The Half Price Books Thread

BudzMcGee

BudzMcGee

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As a big fan of Half Price Books I thought a thread discussing the various discounts, promotions and of course our finds was more than well deserved.

All deals posted in the OP and in this thread are YMMV by nature. Some things have universal prices (or damn near) but still.

Always remember to check our local store's page on the HPB.com website to see if it has any additional specials (such as comic Wednesdays)!

Current Promotions:

Upcoming Promotions:


Miscellaneous contest and other deals:

Educator's Discount: If you are an educator you can apply for the Educators Discount Card to save 10% every day at HPB. http://www.hpb.com/community/educators/

Notable Deals (Items that seem to be more universal):
This is not to add every single descent deal found at HPB, but to post ones that seem to be more universal (i.e. items marked with SuperBuy rather than clearance or is reported in multiple places).

 
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Uhhhhh... isn't it called Half Price BOOKS?  Anything else in the store is generally a retail environment.  Not defending them, as my local one is overpriced, but try reading the third word in their name, not mentally creating a situation where you get to be right.

 
SideQuestsSuck said:
And you sound like a HPB employee. "Difficult"....lol...that's a good one, when their prices are 3-5 years behind. You want to pay "half" prices that aren't really half? You'd rather pay more than half? You're welcome to it. Give 'em more of your money. No sweat off my sack. The rest of us will try to save $$ (hence the idea behind this entire website).
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Darthvdogg said:
I'll go ahead and piggyback on this topic. Honestly, for the last 2 years or so HPB has gotten worse at pricing and updating prices. Books usually are still priced well enough...unless it's an OOP book or comic. Which that I understand. But for me board games are the biggest offender. There is usually what I call a "HPB Tax" that is $5 to $10 above half price MSRP on those.
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Weird, at my stores it seems like the OOP books usually get underpriced, atleast in the sections I shop in (Art, Design, Gaming, Comics, and Manga). The stuff they tend to overprice here is anything Marvel or DC, anything signed, or anything by a super well known artist/author.

My store has been sitting on the same Suicide Squad, Batman Vs Superman, and Star Wars/Harry Potter art books for ages. Yet I keep nabbing uncommon/much rarer books for way less than they go for online.

But yeah the board and card games are almost always grossly overpriced here.
 
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willworkforbits said:
Uhhhhh... isn't it called Half Price BOOKS? Anything else in the store is generally a retail environment. Not defending them, as my local one is overpriced, but try reading the third word in their name, not mentally creating a situation where you get to be right.
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well when they started book stores were far more common and "Half Price All Physical Media" doesn't have the same ring to it. Seriously, most HPB's like half the store is used DVD's/Blu-rays/games. Pretty much the only stuff they sell "new" or standard retail are some new/popular books and the toys/figures/various merch they clearly get wholesales when other stores don't sell it (I've seen so many funko characters at HPB that had walmart or Target tags still on them).

 
BudzMcGee said:
well when they started book stores were far more common and "Half Price All Physical Media" doesn't have the same ring to it. Seriously, most HPB's like half the store is used DVD's/Blu-rays/games. Pretty much the only stuff they sell "new" or standard retail are some new/popular books and the toys/figures/various merch they clearly get wholesales when other stores don't sell it (I've seen so many funko characters at HPB that had walmart or Target tags still on them).
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Well said. HPB was simply their original name and, naturally, they've evolved over the years to include physical media, etc. If it's at HPB (assuming it's not a brand new item), you can reasonably assume to pay 1/2 of current retail.

 
SideQuestsSuck said:
Well said. HPB was simply their original name and, naturally, they've evolved over the years to include physical media, etc. If it's at HPB (assuming it's not a brand new item), you can reasonably assume to pay 1/2 of current retail.
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Okay, show me where you've read that this is true there though? Stores don't work on assumptions. If so, I should go to Dollar General and file some complaints.

 
willworkforbits said:
Okay, show me where you've read that this is true there though? Stores don't work on assumptions. If so, I should go to Dollar General and file some complaints.
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Are you really this stupid or just a garden-variety troll? It's a half price store. If you really think their policy is 'we really mean just the books!' and everything else is regular/full price (which comprises a ton of their merch), you're more idiotic than I thought.

