I agree about the usefulness of guides over FAQs as well. For example, a Gamefaqs guide may tell you what you need to do when you're stuck on a particular level, whereas the guide will SHOW you in pictures.
This can be tremendously helpful and far outweigh the convenience(if any) of a FAQ over a guide.
Moreover, certain guides are more than just mere guides. Take, for example, the Half Life 2 book. It has full color pictures of every enemy type you could imagine and then some. It has in depth information that you just wouldn't get in a FAQ.
I,myself, have a personal collection of over 100 guides right now. Some of them are utterly useless to me, since I don't have the game, but I look at it as 'IT WAS A PENNY'.
How can you pass up something that normally retails for $14.99 to $34.99(half life 2 and GT 4 books) for a PENNY???
Sure, after awhile they take up a bunch of space, but thats what the guide trading/selling is about, getting rid of those guides you have that you don't need.
Hope this helps clear things up......