Published on GiantBomb March 10, 2021. Reposting here to archive.
I get it, NFTs are bad. For the environment, for creatives, legal currencies, etc. If this isn't a way for somebody to own some data, then what is the solution?
Interesting read for the weekend: http://www.theendofownership.com/
Ah, deals on physical purchases. Originally posted on Cheap Ass Gamer, reposted on GiantBomb in July 2021 now reposting here for posterity. Links removed and a couple of edits included:
For short-time Cheap Ass Gamer's forums appear on the surface to be the best place to find the best video game deals on the Internet, but the pros know that you need to go that extra mile sometimes to get the most out of your cheap ass dollars. This blog series will help the community get the most out of a deal with only a little effort.
Arguably, the most important weapon in the CAG's cache is the price match. While the forums provide a litany of straight-up great deals, it is possible to get a little extra value by using retailers built-in price matching policies. On the surface it may seem insignificant, but saving some time and gas money can be enough to make the wait for a manager to do a key-turn for that extra 10% off. Popular retailers that have price matching policies that are well known are Best Buy and Walmart amongst others. Each of the stores have their own little nuances, but understanding the policies will save you some money with some easy tips.
Let's look at Best Buy first. One of the most overlooked policies at Best Buy is the ability to get an extra 10% matched when the product is bought at Best Buy, then matched at BB from another retailer at a later date. Using the forums, you can usually get a day or two heads-up on what games will be on sale the following week. So, for example, I have purchased a game for $59.99 at Best Buy because I know it will be on sale the next week at Target, for instance, for 39.99. When Target's sale goes into effect, I return to Best Buy and request a price adjustment. Not only will I get the $20 difference, but the Best Buy Policy is to match 110%, meaning I also get an additional $2. This makes getting the game at Best Buy an even better deal than the original retailer. See the Best Buy in-store policy at (links removed).
Sometimes Best Buy's Policy doesn't cut the mustard, many stores require that an item you are requesting a PM on be in-stock at the competitor and that the Best Buy you are standing in have enough on-hand product. I have found that Walmart, while not having a 110% policy, does have a more liberal set of requirements. My local Walmart in the past used to only match grocery items and ads from grocery stores. Now they have begun matching for exact items in movies, music and games. Walmart doesn't research the prices much, while Best Buy will call the competitor or do an item look-up on-line before satisfying the PM. The policy on Walmart.com states the following:
We strive to provide you with the lowest prices possible on Walmart.com as well as in our stores. However, sometimes a price online does not match the price in a store. In our effort to be the lowest price provider in your particular geographic region, store pricing will sometimes differ from online prices. Our local stores do not honor Walmart.com pricing or competitor advertisements from outside of a store's local trade territory.
Local trade territory is usually defined by the store, and commonly is around 30 miles.
A few tips will save you some heartache when doing the price match at your retailer of choice. First, always have the ad ready. One of the best investments you can make is buying or subscribing to your local Weekend/Sunday newspaper that includes the ads, or get printouts of the actual ad pages from the on-line stores. The CAG community is great for this as well. Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us, K-mart and Sears etc. all have on-line printable ads. Most stores you choose to PM at will require that they see the ad, and may want to keep it. Interestingly enough, my local Walmart has made price cuts shortly after seeing a competitor ad used for a PM.
Next call ahead! One of the biggest complaints I see on the boards is that "ShaqFu-ing Store X didn't have the item I wanted in stock!!1! It's all their fault I wasted gas and my time to go and get my item of choice only to not be able to get it." While it's not 100% effective in making sure your item is there, it is better than wasting money on gas and nullifying the savings you would have seen. On-line item stock availability is also not very accurate, but calling and asking the employee to set the item aside for you is good practice.
Lastly, keep your receipts. When your retailer of choice has a price match policy, they will likely PM something for the entire refund period. I have had Best Buy price match things WEEKS after I originally bought the item. Losing the receipt can be disastrous, and in the volatile world of games, prices drop, sometimes dramatically, in a couple of weeks.
Next week: Store Rewards and clubs
From 2008, posted in 2021 on GiantBomb
“Left 4 Dead?”
It’s all he said, but I had to hold the wince on the inside. Really?
The other two were very excited; visibly jittering in their seats. The holidays are the best time for them to catch up on some of the M rated stuff their older cousins are playing. J stares at me a little longer while I ruminate. It’s more time that I don’t get to play all of the other stuff I’m trying to finish, plus something in the back of my head was saying play something else. The previous years it was Halo over the LAN. Two in the basement, two in the living room.
“Alright.” Grudgingly.
The younger two are up and out of their seats before J and I; trying not to run to the basement. We were going to hold off on opening presents since E was taking a nap. By far the youngest in the house that day, he was dictating a great deal of the events. But now the other ones at 11 and 14 were really deciding the activities.
We get to the basement. M and L in their excitement have taken the prime seats on the couch. J takes a perch on a barstool. I boot up Entertainment Central with the Harmony. The interlopers have changed my mood to the opposite of “harmony” within a few minutes. J hands me the copy of L4D and I put it in the 360. My dark cloud reminds me it’s only two player. Ah. I hand J and L, the oldest two, some controllers. “I need to go help clean up lunch,” I sigh. “I’ll come back down to play later.” I’m used to this kind of thing now.
So asking me what I wanted to play was moot. More than likely I will get a few hours to myself after everyone leaves or goes to sleep for the night. What I don’t get is why I was so disappointed to play L4D after enjoying it so much at Thanksgiving. The missus told everyone that would listen over the following weeks how funny it was when J and I were tooling around the zombie apocalypse. As I washed dishes I thought of the things that bugged me about the newest games.
Left 4 Dead, while excellent an experience in co-op, really loses something on the couch. Sure, J and I could play over Live or Steam with some others, but on one 360 only two of us could really enjoy it. The experience I had enjoyed so much a few weeks earlier had suddenly turned negative. Was this really the state of the couch co-op that I had enjoyed so much when I was younger? Or even last year? It seems that so many of the games that the core were really into only have a great on-line multi or single player experience. The casual stuff is what people were meant to play together when Ethernet or fiber wasn’t involved. It mostly dwells on the Wii, or requires more crappy plastic accessories to fill my sanctuary. To top things off I had heard numerous gamers complain that single console split screen was probably ruining their experiences.
“Grabbin’ Pills!”
The meme is working its magic when I return from my self-imposed exile. The cousins have drawn a crowd of the non-gamers in the house, and they’re all cracking impressions of the computer player’s dialog. My scrooge heart grew some sizes watching for a few minutes. And I was sure that I would get my turn before too long, but I kind of understood how it might be fun to just watch. Things could have been worse, but watching the two cousins get owned may have been just as fun as playing myself. Maybe there is some hope for couch co-op yet. Or I just need to buy another 360.
