Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine

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IAmTheCheapestGamer

IAmTheCheapestGamer

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First off, let me welcome you all to the new guide thread. Second, I'd like to ask you all to please keep conversations not pertaining to guide drops or which ones you've grabbed to a minimum to avoid cluttering the thread. It's not that I don't enjoy the chit chat, but that it may stop others from locating information on the newest drops.

That being said, let me thank Cheapy for creating this site, without which I would've spent probably 10 times what I HAVE spent on games and guides. Moreover, let me thank each and every one of my fellow CAGs for continuing to contribute to making this site a great place to find out about sales and clearances of the items we as gamers use most. Without a great community, NONE of this would be possible.

Furthermore, I would like to thank our Wiki editors HeatDolphin and Rocko for updating the Wiki. Great job.

Now, with that out of the way(and before I get to rambling), let's get on to making this new thread.

Useful Information(and links):

Game Guide Trading Clearinghouse(old one, locked now):
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102021

Game Guide Trade Thread(KEEP ALL TRADE REQUESTS HERE OR IN PM'S)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175548

PLEASE keep ALL trade requests in there or PM's. Thank you.

Reduced Price Guide Discussion Thread(KEEP ALL DISCUSSION NOT RELATED TO GUIDE DROPS HERE!!!)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists(master drop lists and recent drops):

Master Drop List(by store, alphabetically):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28master_lists%29

Recent Guide Drops(by date,also check the second post in this thread):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28recent_drops%29

What is the purpose of this thread?

The purpose of this thread is to let our fellow CAGs know when a guide has dropped to a low price(it's NOT ALWAYS A PENNY), so they can go out and grab guides for themselves and for trading with other CAGs.

Anytime you have guide drops to report, post them here. Please specify at which store you found them and which guides you found and list them in alphabetical order. Thank you.

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 full 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.

Prior Reduced price game guide threads:

Guide Three:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50515&highlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167157

Finally, below is a list of website links, each of which goes to their respective guide page. Whenever possible, I will update the links with better ones(if available).

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
BestBuy
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuides.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, Guinavere and anyone else who has created and maintained the guide thread before, as well as to all of those who find out either advance information on drops or provide a list of which ones dropped when we do have a drop.

The post below this one contains a list going back at LEAST six months of the more current guide drops, which stores they occured at and which ones dropped. Note that sometimes(Oblivion guide, Quake Wars: Enemy Territory)there are multiple versions of a guide, be it that there are Prima versions, Brady versions and the occasional Nintendo and Doublejump guides.

Please specify WHICH version has dropped when mentioning possible guide drops. Thank you.


 
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[quote name='SDC']I have no idea how Best Buy handles that jazz (or any jazz, I haven't even had training yet).
But if for some reason I can get access to the info, of course I'll pass it on to cag.[/quote]

My recommendation would be to use a bit of caution. I'd say only get guides for games you play, and only get 1 of each. Get caught selling them elsewhere, and you could easily lose your job.

But the advantage is that you'll know about the drops before anyone else, so it's easy to pick a few of your favorites.
 
[quote name='kchiang']do they have these 0.01 guides worldwide, i cant find any in Springfield MA's stores[/quote]

They may have pulled them from the shelves, like they're supposed to. I believe if you find them, they will ring up as a penny at all Best Buy locations.
 
[quote name='kchiang']do they have these 0.01 guides worldwide, i cant find any in Springfield MA's stores[/quote]
It is indeed Nationwide. However, stores are supposed to pull them and not sell them. If the stores around you are diligent about pulling the guides that get pennied you will never see one. But most of us are able to find stores that have better things to do than pull and destroy the guides. Good luck.
 
[quote name='white3er']what part of ct are you in? I use the danbury store and dont want you taking all the guides[/quote]


Danbury is wayyy too far for me to travel - you're safe.
 
