Reduced Price Guides-Discussion Thread

[quote name='ferant316']Side point, anyone else notice Best Buy Outlet on eBay sells penny guides now?[/quote]

Hmm, interesting. What's there sellerID?
 
I haven't had any luck finding FO3 CE at GS. Managed to pick up a PoP CE for free. Hopefully, we get a BB drop tomorrow that includes FO3 CE. I think we're due for a big drop soon.
 
Alright, so I talked to my friend who is a manager at Best Buy regarding the Best Buy Outlet selling penny guides. He said, similar to the Anime liquidation that his store was a part of, certain stores like his are liquidating their stock of guides and not carrying them from now on in order to have more room for products that do sell (in his store's case Wii accessories.)

Each store's management has been advised to come up with their own sales to move as many out the door before the clearance hits, which he believes will be 75% off in 2-3 weeks. The email he got from the Regional Manager listed 10 other stores making a total of 11 that will be doing this, possibly more in other regions. My guess would be VERY YMMV but interesting to see if it spreads. He wouldn't tell me the stores, but if you're in a Best Buy anyways check if there's a managers clearance on guides in the next couple weeks.
 
I have now visited several more BB's and there are no Halo 3 guides to be found. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anybody care? I know there was a glut of them. Just seems strange they were pulled before being pennied. Does anyone know how long the guides have been sold at the eBay store? If this practice is new, I hope for all our sakes they don't change procedure for removing guides from the B&M stores. Also, if certain stores drop guides altogether, competition could get tough.

I'm all for picking up a few guides for my own use for 75% off, but when traders have to pay for their guides, they can get a bit stingy.
 
[quote name='PapaSmerf']I have now visited several more BB's and there are no Halo 3 guides to be found. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anybody care? I know there was a glut of them. Just seems strange they were pulled before being pennied. Does anyone know how long the guides have been sold at the eBay store? If this practice is new, I hope for all our sakes they don't change procedure for removing guides from the B&M stores. Also, if certain stores drop guides altogether, competition could get tough.

I'm all for picking up a few guides for my own use for 75% off, but when traders have to pay for their guides, they can get a bit stingy.[/quote]

I picked up a shitload of different guides lately by trading in a buttload of older shit guides I had lying around(Hulk, Iron Man, etc). The guides I got include a PS2 only version of the San Andreas guide(thick mofo), a PS2 only Vice City guide, a guide for Fade To Black(sequel to a Genesis/SNES game called Flashback: The Quest For Identity) and a bunch of others.

All in all, I think I got the better end of the deal, since I got an almost equal number of guides back for the crappy ones I dumped.

However, I have picked up some for $2-5 each in times past, including Lost Kingdoms, another copy of Vice City's guide and some other random ones for $1-3 each.

Most of those are TRADE ONLY on my TL now, though the ones with maps ripped out and stuffed back in I'd probably consider for my 10 guides for $20 shipped thing I've got going on right now. Hell, with how many I have, I might as well toss in an extra 5 or so.
 
Stopped at a BB on my way home from work today and they had a stack of guides on a cart. I asked about them and the CSR told me they were setting up a 25% off table for them. I have been wondering if BB is going to change how they deal with their unsold stock due to ferant316's report of the directive to clear out guides at certain stores and the fact that BB outlet on eBay is selling pennied guides. In some cases the guides are going for more than retail #-oI fear that somehow this may be noticed and BB will change policy to transfer guides rather than field destroy them. I suppose there is the chance that they will still use the .01 price to clear guides out of the system before they send them somewhere else allowing us the chance to collect a few, but if they expect to get more sales from them, it is likely they will be more vigilant in pulling them.

What I have observed so far is Halo 3 being pulled without being pennied. They have not shown up on the BB outlet store on eBay yet, but there are a bunch of sealed copies for auction by dealtree-auctions. Does anyone know anything about dealtree? Could their stock have come from BB? I don't know why they would not have liquidated them through the outlet store unless there were just too many of them. Also, the last BB drop was March 2nd. Has there ever been such a dry spell before?

The guides being pulled for 25% off were:
Prince of Persia CE
Spore
Star Wars Force Unleashed
Zelda Phantom Hourglass

I know that each BB store has reduced certain guides in the past and this may be more of the same, but perhaps a pattern will emerge.
 
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Posts in the Reduced Price Guide thread state that now GTA IV and Haze have gone missing in their stores. Not enough GTA IV's in the stores I frequent to rule out actual sales rather than a pull.
 
[quote name='PapaSmerf'] Also, the last BB drop was March 2nd. Has there ever been such a dry spell before?
[/quote]


Yeah, I thought two years ago there was a 3 month period where BB didn't do any drops. Then one massive drop happened. I think that was the drop prior to the Xenosaga 3 drop at BB. In that same month, they did a second drop which I believe occurred on a Friday. I was first to post about the Xenosaga 3 drop at BB and know it wasn't part of the earlier drop in that month. This was before IATCG started managing the guide drop thread. I think it was floormat before IATCG??

How do I know?, b/c back then I was checking the guides every day b/c I had just started guide hunting and b/c BB was right down the street from my place so it was very convenient. It didn't hurt that this BB was cool about guide drops also.