I bet you also can't believe that Burger King actually sells other things on their menu besides burgers...lol. "But it says Burger in their name...I don't get it". Ok...I'm done feeding the troll.

 
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I have 2 1/2 price books in easy driving distance to me. Their prices are really bad. You can find a deal every so often but it's very rare. Examples. $50 for Yakuza 2 for PS2. $60 for a fairly worn Skyrim Legendary Edition paperback strategy guide. $40 for Silent Hill Origins. Those are off the top of my head. But recently I got a Castlevania: SOTN Black Label for $25 & Tactics Ogre for $50 so it's hit or miss. Mostly miss. The other one in driving distance is way overpriced. Their clearance section starts at $5 and up. The problem is that people keep buying stuff at these prices so they will keep overpricing stuff. They started selling Legos now also. GREEDY as F***.

 
Lord Darias said:
I have 2 1/2 price books in easy driving distance to me. Their prices are really bad. You can find a deal every so often but it's very rare. Examples. $50 for Yakuza 2 for PS2. $60 for a fairly worn Skyrim Legendary Edition paperback strategy guide. $40 for Silent Hill Origins. Those are off the top of my head. But recently I got a Castlevania: SOTN Black Label for $25 & Tactics Ogre for $50 so it's hit or miss. Mostly miss. The other one in driving distance is way overpriced. Their clearance section starts at $5 and up. The problem is that people keep buying stuff at these prices so they will keep overpricing stuff. They started selling Legos now also. GREEDY as F***.
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BINGO. More proof. They are indeed 'greedy AF'. Whenever I've spoken to HPB Customer Service, they're like 'those prices are not supposed to be like that'. They never have sided with the store and their prices. Not in my personal experience. These are all slam dunks. One of the reps said they were shocked the store manager didn't "give me the benefit of the doubt" when it came to the price discrepancy I pointed out. The CS rep was really cool and mailed me the game on the house. Said he was embarrassed at how I was treated when it came to my in-store experience via the pricing. I still email him from time to time to thank him and catch up, since he's an avid gamer as well. Anyone who has pricing issues/disputes at a HPB location should definitely call their customer service, because it's excellent and chances are they will side with you.

 
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SideQuestsSuck said:
Are you really this stupid or just a garden-variety troll? It's a half price store. If you really think their policy is 'we really mean just the books!' and everything else is regular/full price (which comprises a ton of their merch), you're more idiotic than I thought.

I bet you also can't believe that Burger King actually sells other things on their menu besides burgers...lol. "But it says Burger in their name...I don't get it". Ok...I'm done feeding the troll.
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Butmesohungry. It's not a half price store YOU MORON. Show me on their site, or anywhere else, where it says that anything other than book are half price. I'll wait here. Dope. I literally made fun of you believing the name of a store, and you use that in your counterargument. Typical CAG mentality, I want something cheap, and will make up any excuse to get it. DOPE DOPE DOPE.

 
It's actually not even really a 1/2 price book store anymore. A few years ago I was collecting Conan the Barbarian books that were printed I believe in the 60's. They were I believe .75 cover price. So I got a few for under .40 each. My point is now the same exact books are put in plastic bags and priced at $3 each. I also noticed they are doing the same thing with other Sci Fi series like Star Wars & Star Trek paperbacks. Not a big deal as $3 isn't very much but it shows the greed of the company. What they offer customers for their items are downright insulting. It's too bad as I used to love the store and spent a bunch there. Now, not so much. :cry: :cry: :cry:

 
The HBP in my area is really hit or miss with video games, but has become more miss than hit over the past few years. I used to find really good deals on previous gen games, however in the last couple years PS2, Xbox, Wii, etc games are Ebay prices. Same with current gen games. The main reason I still buy some games there over Ebay when I can is that I can in-person inspect the cases, manuals, and discs. Ebay descriptions are not the most accurate as most people know. Also, the coupons and various discounts at HPB still make for some pretty good deals. As for selling stuff to HPB, yeah, it's a complete ripoff. I just give most of my DVDs and books to the Goodwill these days. Takes too much time to deal with HBP, and I avoid getting pissed off at the insanely trash prices they offer me on my goods. Last time I tried to sell something at HPB they offered me between .10-.50 a piece for Criterion Collection DVDs in perfect condition, after I waited a good 45 minutes for them to put together a quote. I'd rather just donate them and make someone's day than spend 45 mins waiting for an insulting offer.

