Penny Guides?

[Tupin]

Okay, after seeing some people get these guides for one penny, I'm curious. What exactly leads to stores selling guides to customers for a penny? I've also heard of people getting banned from stores from what I am assuming is buying too many at once. What's with that?

[Dangerboy]

When a store "pennies" out guides, they are unsold older stock that normally should be tossed out. Book stores usually tear the mag tops off and send them back for credit. It's completely random where they end up after that. Some stores give them away for free with purchases, some have a free box, and some still sell it at the penny, though usually by mistake.

[The 1 2 P]

This thread covers the trend too, although it's 4 years old: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47702&highlight=penny+guides

[bangtango]

When a store "pennies" out guides, they are unsold older stock that normally should be tossed out. Book stores usually tear the mag tops off and send them back for credit. It's completely random where they end up after that. Some stores give them away for free with purchases, some have a free box, and some still sell it at the penny, though usually by mistake.

I know of one large book store in my area who still sells guides dating back to the PS1/N64 era and they sell them at full price. If someone in my neck of the woods that doesn't have the internet wants to find out how to finish Resident Evil 2 for PS1 or Sonic Adventure 1 for Dreamcast, all they gotta do is roll into that book store because those guides are there (brand new).

It isn't a used book store either, it is actually part of a big chain. I don't think they give two shits, though, because their floor space is huge.

[j_factor]

I have tried to buy pennied guides in the past, but never been successful. I always hear stories on the internet about people snatching up 100 guides for a dollar. I never find them.

[FantasiaWHT]

I've never found a pennied out super rare guide, but when I worked at EB I did find 2 pennied out copies of SWG: Collector's Edition for some strange reason... I took one of them and gave the other to the better of my two associates. Sold mine on Ebay for $150, heh.

Items (guides and whatever else) that are "pennied out" can be safely removed from inventory without counting as a loss against the store (not even the penny's worth), it's a signal from corporate headquarters to get rid of something.

[glorfindel]

i remember as a kid picking up the super mario sunshine guide at k-mart for a penny. i was soooo happy but i had no idea why i got it for so cheap till now.

[Tupin]

Yeah, they always seem to mark it down here like two or three years after the game came out, and it's still like $10. They probably destroy the popular ones.

Still, I want the City Folk guide, but not for $20...

[erehwon]

Only certain stores penny out guides. Best Buy is the one that I've had the best luck at getting these. If you want to start collecting guides this way, I would suggest checking out the reduced price guide thread over on CAG. That is the best place for info on getting guides at a reduced price. I've been doing this for a couple of years now and I've got ton of guides, though I've tried to limit myself to guides for games that I have or plan on getting.

[carlcarlson]

I have been able to get a decent number of guides at Best Buy over the past few months. The last time I got about 7 copies of the hardcover Phantom Hourglass guide. I really wanted a FFTactics: War of the Lions guide, but the only store that had one shot me down. Luckily I was able to trade a deluxe Mario Galaxy guide (also a penny) for one.

[TurboGenesis]

I have had poor luck to get the penny guides at Game Stop. I have gone to try to purchase a guide, and expecting to pay full price, then they say "its been pennied out and I can't sell it to you". I inquire to try to purchase the guide at a penny or at full price, but they get their colleague to run and grab the rest off the shelf and start to shove them under the counter. -- I'll then attempt to go to another location and they have been friendly at times and sell to me for a penny, give me, or even charge me full price…

Best guides I got were several Double Jump books:
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
Makai Kingdom
Phantom Brave

I also got the guide for Billy Hatcher for a penny!


I now have a friend who got picked up for long term after the holidays so I am looking to see if he is able to help me in getting guides for discount. I have already got some games for free (Baku Baku for the Saturn and some Sheep GBA game)

[The 1 2 P]

I recently got a cheat code book guide from Best Buy for a penny. Over the years I've literally gotten over a hundred penny guides, from Silent Hill to The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition.