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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Got a decent haul from my local BB, won't mention location because last time I did that a few members' panties got in a wad...so let's just keep things obscure!
 
[quote name='jmarano7836']lolz..
[/QUOTE]

you know he's talking about the game right?


[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']So what is considered a fair price for selling guides that takes into account time invested/shipping and not considered gouging?[/QUOTE]

I always feel bad charging people for a guide I paid 1cent for. This is why trading is always the best route. I think I might have sold a guide in the past for $5 plus shipping if the person doesn't have anything to trade. I figured for that $5, I can get a guide I actually want on amazon/ebay. Prices are usually low low low right after a guide drop cause all the hoarders/resellers try to dump and undercut each other.

CEs are the only guides that are hard to find for cheap. (Although there are notable exceptions each way.)
 
Hit 2 BB and got one everything I want plus lots to trade Found alot of the LE guides which is suprising because I usually don' t score many. Thanks Lox
 
went to 5 best buys in the dfw area and all were wiped out, only got 1 peacewalker, talked to some of the workers and they said 2 guys came in and took every guide
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']So what is considered a fair price for selling guides that takes into account time invested/shipping and not considered gouging?[/QUOTE]
Usually right after a drop EVERY guide I get goes on my main trade list as a 'trade only' one(even if A LOT of people scored from a drop). After a few weeks to a month I put the softcover/non LE/SE/CE ones back to a normal color and they're open for my guide bundles I have up. If they linger on my TL any longer than that, then they go on the guide trade thread list and/or I might consider dropping one in a package with something else someone is getting from me as an added surprise.;)

I only really do lots of guides(10/$25 shipped flat rate priority box) anymore, since it's just a major pita to run out to grab a mailer just for one guide and then packing/shipping that ONE guide.:whistle2:#

As for price, Media Mail shipping is about $3 or $4-ish for a guide or two before Delivery Confirmation. As to what is 'fair' for tacking on for time invested, I'd say maybe a buck or so.
[quote name='confoosious']
I always feel bad charging people for a guide I paid 1cent for. This is why trading is always the best route. I think I might have sold a guide in the past for $5 plus shipping if the person doesn't have anything to trade. I figured for that $5, I can get a guide I actually want on amazon/ebay. Prices are usually low low low right after a guide drop cause all the hoarders/resellers try to dump and undercut each other.

CEs are the only guides that are hard to find for cheap. (Although there are notable exceptions each way.)[/QUOTE]
I prefer to sell rather than trade, since I've had some way off-kilter trades before(a certain one comes to mind where I traded 2-3 LE guides for 2-3 softcover ones:bomb::roll:). So rather than have someone demanding my Mass Effect 2 LE for one of the more common guides from a drop, I put in disclaimers in every trade forum post I make anymore.
 
Got lucky at Gaithersburg. I won't list what I got, but if anyone's from the area, they still have some Ass. Creed 2 LE's, Zelda LE's, and others there.
 
Struck out at the Southridge Mall location in Greenfield, WI. Not surprising as I haven't gotten anything from that store since I moved into the area a year ago.

There's only 5 guides I'm after from the last few drops. Guess I will look to try to pick them up in the trading thread.
 
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[quote name='rb109972']went to 5 best buys in the dfw area and all were wiped out, only got 1 peacewalker, talked to some of the workers and they said 2 guys came in and took every guide[/QUOTE]

Which ones did you go to?
 
Well I went out after work today to hit one last BB that was sort of out of the way. Packed up the kid and hoped he would bring me some good luck. Rolled into the store and realized I forgot my phone in the car so I didn't have access to a list. Turned the corner on the guide rack, saw a ME2 CE right in front of me and realized it was on. Grabbed what I could remember dropped and got through checkout without any issues. Headed back out and pulled out the full guide list on the phone and went back in to get a few I had missed. Got stuck with another cashier who insisted on price checking the guides over the intercom with the media manager. They ended up bringing the guy up and they told me that they couldn't sell them to me because it was a 'glitch' in the system. They told me they would mark them back to what they were tagged and sell them to me for that. Man, I love it when the blue shirts make up policy on the fly to cover for their mistakes. I told them I would buy them for what they rang up for, just like I did 10 minutes ago, but they weren't having it. Could have probably asked for the manager, but decided the ones I got were just fine. Figured the guides I got might not be enough to make them do a pre-pull next time there is a drop.

