Official Amazon Quick Picks FAQ - READ 1st POST

Jodou

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Welcome to the Official CAG Amazon.com Gold Box Quick Picks Thread

This thread's primary purpose is to clarify what Amazon.com's quick picks are and how to manipulate them.
PLEASE READ THE FAQ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS.

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Amazon.com Confirmed Quick Picks Info
(These games have been confirmed to show up, within
the last year, in your Quick Picks by CAG members)

:3ds:Nintendo 3DS
10/25/12 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate
07/04/12 - Code of Princess
05/11/12 - Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
01/09/13 - Fire Emblem: Awakening
05/11/12 - Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance
05/11/12 - Mario Tennis Open
06/23/12 - New Super Mario Bros. 2
05/16/12 - Pokémon Black Version 2
05/31/12 - Pokemon Conquest
05/12/12 - Pokémon White Version 2
05/12/12 - Rollercoaster Tycoon
05/17/12 - Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir
05/16/12 - Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy

:wii:Nintendo WiiU
05/12/12 - Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
06/26/12 - New Super Mario Bros U
05/03/12 - The Last Story
06/16/12 - ZombieU

:pc:PC
05/23/12 - Diablo III
06/27/12 - The Sims™ 3 Supernatural: Limited Edition

:ps3:Playstation 3
05/31/12 - Assassin's Creed III
06/11/12 - Beyond: Two Souls
12/16/12 - Dark Souls II
05/03/12 - Dead or Alive 5
01/09/13 - Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut
05/14/12 - Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
05/04/12 - Dragon's Crown
01/30/13 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
05/02/12 - Final Fantasy Versus XIII
05/25/12 - God of War: Ascension
07/24/12 - Journey Collector's Edition
07/02/12 - LittleBigPlanet Karting
10/05/12 - Mass Effect Trilogy
05/14/12 - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
10/22/12 - Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
05/06/12 - PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
06/02/12 - Prince of Persia Trilogy HD
07/01/12 - Ratchet & Clank Collection
11/21/12 - Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
11/22/12 - Remember Me
06/16/12 - Resident Evil 6
05/17/12 - Sorcery
05/01/12 - Starhawk
05/25/12 - Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector's Set
07/16/12 - The Last of Us
07/03/12 - The Witch and the Hundred Knights
10/25/12 - Until Dawn
10/03/12 - Zone of the Enders HD Collection

:psp:PSV
07/19/12 - Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
06/19/12 - Call of Duty: Black Ops - Declassified
09/07/12 - Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time
05/16/12 - Gungnir
10/22/12 - Killzone Mercenary
04/30/12 - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
09/07/12 - Persona 4 Golden
06/23/12 - Ragnarok Odyssey
05/17/12 - Silent Hill: Book of Memories
08/05/12 - Soul Sacrifice
10/27/12 - Tearaway

:360:XBox 360
04/27/12 - Akai Katana
06/26/12 - Aliens Colonial Marines Collector's Edition
07/16/12 - Dance Central 3
05/16/12 - Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
07/16/12 - Forza Horizon
10/25/12 - Gears of War: Judgment
05/02/12 - Grand Theft Auto V
10/03/12 - Zone of the Enders HD Collection

Strategy Guides
06/19/12 - Diablo III CE
01/08/13 - Ni No Kuni

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FAQ (Updated 11/04/11)

I keep hearing about 'gold/quick picks'; what are people talking about?
This is referring to the Amazon Gold Box page which lists personal quick picks just below the gold box and best deals. You must be logged in with your Amazon account to view these and they're updated daily (note: actual update times vary from person-to-person and day-to-day).

What can appear in my Quick Picks?
Books, CDs, DVDs; just about anything Amazon carries but more importantly -- video games! In addition to games, strategy guides and accessories may also turn up. Consoles can pop up from time to time but are usually not eligible for long.

What exactly are Quick Picks?
Quick Picks are items selected specifically for you, accompanied by an additional savings coupon. For video games, it's always an additional 5% off the sale price. For example, a $60 game marked down to $56.99 will yield an additional $2.85 discount. With pre-orders this will only lock in the discount percentage, so a price drop will cause the actual amount of the discount to be recalculated.

Does this discount stack with other offers?
Absolutely. Manufacturer coupons, trade-in credit/promotional codes, et cetera will all stack with this discount. I challenge you to find something that doesn't.

