Reduced Price Guide Thread XIV (FAQ in 2nd Post)

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The Reduced Price Guide FAQ/OP has been moved to the SECOND post. Read this first!
[customspoiler="Disclaimer"]
All credit goes to IAmTheCheapestGamer, floormat, and guinaevere. They ran this thread for years, and I can safely say we would not have penny guides here without them. Thanks for your work!
[/customspoiler]

Private message me if there is something incorrect or needs to be changed in the non-wiki pages.
Below is two years or so of guide drop info. If you want to see the full list, please refer to the third post of the Reduced Price Guide Thread XIV that can be found HERE.​

Note that date may be of confirmation, and not of drop.

CE/SE/LE=HARDCOVER GUIDE
Red=Gamestop drop
Blue=Best Buy drop
Pink=Toys R Us drop

 

Recent Drops (Last Six Months)

Dropped 3.23.16 at GameStop

Game Stop 1 Cent

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate CE

Just Cause 3

Halo 5 CE



Dropped on 3.26.14
 

Gamestop

Battlefield 4

Disney Infinity

Grand Theft Auto V

Remember Me

Super Mario 3D World

Dropped on 2.26.14

Gamestop 

Assassin's Creed IV: CE

Battlefield 4 CE
Grand Theft Auto CE

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds CE

Skylanders Swap Force CE

Wonderful 101

Dropped on 2.14.14

Toys'R Us

Rage
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Mass Effect 3

Star Wars The Force Unleashed II

Dropped on 10.31.13

Gamestop 
 
Animal Crossing
Assassin's Creed 3
Borderlands 2 LE
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Cheat Code Overload: Winter 2013
Codes & Cheats Vol. 1 2013
Dead Island Riptide
Diablo III

Disgaea D2

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Legendary
Epic Mickey 2
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Halo 4
Hitman Absolution
Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice: Gods Among Us LE
Last of Us

Last of Us LE
Lego City Undercover
Madden 25
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Ni No Kuni
Pokemon Black & White 2 Pokedex
Resident Evil 6 LE
Resident Evil Revelations

Wind Waker LE
Dropped on 9.25.13

Gamestop
Army of Two The Devils Cartel
Dead Space 3
Metal Gear Rising Revengence
Star Trek
Super Mario Bros. Wii U
Epic Mickey 2 Limited Ed
Halo 4 Limited Ed
Hitman Absolution Limited Ed

Dropped on 9.04.13

Gamestop
 
Call of Duty Black Ops II CE
DMC: Devil May Cry
Dishonored
Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider CE       
 
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[quote name='JediKiller24']small drop at Gamestop today:

Max Payne 3

Guild Wars 2 hardcover guide[/QUOTE]

You sure? Still full price on both online.

Correction, both MP3 and Guildwars 2 (normal) showing $9.99, no pennied though
 
[quote name='Visc']At least I didn't pull an IATCG and whine to corporate about it though. I'm hitting up my favorite BB tomorrow too, since they never pull there and I have substantially better luck at it.[/QUOTE]

Is that really necessary?


On Topic:
My store has quite a few FF CE guides, maybe I'll go try my luck :D
 
[quote name='Hemi']You sure? Still full price on both online.

Correction, both MP3 and Guildwars 2 (normal) showing $9.99, no pennied though[/QUOTE]


So by drop he means in price, not a toss?
 
[quote name='Hemi']You sure? Still full price on both online.

Correction, both MP3 and Guildwars 2 (normal) showing $9.99, no pennied though[/QUOTE]

I can confirm both are a penny. And its the Guild Wars 2 Hardcover guide.
 
[quote name='coopscohen']I can confirm both are a penny.[/QUOTE]


Crap, I never bothered to get them today. Didn't realize they dropped.
 
[quote name='Hemi']You sure? Still full price on both online.

Correction, both MP3 and Guildwars 2 (normal) showing $9.99, no pennied though[/QUOTE]
If you do in-store pickup, it will say that it's pennied in the store.
 
[quote name='YBX87']but couldn't certain gamestop stores not sell it/ or refuse to sell it to you for a penny?[/QUOTE]

Yes, which is exactly what mine did with KoA a month or two ago. They had it pulled, I went in to get it, but they wouldn't let me leave with it for a penny even though it rang up as such. Shame, too, since they also have both of these available.

Oh well. Honestly, it's just the fact that I can't score them that bothers me more than the action of not scoring them itself.
 