For the most part, first Monday of the month is the rule of thumb but it's by far not set in stone. That's about the best BB "pattern" I think most CAGs who regularly watch for 0.01 guides would attest to.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']That link is dead.[/quote]

Link's not working for me either; it's returning 0 results.

Also, I was at Best Buy 313 (Evanston, IL) and they actually had price tags that showed 1 cent for a pair of penny guides and 4 more tags with SKUs but no names. I couldn't match them to anything on the shelf.
 
[quote name='jgamezcua']Yeah, I thought two years ago there was a 3 month period where BB didn't do any drops. Then one massive drop happened. I think that was the drop prior to the Xenosaga 3 drop at BB. In that same month, they did a second drop which I believe occurred on a Friday. I was first to post about the Xenosaga 3 drop at BB and know it wasn't part of the earlier drop in that month. This was before IATCG started managing the guide drop thread. I think it was floormat before IATCG??

How do I know?, b/c back then I was checking the guides every day b/c I had just started guide hunting and b/c BB was right down the street from my place so it was very convenient. It didn't hurt that this BB was cool about guide drops also.

For the most part, first Monday of the month is the rule of thumb but it's by far not set in stone. That's about the best BB "pattern" I think most CAGs who regularly watch for 0.01 guides would attest to.[/quote]

Actually, I believe Guinavere maintained the thread through several incarnations prior to me taking over and before that Floormat ran the thread.
 
[quote name='PapaSmerf']Brag Post Warning - My wife just came home with Resident Evil Archives guide. I am a lucky man.[/QUOTE]

How did she land that one?
 
She just spotted a used book store we were not aware of when she was on an errand and stopped in. She of course being the ultimate garage saler complained about the condition (good), the CSR said it was selling for $70 online and sold it to her for less than 10% of that.
 
From Wikipedia:

Resident Evil Archives is a reference guide of the Resident Evil series written by staff members of Capcom. It was translated into English and published by BradyGuides. The guide describes and summarizes all of the key events that occur in Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and Resident Evil Code: Veronica. Along with the main plot analysis, it also contains character relationship charts, artwork, item descriptions and file transcripts for all five games.
 
Does Gamecrazy ever drop prices on guides before they penny them out? I dropped by one today and saw several good guides, but were full price.
 
[quote name='erehwon']Does Gamecrazy ever drop prices on guides before they penny them out? I dropped by one today and saw several good guides, but were full price.[/QUOTE]
by my experience working there for a year, no.
but they always have the deal going where you get 20% off the guide if you buy the game at the same time. Which is about $4 off a $20 guide.
 
Fortunately, I work in the back at my Best Buy and if any guides are pulled I would see them. The guides first have to be taken out of the system before getting trashed. I figure there should be a pull sometime since there hasn't been one in a good while. I personally want to get...

POP hard cover
Gears 2 hard cover
Fallout 3
Mirrors Edge
Dead Space
RE5 hard cover
Resistance 2
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I have managed to snag 73 copies of Madden 09.[/QUOTE] Where did they penny out?

And I still have about 25 copies of Madden 08 here from CC last year.

Also, really hoping there is going to be a drop come Monday morning. I plan on forcing myself out of bed at 9 am and taking the bus to all 3 BB in town. Those guides are gonna be great. =D
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I have managed to snag 73 copies of Madden 09.[/QUOTE]
Wasn't there a CAG who was making a throne out of old guides? These would be handy for that.:lol:
 
[quote name='Vader582']Wasn't there a CAG who was making a throne out of old guides? These would be handy for that.:lol:[/QUOTE]

I had around 600+ guides at one point and I very well could have made a throne out of guides, though some of them have proven to be worth more than the paper they're printed on(like the lone copy, out of THREE I HAD, of Half Life: Raising The Bar that I found).

The more 'valuable' ones are off to the side and collecting dust in a seperate spot than the rest of the 'junk' guides(read: the non TRADE ONLY ones on my TL).

Unfortunately, had I known what some of the guides I had prior would go up to in value, I would've kept ALL of them and never sold ANY to the local game shop.
 
Is anyone else really hoping there's a drop at BB next week? Just coming back from there, I noticed they had 12 copies of the Fallout 3 LE book.
 
[quote name='loxthefox']Is anyone else really hoping there's a drop at BB next week? Just coming back from there, I noticed they had 12 copies of the Fallout 3 LE book.[/QUOTE] Yes, I can't wait for Monday morning.
 
I just found a Shenmue Official Perfect guide from the Dreamcast era at a thrift shop for fifty cents. Can't find it on ebay. Any value either sale or tradewise? Has shelf wear but is not bent or creased and still has the poster. Thanks.
 
[quote name='snakeneck']I just found a Shenmue Official Perfect guide from the Dreamcast era at a thrift shop for fifty cents. Can't find it on ebay. Any value either sale or tradewise? Has shelf wear but is not bent or creased and still has the poster. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Is this the Versus version? Sold mine for $10 many moons ago.
 