I just got three games in my Quick Picks; how many am I allowed per day?
While Amazon stipulates that only one is allowed per day, you can choose as many as you want with some trickery. To pull this off, make sure to keep the original Gold Box page open until you've completed your order(s) and begin by right-clicking the 'Add to cart' button. Now select 'Open Link in New Window/Tab' and you should see the discount applied in your cart. Repeat this process from your original page for each item, then proceed to the checkout and finalize your order.

What disqualifies an item for Quick Picks?
Items in your wish list, cart, or existing purchases/pre-orders will not appear. Marking a game 'not interested/owned/rated' will also disqualify it, but for multi-platform titles it may or may not exclude it for other console(s). The reason why is some games have individual product pages and some do not, so you will need to check this yourself on a case by case basis (1). Canceled pre-orders will not disqualify a game from showing up again; this has been proven and the game can show up again as early as the next day. Additionally, Amazon must have the item flagged for eligibility to show up (there is no way of seeing this).

Lastly, while this generally holds true for most items, certain games will bend this rule and can still appear again despite any of the above.

Where can I read more about Quick Picks?
Here or[CUSTOMSPOILER=Here]

Quick Picks

Every day, your Quick Picks will feature a new set of items selected specifically for you, accompanied by an additional savings coupon. You must be signed in with your customer account to see the deals, and you may only purchase one Quick Pick item per day, so be sure to review the items carefully. You must click the "Add to Cart" button on the Gold Box page to be eligible for the Quick Picks coupon. Once you add one of the items to your Cart, you have 60 minutes to complete the checkout process before the additional savings coupon expires. The coupon savings will display on the final order confirmation page under "Order Summary." The coupon for the other items automatically expires after you've selected one to add to your Cart.

Terms and Conditions - Gold Box Quick Picks

  • You must make at least one purchase through your Amazon.com account in order to be recognized as eligible to receive Gold Box Quick Picks offers. If you are a new customer, you should begin to see Quick Picks three business days after your first purchase.
  • The Gold Box Quick Picks discount is only available for items added to the Shopping Cart from the Quick Picks section of the Gold Box page.
  • Only one Gold Box Quick Picks coupon may be redeemed per eligible customer per day. Once you add an item that is eligible for a Gold Box Quick Picks coupon to your Shopping Cart, the coupons for any other items that were eligible that day immediately expire.
  • Gold Box Quick Picks coupons may only be applied to one unit of product (unless otherwise stated).
  • Each Gold Box Quick Picks coupon expires 60 minutes after you add the eligible item to your Cart.
  • Offer good while supplies last.
  • Gold Box Quick Picks coupons are nontransferable, not for resale, and not redeemable for cash.
  • Gold Box Quick Picks coupons are good only for specific products featured.
  • Gold Box Quick Picks coupons do not apply to shipping and handling or taxes.
  • Gold Box Quick Picks coupons cannot be combined with other promotions.
  • If you return a product purchased using a Gold Box Quick Picks coupon, your refund will equal to the amount you paid for the product, subject to applicable refund policies.
  • The Gold Box Quick Picks coupon must be redeemed through the Shopping Cart. 1-Click® checkout may not be used in conjunction with redemption of Gold Box Quick Picks coupons.
  • Does not apply to any products purchased from Amazon Marketplace or third-party merchants.
[/CUSTOMSPOILER]

How can I contribute to this thread?
Ask questions not covered by the FAQ, tell us your personal success stories, or list your gaming quick picks of the day. Feel free to brag about what games you got in your quick picks today and how you did it!

Is there any way to improve my chances of getting Quick Picks I want?
YES! The second half of this thread will be detailing proven methods for making items appear in your Quick Picks tailored to what you're targeting.


Recommendations

Recommendations are based on three factors: purchases, items you've marked as owned, and items you've rated. Each of them contribute to what will appear on the page and are key to manipulating your Quick Picks. Let's start with some basics by removing items in the list that you have no interest in.

Step One
If you'll notice, each item in your recommendations has a check-box titled 'Not Interested' below it. Because each item here is a potential candidate for your Quick Picks, you will want to check this for items you never want to be selected. Alternatively, you may just want to remove the offending item that is generating the recommendation by clicking 'Fix this'.