I know people have their own theories about how to pick up guides, like just to take a few up and see what happens then come back in for the rest if it works, but I say just get the ones you want right off the bat and hope you get a cashier who just rings you up with no issue. If you come in a 2nd time there is a good chance the cashier might get the manager or media manager involved and that could cause you to get shut down. That is definitely what happened to me today.

Thanks to everyone for your responses on selling guides. I was just trying to gauge what people thought was a 'fair' price. I really prefer to trade as well, and when I get people who ask me about purchase prices, I usually tell them to make me an offer on the guides. I don't feel right asking for more than a $1 or 2 for guides that I paid a penny for especially when it is going to cost $4 or 5 to ship a couple guides out.
 
Ive became sad over the Summer because of the lack of Penny pulls at BB. But to have 2 monster ones in a row like this makes me so happy!

Hit the jackpot again today. Found at least 2 of every guide at the one store I went too. In my 4-5 years doing penny guides, I never found this many at one store. I think I spent 65 cents (65 guides). It was a good thing I got there in time as well as they had one of those big black crates sitting in front of the guides, looking like they were ready to start pulling.

So awesome. Thanks again Cags. Its great to have penny guides back. Id prefer consistent monthly drops but Ill take a giant month of drops :)
 
This is going to sound like I'm giving people a hard time for getting a lot of guides here, but trust me, I'm not, but how do you physically walk out with 50-60-70 guides at once? Do you guys load up a card and just roll them up there or what?

I had like 25 today and I don't think I could walk out with them unless I could have put them in the bottom basket of the stroller. :lol:
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']This is going to sound like I'm giving people a hard time for getting a lot of guides here, but trust me, I'm not, but how do you physically walk out with 50-60-70 guides at once? Do you guys load up a card and just roll them up there or what?

I had like 25 today and I don't think I could walk out with them unless I could have put them in the bottom basket of the stroller. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Today was probably the most Ive ever done, around 65. But IVe had 40-50ers before.

Basically you load up the cart and they let you take the cart outside. It was 65 and no rain so I just had them put all back in the cart after scanning, no bag wasting!

I hate BB carts but that hatred began long ago. They obviously arnt made to hold alot of stuff. If they were built like real shipping carts you could fit guides much easier. otherwise the flatbed design makes you have to put them on the bottom.
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']This is going to sound like I'm giving people a hard time for getting a lot of guides here, but trust me, I'm not, but how do you physically walk out with 50-60-70 guides at once? Do you guys load up a card and just roll them up there or what?

I had like 25 today and I don't think I could walk out with them unless I could have put them in the bottom basket of the stroller. :lol:[/QUOTE]
I used to just walk in, see if they had any guides on the shelf from the drop, then go back and grab a cart and load it up. After being conservative a few drops and getting a handful and leaving like 50+ guides and then watching the employees get yelled at to go pull the rest(and chuck them in the dumpster:cry:) I learned to take an all or nothing approach to guide drops.

So anymore I just bring up whatever I find, but I do usually limit it to what I truly want from a guide or just LE/SE/CE ones FIRST. If they let me get those, then I'm happy enough and I'll make another trip, possibly even while I'm at the register if going midday and no one else is in line. But if a manager comes over and says I should be lucky I got the ones I did, then I just leave with my haul and am still happy.
 
I'd be completely embarrassed to walk up to the counter with even 30 guides. I think the most i've ever bought was like 10 guides.

I managed to pick up ME, Nier and WFC. Nothing else interested me but there were a bunch that weren't pulled. Guess my BB is getting lazy.
 
Well, my BB became a bust. They denied me on picking up a few guides as someone had come in earlier and tried to buy "a bunch" of guides and that they were "not allowed to sell them." Doesn't help me feel any better when I have seen all of the guides in a drop at a local video game store with BB stickers still on them the same day of the drop. :/
 
[quote name='confoosious']I'd be completely embarrassed to walk up to the counter with even 30 guides. I think the most i've ever bought was like 10 guides.