 
Closest hpb to me (Chicago) is like 10 minutes away but all the employees there are so fucking lame! Especially the guy who does the video game section, which is currently insanely depleted! Literally there are 2 giant empty shelves with nothing on them. He’s got a big 2-3 shelf cart of stuff to put out but doesn’t because he doesn’t want people getting shit during the sale. Luckily the cart is behind the counter and I was able to get me a game from another employee to put on hold before I even knew about the sale, which when I did find out I called to extend the hold a week but the douchebag guy picked up and he only let me have 3 days. The guy who previously worked there and managed the video game section was cool af. He actually would price stuff decently and chit chat about games. This Pinocchio hat wearing douche who manages it now is just a troll. At least they aren’t like the one 30 mins away which actually doubles the price of their more expensive games so that you don’t get a deal with the 50% off. I legitimately wanted to take pix and post them on twitter. Shit pissed me off to my core last year. fucking assholes.
 
redman77 said:
Last time I tried to sell something at HPB they offered me between .10-.50 a piece for Criterion Collection DVDs in perfect condition, after I waited a good 45 minutes for them to put together a quote. I'd rather just donate them and make someone's day than spend 45 mins waiting for an insulting offer.
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I know the feeling. There was no one in the store but me and it took them 40 minutes to give a quote for a $1 on a strategy guide. Just like you, I just give my stuff to Goodwill instead of wasting my time at HPB.

 
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mojoaoe said:
Closest hpb to me (Chicago) is like 10 minutes away but all the employees there are so fucking lame! Especially the guy who does the video game section, which is currently insanely depleted! Literally there are 2 giant empty shelves with nothing on them. He’s got a big 2-3 shelf cart of stuff to put out but doesn’t because he doesn’t want people getting shit during the sale. Luckily the cart is behind the counter and I was able to get me a game from another employee to put on hold before I even knew about the sale, which when I did find out I called to extend the hold a week but the douchebag guy picked up and he only let me have 3 days. The guy who previously worked there and managed the video game section was cool af. He actually would price stuff decently and chit chat about games. This Pinocchio hat wearing douche who manages it now is just a troll. At least they aren’t like the one 30 mins away which actually doubles the price of their more expensive games so that you don’t get a deal with the 50% off. I legitimately wanted to take pix and post them on twitter. Shit pissed me off to my core last year. fucking assholes.
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I wish you could hear yourself. How terrible that a used media store - which frankly, is a dying/super low returns business - dares try to make the most money it can on highly sought after items by -- BEING INFORMED about the game prices. Sounds like smart business to me.

I assure you customers like you are the ones HPB has no interest in.

 
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romeogbs19 said:
I wish you could hear yourself. How terrible that a used media store - which frankly, is a dying/super low returns business - dares try to make the most money it can on highly sought after items by -- BEING INFORMED about the game prices. Sounds like smart business to me.

I assure you customers like you are the ones HPB has no interest in.
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Buddy, what in the world are you smoking? You make it sound like they’re dying out or something. They literally give pennies on items you bring in, especially books and DVDs, and then they go and list them for well over 100% profit on what they paid. They’re worse than effing pawn shops. On top of that they’ll usually price above or at eBay prices on most items. Even if you happen to buy a game at 50% off they still retain a profit. Listen to yourself if anything. Why do you think so many half price books are around? When run properly and efficiently they make bank. Why do you think they run week long sales multiple times a year? Ummm let me think for you....because they make bank..... What I don’t get is why run a sale and then double the price on items and basically lie to your customers that they’re getting a deal? Pretty fucking bogus.

Side note on how efficiently these places are run, today I asked to have some games priced that they didn’t have out yet and the guy pulled up pricecharting.com to price the games lol. So yea they know how much games are worth and they price accordingly, yet they pay barely anything for them so even if I were to get a game for 50%off it wouldn’t hurt them at all but they would make customers happy and coming back.
 