Fixing an item will bring up a detailed list of why the item is being recommended. It will always be based on one of the three factors aforementioned and from here you can check 'Don't use for recommendations'. However, this will drastically reduce items on your list and could also remove recommendations for items you do want! Use this method only if you're confident it will not disturb recommendations you want, but you can always undo this later if it does. You may find that your recommendations are now empty! Not to worry, we're going to populate it with only the good stuff now.

Step Two
Start by searching for the exact game you want. For this example I will use Dark Souls. Scrolling down on the product description page you will notice a section entitled 'Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought'. These work just like your recommendations page since they're linked. From this list you will want to pick a game that is popular and very closely matches the style of game-play. Since DS is an action RPG, good choices would be Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Uncharted 3, or Mass Effect 3. Now, return to your recommendations page and use the search bar there to 'Search for items to rate' (you may need to specify what department). Tell Amazon that you own it and give it five stars for good measure. Going back to your recommendations, you should now see Dark Souls staring you in the face along with plenty of other games. Remember what we did in step one? Hop to it!

Pro-Tip
The last thing I want to touch on with recommendations is how much weight each of the three factors give. Purchases are the major factor in successfully getting games in your quick picks, but for newer accounts you will likely not have any. To remedy this, you can place a faux (fake) pre-order for one of the games you selected in step two (such as Uncharted 3) and rate it five stars once it shows up in your 'items you own' page. Make sure you pick a game that is not already released, as you will not be charged until it ships (this includes Amazon/game credit; they will be refunded immediately after canceling). Simply cancel it once the game you wanted shows up in your quick picks. By telling Amazon that you own the item and rating it can still get the game in there, but this is a surefire method.


Browsing History

This has no impact on Quick Picks whatsoever, since they're locally stored on your PC. However, it is an incredibly handy tool for narrowing down which games will factor into getting an item into your recommendations. After viewing a game, go to the Your Amazon page and you'll notice a section called 'Customers Who Bought Items in Your Recent History Also Bought'. These items absolutely pinpoint what you should own/rate. Afterward, just delete your browsing history to reduce the clutter.


Maintenance

Lastly, I can tell you from experience that like day old bread -- your recommendations begin to stagnate. If you notice a lull in getting games or the wrong games are appearing, it's because Amazon has no recent activity to go by. Cancel and re-order games that you were using to target stuff with or try pre-ordering other games that you think will get what you're after. Even if you do this daily, you can still get junk mixed in with games. If you still get nothing but junk daily, it's because either what you want isn't eligible to show up or you haven't picked the right combination of games to pre-order/own/rate.

Also, Amazon is constantly updating and so are recommendations. This means that you should keep an eye on your recommendations in case something new pops up in the list. Can't tell you how many times junk will hop into my Quick Picks instead of what I was aiming for because I didn't mark them not interested in time.


Final Word

While this may seem like a lot of work, it can be very rewarding and a meta-game of sorts. Just keep in mind you're still at the mercy of Amazon's luck of the draw, so don't get frustrated if games don't start showing up right away. Have fun with it and enjoy the extra savings. You've earned it!
 
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MIA
3ds.gif
Nintendo 3DS
08/19/11 - Cave Story 3D
07/20/11 - Dead or Alive Dimensions
06/25/11 - Doctor Lautrec and The Forgotten Knights
05/29/11 - Golden Sun DS
08/15/11 - Heroes of Ruin
07/30/11 - Kirby: Mass Attack
08/19/11 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
08/21/11 - Monster Tale
06/23/11 - Pilotwings Resort
08/25/11 - Pokemon Rumble Blast
07/16/11 - Professor Layton and The Last Specter
11/03/11 - Resident Evil: Revelations 3D
11/03/11 - Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
11/07/11 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
10/27/11 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked
07/30/11 - Solatorobo
07/26/11 - Star Fox 64 3DS
10/21/11 - Super Mario Land 3DS
11/07/11 - Tales of the Abyss

:wii:Nintendo Wii
08/27/11 - Donkey Kong Country Returns
11/17/11 - Kirby's Return to Dream Land
07/16/11 - Kirby's Epic Yarn
08/15/11 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
10/29/11 - Monado: Beginning of the World
09/02/11 - Punch Out
06/26/11 - Red Steel
10/09/11 - Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
06/09/11 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

