How long do they hold items for again?
#814
Posted 18 March 2019 - 12:56 AM
Only good game I found was Hitman 2 for 
for $12.50 after the 50% off. Got some good records though. It seems like most of my stores only have 2 or 3 year old games for this gen and I don't think I've ever seen a Switch game at any of them.
- Sub Zero and SideQuestsSuck like this
#815
Posted 18 March 2019 - 03:24 AM
Price absolutely varies by store. Generally HPB tends to price their stuff based on Amazon pricing from what I've seen. If the person doing the pricing doesn't know video games and the only seller for something on Amazon has it way over-priced as can happen, you wind up with something priced waaaay out of wack.
I can always tell the stores where the person doing the pricing actually knows games because they'll usually be pretty in line with pricing.
That said, some stores definitely seem to inflate the pricing on some things to make sure that the 50% off coupons don't really screw them over.
Yup, for sure. I saw "Last of Us Remastered" @ HPB this weekend for $19.99. Used copy, of course. This game has been $19.99 new for almost two years at every retailer I have seen, online and in-store. It took nearly 30 minutes of negotiating for them to drop the price down to $9.99. I know it was just a $10 difference but it was the principle of the thing. None of their reasoning made any sense. Then, with 50% off for coupon Sunday, it was 5 bucks. Cool, but does every video game purchase @ HPB have to be like pulling teeth? It's not just that game. Went up and down the shelf and the prices are most definitely not half price. The prices are typically about 3-5 years out of date. In some cases, the prices were even HIGHER than current retail. $29.99 when the game has been $19.99 for 2-3 years...that kind of thing. I'm not talking about rare, out-of-print games. Just seems like no one bothers to update these video game prices from the day the games were first launched. This is pretty much the situation at every HPB location I have visited. Good that you have encountered some stores where the prices are more reasonable.
As far as 'do they hold games during coupon sale weeks', I have found that they do, at least in my own experience. YMMV, perhaps...may depend on your own store and who you deal with.
- ndukechi likes this
#817
Squirtin out both ends
Posted 19 March 2019 - 12:48 PM
saw someone on reddit say they were holding items, which is apparently a 3 day hold
Well crap, maybe I should have tried to get them to hold on to that copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day so it would have still been there when I went to grab it on Friday. Oh well.
Wound up not getting anything this time around, as I was waiting until 40% day, and by that time both of my stores had been picked clean of anything interesting.
#818
Banned
Posted 22 March 2019 - 06:46 AM
Well crap, maybe I should have tried to get them to hold on to that copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day so it would have still been there when I went to grab it on Friday. Oh well.
Wound up not getting anything this time around, as I was waiting until 40% day, and by that time both of my stores had been picked clean of anything interesting.
Yeah idk, tbh to me holding items during a big sale like that is kinda eh, should just let the person who puts the most effort into the hunt get it
#819
Artist formally known as dgwillia
Posted 22 March 2019 - 08:15 AM
I always buy anything I REALLY want by the 30% days, all 4 of the stores by me were picked clean of most things of good value by Friday and Sunday was just a madhouse. Seems like the games are the first things to go, all of the Switch games I were eyeing were gone by Wednesday.
Ended up with some really nice grabs this time though. A lot of niche anime art books, even found a Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire one from the Pokemon Centers in Japan.
#823
CAGiversary!
Posted 24 March 2019 - 02:23 PM
They rip you off
I second this. To add insult to injury they usually tell you how shit your items are and how you should be thankful for the garbage offer they give you. It can vary but 4/5 times it's a miserable experience.
#824
Infamous
Posted 24 March 2019 - 06:47 PM
Anybody sold games to HPB before? Curious how they stack up compared to GS and Vintage Stock. Still have quite a few last gen games that were perennial good traders at Gamestop before the Fall, and would like to unload them.
With games, they're not worth it. However, for old blurays that you upgrade (4k, digital, etc) and go for under $5 on ebay; it's worth it to me to just get rid of them for a dollar or two. Saves the hassle of garage sale (and people lowball worse than that) and you can get cash for their offer in just a few minutes. I usually save up a few movies I replaced and take them in for a few bucks each time. Anything I can make more selling online, I do that instead. Just take a few seconds to research and make an informed decision.
- ndukechi likes this
#826
CAGiversary!
Posted 25 March 2019 - 02:23 AM
If I have a bunch of crap I just want to get rid of and make a few bucks, HPB is fine. If I actually want to make some money, selling online is much better.
Our point is, even for what it is, half price is still pretty shitty when it comes to selling. Of all the resale chains in my state half price is definitely the worst.
#827
Squirtin out both ends
Posted 26 March 2019 - 01:37 PM
If I have a bunch of crap I just want to get rid of and make a few bucks, HPB is fine. If I actually want to make some money, selling online is much better.
Agreed. I only take things to Half-Price when I'm just trying to unload stuff and don't want to bother with actually selling it. Any money I make from the transaction is just icing on the cake.
#828
Posted 26 March 2019 - 02:11 PM
When it comes to trade-ins, Half-Price Books is the "Plato's Closet" of media. Their offers are so bad that I'd feel guilty accepting them instead of just donating my items somewhere.