I got lucky and happened to discover a goldmine CC today, finding 2 of most of the guides that I wanted from that recent large drop. ;)

A few of them rang up with the bundle issue and and Halo 3 didn't show up in the system at all, but I still managed to talk the nice young girl into giving them to me for .01.
 
BTW: I believe the best buy drop was over a 2 day period. The Hardcovers dropped on Sunday and the softcovers on Monday. At least that is my understanding from what a media employee told me.
 
Hit a decent stash at BB, but left some as I had a question: Is the Army of Two LE the set with the art book and guide? I saw a lot of those but didn't want to grab any as I weren't sure if they were pennied or not.
 
[quote name='Rocko']Hit a decent stash at BB, but left some as I had a question: Is the Army of Two LE the set with the art book and guide? I saw a lot of those but didn't want to grab any as I weren't sure if they were pennied or not.[/QUOTE]

It is a graphic novel, but yeah that is the one that is pennied. Humorously, the packaging says that it is a $35 value for $29.99, but we cags know better.
 
i tried the BB at holyoke MA and 3 GS around West Springfield MA, no luck to any of the guides. T.T do u guys know anywhere need Springfield have these guides for 0.01

Please
 
[quote name='SDC']It is a graphic novel, but yeah that is the one that is pennied. Humorously, the packaging says that it is a $35 value for $29.99, but we cags know better.[/QUOTE]

... and an even BETTER value for .01... :)
 
[quote name='kchiang']i tried the BB at holyoke MA and 3 GS around West Springfield MA, no luck to any of the guides. T.T do u guys know anywhere need Springfield have these guides for 0.01

Please[/QUOTE]

I don't know MA to well, but the Best Buy right near the Solomon Pond mall has generally had a pretty good stock of guides.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']BTW: I believe the best buy drop was over a 2 day period. The Hardcovers dropped on Sunday and the softcovers on Monday. At least that is my understanding from what a media employee told me.[/quote]
Arg, that actually really sucks; I don't think they started pulling guides until Monday (when I heard about this), and thus I missed a lot of cool ones. First big drop when I'm within 15 minutes drive to BB, and... hardly anything.

I think God's a bit tired of me stockpiling penny guides I'll never use. At least he liked SMG HC enough to let me grab that ;)
 
Was a bit late to the party on this round of penny guides, but scored big in NYC (86th and Lex).

Got:
Phantom HG Collector's Edition
Assassin's Creed LE
Super Mario Galaxy (x2) --> there was still 4-5 more as of yesterday!
Orange Box

I asked the game-section reps and they were pretty cool about it too. Zelda and Assassin's Creed didn't ring up, so they had to manually write down the SKU.
 
Hmm, I went to the 86th and Lex store on Tuesday, and I thought I took the only Assassin's Creed LE they had. I only took one each of the hardcovers, and they must have had 15 of the SMG galaxy left.

It's always been pretty shady for me when I've had to deal with the games section reps when I'm getting guides at Best Buy. I try to avoid it at all costs, because sometimes they seem inclined to get managers, and they think I work at the store, since I know what's a penny. Although the managers always approve me buying penny guides, so I guess I can't complain.
 
[quote name='Rave Child']Hmm, I went to the 86th and Lex store on Tuesday, and I thought I took the only Assassin's Creed LE they had. I only took one each of the hardcovers, and they must have had 15 of the SMG galaxy left.

It's always been pretty shady for me when I've had to deal with the games section reps when I'm getting guides at Best Buy. I try to avoid it at all costs, because sometimes they seem inclined to get managers, and they think I work at the store, since I know what's a penny. Although the managers always approve me buying penny guides, so I guess I can't complain.[/QUOTE]

I never talk to them either, I grab a basket from the front so I dont attract any attention carrying the guides, and take them to the front, the cashiers never hassle me... I usually get a "wow" reply, before I casually explain to them about the games being old so they penny out the guides to allow the new ones to sell...I got everything I wanted from my want list, though I had to check a second BB to get my zelda hardcover
 
[quote name='Rave Child']
It's always been pretty shady for me when I've had to deal with the games section reps when I'm getting guides at Best Buy. I try to avoid it at all costs, because sometimes they seem inclined to get managers, and they think I work at the store, since I know what's a penny. Although the managers always approve me buying penny guides, so I guess I can't complain.[/quote]

That's what has happened to me at my closest store a couple of times now. The one media manager type has been called by one or more of the clueless cashiers, even after I tried the 'they're on clearance' shpeel.