:pc:PC
08/11/11 - Borderlands 2
07/31/11 - Duke Nukem Forever
08/09/11 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector's Edition
11/09/11 - Guild Wars 2
03/02/12 - StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
10/27/11 - World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
10/30/11 - Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

:ps3:Playstation 3
04/27/12 - Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland
08/13/11 - Bodycount
06/22/11 - Dark Souls Collector's Edition
11/19/11 - Devil May Cry HD Collection
08/13/11 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector's Edition
11/15/11 - Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector's Edition
11/11/11 - GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
04/03/12 - Grand Theft Auto V
11/21/11 - House of the Dead OVERKILL - Extended Cut
03/01/12 - Hyperdimension Neptunia Mark 2
11/19/11 - ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
07/16/11 - King of Fighters XIII
10/25/11 - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Limited Edition
09/06/11 - Metro 2034: Last Light
07/08/11 - Move Sharpshooter
08/16/11 - No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise
08/29/11 - PlayStation 3 320GB W/ Infamous 2
08/29/11 - PlayStation 3D Display W/ Resistance 3
10/17/11 - Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One
08/02/11 - Rayman Origins
11/21/11 - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Special Edition
06/13/11 - Resistance 3
10/24/11 - Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
08/03/11 - Silent Hill Collection
08/15/11 - Sonic Generations
11/11/11 - Soul Calibur V Collector's Edition
11/11/11 - Street Fighter X Tekken: Special Edition
10/23/11 - Tales of Graces f
10/09/11 - Tekken Hybrid
10/18/11 - Tekken Hybrid Limited Edition
11/07/11 - The Last Guardian
10/13/11 - Tom Clancy's: Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD
05/27/11 - Tomb Raider Trilogy
08/19/11 - Twisted Metal
06/12/11 - Uncharted GOTY Edition
10/02/11 - Uncharted 2 GOTY Edition
06/06/11 - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
03/07/12 - Uncharted Greatest Hits Dual Pack
09/06/11 - White Knight Chronicles II
07/18/11 - Yakuza 4

:psp:PSV
06/20/11 - Dragon's Crown
11/17/11 - Fate/Extra
10/09/11 - Fate/Extra Limited Edition
10/22/11 - Final Fantasy X
10/24/11 - Grand Knights History
10/19/11 - Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom LE
08/15/11 - Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood!
10/29/11 - Resistance: Burning Skies
08/05/11 - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin
08/19/11 - Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
08/15/11 - Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman

:360:XBox 360
08/16/11 - Bodycount
11/17/11 - Deathsmiles Limited Edition
11/17/11 - Devil May Cry Collection
08/09/11 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector's Edition
11/15/11 - Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector's Edition
06/18/11 - Forza Motorsport 4
08/13/11 - Gears of War 3
08/25/11 - Gears of War Triple Pack
10/31/11 - GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
10/25/11 - Jurassic Park: The Game
09/08/11 - Kinect Star Wars
08/25/11 - LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
06/28/11 - Oblivion 5th Anniversary Edition
05/29/11 - Otomedius Excellent
07/08/11 - Record of Agarest War Limited Edition
11/15/11 - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Special Edition
09/08/11 - Rise of Nightmares
07/20/11 - Saint's Row: The Third
07/24/11 - Saint's Row: The Third Platinum Pack Collector's Edition
11/17/11 - Soul Calibur V Collector's Edition
11/15/11 - Street Fighter X Tekken: Special Edition
06/22/11 - The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
06/11/11 - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
10/09/11 - Wipeout In the Zone
 
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Nice post. Here are some more games I can personally confirm I've gotten into my Quick Picks:

PS3:
Demon's Souls Deluxe Ed.
Ratchet & Clank Future 2
Dante's Inferno
Lost Planet 2
Last Rebellion
Resonance of Fate
Dead Rising 2
Agent

360:
Mass Effect 2
Crackdown 2

Wii:
Fragile: Farewell RotM
Arc Rise Fantasia
Metroid: Another M
Monster Hunter 3
Metroid Trilogy

PSP:
FF: Dissidia
MGS: Peace Walker
Resident Evil

PS2:
Mana Khemia 2


I've hit a dry spell recently. I'm trying to get Darksiders & Bioshock 2 (both ps3) in there, but no luck so far. Has anyone seen either of these in their Quick Picks?
 