With that in mind, it amazes me that my local stores receive quality/rare items on the regular. Great place to shop, but I'll never be seeking store credit there. 😅
With that in mind, it amazes me that my local stores receive quality/rare items on the regular. Great place to shop, but I'll never be seeking store credit there. 😅
#829
CAG Veteran
Posted 26 March 2019 - 03:00 PM
At least up here in Wisconsin, HPB will hold items up to seven days. There is a limit of 10 items on hold/per person.
I will go in the Sunday before the coupon sale starts to put items on hold to purchase at 40-50% off the following weekend.
The only exception I have heard is brand new board games having a 24-hour hold, but in the coupon sale a few weeks ago, they had no issues holding brand new games for the week.
#830
Go Big Red
Posted 08 April 2019 - 01:58 PM
When I was leaving this weekend I saw an employee just dumping two or three huge garbage bins of books into the trash. Why the hell don't they donate them? It pissed me off.When it comes to trade-ins, Half-Price Books is the "Plato's Closet" of media. Their offers are so bad that I'd feel guilty accepting them instead of just donating my items somewhere.
With that in mind, it amazes me that my local stores receive quality/rare items on the regular. Great place to shop, but I'll never be seeking store credit there.
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#831
Banned
Posted 04 July 2019 - 06:10 PM
I don't think I got an email but I got a physical mailer, the coupon week starts this coming Monday, 20% off on 8/9, 30% off on 10/11, 40% off on 12/13,50% off an item is Sunday July 14th
20% off online with code SUMMER20 during the sale period
20% off online with code SUMMER20 during the sale period
#835
Artist formally known as dgwillia
Posted 04 July 2019 - 09:12 PM
The manga stuff always seems to get cleared out pretty quickly here, especially for popular series. I tend to aim for the art books and print collections, especially since they apply to my career as well and don't go as fast.I usually use the 40/50 on manga anthologies
I have had some pretty good luck in finding out of print books that would have cost way more elsewhere.
#836
Banned
Posted 04 July 2019 - 09:14 PM
The manga stuff always seems to get cleared out pretty quickly here, especially for popular series. I tend to aim for the art books and print collections, especially since they apply to my career as well and don't go as fast.
I have had some pretty good luck in finding out of print books that would have cost way more elsewhere.
Yeah I got lucky last year and walked in right as they were shelving some stuff
#838
Posted 04 July 2019 - 09:34 PM
i found out that the birthday 15% off coupon you get can be used more than once going to different stores. In other news, i am looking forward to the coupon deal week. couple of my local stores have some good items that have my interest. Actually just picked up a sealed copy of X-Men legends II for the GameCube the other day.
#839
Posted 04 July 2019 - 11:08 PM
Yup, for sure. I saw "Last of Us Remastered" @ HPB this weekend for $19.99. Used copy, of course. This game has been $19.99 new for almost two years at every retailer I have seen, online and in-store. It took nearly 30 minutes of negotiating for them to drop the price down to $9.99. I know it was just a $10 difference but it was the principle of the thing. None of their reasoning made any sense. Then, with 50% off for coupon Sunday, it was 5 bucks. Cool, but does every video game purchase @ HPB have to be like pulling teeth? It's not just that game. Went up and down the shelf and the prices are most definitely not half price. The prices are typically about 3-5 years out of date. In some cases, the prices were even HIGHER than current retail. $29.99 when the game has been $19.99 for 2-3 years...that kind of thing. I'm not talking about rare, out-of-print games. Just seems like no one bothers to update these video game prices from the day the games were first launched. This is pretty much the situation at every HPB location I have visited. Good that you have encountered some stores where the prices are more reasonable.
As far as 'do they hold games during coupon sale weeks', I have found that they do, at least in my own experience. YMMV, perhaps...may depend on your own store and who you deal with.
I never even considered haggling on the price in the price in there. Have you had much success doing that? who do you speak to, to make it happen? I've found more than a few games I would have bought had the pricing been even around ebay.
#840
Posted 05 July 2019 - 12:09 AM
I never even considered haggling on the price in the price in there. Have you had much success doing that? who do you speak to, to make it happen? I've found more than a few games I would have bought had the pricing been even around ebay.
I asked to speak to the store manager, since the employee in question wasn't budging on the price. The manager did a lot of digging online and finally agreed with me that their price for the game should be $9.99. Then, with the 50% coupon, it was $5. I am not 100% sure if this particular HPB is the worst I've been to or whether their video game pricing is typical of all HPB's. I know in my first post I said that the situation was the same at "every HPB" I've visited but I haven't been to that many, so I don't have enough information to blanket-proclaim this to be the case at all the locations. It seems to me that they set their "half" price when a game first releases and then they don't bother to ever update that price. They're probably still asking us to pay $29.99 for a used copy of Bloodborne...that type of thing. These games in 2019 should be dirt cheap at HPB.
If you run into issues, I'd first ask to speak to the store manager. Might help to show the price from Amazon or BB on your phone, to show the difference. If they don't budge, I'd call HPB Customer Service. I believe their # is (800) 883-2114. I called them a couple of years ago when that same store refused to come down in price on a 4-year-old PS4 game and CS agreed with me, apologized, and ultimately mailed me the game for free.