[quote name='darkslime']Yes, I can't wait for Monday morning.[/QUOTE]

I have a bad feeling that I'm just going to end up disappointed like I have for the past four months...
 
[quote name='Pr0JectNymPh0!']Is this the Versus version? Sold mine for $10 many moons ago.[/QUOTE]
Yes it is and thank you for the response.
 
Glad Brian talked me into visiting BB this morning. Got everything I needed, and a few more for trading (except for LE guides). They even had the Madden and Saints Row 2 with a penny sign on them (never seen that before around here).
 
Got a nice haul. For once didn't take duplicates. I never trade em, my friends don't really want them, and they just collect dust in my closet. Glad to finally get MK: Wiii and SSB, AND that awesome Gears 2 LE. Too bad Madworld wasn't there.
 
[quote name='Brian9824']My bestbuy has 25+ copies of Fallout 3 LE guide[/QUOTE]

That sounds like a couple of my local GS stores, which still have 10-20 FFXII LE's and at least one of the two stores that I remember having pulled them all to the back now.

The other store uses them as a new shelf where there wouldn't be on the bottom of the normal guide shelf.
 
For the first time ever I was denied a penny guide at Best Buy. No worries though. I already bought 14 guides from them and put them in my car. Went back inside to pick up a few more and was told I'd have to pay full price for the new ones.
 
All the Fallout 3 CE guides were bamboozeled. Probably off to the ebay outlet store. Anyways my stores were loaded to the ceiling with guides this drop. Got the following

Endwar X2
Gears of War 2 LE X13
GTA Lost and Damned X6
Haze X2
Madworld X7
Mario Kart wii X2
Resistance 2 X5
Saints Row 2 X2
Super Smash Brothers Brawl X6
 
I am just amazed at you guys able to get so many guides. I don't mind how many you get, just the fact that no one has said anything about it or denied you on sheer volume. I'm pretty sure if I had a cart of 20+ guides, it would be a red flag when they all start to penny out at the cashier.
 
I was only able to find guides at 1 out of 4 locations this time and wasn't able to find Mario Kart, which was the only one I really wanted myself. It seems like all the stores in the Raleigh area have been pulling them the day they .01, at least since the last big drop.

I got these:

MadWorld x2
GTA: CTW x2
GTA: LD
Gears of War 2 LE
 
No luck at the other BB - only was able to score the Gears LE and Afro.

I was hoping for Metal Gear, Madworld, Mario, and the GTAs but i doubt the last BB i havent checked out will have them.
 
[quote name='Furashu']would someone mind buying me a FF12 guide? lol, im trying to beat the game. and gamefaqs text hurts.[/QUOTE]

I've got a spare up for sell, how much are you offering?
 
At least my local two BB stores had some guides this time, as opposed to last time when I found jack and shit on day one.

Mind you, my closest one was EMPTY of penny guides, but the other one at least had the one copy of SR2, 4-6 or so copies of Haze and about a dozen Madden 09's.

If I needed really cheap TP, I woulda picked up the Haze n Madden ones....but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the twenty cents. LOL
 
[quote name='boneless']I am just amazed at you guys able to get so many guides. I don't mind how many you get, just the fact that no one has said anything about it or denied you on sheer volume. I'm pretty sure if I had a cart of 20+ guides, it would be a red flag when they all start to penny out at the cashier.[/QUOTE]

Yesterday was the first time I used one of those small carts that BB has to carry my guides. I picked up 4 GoW2 LE (among others), leaving 2 behind for fellow penny guide hunters. I only picked up a couple extra each of the GTA guides and left behind about 15 of each. I was able to pick up 3 Saints Row 2 guides. MGS4 LE, Mario Kart and Resistance 2, which I got at GS when it pennied, where nowhere to be seen.

Excellent drop this time around but was really hoping that Fallout 3 CE, GTA 4 and SW: FU had also dropped. I'm keeping an eye out for Star Ocean: The Last Hope and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon to penny, eventhough, I think it's too early for them to drop.
 
I was only able to snag 2 Gears 2 LEs. I got one yesterday and left two behind. Today I went back and got one more. I'm planning on taking a bit of a trip this weekend to try and track down some others.

Hopefully I can trade one of those Gears 2 LEs for a Fallout 3 CE!
 
[quote name='emg28']Yesterday was the first time I used one of those small carts that BB has to carry my guides. I picked up 4 GoW2 LE (among others), leaving 2 behind for fellow penny guide hunters. I only picked up a couple extra each of the GTA guides and left behind about 15 of each. I was able to pick up 3 Saints Row 2 guides. MGS4 LE, Mario Kart and Resistance 2, which I got at GS when it pennied, where nowhere to be seen.

Excellent drop this time around but was really hoping that Fallout 3 CE, GTA 4 and SW: FU had also dropped. I'm keeping an eye out for Star Ocean: The Last Hope and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon to penny, eventhough, I think it's too early for them to drop.[/QUOTE]

If Force Unleashed drops and you get your hands on an extra one, I have an extra of the GTA IV guide with your name on it. I bought it from the one local shop for $5 for my one friend, who then said they didn't want it(since they thought I was getting it for .01).:bomb:
 
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