I cleaned out my recommendation yesterday, and I had an absolute monster of a Gold Box today. I had God of War 3, God of War Collection, MAG, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and The Last Guardian. I pre-ordered all but MAG.

I also had the Watchmen graphic novel and the North States SuperYard XT Gate Play Yard, which is essentially a hexagonal cage. It reminds me of that raccoon catcher a bunch of us were getting a few weeks ago.

Good thread by the way OP. It covers just about everything to my knowledge. :bouncy:


http://www.amazon.com/North-States-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1Y95KE0SMFXCT68EJK7D
 
Thanks for the lists, guys. I cleaned up the format a little and made some changes for easier reading.

God Of War Collection appears to be the big addition today as everyone but me seems to have had it show up! It did pop up in my recommendations 'magically', so it's only a matter of time now. I can confirm Halo 3: ODST, as it was my lone pick today. Pass. . .
 
I also had the GoW Collection today, along with Monando: Beginning of the World (Wii). I had never heard of Monando before, but it looks cool so I put a preorder down on it. The price is obviously wrong right now (I've never seen a $60 retail Wii game before), but since the 5% discount is what you're locking in anyway I went for it. :)
 
My quick picks today

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story (DS)
Agent (PS3)
Lost Planet 2 (PS3)
 
I know I've had all of the following show up in my quick picks:

:ds: Nintendo DS
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

:wii: Nintendo Wii
Klonoa
Madworld
New Super Mario Bros.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
WiiSports Resort

:ps3: Playstation 3
Metal Gear Solid 4 (GH)
 
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Today I have:

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360)

In the past handful of days I've had:
GT5 (PS3)
GoW3 (PS3)
The Last Guardian (PS3)
and others I don't remember...

I've only been doing this for a few days so I'm happy with my results so far... (Though I've yet to buy anything... I know GoW3 is getting a collector's edition and I want to see it before I preorder the regular edition.)


I do have a few questions... (PMed answer are welcome if it makes the thread easier to read.)


1) If you get a game at full price 59.99 and they later adjust it to the 56.99 price does this get adjusted into your final price or are you stuck with the original price? (Basically, is it worth picking up the full price game or is it better to wait and try to manipulate the system later on?)


2) If you've already preordered a game yet cancel it does it make it so you can never get the item in your gold box or not? (I've used amazon for awhile now without trying to take advantage of the personal gold box deal.)


Things I've noticed...


Amazon adds everything you've bought to your 'owned list' when you buy it and not just if you've marked it as owned. For me this lead to lots of books (mostly 3 for 4 paperbacks) that I had to clean up (mark as don't use for recommendations) so I would start getting more video games in my daily deal.
 
These are only Pre-order titles that I haven't seen listed yet, right now all for 360:

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Halo Reach
NHL 10
Qubed
Raiden IV


These I got in the Spring, canceled when I got ECA about a month ago and haven't seen again :(

Alien vs Predator
Dante's Inferno
Dead Rising 2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

There's a few others I will contribute when I remember or get time to sift through my e-mail confirmations/cancellations.
 
Got Shiren the Wanderer (Wii) in my quick picks today.
I've also had Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for Wii.
For DS I've had Nostalgia in my quick picks. I know I've had a bunch of other DS games (most of them already mentioned) but I think that's it...
 
I've been able to filter my Goldbox to get any Nintendo title EXCEPT for Warioware D.I.Y.

I can't figure out why. First, I though it was because of no cover art because I could never get Pokemon HG/SS in my gold box until they gave it unofficial box art. But that theory is gone cause I have Sin and Punishment 2 with no Box art.

I've been able to get seriously any other title in my Gold box.

[i'll just post what hasn't already been mentioned, most are preorders]

NDS
Infinite Space
Pokemon HG/SS
Kingdom Hearts 358/2
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Phantasy Star Zero
Sands of Destruction

Wii
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Red Steel 2
Sin and Punishment 2
Wii Fit Plus
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Resident Evil: Dark Side Chronoicles
Muramasa
Little King's Story
A Boy and His Blob
Final Fantasy CC Crystal Bearers
The Conduit
Tatsunoko VS Capcom
Rabbids Go Home
Trauma Team


One tip I offer on Pre-orders is if a game has a related product like a different version (Pokemon) or accessory (Wii Fit Plus Bundle) or even a strategy guide (Scribblenauts). I would rate and pre-order that item and with a day or 2 I received the opposite game in my Quick Picks.
 
