No I don't mean steal them! I mean the stores that usually have good deals, websites that allow you to swap with other gamers, or bid agaisnt them. Here are some ways you can get that new release without paying full price!
Trade In
There are many stores you can do trade ins. I find the best to be Blockbuster and Ebgames. Often they both will put a trade in such as, trade 4/3 next gen titles(360, Ps3, Wii) and get a brand new release for free. Ah but there is a catch! These games must be worth $14 or more. Thinking of trading Chromehounds, Perfect Dark Zero, and Sonic the Hedgehog for Halo 3? Not happening. Those titles are only worth about $7! Also you can just trade in your games for store credit. You wont be getting much in comparison to what you initially paid. I personally suggest selling them on Craigslist or Kijiji for $15 or so, but you will often get replies from some jackal who knows how much they are worth in Ebgames database, so he will offer 20% less!
ebay.com
Ahhh good old ebay. Ebay is the best when you are looking for an older gem or even not so old. I landed Dark Sector on ebay for $8.50 cdn. If you want that new release you will probably just be paying just as much or more than the retail price. For example the going price for Soul Calibur 4: LE? The bidding starts at $170. Be sure to buy from a seller with a high rating though, because if something is wrong with the game they will often replace it, or reimburse you because they will want to keep their good rep. You can use your paypal account to pay for most items.
craigslist.com, kijiji.ca
Craigslist is a great way to find your find your game and not wait for it to be shipped. You will find some games brand new with 30% of the price tag, people who got into the hype for a game and just didn't like it will sell it cheap or trade it for something older they will like. If you use Craigslist or Kijiji.ca be sure to meet the seller at a public location. It doesnt happen often, but you could meet someone who is just looking to steal from you. Also avoid buying selling from people who aren't local. Don't get tempted into that $300 Brand new $80 gig Ps3. If its too good to be true. It isnt.
tradegamesnow.com, gtz.com
Tradegamesnow/gtz are both trading communities strictly for people who want to trade anything that is games/movies/books. How it works -- you list the games you have/want. Then you can either browse by members location or by the games you want/have, or there is a quick match option that will automatically match you with people that want your games/have the games want. Once you find someone that you want to trade with. You make an offer you can do a game for game/game for 2 game's/game for game + $$, choose the method you will likely ship(Standard/expedited etc.) Confirm the offer, then wait. If the offer is accepted it is expected that the person with the lower rating ships first. These sites both have a rating system in place just like ebay. Avoid buying/selling from people with a low rating. Often there are some jerks who get there friends to sign up and give them fake ratings. So just avoid the people with a rating of 9 or lower. You know' because these jerks wont have more than 9 friends anyway. :P
sayswap.com
This is an interesting little site I have come across. Its free to join, but you will need to pay a fee to be able to list the games you have/request. You can either do the gtz/tradegamesnow method; game for game, game for game + $$ etc... or there is a point system in place. Games are worth a certain amount of points. For example you have Uncharted which is worth 40 points. If someone requests it -- you ship it out and in turn you get 40 points that you can use to request another game that is worth 40 points or less. Or there is another option to buy points which there isn't much point in doing because it would be just like buying retail. There is also a rating system like ebay's.
redflagdeals.com
There are forums at RedFlagDeals.com that work like craigslist/kijiji but they aren't as effective I find. Although if you are lucky enough to see that the person is online at the time, you can PM them and you can get a quick answer. People are also kind enough to post deals they find scattered around the internet such the Blockbuster/Ebgames deal or BestBuy' s pay $70 get Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Assassin's Creed they had last year.
STEAM
I was just introduced to STEAM by my good friend Bryan, and I have got to say the prices are not that bad. If you are into PC games(I'm slowly but surely getting there.) you will love this little program Valve have conjured up.
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