I mean, I still don't blame them for not wanting to get in trouble for selling them and calling this redheaded fuckface, but the fact that the guides are still on the shelf after they were supposed to be pulled should be my 'free pass' since somebody obviously didn't do their fuckin' job.:bomb:
 
I spent 45 minutes at a store trying to get 4 penny guides with a 2 game purchase. I called customer service and a supervisor said they can not enforce prices at a store. The reason I called customer service is because the store manager took all of the items I was buying off the counter and told the cashier to void the transaction walking away with everything including godhand on PS2 and Conan on Ps3. Customer service said they can not issue a giftcard for my trouble either.
 
wow... I must be really smooth...I generally find an attractive girl to ring up my purchase... if it is a guy, I tell them about all the extras they have in the back since there is no way I would ever clean out a single store of guides... they generally thank me... Someone mentions sarcastically what a large purchase I am making, I mention how its payback for the thousands Ive spent here over the years

The only delay I had in getting guides yesterday was at CC, where some financing pop up would appear on the screen as I was purchasing, but ended up being no more than a small delay
 
That sucks slowdive21.

The way the Manager handled the situation is pathetic. Was he/she on a power trip or what. Perhaps inadequacies in the bedroom lead to this type of behavior. I just don’t get why people act this way.

Anyway, sorry to hear that happened to you. I figure one day the same type of thing is going to happen to me or my wife. I had one semi close call but that ended up with no problem.

It is really hard to get too upset about missing the penny guides though. After all, the penny guides should be pulled. However, the way the manager acted is upsetting.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I spent 45 minutes at a store trying to get 4 penny guides with a 2 game purchase. I called customer service and a supervisor said they can not enforce prices at a store. The reason I called customer service is because the store manager took all of the items I was buying off the counter and told the cashier to void the transaction walking away with everything including godhand on PS2 and Conan on Ps3. Customer service said they can not issue a giftcard for my trouble either.[/quote]

That sucks. I remember when they had the $10 off ANY Prima guide sale like a year or two ago. Guides that were $10 before the $10 off came up as .00.

Imagine trying to explain to a cashier and their manager why they should let you walk out of their store with perfectly good product for FREE. It was worse than trying to get stuff for a penny.

I complained to BB corporate via an email and they sent me a $20 gift card for my trouble. I tried that again recently after 'Red' walked away with a couple guides I had found that came up .01 .

They said I had to deal with the store directly.....so their policy has changed, for the worse.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I spent 45 minutes at a store trying to get 4 penny guides with a 2 game purchase. I called customer service and a supervisor said they can not enforce prices at a store. The reason I called customer service is because the store manager took all of the items I was buying off the counter and told the cashier to void the transaction walking away with everything including godhand on PS2 and Conan on Ps3. Customer service said they can not issue a giftcard for my trouble either.[/quote]

I feel for you. Same thing happened to me the other day at BB. I was four digits of a pin number away from owning some hardcover SMG and Zelda guides, and got denied by a fastidious manager. It hurts.
 
[quote name='zman73']wow... I must be really smooth...[/quote]

Or more likely just fortunate. Most Best Buys in my area don't care that there are penny guides and I even get the impression that a lot of the employees on the floor know that they're to be sold for a penny if they ring up as such.

Doesn't hurt to be nice, though.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']Or more likely just fortunate. Most Best Buys in my area don't care that there are penny guides and I even get the impression that a lot of the employees on the floor know that they're to be sold for a penny if they ring up as such.

