Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread X(Ten)

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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 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/...d.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. Please, whenever possible, use RED font to make the drop info stand out. Thanks again.

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/...ighlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/....php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...ad.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/...d.php?t=167157
Guide Nine:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187222

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
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.

Common Guide Drop Related Questions(FAQ):

FAQ - If you are new (or a vet with a few questions) look here SECOND! (After reading the above!)

Q: What Are Penny Guides?
A: 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.

Q: Do all guides from all stores drop at the same time?
A: No. While most chains have nationwide drops within their own store (as in every BB will have the same drops coast to coast), not every different chain drops at the same time (what drops at BB is NOT necessarily dropped at GS). When in doubt, check post TWO for drop info.

Q: I found a penny guide and a clerk denied me! I'ma report 'em!
A: Whoa, hold your horses there, pardner! First of all, not a question. Second, just because something is on the shelf, the clerk does NOT have to sell you that item. Most stores are PRIVATE property and as such can deny you just about anything they want - including a sale. The best advice is to not be rude, not be arrogant, and just try hard to get them to have pity on you.

Q: Why don't the clerks want to sell me their penny guides? Aren't they just throwing them away?
A: As stated above, the stores are ordered by the publisher to trash the guides, and are then given credit for those guides. If they don't do this, the publisher won't give them the credit - it's like losing a sale. On the employee level, selling a penny guide can sometimes get them in trouble (or even fired!) I know it seems silly, but this is their job we're talking about! Respect the man (or woman) behind the counter and you'll get a lot more guides than otherwise!

Q: Should I just ask if the store has penny guides then?
A: No, since that denotes that you have some insider information as to the runnings of these businesses.

Q: What if the clerk wants to know how I know so much about guide drops?
A: If asked where you got your info about guides that pennied, simply say either 'the internet' or 'a friend of mine told me they're on clearance'.

Q: But clerks will know what a penny guide is, right? I can talk to them like anyone else here...
A: Never use the word pennied to ANY store clerks unless you have built up a good rapport with them. Even then, it may seem a little fishy if you know more about their shop than they do.

Q: Are guides labeled as a penny on the shelf?
A: Sometimes. Most times, no. GS seems to label everything that gets a price drop, so often times guides will be stickered. But even so, they most likely won't sell them to you. A sticker does not mean 'have to sell'.

Q: I tried to buy a guide that this thread said was pennied and it didn't ring up as such! What gives?
A: Either 1) Our source was wrong (this rarely happens and is usually verified a FEW times within maybe an hour of posting), or 2) The clerk changed the price. It's usually number 2.

Q: What's the easiest way to get penny guides? This sounds like TONS of work!
A: Best Buy is probably the best place to get guides, followed by GameStop, GameCrazy, Toys R Us and then Blockbuster. From what I've seen though, probably 95% of guides that people get are snagged at BB - the rest come from the other stores. But it never hurts to try!

Q: Has there been a drop recently?
A: If you are asking this question you didn't fully understand the OP - go back and read it once more. When a drop happens, it will be posted, and then placed in the second post - trust us.

Q: How do you guys know so much about penny guides?
A: We sometimes have inside sources with the information from the stores themselves; other times, fellow CAGS just like you or me simply take suspected guides to the register and ask them to ring them up, to check their prices. Feel free to do this yourself, and help give back to the community by telling us what you find! However, DON'T ask "Has anyone checked XXX lately?", unless you are in the right thread (discussion area).

Thanks to GrilledWitOnions for creating the above FAQ, which should eliminate the need for such questions popping up in the thread from this point on out.
 
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[quote name='muhsheesuh']Lego Batman and Lego Indy have been pennied long ago afaik.[/quote]

Lego indy, yes. Lego batman, No. That is still full price.
 
[quote name='muhsheesuh']Lego Batman and Lego Indy have been pennied long ago afaik.[/quote]

Actually, neither of those have been pennied at Best Buy, and only Indy has been pennied at Gamestop.
 
Hm, I wonder if this would mean more than the few stores I know of are liquidating their guides. Two months in a row with no drops. Or perhaps they are doing fewer drops to have bigger ones that employees can't ignore like in February.

I think the only possible ones no one has said they checked are Halo 3 and MGS4 LE, but seems like more than just those would go.
 
Pikmin: New Play Control! (Can anyone confirm if BB has this?)
Yes they do but i didn't check the price. I just remember seeing it over the weekend.


