Zack's game-shopping guide

Here's a bunch of tricks, advice, and bookmarks useful for game-shopping. This isn't just for my freaky Japanese stuff (like Rhyme Rider Kerorikan and Taiko No Tatsujin Appare Sandaime). If you're looking to buy a game, and it's not a PC game, this will probably help you.

Also, hopefully this will the the first in a series. Maybe Kenny can tell us his DVD-buying tricks, and Lydia can tell us where to buy, uh, I guess yarn or something.


1. SHOP AT RANDOM STORES
Mom and pop stores are great, because Mom and Pop are idiots. Non-specialty places without high-level corporate coordination don't really know what the going price for any particular game is. You can find rare games at budget prices, special editions of games at the regular prices, and so forth. However, you can also find regular games at the special edition prices, or games with prices that were competitive eight months ago, so if you shop at random places (like Rasputin, in Berkeley), make sure you know the current prices of the games you're shopping for.


2. EBGAMES.COM
EBgames' website is good for used games. Unlike Gamestop (which just bought EB -- fuckfuckfuck), EB guarantees that you're getting the case and manual (Gamestop might ship you the disc in a generic sleeve, if they feel like it). Better yet, EB has a ton of coupon codes. There is, first of all, the Edge Card.
*EDGE (-10%): $5 for the "Edge card," which allows you to take 10% off every preowned game or accessory for 10 months. As a caveat, it's not clear how the Edge card is going to be impacted by the Gamestop takeover. Still, ought to work for several months at least.
*CAG16 (-16%): 16% off your order if everything is used ("preowned"). This coupon code is a "thank you" from EBgames to Cheapassgamer for supporting their site.
*CAG15 (-15%): 15% off your order (if not everything is used). Obviously, use it only if you can't use CAG15.
*SAVER: free ground shipping
You can stack CAG16 *or* CAG15 with EDGE and SAVER. So for used merchandise (which is already $5 cheaper than the new stuff), you can get a 25%-26% discount, and not pay for shipping. You still pay tax, of course.

Oh, but speaking of EB/Gamestop, don't be that idiot who trades in his games. Just sell it on ebay or something. EB and GS pay you like $8 and then put it right back on the shelf for $45. Just sell it online yourself, unless it's really such a crappy game that it's not worth the bother of mailing it.


3. TARGET
Although they are by and large a trap for clueless parents who don't have the time and knowledge to find deals, Targets are distinguished by random, unadvertised, highly inconsistent discounts. The folks on Cheapassgamer explain how to exploit this (edited by me for clarity):
1) Go to www.half.com, bits.com or similar website and search for any games you're interested in, to locate the UPC code numbers. Its in the grey box underneath the box art graphic. Another good site is: http://store.yahoo.com/game-questdirect/index.html

2) Go to www.schworak.com/upc/ , www.milk.com/barcode/ , or www.upcdatabase.com and enter the code so you can print out the UPC. Scworak, makes you sign up after a few barcodes. It's free, but if you don't like signing up for things use the other 2.

3) Go to Target and use the price scanners to scan your printouts and search for cheap ass deals!

FYI: When a game's price ends with 8 cents, further reduction is possible, when it ends in 4 cents, that's the ball game, pick it up cause it's not going any lower. If it ends in 9 cents, it's just on sale or on a non-clearance reduction.


4. GAMEFLY
Gamefly, primarily a game rental site, sells their previously rented games. Sometimes their prices are extremely good. For example, right after Christmas I found Samurai Warriors and Mega Man Anniversary Collection for $10 each (at this point you wouldn't have found either for under $25). No tricks to this one.


5. VGLQ
You might also try Video Game Liquidators. They are reportedly a good place, but I haven't ever had a reason to order from them, until about three minutes ago. Their selection is pretty weird, but there were a few pleasant surprises, and while the shipping rates aren't good ($5 for the first item, $2.50 for each additional), the low base prices compensate.


6. PLAY-ASIA
Easily the best importer site. They have random weekly specials (which I have never taken them up on, as they are too weird even for me). Importing games is almost always costly, and Play-Asia just a bit less than the others. Lik-Sang (Lik-Sang.com) sometimes has better prices on some obscure accessories (and on actually illegal things like the Treamcast*), but if we're just talking games, they're usually my choice.

*Treamcast is a portable Hong Kong Dreamcast with an LCD screen


7. EBAY
Last resort. You can find almost anything, but prices fluctuate a lot. Not only do you have to know your stuff and watch out for scammers, but prices go up and down in slow, frustrating waves. In November, Gitaroo Man was going for $40. Now it's going for $100. Why? Because it's ebay, that's why. Will it go down again? Who knows? It's ebay. Every time I buy something from ebay, I get punked. I get sent the wrong shit, or shit just never comes, or they send a fucking Game Boy via mediamail. Even when Lydia buys things off ebay on my behalf, I get punked. I fucking hate ebay, so much.


8. YAHOO JAPAN AUCTIONS
Allegedly, Japanese people mostly use Yahoo auctions, not ebay. What the fuck, Japan? Unfortunately, I don't know Japanese, and neither do you.


9. JUST WAIT...OR NOT?
Most sorts of games will have pricedrops in 6 months or so. There are some niche games that are exceptions. Notably non-Square RPGs tend to disappear and shoot up in value (see: Valkyrie Profile, Tactics Ogre, Suikoden 2). However, for more mainstream stuff like GTA, Metal Gear Solid, Burnout, and sports games, just wait for the inevitable price drop.

There are other exceptions, too, of course, but they mostly involve following industry news to act on. For example, most of the Capcom fighting games have had some decent pricedrops, but right after porting Marvel Vs Capcom 2 to PS2/Xbox, Capcom lost the Marvel rights to EA, so they can't print any more copies of MvC2 even though people are desperate to buy it. Hence, $55 for a preowned copy of what is basically a 5 year old game. Sigh...