Doesn't hurt to be nice, though.[/QUOTE]

I have scored penny guides at least 30-40 times... the only time I have ever been denied was one time at TRU... scored about 5-6 times yesterday, many times only buying guides... there is one person at my BB who I know is such a tight ass, Id never be able to buy penny guides, but I never see her...
 
Man I keep getting lucky! I stopped into the BB in Poughkeepsie, NY and had a girl price check a couple of guides. Of course they came up .01 So then I go back to the guide rack & there is aother girl nearby. The girl that checked the prices came over to her & told her they rang up .01 So then she says "We pulled those the other night & had them in the back" She then came over & looked at the rack & said "Someone put all of them back out" So I proceed to tell her "I'll take some off of your hands so you won't have to worry about them re-appearing on the shelf again" She was cool & said go for it!
 
[quote name='zman73']I have scored penny guides at least 30-40 times... the only time I have ever been denied was one time at TRU... scored about 5-6 times yesterday, many times only buying guides... there is one person at my BB who I know is such a tight ass, Id never be able to buy penny guides, but I never see her...[/quote]


I'm not talking about lucky in the sense that you have a good score. I'm talking about lucky in terms of location. A lot of CAGs here are very personable I'm sure, but will get denied regardless because the managers at their locations are hardasses/instilled fear in their employees. I've never had problems getting guides when they're not pulled and I have stacks too.

I'm still not going to assume that I'm more charming than my fellow CAGs.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']I'm not talking about lucky in the sense that you have a good score. I'm talking about lucky in terms of location. A lot of CAGs here are very personable I'm sure, but will get denied regardless because the managers at their locations are hardasses/instilled fear in their employees. I've never had problems getting guides when they're not pulled and I have stacks too.

I'm still not going to assume that I'm more charming than my fellow CAGs.[/QUOTE]

Im in Alabama and have got guides all over the southeast from Va all the way to Texas... may be a regional thing... there was a while when I missed out on a couple drops because the guides were pulled quickly... a couple more this year I didnt care for... but recently it has been really good...

Besides the one tiem I was denied at TRU, there was only one time I even had the slightest bit of resistance, they sold me the guides anyway saying theyll be on the ball next time to pull them...BTW... I visited that store last night and left with about 25 guides, left tons there
 
[quote name='shiningslade']Man I keep getting lucky! I stopped into the BB in Poughkeepsie, NY and had a girl price check a couple of guides. Of course they came up .01 So then I go back to the guide rack & there is aother girl nearby. The girl that checked the prices came over to her & told her they rang up .01 So then she says "We pulled those the other night & had them in the back" She then came over & looked at the rack & said "Someone put all of them back out" So I proceed to tell her "I'll take some off of your hands so you won't have to worry about them re-appearing on the shelf again" She was cool & said go for it![/quote]

All I read was "I keep getting lucky," "she says... 'in the back', and "she was cool & said go for it!". Looks like some CAGs really are more charming than others. :lol:

In other news, I was able to grab 3 SMG hard covers (for gifts, sorry), and a Zelda:pH and Final Fantasy Tactics for me at a Best Buy I normally don't go to. But looks like I'll have to go there a nit more when drops happen. :D
 
[quote name='GuardianE']I've never had problems getting guides when they're not pulled[/QUOTE]

Over the past 4 years I've never been denied when I found penny giudes on the floor but I've never been lucky enough to have somebody I asked about guide(s) go into the back and get something that was pulled and wasen't in the trash yet. Funny thing is IATCG got denied once at the TRU 5-10 minutes down the road from me lol IIRC he only had 1 guide also that he was just trying to save that he surely wasen't upset about missing out on.
 