[quote name='loxthefox']The following guides have been removed from the Best Buy web site. They have NOT dropped yet but are likely for future drops:

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Fable II
Fallout 3 LE
Grand Theft Auto IV
Halo 3
Haze
The Legend Of Spyro: Dawn Of The Dragon
Lego Batman
Lego Indiana Jones
Metal Gear Solid IV LE
Mysims Kingdom
Pikmin: New Play Control! (Can anyone confirm if BB has this?)
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Vol. 2: Pokedex
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The following guides are still on the site but show up as Limited Availability for store pickup (A sign that it COULD drop in the next couple months):

Cheat Code Overload 2009
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Dead Space
Gears Of War II
Left 4 Dead
Madden NFL 09
Mario Kart Wii
Metal Gear Solid IV
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
Need For Speed: Undercover
Pokemon Ranger: Shadow Of Almia
Pokemon Visual Guide
Prince Of Persia LE
Resident Evil 5 LE
Resistance 2
Rise Of The Argonauts
Saint's Row 2
Sonic Unleashed
Spore
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Tom Clancy's Endwar
Tomb Raider: Underworld

If I missed any, PM me and let me know.[/quote]
 
My brother just hit up a store in TN. He took a stack of guides up and was told him the guides were all full price except one that was "invalid" and the employee wouldn't give him the stack back or tell him the "invalid" guide. :whistle2:s

The employee then went up to the only open register talked briefly and pointed to my brother and left.

He request these guides be scanned: Mirror's Edge CE, Fallout 3 CE, PoP CE, Left 4 Dead, MGS4 LE, GoW2 LE, RE5 CE, C&C3.

Rather than risk his luck taking them to the register he opt'ed to try again later.

Anyone else ever get that treatment?
 
^^^

You folks need to state the name of the store when quoting a success or failure. Most of the time I was wondering if it was BB, GS, GC or whatnot...
 
[quote name='mvp828']I think Shrike meant PoP LE instead of Fable 2 LE. Fable 2 had dropped awhile back. Also, I would check GTA IV since it has been reported as being removed from the site. Some other recommendations are Left 4 Dead, Saints Row 2, MGS4 LE, and maybe Gears 2 LE.

Those are just my thoughts of guides that we should probably expect to drop soon since they are older and a lot of them are CEs/LEs.[/quote]Sorry, did mean PoP LE, not Fable 2 LE. My mistake.
 
[quote name='eau']^^^

You folks need to state the name of the store when quoting a success or failure. Most of the time I was wondering if it was BB, GS, GC or whatnot...[/quote]

Chattanooga, TN Best Buy. Sorry, I didn't want to give the city out as he was planning on going back in later and trying to figure out which guide was "invalid." Today being the first Monday of the month, BBy seemed to go with out saying.

My apologies.
 
[quote name='ronfear']Pikmin: New Play Control! (Can anyone confirm if BB has this?)
Yes they do but i didn't check the price. I just remember seeing it over the weekend.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I knew I saw it there.

And thanks to everyone who checked.
 
Nothing. Most likely if it is still on the shelves it will ring up at $.01 and they will tell you that they cannot sell it and you will walk away disapointed.
 
All of these scanned reg price today:
Fable II
Haze
The Legend Of Spyro: Dawn Of The Dragon
Lego Batman
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
PoP LE
Mirror's Edge
C&C: Red Alert
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
 
The only time I ever tried getting pennied guides from GameStop I was successful (Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey)

If it's there I would personally try, just know that they're not required to sell it to you. If you strike out, at least you know that GS probably isn't worth checking in the future.
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']My brother just hit up a store in TN. He took a stack of guides up and was told him the guides were all full price except one that was "invalid" and the employee wouldn't give him the stack back or tell him the "invalid" guide. :whistle2:s

The employee then went up to the only open register talked briefly and pointed to my brother and left.

He request these guides be scanned: Mirror's Edge CE, Fallout 3 CE, PoP CE, Left 4 Dead, MGS4 LE, GoW2 LE, RE5 CE, C&C3.

Rather than risk his luck taking them to the register he opt'ed to try again later.

Anyone else ever get that treatment?[/quote]

Did he try it at a normal register or one of the kiosks they have in Media or at the service desk? I ask because the best place to try for a price check is at the employee kiosk in Media. This is because you can at least SEE THE SCREEN. Moreover, the guides that ring up at .01 typically will make a hand scanner make a LOUD(very audible) beep when they come up as such. Just a heads up for those who try and price check and get told that guides are 'invalid', when in fact they may have come up as a cent.

The only problem with trying to price check stuff at the registers is that if it does come up .01, the employees may call for a manager, but you can at least see the screen there as well.

[quote name='tagout']Can anyone confirm this? My nearest GS doesn't have it in stock but the GS that is two miles away from my house has it and I don't want to waste my time walking there if the price is still 29.99.