Let's see if you can help me, because either I'm a retard or it just will not work for me.

No matter what I do, I seem to get crap. Like, for 2 months straight. In those two months I've seen fossil fighters twice, dissidia twice, scribblenauts twice, uncharted 2 twice and ffxiii versus once. I pre-ordered versus, didn't get any of the others. I only got versus by doing some fake pre-orders. Oh and I think like mario kart once or twice. And pretty much all of the manipulation was just trying to get 360/ps3 games anyway, not portables.

So what do I need to do? I've tried going through my rated and bought items, deleting or unrating them all, coming out of the page and going back into to re-rate them(though I've probably missed some whenever I do it). I've had lots of games in my recommendations, I've had very little. I have tried using my cart, pre-orders, wishlist, browsing history or the I own/5 stars all at different times over the past 2 months, my results are what I posted up there. Still I get nothing. Cds, movies, books, and then absolute junk like electronic scarecrows and fertility tests.


Oh and as for actual gaming purchases, I bought a ps3 controller, batman AA CE on ps3 and then the pre-order of Versus. Not a ton of buying yet, and that may be my only option to get the ball rolling on quick picks, I don't know.
 
[quote name='INMATEofARKHAM']1) If you get a game at full price 59.99 and they later adjust it to the 56.99 price does this get adjusted into your final price or are you stuck with the original price? (Basically, is it worth picking up the full price game or is it better to wait and try to manipulate the system later on?)[/QUOTE]Great question; I'll add this as part of the FAQ once I'm done adding games.
2) If you've already preordered a game yet cancel it does it make it so you can never get the item in your gold box or not? (I've used amazon for awhile now without trying to take advantage of the personal gold box deal.)
This is something I wanted to comment on but I can't confirm. It's my understanding that it CAN show up again if you cancel, but I've no personal experience with that happening.
Things I've noticed...


Amazon adds everything you've bought to your 'owned list' when you buy it and not just if you've marked it as owned. For me this lead to lots of books (mostly 3 for 4 paperbacks) that I had to clean up (mark as don't use for recommendations) so I would start getting more video games in my daily deal.
I'll see if I can't be more clear in making note of this, as I thought it was highlighted already in the FAQ.
 
[quote name='INMATEofARKHAM']2) If you've already preordered a game yet cancel it does it make it so you can never get the item in your gold box or not? (I've used amazon for awhile now without trying to take advantage of the personal gold box deal.)[/QUOTE]


Short answer, yes it can show up again.

I had something a while back that I canceled for some reason, and it later showed up in my quick picks. Of course there is no guarantee that it will, but pre-ordering then canceling doesn't exclude it apparently.
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Let's see if you can help me, because either I'm a retard or it just will not work for me.[/QUOTE]Are you specifically trying to get a certain game? The fact that you are seeing games means you're doing something right, but to really target a game you best option is to make some fake pre-orders. There's no penalty for canceling (and it's a great way to 'store' ECA codes on your account in case they run out again) so go crazy and pick games that will focus on the ones you want.

Remember, some games just aren't flagged to show up in quick picks (MW2: Prestige Edition comes to mind), so that could be the problem. Also, everyone has lulls so you could just be having a run of bad luck.
 
This seems like something that could be very helpful and if I can help out, all the better. On that note, here is what I have on my Quick Picks today:

:psp: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
:pc: Jewel Quest 2 [Download]
:ds: Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
:ds: Disgaea DS

One question: Should we include the % off listed for the quick picks or will it be random for each person?
 
[quote name='Cybolt']One question: Should we include the % off listed for the quick picks or will it be random for each person?[/QUOTE]
You didn't read the FAQ fully! :p

"For video games, it's an additional 5% off the sale price."
 
Phew, updated. Thanks for the submissions guys, but I'm quickly running into a dilemma. As the list grows, I can see how it could quickly get out of hand and be cumbersome to navigate through. I'm carefully examining ways to slim down the list without playing favorites. Some options are to separate them into released and coming soon, or simply drop released games off the list.