[quote name='shiningslade']Man I keep getting lucky! I stopped into the BB in Poughkeepsie, NY and had a girl price check a couple of guides. Of course they came up .01 So then I go back to the guide rack & there is aother girl nearby. The girl that checked the prices came over to her & told her they rang up .01 So then she says "We pulled those the other night & had them in the back" She then came over & looked at the rack & said "Someone put all of them back out" So I proceed to tell her "I'll take some off of your hands so you won't have to worry about them re-appearing on the shelf again" She was cool & said go for it![/quote]
The employees at my closest BB used to ALWAYS end up putting the guides back on the shelf, after another employee would pull them. If not that, then I could always rely on someone having just stacked the guides in the back someplace and whenever I wanted just ONE specific guide, I'd ask if they could check in the back since 'they put guides back there once when the rack was overflowing'.
It didn't work today though, since my closest store must've chucked all of their guides. Shame really, since the only one I really wanted was Assassin's Creed LE.
[quote name='GuardianE']I'm not talking about lucky in the sense that you have a good score. I'm talking about lucky in terms of location. A lot of CAGs here are very personable I'm sure, but will get denied regardless because the managers at their locations are hardasses/instilled fear in their employees. I've never had problems getting guides when they're not pulled and I have stacks too.
I'm still not going to assume that I'm more charming than my fellow CAGs.[/quote]
I'm a friendly person to talk to sometimes, until you try to take my deal(s) away from me. When that happens, watch out.
[quote name='FOnewearl']Over the past 4 years I've never been denied when I found penny giudes on the floor but I've never been lucky enough to have somebody I asked about guide(s) go into the back and get something that was pulled and wasen't in the trash yet. Funny thing is IATCG got denied once at the TRU 5-10 minutes down the road from me lol IIRC he only had 1 guide also that he was just trying to save that he surely wasen't upset about missing out on.[/quote]
That was the infamous Wrestlemania 21 guide that was crammed into the guide rack so far that it took every ounce of my near Herculean strength(LOL) to wrest it from it's hiding spot.
Mind you, I'm STILL kicking myself in the ass for screwing up and not saying 'I'll go clean up the loft/crawlspace and yank every guide for you that's .01 if I can have them' at the Danbury Mall in CT when I was up there 2 or so years ago on business. I could've scored about 260 guides in ONE SHOT, which would all still be sitting in my house collecting dust probably.:roll:
 
[quote name='Mr.Bojangles']Anyone from NYC dry up the 86th and Lex one yet?[/quote]

You know, depending on your forum settings(I have mine set to show 50 posts per page), there's information on people hitting that very store LESS than 20 posts up from yours.

How about you....oh I don't know....take the time and READ a couple of the prior posts?:bomb:

Thank you.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']I'm not talking about lucky in the sense that you have a good score. I'm talking about lucky in terms of location. A lot of CAGs here are very personable I'm sure, but will get denied regardless because the managers at their locations are hardasses/instilled fear in their employees. I've never had problems getting guides when they're not pulled and I have stacks too. [/quote] I seemed to be the first person in my area to go get guides. Now the employees always have to pull it at BB or they get in trouble. I haven't been able to get anything there. The CC by my house now has me on the banned customers list and refuses to sell me anything because I got 80 guides in two trips, and I used to get them out of the GS dumpster, but one of the employees walked out when I was getting them and now they shred the guides, and all other gs in town already shredded the guides before I started getting them.
 
[quote name='FOnewearl']Over the past 4 years I've never been denied when I found penny giudes on the floor but I've never been lucky enough to have somebody I asked about guide(s) go into the back and get something that was pulled and wasen't in the trash yet.[/quote]

Most Gamestops in my area are filled with some really awesome employees (yes yes I know, surprise surprise) and many of them will go out of their way to do something nice for you. There are a few of them that know who I am and were willing to check the back for me when I asked about a particular guide.

I think my Gamestops are an exception to the rule, though, as most people tend to not have such luck.
 