I managed to pick up ME, Nier and WFC. Nothing else interested me but there were a bunch that weren't pulled. Guess my BB is getting lazy.[/QUOTE]

I used to be like this the first couple years. Now I just dont care.

Heck I had one time, long ago, where I brought up like 30 guides and they all rang full price with people waiting in line behind me. That was embarrassing :)

Now, sorta like IATCG, I just grab everything asap then move to the counter swiftly. Sweet talk the young girl at the register into believing its normal for them to be a penny. Usually never have a problem anymore. Only time I got halted by a manager was 2 years ago or so. Just the time.

This is YMMV certainly and I mentioned it during the last pull, but Ive become maybe a little too confident. If I goto a Best Buy that has the guides pulled already. I will seek out 2-3 managers to ask if they pulled their guides and if I can have them. It seems like every time they go out of their way to look in the back for me. One time they brought out the hole stack. CAll it overconfidence but if I drive to a further store and I miss out, I dont mind asking, as awkward as it is. Not sure if I endorse it to all CAGS, but no reason not to try. Most mangers I know seem to not care about selling the penny guides.
 
[quote name='badramen']Well, my BB became a bust. They denied me on picking up a few guides as someone had come in earlier and tried to buy "a bunch" of guides and that they were "not allowed to sell them." Doesn't help me feel any better when I have seen all of the guides in a drop at a local video game store with BB stickers still on them the same day of the drop. :/[/QUOTE]

How close is that store to the BB? What could have happened to was somebody went there and sold them the lot. I've heard a few CAG's about selling them to some stores like that.
 
lox - you are the man
My first outing for penny guides & I scored more than 35 guides, with 34 coming from just 1 store.
I will be putting up hardcover CE guides (AC2 & ME2) for trades, since I missed out on God of War 3 hardcover guide & Alan Wake collectors guide bundle from last drop. Any offers are most welcome.
 
I can't read back to see if anyone else went to these stores as I'm on the slowest hotel WiFi I've ever seen (seriously, it is taking like 1 full minute just to load a page at CAG), but here's what I've found.

I'm in the DC area for work and even though I arrived on the red-eye and drove right past the Springfield, VA Best Buy around when they opened I didn't know about the drop. So I couldn't get back there till 6pm. This store has always been good to me in the past (1-3 years ago, anyway) so I thought I might have some luck. I was pretty pissed they did such an epic drop so soon after the last and while I was not at home. I had decent luck back at home with the last drop so I can only imagine what I'm missing there (I know one store had many AC II and ME2 LEs, for example). Well, go figure, every single guide was gone at Springfield, VA store. So I can only assume they were pulled in advance or at least by the early afternoon.

But I didn't want to give up there so I headed out to 2 more stores (Bailey's Crossroads and the one near Landmark Mall in Alexandria). Both had not done complete pulls but they either did a partial pull or got plundered by the rest of you nobs. I couldn't find a single LE, but did manage to snag a few I wanted: Bioshock 2, PoP Forgotten Sands, Nier. Plus I got a few that I didn't want but just couldn't pass up getting (for trades or whatever): CoD MW2, UFC, NCAA 11, WoW Dungeon Companion III. Both of the stores had a lot of these "lesser" guides (except Nier - I got the only one I saw) as of 6-7 pm Monday night in case anyone wants 'em (the one by Landmark had about 8 CoD MW2 guides I remember for sure).
 
For the first time ever I found some penny guides. My local Best Buy always pulls them but I guess missed it today. I left a bunch of stuff too but I will pick it up if its still there tomorrow.
I got:
Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker x2
Lego Indiana Jones 2 x2
God of War Collection
God of War 3 x2-
Dante's Inferno
Transformers: War for Cybertron
Batman: Arhkam Asylum
Nier
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves x2
Alan Wake x2
Mass Effect 2 Limited Edition x3
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks x2
Assassin's Creed 2 Limited Edition x2
 
Of the 3 stores i wound up going to , which all hadn't pulled - I did not see a single God of War Collection or Dante's inferno. Doesn't seem like that is the case for most other people though. Interesting.
 