Question: What should I do if the guide has a sticker price of 29.99 but when the employee scanned the guide it comes out as invalid or one cent?[/quote]

With Gamestop's system, they used to have the prices of the items come up on the little credit card screen in front of the registers. However, many of them stopped that and many of those things don't even display anything except for the total nowadays.

I believe that much like Best Buy, the register will either beep or you'll see the employee fumbling with the register after it comes up as .01 . However, penny guides are usually universal, so it should be .01 in the system, but as has been said NUMEROUS times the employee may price adjust it back to normal price.

It's best to try and take it to an employee who looks like they don't give a shit or looks clueless/new and to prep them by saying that 'you heard this was on clearance' .

It doesn't always help to get a new employee though, since the newer the employee, the more likely they may call over another employee or a manager and you'll get denied.

If they ask where you heard they're 'on clearance' from, just say a friend or 'the internet' in general.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Did he try it at a normal register or one of the kiosks they have in Media or at the service desk? I ask because the best place to try for a price check is at the employee kiosk in Media. This is because you can at least SEE THE SCREEN. Moreover, the guides that ring up at .01 typically will make a hand scanner make a LOUD(very audible) beep when they come up as such. Just a heads up for those who try and price check and get told that guides are 'invalid', when in fact they may have come up as a cent.

The only problem with trying to price check stuff at the registers is that if it does come up .01, the employees may call for a manager, but you can at least see the screen there as well.
[/quote]

It was at the mid-store kiosk. He wasn't watching, this was his first attempt at guide hunting (I usually "share my wealth" so he doesn't have to) and he wasn't aware that pennied guide hunting requires some stealth and cunning.
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']It was at the mid-store kiosk. He wasn't watching, this was his first attempt at guide hunting (I usually "share my wealth" so he doesn't have to) and he wasn't aware that pennied guide hunting requires some stealth and cunning.[/quote]

I learned a while back to watch the screen, since employees will just out and out lie to you about the prices that come up if you're not paying attention.

The price usually comes up mid screen and there will be 2 prices listed, the MSRP and the current price in their system.

The prices should be right on top of one another on the screen.
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']It was at the mid-store kiosk. He wasn't watching, this was his first attempt at guide hunting (I usually "share my wealth" so he doesn't have to) and he wasn't aware that pennied guide hunting requires some stealth and cunning.[/quote]
If by stealth and cunning you mean handing them a penny and walking away after the "Wow, that's only a penny!!!!!!!" response, I guess stealth and cunning are required.
 
Little bit of an update for some of you guys interested in the Fallout 3 LE Guide.

I went in to pick up the guide just in case it does get clearanced out and I am unable to find a pennied guide and have to resort to eBay.

Someone mentioned that each store is being advised to discount these guides over the next couple of weeks at specific stores, with an gradual increase each week. The price for the Fallout 3 LE Guide is 34.99. After the CSR scanned the guide and my Reward Zone information came up, the register gave me 5.75 (15% of 34.99) off of the price so I got the guide for about 32 dollars. I don't know if this is YMMV, but if anyone's still interested in buying the Fallout 3 CE Guide and don't want to risk missing out when it gets pennied now might be the time to pick it up. Of course, if it does get pennied out and you able to find one, you should have thirty days to return the first one.
 
I bit the bullet around 1 or 2 weeks ago & bought the Falleout 3 CE guide at full price, but my Reward Zone took 15% off the price. The cashiere even mentioned out loud that my RZ benefits automatically applied to any guides. Sounds like this is routine.

One time in recent months I came across a LoZ: PH hard cover guide for around $4 & was very surprised. I passed it up since I was flat broke & already have the soft cover. Maybe that guide's price was lowered before it pennied out?
 
[quote name='ZCG']I bit the bullet around 1 or 2 weeks ago & bought the Falleout 3 CE guide at full price, but my Reward Zone took 15% off the price. The cashiere even mentioned out loud that my RZ benefits automatically applied to any guides. Sounds like this is routine.

One time in recent months I came across a LoZ: PH hard cover guide for around $4 & was very surprised. I passed it up since I was flat broke & already have the soft cover. Maybe that guide's price was lowered before it pennied out?[/quote]

I purchased a few guides from BB at the beginning of April and there was no discount applied. Either this is something new or I need to ask about it when I buy my next one. I am Silver Premier and signed up for the Gamer Club.
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']Is the Oblivion GOTY guide still full price at Gamestop? I was hoping to grab one of they knocked it down to $10 or so.[/quote]

Still $24.99.
 
