Wired Indiana

Are you paying too much for video games?

I’ve always been a bargain hunter, as my parents used to drag me to garage sales and flea markets on a regular basis when I was younger, instilling in me a sense of frugality. I’m constantly snooping around clearance bins, checking out dollar stores, clipping coupons, and doing whatever else I can to save a buck or two. Thus, it should be no surprise to anyone that I don’t like to pay full price for video games (or anything else for that matter).

I’ve been video game bargain hunting since the original Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the 80’s, but my job became a lot easier in 2005 when I joined a website called Cheap Ass Gamer (or CAG for short). CAG is a private forum that’s free to join, where members post video game deals from around the country. They have regional forums dedicated to particular states, but I find the main national forum to be of more use most of the time.

In the video game deals forum, you’ll find lists of every video game that is on sale at every major retailer each week. You’ll find posts from retail store employees at chains like Best Buy and Circuit City, where they reveal upcoming clearances and sales long before the details are known to the public. And, of course, you’ll find plenty of online-exclusive deals at sites like Amazon and Buy.com.

This info has allowed me to go into stores like Circuit City and purchase $50 video games for a fraction of their original retail price ($5-10 on average), often when even the employees didn’t know the games were on clearance. I also use the site when new games come out that I have to have right away, to find out which store is offering the best deal on them.

For example, my wife had to have the new Advance Wars game for the Nintendo DS this Tuesday, as she loves the series so much she refuses to wait for the inevitable price drop. So, I logged on to CAG and found that prices on the game range from $30-40 depending on the store, so I sent her to Target where she got it for $30 instead of Gamestop, which is selling it for $35.

If you’re looking for bargains and coupons on non-video game items, you can check out sites like Slick Deals or Fat Wallet, but no site on the web is better at providing video game deals than Cheap Ass Gamer. I can’t recommend CAG enough to gamers or parents of gamers.