The original focus was to help people identify what games they could shoot for using the FAQ and that generally means pre-orders. Since we cheap-asses tend to look for deals post-release, I'm thinking it would just be counter-productive to include anything past a week or so. Any suggestions?
 
Again, tried fake pre-orders and the only game I have seen in my box since then(like 10 days ago) was versus and 2 ds games. And all the pre-orders/rating are for 360 and ps3 games, nothing for wii or ds ever which are the majority of my quick pick games.

So far my lull has lasted since I got eca and learned about quick picks, early this summer lol.
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Again, tried fake pre-orders and the only game I have seen in my box since then(like 10 days ago) was versus and 2 ds games. And all the pre-orders/rating are for 360 and ps3 games, nothing for wii or ds ever which are the majority of my quick pick games.

So far my lull has lasted since I got eca and learned about quick picks, early this summer lol.[/QUOTE]
I went through the same thing when I first started messing with picks. For the first month or so I got nothing close to what I wanted and then it finally started to click. Since then I can generally target something and get it in the next day or two.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong and it sounds like you're an expert already. It's really annoying when everyone around you seems to get a gold box filled with five games they want after trying for a day! You could try stopping all activity for a week and just watch your picks. It's entirely possible too much activity or aiming for too many things at once can muck it up. Try aiming for the one game you really want and go from there.
 
Well I had just 4 in my recommendations for quite awhile, ffxiii, versus, brutal legend and demon's souls special edition. Like I said, xiii finally popped up, but that's it so far. Haven't tweaked much for awhile until just last night, things can't really get worse but it sure wasn't good either. I'm just surprised that after actually buying batman and a controller, as well as a few extra pre-orders and one I'm keeping of versus, that nothing is showing up really.
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Well I had just 4 in my recommendations for quite awhile, ffxiii, versus, brutal legend and demon's souls special edition. Like I said, xiii finally popped up, but that's it so far. Haven't tweaked much for awhile until just last night, things can't really get worse but it sure wasn't good either. I'm just surprised that after actually buying batman and a controller, as well as a few extra pre-orders and one I'm keeping of versus, that nothing is showing up really.[/QUOTE]Since we're both targeting XIII (Japanese release date is 12/17, so we'll get it next summer!) the five games I'm refreshing daily, which are purchases, are Final Fantasy Versus XIII, God of War: Collection, Heavy Rain, The Last Guardian, and God of War III. Oddly enough, I was working on trying to get this one (which I'm just pre-ordering in case there's no CE) and got GoW: Collection yesterday.

Good luck friend!
 
[quote name='Jodou']Since we're both targeting XIII (Japanese release date is 12/17, so we'll get it next summer!)[/QUOTE]

Optimistic ;)

Oh and for "refreshing", do you go through the own/rated lists, uncheck them all and then recheck?
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Oh and for "refreshing", do you go through the own/rated lists, uncheck them all and then recheck?[/QUOTE]
For items I don't actually own, yes. I make sure they've updated in Amazon's DB first before adding them again, though. I think for all owned items it can take a couple minutes to refresh, but it may or may not make a difference. I just play it safe.
 
[quote name='dvdactor'] These I got in the Spring, canceled when I got ECA about a month ago and haven't seen again :([/QUOTE]Honestly, you should have just emailed them about your order (one at a time) and told them you had a promotional code to add to the order. I've had no trouble with amazon in getting them to add promotional codes after the fact. (The system just cannot handle it on your end of things. Note: I am an amazon prime member.)

Everyone else, thanks for answering my questions. :)
 
So today I got the following (not already on the list)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky
Fossil Fighters

I think I'll preorder my other game, Phantasy Star 0
 
Today I have:

Wii - Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga
Xbox 360 - Magna Carta 2

I've gotten Forza 3 a couple weeks ago and i'm kicking myself for not preordering it then.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Phew, updated. Thanks for the submissions guys, but I'm quickly running into a dilemma. As the list grows, I can see how it could quickly get out of hand and be cumbersome to navigate through. I'm carefully examining ways to slim down the list without playing favorites. Some options are to separate them into released and coming soon, or simply drop released games off the list.