SideQuestsSuck said:
BINGO. More proof. They are indeed 'greedy AF'. Whenever I've spoken to HPB Customer Service, they're like 'those prices are not supposed to be like that'. They never have sided with the store and their prices. Not in my personal experience. These are all slam dunks. One of the reps said they were shocked the store manager didn't "give me the benefit of the doubt" when it came to the price discrepancy I pointed out. The CS rep was really cool and mailed me the game on the house. Said he was embarrassed at how I was treated when it came to my in-store experience via the pricing. I still email him from time to time to thank him and catch up, since he's an avid gamer as well. Anyone who has pricing issues/disputes at a HPB location should definitely call their customer service, because it's excellent and chances are they will side with you.
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Damn man, that guy is an absolute mensch. I'd buy him a Half-Price Beer if I could.

The other stories in this thread make me thankful for my local HPBs. They're generally nice enough and have a quality deal here and there. I definitely wouldn't sell anything to them, but I can usually find something worth the visit whenever I go.
 
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mojoaoe said:
Buddy, what in the world are you smoking? You make it sound like they’re dying out or something. They literally give pennies on items you bring in, especially books and DVDs, and then they go and list them for well over 100% profit on what they paid. They’re worse than effing pawn shops. On top of that they’ll usually price above or at eBay prices on most items. Even if you happen to buy a game at 50% off they still retain a profit. Listen to yourself if anything. Why do you think so many half price books are around? When run properly and efficiently they make bank. Why do you think they run week long sales multiple times a year? Ummm let me think for you....because they make bank..... What I don’t get is why run a sale and then double the price on items and basically lie to your customers that they’re getting a deal? Pretty fucking bogus.

Side note on how efficiently these places are run, today I asked to have some games priced that they didn’t have out yet and the guy pulled up pricecharting.com to price the games lol. So yea they know how much games are worth and they price accordingly, yet they pay barely anything for them so even if I were to get a game for 50%off it wouldn’t hurt them at all but they would make customers happy and coming back.
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Very well said. Also, the guy you responded to above called them "highly sought after items". Don't think that's what we're talking about here. Just because they are sold at HPB hardly means they are rare items. Most of the video games I've seen at HPB are releases 3-5 years old, very unreasonably priced. I mean, most of these games are now highly discounted at retail stores like Best Buy/Walmart and yet, at HPB, being sold at half of their HIGHEST price point, from the launch date of release. In many cases, HPB is charging more for a USED copy than a brand NEW copy at a big box store. I've seen it often. Either they're too lazy to update the prices or they're trying to pull one over on their customers. Something one employee told me recently was very interesting, made in the guise of an excuse...which was, that they have no problems selling their used games for those prices to HPB customers. In other words, reading between the lines, if they can continue to get away with selling "half price" games at marked up prices, they will. They seem unprepared in-store when you actually call them out on their outdated and inaccurate pricing. Sometimes, very rarely, a manager will step in and adjust the pricing, but again...doesn't happen often (in my experience). And that's where Customer Service makes a difference. I don't even bother to argue with them in-store anymore. I just call Customer Service, they call the store in question, the price is adjusted, and I pick up the game (usually timing it on 50% coupon off day).

Anyway, you're absolutely right. I'm surprised by any attitude that somehow faults the customer for pointing out inconsistencies in pricing or for not settling for suspicious pricing that doesn't seem right and in line with pricing at most other retailers.

The_Central_Scrutinizer said:
Damn man, that guy is an absolute mensch. I'd buy him a Half-Price Beer if I could.

The other stories in this thread make me thankful for my local HPBs. They're generally nice enough and have a quality deal here and there. I definitely wouldn't sell anything to them, but I can usually find something worth the visit whenever I go.
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For sure. Again, thank goodness for HPB Customer Service. They get a ton of calls from customers who run into pricing issues/disputes in store, from what I was told. Now this is a bit tricky, because CS also told me that each store can set its own prices....HOWEVER, that price is supposed to be in line or very close to 1/2 of recent retail trend pricing. So, they are not supposed to get deadlocked into a price that is out of date and no longer valid, compared to current retail. The only time they are "in the right" with higher pricing on games is for rare, out-of-circulation games for older systems like PS2, OG XBOX, etc.

