What are the chances of seeing any real deals this year?

I think the previous poster pretty much nailed it. Stores aren't going to take huge losses and have instead decided to scale back on orders of inventory which they placed well before the Christmas season. Even the stuff Amazon and other retailers were selling on-line at a sharp discount weren't the A-list titles that people would normally pay full price for, they were the B and C titles which would have seen a price drop in 3-4 months anyway in a good economy. Sure, the price drops happened faster than in years past, but the A-list holiday games never dropped below $40 even with the most aggressive retailer discounting.

As far as the negotiating thing, I think all those stories on local news stations are complete BS. I have friends that work at a few of the big chains like Best Buy and Circuit City and unless something is a discontinued or open box item, the best they can really do is take like 10% off and that's only after going through several layers of management. Of course, that's only on larger items and the 10% is what you can pretty much get anyway if you have one of the coupons the stores regularly send out and it's barely enough to cover tax anyway in many states. I saw a couple of stories recently on the local Los Angeles news that claimed you can negotiate with a restaurant. I certainly can't imagine what that negotiation is like and I sure as heck wouldn't ever try it, even if it is real.

 

video game wise or...? if you're talking about games there are usually deals and a few good ones are going on now.

haggling- if you're haggling for pc's the store may not make anything from it (speaking literally). at best buy if we're lucky we make a few bucks. so when people want a discount it's easier when they buy services or accessories. if you just want to get the item and be on your way with nothing else what incentive is there for the chain to help you?

and it's manager dependent.

 

This is what I was thinking. Literally every morning I hear on the news: "retailers are losing lots of money and are willing to negotiate" Its being put out there just to get people into the stores, who at this point would not go otherwise.

Thanks BBaileys for getting that info out there. It explains the reasons behind what I have observed perfectly. So now I am not surprised that it’s easy to get a discount on a TV, open box or discontinued item, but generally no discounts on anything else. And yes, online I found lots of really good deals.

I am just tired of the propaganda news stories about brick and mortar stores having deep discounts and their recent embracing of haggling. All not true as far as I can see.

 

Here in the states you can haggle at Fry's Electronics and a few other retailers. I got a really sweet deal on my 65' screen that way.

 

Hardware is indeed sold at very little profit. As for ONLY $9 - that's 20% of the price - the retailer gets the biggest cut of the pie!

Buying used is of course the best way to go.

 

Unless a game or system is no longer being manafactured - I try to avoid used.

Here in the states you normally only get a small percentage off the original price and the stuff looks like a dog has had its way with it. I would much rather pay $5 more and get the game new and sealed or $20 more and get the system brand new untainted.

Maybe it is because I live in Arizona. We do not have a lot of mom and pop shops that sell good used stuff.

I have been burned on E-Bay a lot too, but I will still use them for rare old stuff.

 

You're getting ripped off over there, then! We sold PS2s for £100 new or £60 second hand - that's £40 off, at the time that was the equivalent of nearly $80. Games-wise, you'd get maybe £5 off a new release, but a lot more if it has been out a while. We'd be selling games for £19-25 second hand when they were still £40 new. And we always checked our games before buying them in - if they were scratched, we refused them or we would have them skimmed before selling them - that's a polishing process that makes them look good as new. You should go to a reputable local games dealer - one that cares about their stock and buying in good quality products. Most likely you'll find that such stores have CD repair machines now, too. For a few dollars, you should be able to get one skimmed.

Let's see - EBGames do 360 Arcade packs for $200, or a refurbised one for $160 which seems to be unboxed without the memory card. Pretty crappy deal, but still more than $20 less ;-) Fable II they only seem to do $5 off - haha you really do get ripped off! Still, at those prices they must give a good price for your old games!

 

I haven't traded in to one of the shops like EBGAMES so I hope you are right that they give a good deal to the seller. Yeah there are a few deals to be found, but most of the rates are what you found for Fable II. A big rip off. Oh well. I will survive. :crying:

 

In HMV stores here they for example PS3 titles Haze £10, Timeshift £10 and there is another I can`t recollect

Also Argos are doing Guinness World Records for the Wii for £9