[quote name='enigma']Yes, which is exactly what mine did with KoA a month or two ago. They had it pulled, I went in to get it, but they wouldn't let me leave with it for a penny even though it rang up as such. Shame, too, since they also have both of these available.

Oh well. Honestly, it's just the fact that I can't score them that bothers me more than the action of not scoring them itself.[/QUOTE]

i am not even going to waste my time then, my local gamestops are not that friendly/ strict.
 
Rant time.

I'm so fu(king sick of Gamestop not selling me pennied guides. They always claim, "we have to send them back to the manufacturer," whn all they do is toss them into the dumpster. Only other way to get guides is to pay $20-40 dollars for one, which is the cost of a few games for a CAG, or get them online where we have shipping fees to contend with. I want one guide for each game I have. Is that wrong? Gamestop, the next time I go into your store to get a pennied guide, kindly STFU and just sell it to me.

I know this might sound entitled. It isn't. The item rings up for a price, so they should sell it for that price. This has been going on for years. The price is no mistake.
 
[quote name='Fukurou']Rant time.

I'm so fu(king sick of Gamestop not selling me pennied guides. They always claim, "we have to send them back to the manufacturer," whn all they do is toss them into the dumpster. Only other way to get guides is to pay $20-40 dollars for one, which is the cost of a few games for a CAG, or get them online where we have shipping fees to contend with. I want one guide for each game I have. Is that wrong? Gamestop, the next time I go into your store to get a pennied guide, kindly STFU and just sell it to me.

I know this might sound entitled. It isn't. The item rings up for a price, so they should sell it for that price. This has been going on for years. The price is no mistake.[/QUOTE]

It is entitlement. They don't have to sell you any item. It's their system of getting rid of the guides. If they didn't destroy the guides, and told the publishers they did, they're likely breaking contract. If you want a guide for each of your game, find them on sale. Don't rely on penny guides.
 
Um, from the old OP (now post #2):

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.
Click to expand...


Isn't it amazing at what kind of info you can find there?

I don't really care how the rest of y'all interpret the wording of the quote, but my translation is:

"Being able to buy "penny guides" at $.01 is a loophole in the inventory management system. Stores are well within their rights to deny sales of penny guides, especially since they have agreements with publishers and/or incentives to destroy penny guides."

If you're successful, then good for you! If not, then don't complain (especially to corporate headquarters and/or the publishers themselves). I fully expect GameStop to go the route of Best Buy and completely remove the ability of the registers to sell penny guides as soon as the head honchos rub two brain cells together and gather up the willpower to form the words.
 
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[quote name='Fukurou']Rant time.

I'm so fu(king sick of Gamestop not selling me pennied guides. They always claim, "we have to send them back to the manufacturer," whn all they do is toss them into the dumpster. Only other way to get guides is to pay $20-40 dollars for one, which is the cost of a few games for a CAG, or get them online where we have shipping fees to contend with. I want one guide for each game I have. Is that wrong? Gamestop, the next time I go into your store to get a pennied guide, kindly STFU and just sell it to me.

I know this might sound entitled. It isn't. The item rings up for a price, so they should sell it for that price. This has been going on for years. The price is no mistake.[/QUOTE]

This is practically the definition of entitlement. Get a clue.
 
[quote name='skiizim']Don't pay attention to him, I guarantee he's 10 years old.[/QUOTE]
That's just unnecessary. I'm obviously not ten years old. What's the point of saying something like that?
 
[quote name='Fukurou']That's just unnecessary. I'm obviously not ten years old. What's the point of saying something like that?[/QUOTE]
Cause your acting like a 10 year old. They don't owe you any penny guides. Go dumpster diving since it sounds like you burned your bridges.
 
[quote name='Rollobobo']You can have the guides, I want your dog!!! :bouncy::bouncy::bouncy:[/QUOTE]

Late, but I have to agree. That is one handsome lil dog.
Love to have a dog right now, but no yard atm.

Also, picked up a FFXIII-2 guide today. :)
 
I think my Best Buy still has some FF13-2 CE guides. Probably going to check that out but expecting them to be pulled or to get denied. Anything else to keep an eye out for? Darksiders 2 guide? Battlefield 3 CE guide? Anything?

I'm pretty sure my BB still has a Battlefield CE guide and if I could get that for a penny . . .