For those Around OC Calif, here's what I saw/remember.

BB in Lakewood pulled everything.
BB in LongBeach/Signal Hill had nothing.
BB in Cerritos had about 4-5 guides left when I got there at ~5pm. None were hard cover special editions. When I was looking through the guides some old dude came over and started looking through them as well...maybe it was somebody here.

BB in Anaheim had a few guides (nothing special), took about 5minutes to get the manager to "ok them"

Both BB's in Orange had nothing at all...although for some reason they open allot earlier than there supposed to (people were leaving at 9:50am when I got to the one on chapman)

BB in South Coast had a few guides , I bought the last Spirit Tracks guide.
Both BB's on Jamboree had a few guides, but not much variety & not much left. (this was around 11am)

BB in Yorba Linda had a few guides (I left alan wake), I bought the last AC2 CE's there. - This was the only store where I saw them. This was also the only store that had them marked as a penny. (One guy at the store followed me around for some reason..even waited behind me in line, then he was shocked when the manager sold them to me :)

BB in Westminister had one AC2 CE guide, but they did the ol' switcheraoo and rang it up at full price.

I'll post some more later, after I refuel :)
 
[quote name='xDerekRx'] If I goto a Best Buy that has the guides pulled already. I will seek out 2-3 managers to ask if they pulled their guides and if I can have them. It seems like every time they go out of their way to look in the back for me. One time they brought out the hole stack. CAll it overconfidence but if I drive to a further store and I miss out, I dont mind asking, as awkward as it is. Not sure if I endorse it to all CAGS, but no reason not to try. Most mangers I know seem to not care about selling the penny guides.[/QUOTE]

Asking doesn't hurt, that's actually how I managed to get a bioshock 2 and alan wake CE guide from the last drop(and 6 Dragon Age CE guides before as well). Most employee's really don't seem to care. One employee was scared to pull something from the back room so another employee who noticed grabbed the guide I was asking for, gave it to me, and told me to have a nice day. On the other side though, I was denied before by an employee who pretty much told me to fuck off and I will never get a guide for a penny from that store(which is actually the store I got around 60 guides from today that was going to pull them after I left).
 
ok so shrike has been hitting up my bestbuy crestwood, lol. but seriously i have never gotten in on this penny guides and i dont think it will ever happen. i only hit up crestwood bestbuy cuz its in my backyard, and even then i didnt go today cuz i had a 12 hour workday (11-11) so it's gonna be barebones tomorrow. oh well. peace and good job on those that got some.
 
[quote name='kiribee']For those Around OC Calif, here's what I saw/remember.

BB in Lakewood pulled everything.
BB in LongBeach/Signal Hill had nothing.
BB in Cerritos had about 4-5 guides left when I got there at ~5pm. None were hard cover special editions. When I was looking through the guides some old dude came over and started looking through them as well...maybe it was somebody here.

BB in Anaheim had a few guides (nothing special), took about 5minutes to get the manager to "ok them"

Both BB's in Orange had nothing at all...although for some reason they open allot earlier than there supposed to (people were leaving at 9:50am when I got to the one on chapman)

BB in South Coast had a few guides , I bought the last Spirit Tracks guide.
Both BB's on Jamboree had a few guides, but not much variety & not much left. (this was around 11am)

BB in Yorba Linda had a few guides (I left alan wake), I bought the last AC2 CE's there. - This was the only store where I saw them. This was also the only store that had them marked as a penny. (One guy at the store followed me around for some reason..even waited behind me in line, then he was shocked when the manager sold them to me :)

BB in Westminister had one AC2 CE guide, but they did the ol' switcheraoo and rang it up at full price.

I'll post some more later, after I refuel :)[/QUOTE]

As a former 8yr resident of LA, I can safely say you did a hell of alot of driving considering what traffic is like.
 
[quote name='io']I can't read back to see if anyone else went to these stores as I'm on the slowest hotel WiFi I've ever seen (seriously, it is taking like 1 full minute just to load a page at CAG), but here's what I've found.

