mention earlier that I checked Fable II softcover edition and it did NOT penny. At least that's what I was told by the clerk I had check it.

I stopped at that last GS I was gonna check and I found the one guide I wanted from this drop(Bad Company 2) as well as another sealed copy of the Red Steel 2 guide.

So I managed to grab a lone BF:BC2 and two RS2's. Not bad and better than I usually do at Gamestop.

The store I stopped at last said the employees probably took any GOWIII CE guides that they might've had. I went out back to check if they had a dumpster, but they have a compactor that's shared amongst 5-6 or more stores in the shopping center.:cry:
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I forgot to mention earlier that I checked Fable II softcover edition and it did NOT penny. At least that's what I was told by the clerk I had check it.

I stopped at that last GS I was gonna check and I found the one guide I wanted from this drop(Bad Company 2) as well as another sealed copy of the Red Steel 2 guide.

So I managed to grab a lone BF:BC2 and two RS2's. Not bad and better than I usually do at Gamestop.

The store I stopped at last said the employees probably took any GOWIII CE guides that they might've had. I went out back to check if they had a dumpster, but they have a compactor that's shared amongst 5-6 or more stores in the shopping center.:cry:[/QUOTE]

:speaktothehand: Dumster Diving, have some pride lol
 
LOL at dumpster diving..I was somewhat excited about IATCG's sudden venture into dumpster diving that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I just had visions of oversized GS plastic bags with so many guides they were ripping thru..So I went by the one store where the guy always overrides the price, sure enough, he was working, and all the guides were pulled! Make my exit and drive around to the back. At this point, I was pretty psyched and said I would get out of my truck, at least walk over to the dumpster and at least open the lid and peek in. Then I thought how great it was that I was wearing flip flops and may have to get physical. Open the lid, empty empty empty! The garbage truck grabbed all dem shits!!

Anyways, headed over to the store I went to last night, grabbed the Ninty DS Handbook and the Guinness Book of Records 2010. Guy rang them thru, and even though it wasn't a stellar haul, the hunts here have become long and hard and that's the only store I can grab from..so I thru down $5 on the new NFS..that's 3 (TDU2 & GT5(maybe)) racing games to fill the fall/x-mas, I think that's enough..
 
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