Sorry for my questions. I'm new to Penny Guide hunting, and the OP is a bit of a mess in my opinion.
 
Just grabbed 2x Guild Wars 2 HC. One was an instore pickup, the second I asked nicely for. She didn't even flinch when ringing them up, I swear she even giggled a little. I did pre-order Destiny to get the poster, so maybe that helped..
 
Found Final Fantasy xiii-2 ce and mass effect 3 ce at best buy yesterday.
They did not ring up with a price so employee had to call a manager. After looking into it he just said they could not be sold. While I would have liked to have the guides it is not worth fighting over so I just said ok and left.

While in Gamestop today for something else I spotted a Guild Wars 2 CE near checkout.
I decided what the heck and would see if I could get it. Sure enough it rang up a penny. The worker had said he was looking for it earlier. Then he just gave it to me and I said Thank You.
 
[quote name='Captain Urahara']I think my Best Buy still has some FF13-2 CE guides. Probably going to check that out but expecting them to be pulled or to get denied. Anything else to keep an eye out for? Darksiders 2 guide? Battlefield 3 CE guide? Anything?



I'm pretty sure my BB still has a Battlefield CE guide and if I could get that for a penny . . .



Sorry for my questions. I'm new to Penny Guide hunting, and the OP is a bit of a mess in my opinion.[/QUOTE]



Darksiders 2 is pennied, as is ninja gaiden 2, all that LEGO stuff they have, sticker book's etc.
 
I just got... the MOTHERLOAD, I filled a backpack to bursting and STILL left behind two ninja gaiden 3 guides, and a bunch of LEGO book's non game related, picture soon.
Http://i.imgur.com/1ifLzqr.jpg
Three Max payne 3, Two Guildwars 2 LE, One Lego Ideas Book, One NSMB 2, One Darksider's 2, One LEGO Character's Encyclopedia, and One FFXIII-2 CE...
LET THE JEALOUSY BEGIN!
 
Was out around some stores I don't go to so decided to stop. Struck out at Gamestop on a FF XIII guide, the girls working didn't know what to do and didn't want to get audited.

Went to the BB down the street and scored a FF XIII-2 CE, Uncharted 3 CE and Mass Effect 3. Took 20ish minutes for the employee/managers to figure out why they were "not available for sale" and then just gave me them. Now I have 2 extra FF XIII-2 CE guides, will need to update my tradelist.
 
[quote name='Hemi']I just got... the MOTHERLOAD, I filled a backpack to bursting and STILL left behind two ninja gaiden 3 guides, and a bunch of LEGO book's non game related, picture soon.
Http://i.imgur.com/1ifLzqr.jpg
Three Max payne 3, Two Guildwars 2 LE, One Lego Ideas Book, One NSMB 2, One Darksider's 2, One LEGO Character's Encyclopedia, and One FFXIII-2 CE...
LET THE JEALOUSY BEGIN![/QUOTE]

That's a good way to make friends.
 
[quote name='Hemi']Darksiders 2 is pennied, as is ninja gaiden 2, all that LEGO stuff they have, sticker book's etc.[/QUOTE]


Darksiders is NOT pennied at best buy. I checked as of Tuesday.
 
^^^ I think he was talking about GameStop.

This isn't a complete list but the SKUs for these guides were deleted from the last Best Buy pull on 01/27/2013. They ring up not available for sale but employees are nice sometimes and just give them to you :)

Assassin's Creed Revelations CE
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 CE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 CE
Dead Island
Dead or Alive 5
Dragon's Dogma
Fable: The Journey
Final Fantasy XIII-2 CE
Game of Thrones
Gears of War 3 LE
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Mario Kart 7
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 CE
Max Payne 3
NCAA Football 13
Prototype 2
Resident Evil 6 LE
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Saints Row: The Third
Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods and Kings
Silent Hill: Downpour
Sleeping Dogs
Spec Ops: The Line
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Street Fighter X Tekken
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Sims 3: Showtime Expansion Pack
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 3 CE
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
 
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[quote name='Romeo']Darksiders is NOT pennied at best buy. I checked as of Tuesday.[/QUOTE]
While Hemi seems to be talking about Best Buy, note that Darksiders is pennied at Gamestop.
 
[quote name='coopscohen']^^^ I think he was talking about GameStop.