Bought a guide from BB yesterday. If you want your 15% off, be sure to get your reward zone account in the system before scanning the items. This is a good policy to follow for any RZ/Gamer Club specials. It is possible that if I had had the cashier enter my RZ first, I could have gotten away with 3 Infinite Undiscovery games for free with the coupon and a $20 clearance price before the BB $10 sale. I got too used to just using my RZ Mastercard, which enters the RZ data after all the scans and coupons.
 
[quote name='hellmutt']Need for Speed Undercover just vanished from Gamestop website. I'll head out to check a couple shortly.[/QUOTE]

Confirmed. This appears to be a one guide drop as of today.
 
I'll wait before adding NFS: U to the second post, just in case anyone else comes across some other drops or we get confirmation of a drop from a GS employee on the site.

But thanks for the heads up nonetheless, hellmutt
 
[quote name='GuardianE']Only one guide dropped at Gamestop? That seems odd.[/QUOTE]

I bought a couple items from the 'Game Days' closeout and was able to request (and get) one of the NFS: Undercover guides that was stickered as a penny. There were only two of them that had been pulled, and it was a two-guide stack. At this particular location, no other guides were in the pennied stack behind the counter.
 
Confirmed on LI NY, I was able to get a NFS Undercover guide for a penny. Employee at the store said that was the only guide that dropped that day.
 
[quote name='billgamer']Confirmed on LI NY, I was able to get a NFS Undercover guide for a penny. Employee at the store said that was the only guide that dropped that day.[/QUOTE]

Mind telling us (me mostly) which store this was?
 
[quote name='billgamer']Confirmed on LI NY, I was able to get a NFS Undercover guide for a penny. Employee at the store said that was the only guide that dropped that day.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the confirmation. Even though it's only one guide, it's the first time ever that I was able to bring first news of a drop. A bit disappointing on the quantity, but exciting for me nonetheless.
 
Was out and about today and decided to hit some Best Buys today and found a stack of five Fable 2 LE guides on a out of the way store, sweet!
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Was out and about today and decided to hit some Best Buys today and found a stack of five Fable 2 LE guides on a out of the way store, sweet![/QUOTE]

Huh? This is pennied?

NM, LE edition...I'm getting confused with these different editions
 
[quote name='sacreddoctor']Was out and about today and decided to hit some Best Buys today and found a stack of five Fable 2 LE guides on a out of the way store, sweet![/quote]

Didn't you learn anything from getting silenced? Keep this crap where it belongs, in the brag thread.
 
[quote name='Wario64']Huh? This is pennied?

NM, LE edition...I'm getting confused with these different editions[/quote]

Yeah it's the Fable 2 Limited Edition Hard Cover, very nice book which i'm so glad to have stumbled across 5 of them (not sure what i'm gonna do with 4 extras)!

[quote name='shoe478']Didn't you learn anything from getting silenced? Keep this crap where it belongs, in the brag thread.[/quote]

I was silenced for saying why i thought having a 360 gave you a better chance of getting cheaper games and therefore i was called a fanboy which it was simply a personal opinion but i understand that i should have posted it in a discussion forum and not a deal forum but others replied to it and some people started acting like babies so it got out of control. This post here wasn't a brag it was just a confirmed sighting of a penny guide so others like the poster above this would know to keep a look out for it!

But back on topic....here's hoping for a rare non-first of the month monday drop at Best Buy cuz i really really REALLY want a Fallout 3 guide so i'm hoping that'll drop!
 
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This isn't a drop...but I noticed that they are doing inventory at 3 different best buys. They are also doing it differently by stickering guides/games with a second BB yellow sticker with codes on it. I noticed only the older stock games had the stickers on them as well as another color coded sticker (red or green circles). They may have some price drops/pulls after they reassess their stock.

I also noticed all the GTA 4 guides as well as Haze were gone from the store.
 
It didn't look like anything dropped at my BB. The only thing that was missing was the Fallout 3 CE. Either that dropped or someone else bought it. There was only one copy at my BB, so either of those is possible. I also checked the Mirror's Edge CE and Gears of War 2 CE and both were still full price.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']This isn't a drop...but I noticed that they are doing inventory at 3 different best buys. They are also doing it differently by stickering guides/games with a second BB yellow sticker with codes on it. I noticed only the older stock games had the stickers on them as well as another color coded sticker (red or green circles). They may have some price drops/pulls after they reassess their stock.

I also noticed all the GTA 4 guides as well as Haze were gone from the store.[/quote]

Yeah, I noticed this yesterday. For some reason the GTA4 guides were missing too. They may be on to this whole penny thing. Funny thing is, all they'll do is end up cluttering the back room some more.
 
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