 
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Just got an n64 again recently so I’m hoping to score some games (Goldeneye, Mario 64, Shadows of Empire) with this weeks coupons.
 
My HPB labels certain games and guides OOP and marks them $50+. This is on stuff I can get off eBay for cheaper. I haven't found a good deal there in a long time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Optical said:
My HPB labels certain games and guides OOP and marks them $50+. This is on stuff I can get off eBay for cheaper. I haven't found a good deal there in a long time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The one near my apartment is a joke, but the one 10 minutes away has pretty good deals. Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe were only $29.99 each.

 
Seen today at my neighborhood HPB. I rest my case. Pricing clearly hasn't been updated in years. Anyone wanna pay $30 for a USED copy of Bloodborne? (Pic is right side up in my phone..not sure why it's sideways here).
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SideQuestsSuck said:
Seen today at my neighborhood HPB. I rest my case. Pricing clearly hasn't been updated in years. Anyone wanna pay $30 for a USED copy of Bloodborne? (Pic is right side up in my phone..not sure why it's sideways here).
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I honestly think sometimes when they take trades they look up items on ebay and price them on the last going Ebay sold listing and never update the price from there.

 
Yeah my stores pricing have always been all over the place on games. I have snagged some newer Switch/PS4 stuff for $25-$30 (Like Pokken and The World Ends with You) and see shovelware sitting at less than $5 off what its release MSRP was.

Trade in pricing is stupid as well. Got offered a bunch for a ton of super old niche strategy guides that werent even worth much, got offered pennies on Amiibos, newer accessories, and some current gen games.

 
Wish I'd known that I could place holds on items. Went back to a store looking for the original xbox they had and it was gone. I also just bought a record a week ago that I could have waited to buy with a coupon.

 
addicted2games said:
I don't have any HPB around me and have never dealt with them. Sounds like they are worse than Gamestop.
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They definitely can be it just depends on the location as for some reason they seem like they can vary quite a bit. For example in 1 store I saw Darkstalkers 3 and Legend of Zelda Collectors edition for $20 each while another location had Rampage through time for $75.
 
Didnt even try today, went last night and the stores were crowded as hell and the cashiers were taking forever to check people out. Was mostly picked over, and the best thing I could find was a Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls art book for $16 (I think its out of print, so I can't complain)

 
I saw a bunch of Xbox 360 wireless controllers on clearance for $3. I thought about buying them all and trade into GameStop, but I have a feeling they would all have issues and get refurb fees or just be rejected outright.
 
addicted2games said:
I don't have any HPB around me and have never dealt with them. Sounds like they are worse than Gamestop.
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If you're looking to sell or shop for games I can imagine a lot of them being worse.

SgtWiggles said:
Didnt even try today, went last night and the stores were crowded as hell and the cashiers were taking forever to check people out. Was mostly picked over, and the best thing I could find was a Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls art book for $16 (I think its out of print, so I can't complain)
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I went less than an hour before closing and it was pretty packed with lines at the register, but they moved pretty quickly. Managed to find a brand new out of print record that I haven't seen for sale anywhere. Going to go back to see if the new Raconteurs record is still there.

 
I remember when Bone came out originally. Out of the very few series I ever picked up as a kid, I picked quite the winner with that one. I really should get back into it and see how things panned out after I grew out of comics for a long time.

 
Oh boy, here I go spending more money!

But for real though, I'm either gonna have to get more shelf space soon, or start getting rid of some of the books I literally never look at

 
Just received my HPB coupons in my email. The title of the email is "Your coupons have arrived".

Nov. 4-5 - 20%

Nov. 6-7 - 30%

Nov. 8-9 - 40%

Nov. 10 - 50%

 
Percentage off coupons start today. The title of the email is "Your coupons have arrived".

Nov. 4-5 - 20%

Nov. 6-7 - 30%

Nov. 8-9 - 40%

Nov. 10 - 50%

 
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