[quote name='Chronis']All I read was "I keep getting lucky," "she says... 'in the back', and "she was cool & said go for it!". Looks like some CAGs really are more charming than others. :lol:[/quote]Well, if we're going to do that...[quote name='zman73']I have scored... at least 30-40 times. the only time I have ever been denied was one time at TRU. scored about 5-6 times yesterday, there is one person at my BB who I know is such a tight ass... but I never see her.[/quote]
This thread is easy since people are always mentioning racks, scoring, and getting lucky.;)
 
[quote name='sj41']Well, if we're going to do that...
This thread is easy since people are always mentioning racks, scoring, and getting lucky.;)[/quote]

That was hilarious...Touche. :lol:
 
Any advice about talking to employees that don't know about this? I had a penny guide at a CC scanned and the employee told me it didn't show up in the system, so it's cover price. It was one i wanted too.
 
[quote name='Chronis']All I read was "I keep getting lucky," "she says... 'in the back', and "she was cool & said go for it!". Looks like some CAGs really are more charming than others. :lol:[/quote]

That's so wrong.:lol:
 
[quote name='Mr.Bojangles']Ok well the douche cleared at all the hardcovers. Well thanks for taking Assassin's Creed:/[/quote]
Now now. There's no need to namecall other CAGs just because YOU didn't get there soon enough after the drop was mentioned. If anything, you have to keep an eye on this thread and if you see that something dropped that you wanted, you make time to hit the store(s) near you and at least try for them. If not, well....you have only YOURSELF to blame if you wait till week's end and there's NOTHING LEFT. Thanks for playing and have a nice day.
[quote name='darkslime']I seemed to be the first person in my area to go get guides. Now the employees always have to pull it at BB or they get in trouble. I haven't been able to get anything there. The CC by my house now has me on the banned customers list and refuses to sell me anything because I got 80 guides in two trips, and I used to get them out of the GS dumpster, but one of the employees walked out when I was getting them and now they shred the guides, and all other gs in town already shredded the guides before I started getting them.[/quote]
This is why, if you're going to try the dumpster diving route, you do so WAYYYYY after hours, since it IS technically illegal in MANY areas. If caught though, make sure you have a couple of cardboard boxes with you, so that way you can make up an excuse like 'I'm helping a friend move and they were looking for boxes to pack their stuff in'.
Of course, if they get nosy and happen to see a couple of guides, then I don't know what to tell ya. I myself have never done the DDing route for guides, but I HAVE thought about it.
 
Wow, I went yesterday to BB completely expecting to not get anything. What I walked out with, at least one of each, included:

SMG hardcover
Assassin's Creed LE (YES!)
Zelda PH hardcover
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
FFT: War of the Lions
Orange Box
...and more.

The clerk was very cool and we chatted a bit. That's a new experience for me, as male clerks have ALWAYS denied me at BB. I'd have to go to a female clerk to have even a minute chance of getting a guide at BB (been denied for the past two drops, save for the most recent). Anyway, I offered one Zelda PH hardcover to the clerk and his assistant since we talked about DS and 360 games for 10 games while he rung me up.

I wonder if BB is becoming more lax since many CAGs scored big at BB?
 
[quote name='Caliburn']I wonder if BB is becoming more lax since many CAGs scored big at BB?[/quote]
Nice haul!
I think many of us are snagging guides due to the inexperienced holiday help.
I've been denied guides by only females. On the other side of the coin, some of the most helpful staff members tend to be females. However, they tend to want to "be sure" before ringing the guides up. Males would seem to care less.
 
I wouldn't say lax exactly - once they caught on to what I was doing in that Texas store last week they pulled them all and destroyed them before I could get them all. Thankfully there are a few good users here helping me with the few I wanted but missed.
 
I actually had a ton, ready to go, and they said they couldn't sell to me.

I gave them crap, so they let me buy one.

I'd been there many times before, and never had a problem. Oh well.
 
[quote name='fuss']No new drops today at BBY - my guess would be not for a while after last week.[/quote]Thanks for the info. I was hoping I wouldn't have to stop on the way home. :lol:
 
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