The original focus was to help people identify what games they could shoot for using the FAQ and that generally means pre-orders. Since we cheap-asses tend to look for deals post-release, I'm thinking it would just be counter-productive to include anything past a week or so. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

So do you want us only to post quick picks of pre-orders? Sorry, I'm not really understanding :X
 
[quote name='namster1337']So do you want us only to post quick picks of pre-orders? Sorry, I'm not really understanding :X[/QUOTE]I was really hoping for some feedback or better ideas to improve the list. I don't want it to become a popularity contest, but at the same time it becomes less useful if it's just a release list. For now, I'll just keep updating it with whatever you guys find.
 
[quote name='INMATEofARKHAM']Honestly, you should have just emailed them about your order (one at a time) and told them you had a promotional code to add to the order. I've had no trouble with amazon in getting them to add promotional codes after the fact. (The system just cannot handle it on your end of things. Note: I am an amazon prime member.)

Everyone else, thanks for answering my questions. :)[/QUOTE]

I tried. I had Halo ODST when it was locked it at $55.99 plus the 5% gold box. I e-mailed them, they told me they couldn't do it. I called them, they once again said they couldn't do it. Then I e-mailed them another time and still told me no. After that, I cancelled the orders. This was also after they screwed up Madden for me. I e-mailed them about ECA for Madden which I had pre-ordered from my Gold Box and they did a price drop of only 10%, negating my 5% from Gold Box and not making it compatible with the price drop they did right before the game released. With those two poor experiences right in row, I cancelled to re-get them. I got a few back, some I never got (Marvel, which I ended up just ordering it anyway recently).
 
Blah, got NHL 10 for PS3 in my picks today. Funny thing is, my recommendations page couldn't explain why it was in there. Said something like 'is based off something no longer in our catalog'. Guess it's time to shake up my ratings and see what falls out tomorrow!
 
Uncharted 2, again. Dear god I hate this game so much right now just because of all the titles I'm going to buy that COULD be showing up instead of this one.
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Uncharted 2, again. Dear god I hate this game so much right now just because of all the titles I'm going to buy that COULD be showing up instead of this one.[/QUOTE]
Lol, what are you trying to get? Mark Uncharted 2 as not interested or own/rate it so it can't show up anymore.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Lol, what are you trying to get? Mark Uncharted 2 as not interested or own/rate it so it can't show up anymore.[/QUOTE]

Trying for Brutal Legend, Demon's souls CE, Assassin's Creed II(though I've been reading no one has had luck with this) and FFXIII. And you know, I wanted to check that BEFORE I wrote this I was absolutely sure and it is marked not interested. Number 73 on my not interested list, bah. Guess I can mark it as owned...
 
[quote name='Vortextk']Trying for Brutal Legend, Demon's souls CE, Assassin's Creed II(though I've been reading no one has had luck with this) and FFXIII. And you know, I wanted to check that BEFORE I wrote this I was absolutely sure and it is marked not interested. Number 73 on my not interested list, bah. Guess I can mark it as owned...[/QUOTE]
Haha, they just really want you to buy U2. ;)

Brutal Legend and ACII are for sure not showing up yet, so don't sweat those. FFXIII appears to either be rare, or they took it off the list since I don't see it's name being thrown around anymore (and I can't get it either). In fact, that may be the case for Demon's Souls CE as well, since not many people have got that one lately. I actually had no interest in DS until it started getting some good reviews, but I'm waiting on a Black Friday deal to bite. Same for Brutal Legend since it's going to bomb and be a sleeper hit.

My crystal ball tells me so.
 
Great thread... I was seriously debating doing this all last week but never go around to it... :)

Quick pick for today : :ps3: Gran Turismo 5



Anyway looked like you were asking for suggestions earlier... I think keep prereleases and maybe up to 2 months after release and maybe AAA titles... would keep the list from getting out of hand... if ya wanted a more active approach maybe drop a title off the list if noone has seen it in 1 month... could track more closely with what is currently showing up.
 
I'm wary of waiting till black friday for deals and then having them sell out or something though. Decisions decisions. Though with that info I'll try adding some more games, I guess I'm buying bioshock 2 as well, might as well get that in my lists as well as anything else I'm remotely interested in. I tried that for awhile and when I finally got like 3 games(that weren't even in my recs), I scaled back to just these few.
 
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