I'm in the DC area for work and even though I arrived on the red-eye and drove right past the Springfield, VA Best Buy around when they opened I didn't know about the drop. So I couldn't get back there till 6pm. This store has always been good to me in the past (1-3 years ago, anyway) so I thought I might have some luck. I was pretty pissed they did such an epic drop so soon after the last and while I was not at home. I had decent luck back at home with the last drop so I can only imagine what I'm missing there (I know one store had many AC II and ME2 LEs, for example). Well, go figure, every single guide was gone at Springfield, VA store. So I can only assume they were pulled in advance or at least by the early afternoon.

But I didn't want to give up there so I headed out to 2 more stores (Bailey's Crossroads and the one near Landmark Mall in Alexandria). Both had not done complete pulls but they either did a partial pull or got plundered by the rest of you nobs. I couldn't find a single LE, but did manage to snag a few I wanted: Bioshock 2, PoP Forgotten Sands, Nier. Plus I got a few that I didn't want but just couldn't pass up getting (for trades or whatever): CoD MW2, UFC, NCAA 11, WoW Dungeon Companion III. Both of the stores had a lot of these "lesser" guides (except Nier - I got the only one I saw) as of 6-7 pm Monday night in case anyone wants 'em (the one by Landmark had about 8 CoD MW2 guides I remember for sure).[/QUOTE]

Funny, I was just about to post about these stores.

I had the same experience tonight, as I'm in the Northern Virginia area. I went to Landmark, Baileys, and Springfield, and they had all been basically cleaned out. When I checked out with few crapass guides I could find, the cashier said "Oh, someone came in and got about 40 of these earlier!"

This happened at two of the stores! One of them WAS Springfield, so someone completely drained that store. Who cleaned house? :lol:

I can't be too upset because overall it was a good day, but sounds like there is a lurking hoarder around here. :shock:
 
[quote name='boneless']As a former 8yr resident of LA, I can safely say you did a hell of alot of driving considering what traffic is like.[/QUOTE]

That was a hell of a long drive, if his last store was in Yorba Linda, he might be heading out my way or towards the Corona area.
 
Found a boatload of guides at a few stores near me (got at least 1 of each guide listed). Cool thing is that at the last store I went to the cashier was a friend of my wife and I that we hadn't seen in around a year. Brought the guides up and chit chatted about life and what's up; invited her to a Halloween party I'm throwing and she said she'd be there! Couldn't believe CAG'in for guides would have made this happen lol :)

Also, some odd dudes in a SUV tried to convince me to buy a boxed surround sound system while I was in the parking lot. Apparently they were delivering purchased items to customers and somehow ended up with an extra sound system retailing $2,000; instead of taking it back they were trying to sell it to split the money themselves... one dude even mentioned stripper bar money LOL It seemed kinda fishy so I just did a lot of convincing to back out. Probably would've been a hell of a deal but I was paranoid about the whole situation.
 
My goldmine BB was a wasteland, I guess they finally pulled their guides on time for once.
The second store I tried had little but I was satisfied with the few JRPG guides I found - until I was unceremoniously shot down at the register.

Sigh.
 
Wow, that was fun!

I picked up 16 guides. I nice mix of games I've been meaning to play, games I've already played & will now gladly play again, and games with interesting multiplayer modes.

I specifically bought some guides for myself and my best buds.

I love this website! Thanks guys!
 
[quote name='io']I can't read back to see if anyone else went to these stores as I'm on the slowest hotel WiFi I've ever seen (seriously, it is taking like 1 full minute just to load a page at CAG), but here's what I've found.

I'm in the DC area for work and even though I arrived on the red-eye and drove right past the Springfield, VA Best Buy around when they opened I didn't know about the drop. So I couldn't get back there till 6pm. This store has always been good to me in the past (1-3 years ago, anyway) so I thought I might have some luck. I was pretty pissed they did such an epic drop so soon after the last and while I was not at home. I had decent luck back at home with the last drop so I can only imagine what I'm missing there (I know one store had many AC II and ME2 LEs, for example). Well, go figure, every single guide was gone at Springfield, VA store. So I can only assume they were pulled in advance or at least by the early afternoon.