This isn't a complete list but the SKUs for these guides were deleted from the last Best Buy pull on 01/27/2013. They ring up not available for sale but employees are nice sometimes and just give them to you :)

Assassin's Creed Revelations CE
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 CE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 CE
Dead Island
Dead or Alive 5
Dragon's Dogma
Fable: The Journey
Final Fantasy XIII-2 CE
Game of Thrones
Gears of War 3 LE
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Mario Kart 7
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 CE
Max Payne 3
NCAA Football 13
Prototype 2
Resident Evil 6 LE
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Saints Row: The Third
Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods and Kings
Silent Hill: Downpour
Sleeping Dogs
Spec Ops: The Line
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Street Fighter X Tekken
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Sims 3: Showtime Expansion Pack
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 3 CE
XCOM: Enemy Unknown[/QUOTE]

That is super. In for everything I can get my hands on.
 
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Dang I should have cleaned out the BB I went to. It seemed the end cap that I got the others from was full of those guides, probably about 40+ guides total. Should have at least grabbed a RE 6 LE since they had about 5 of them. If anyone is around Avon, IN then hit that store up, although they might have pulled after I left.
 
[quote name='Fukurou']While Hemi seems to be talking about Best Buy, note that Darksiders is pennied at Gamestop.[/QUOTE]



I was at gamestop my bad lol, hence the guildwars 2 LE and max payne 3, and the gamestop stickers...
 
[quote name='Zolor23']My BB sucks, they just scan a different games guide to charge me the same price. Isn't that sorta bad for inventory?[/QUOTE]

Very bad.
 
Had a me3 CE in hand at best buy and got denied, they sent me to customer service since it wouldn't come up even though price checking at a penny and they denied me
 
Wow! Just made an 8 guide haul from BB from coopscohen's post yesterday. Can somebody please add this to the OP?? While incomplete, it is pretty much verified, and its always easier to jump to Page 1 then trying to find this (that) post some days from now..The situation was pretty epic. 4 manager type people came over to the register when I guess an inventory guy told them over their headsets to just give them to me b/c they would be going in the dumpster anyway. This then caused all 4 of them to talk about how to print out a 'junk list' 'somebody is in trouble' and proceeded straight to the guide area.

Also grabbed my Max Payne 3 guide from GS from In-Store Pickup. The clerk was shocked it was a penny, and thought it was pretty cool ("Now you know what you can tell people when they say you can't get anything for a penny" yeah yeah, har har) I asked him nicely if I could scope out his piles of guides in the back if I promise to keep my hands in the air at all times and he denied it. I even asked if I could just squint from the doorway..he said no. He implied he was happy to type in any titles I wanted to the computer, but I may have already tipped him off b/c I got a "No we don't have it" from about 5 I listed off..

Oh well, pretty good day, always comforting to know that penny guides aren't dead, just harder to get!
 
When purchasing penny guides is there any tecnique when checking out to better your odds at getting them (like mention anything about them being a penny) or is it completely ymmv? Cuz I kno for sure my best buy has a few mass effect 3 ce guides out on the floor
 
[quote name='Mikey115']When purchasing penny guides is there any tecnique when checking out to better your odds at getting them (like mention anything about them being a penny) or is it completely ymmv? Cuz I kno for sure my best buy has a few mass effect 3 ce guides out on the floor[/QUOTE]

IDK, huge YMMV. You gotta first judge the personality type of the clerk in about 5 seconds, possibly even so much as doing a little recon from the New Release movie area to get a sense of how they might be. I ALWAYS approach the situation playing dumb, then make a call whether to mention something based on their reaction to seeing the penny. Sometimes they might be "Oh, that is so cool, here ya go!" No more effort has to be put forth. But if they start to look nervous, fidgety, or look around, then yeah, I may interject and say "Yeah, I know these are a penny, I keep track of these sort of things, its never been a problem in the past, do it all the time!" and that might help. If managers come over..good luck! Just be nice, cheerful and very thankful thru the whole process and you might surprise yourself. But don't go in there with a "DES ARE PENNY AND ALL MINE" attitude or you'll definitely be shot down. Also, don't hoard on your first trip to the register. If you get the OK and want more or multiples, run the first sack out to your car and re-enter for more.
 
BB is very very YMMV now due to the guides ringing up "not available for sale". Its not like how it was before where they could actually ring up and sell them to you for a penny. Now they have to decide to give them to you for free or deny you. It does help to play dumb at first and be buying something else in the same transaction.
 
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