But I didn't want to give up there so I headed out to 2 more stores (Bailey's Crossroads and the one near Landmark Mall in Alexandria). Both had not done complete pulls but they either did a partial pull or got plundered by the rest of you nobs. I couldn't find a single LE, but did manage to snag a few I wanted: Bioshock 2, PoP Forgotten Sands, Nier. Plus I got a few that I didn't want but just couldn't pass up getting (for trades or whatever): CoD MW2, UFC, NCAA 11, WoW Dungeon Companion III. Both of the stores had a lot of these "lesser" guides (except Nier - I got the only one I saw) as of 6-7 pm Monday night in case anyone wants 'em (the one by Landmark had about 8 CoD MW2 guides I remember for sure).[/QUOTE]


Uh yeah, you are not going to find any LE's anywhere in the south east area of the beltway, not because of pulls though. I got them all, sorry. Oh for future reference they are all on my way home after work and I know all the back roads to avoid the horrendous beltway traffic.

For the record:
Springfield only had 1 opened Zelda LE , 1 sealed ME 2 LE, NO ACII LE, 2 Star Ocean International
Landmark had 2 sealed ME 2 LE

IO, if you rally want the LE's and near Baileys during lunch or after work I just can give you them if you want, PM me.
 
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[quote name='JordanPlayer']
Also, some odd dudes in a SUV tried to convince me to buy a boxed surround sound system while I was in the parking lot. Apparently they were delivering purchased items to customers and somehow ended up with an extra sound system retailing $2,000; instead of taking it back they were trying to sell it to split the money themselves... one dude even mentioned stripper bar money LOL It seemed kinda fishy so I just did a lot of convincing to back out. Probably would've been a hell of a deal but I was paranoid about the whole situation.[/QUOTE]

It is a scam. Your instincts were right
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam
 
[quote name='JordanPlayer'] Also, some odd dudes in a SUV tried to convince me to buy a boxed surround sound system while I was in the parking lot. Apparently they were delivering purchased items to customers and somehow ended up with an extra sound system retailing $2,000; instead of taking it back they were trying to sell it to split the money themselves... one dude even mentioned stripper bar money LOL It seemed kinda fishy so I just did a lot of convincing to back out. Probably would've been a hell of a deal but I was paranoid about the whole situation.[/QUOTE]
good thing you trusted your instincts, that sounds like a scam to me. the system probably cost 50 bucks.
 
Is there a technique to getting these penny guides (other than getting there first)? To increase the possiblity of getting through the checkout with my booty, should I have another purchase in hand?

I had no problems with my BB on the Blur deal but something tells me I would have trouble getting away with this at my local store.
 
[quote name='DanteWarrior']It is a scam. Your instincts were right
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam [/QUOTE]
I used to work for a company like that back in the mid 90's. We would load up our cars at 7-8am and take the products out to various places, then come back at the end of the week to 'fill orders'. We all worked strictly on commission with NO base salary or allowance for gas expended, which kinda sucked since some days our 'routes' would take us 150-300 miles round trip.:roll:

I only stuck around until I was 'trained', then I left the company, but my one buddy took his car all over creation for about 2-3 years doing that.

We even went out to the one other place in NJ and since I was a newbie they had me sitting in their bosses' office and counting money.;) I didn't get to go out with the others and sell their cheaply made bathroom sets for $10 each door to door.:cry::rofl:

Funny thing is, that company went out of business and another location with the SAME boss(with a different name and dyed hair:lol:) opened up. Then about a year after that I happened upon a third location, but this time it was the gimpy guy who used to run the 'warehouse' at the first place in charge.

We used to sell VHS 3-packs with sports bloopers, oversized 'college' dictionaries and Babar The Elephant themed toy/storybook sets(where most of the toys didn't make the elephant sounds).

It wouldn't have been a bad scammy company to work for though, since gas was only about $.99 a gallon back in the 90's.
 
[quote name='Velo214']ok so shrike has been hitting up my bestbuy crestwood, lol. but seriously i have never gotten in on this penny guides and i dont think it will ever happen. i only hit up crestwood bestbuy cuz its in my backyard, and even then i didnt go today cuz i had a 12 hour workday (11-11) so it's gonna be barebones tomorrow. oh well. peace and good job on those that got some.[/QUOTE]Crestwood was good for penny guides up until 6 or so months ago, when all the BBs started to be much more aggressive with guide pulls. Now, you're lucky if you find any guides there in the evening after a drop. All of the stores along the 270 corridor, it's been worthless to try since 6 months ago, unless the reps in media aren't paying attention to the inter-store communications.

I know Bridgeton was picked clean from employee pulls this morning and I didn't have time to hit Crestwood, Fenton or South County this evening. As I managed to find what I needed for guides from other CAGs, I'm covered. Chesterfield, Brentwood, Ellisville, and St. Peters, they're outside my normal hunting grounds. Manchester is too new to get any past data on, though I might run by there tomorrow after work and see what's there, if anything. I'm not that hopeful.
 
Question:

when the guide becomes a penny, this price drop is universal? Meaning I can buy this reduced guide at BestBuy, Gamestop, TRU, Kmart? Or the drop is store specific?

thanks
 
[quote name='Strell']Still looking for a Spirit Tracks LE, if anyone grabbed a spare.[/QUOTE]
Guide trade thread is -----------> THAT way. Quick. I think I saw El Hoardo heading that way as well.;)
[quote name='Davivascaino']Question:

when the guide becomes a penny, this price drop is universal? Meaning I can buy this reduced guide at BestBuy, Gamestop, TRU, Kmart? Or the drop is store specific?

thanks[/QUOTE]
When a guide is listed as having dropped at a store(READ the SECOND POST OF THE THREAD!), it will ring up as a penny at THAT chain of stores. That is, unless one of the clerks/managers overrides the price in the system at the register. But that's why you keep an eye on the screen if possible.

If you don't see it on the compiled list for X or Y store(READ THE THIRD POST, click on SPOILER link for store you wanna know about guide at), then it hasn't dropped there as of yet.
 
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Wow, the first store had several Borderlands and a couple Lego Indiana Jones 2 and the girl at checkout didn't bat an eye when asking for my penny for the BL guide. Woulda tried for LIJ2 as well, but I really wanted BL and although that store used to set out penny guides with a sign stating that they were a penny, now they always prepull and seem like a difficult store to score penny guides.

The second store had every guide of interest to me and more and multiples of most including a bunch of Zelda CEs. Just got one of each of the guides that were most interesting or rarest seeming guides:

GoW Collection
Uncharted 2
Zelda CE
AC II LE
ME 2 LE
Batman AA
Bioshock 2

May go back for more guides and extras for trade tomorrow. This store is 50/50 on cashiers being cool, but the manager on duty is always like that's how they clearance them out, sell it.
 
Finally got in on this after missing the drop earlier this month!

Peninsula/Bay Area, California
Milpitas: got about half the guides on the list, including Assassins Creed 2 LE, I was told that somebody came by in the morning and bought a HUGE stack of guides, there was still plenty when I left at 11am

San Jose (Curtner Ave): found a White Knight Chronicles, Zelda CE, and Nier as well as others

San Jose (Santana Row): Nothing left, was probably pulled

Mountain View: God of War III, Prince of Persia, Zelda CE (several left), Nier

Palo Alto: Everything was pulled, other than 3 copies of Warcraft Dungeon Companion III (so I bought 1)

San Carlos: Didn't even bother checking, even though this store is less than a mile from my house!

Didn't see Borderlands, Just Cause 2, Mass Effect 2 LE, MGS: Peace, or Star Ocean at any of these stores, though the only one I wanted badly was the Star Ocean. I might try Sunnyvale, but I doubt they have anything there. Thanks so much to the OP for posting this, I should have hid the good stuff but didn't expect two Best Buy drops in the same month!
 
[quote name='MasterSun1']Just PMed a user here about a couple guides. Wanted $30 for the two. Thanks buddy, you're so kind! Not like I couldn't pay that at the store!

Hopefully the store I'm stopping by after work has some guides. Everything was pulled last time.[/QUOTE]

wow :whistle2:#

Hit me up if you're looking for a specific guide. I don't mind helping a fellow CAG out. I would do just shipping + $2 for gas. Flipping on eBay on random folk is one thing but on fellow CAGs no thanks.
 
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