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Save With Amazon Prime: Super Mario Maker and Halo 5

I already got Halo 5 for $22 from Best Buy and Mario Maker is $48 at Best Buy. I don't know why anyone doesn't have GCU at this point; there's no reason to shop at Amazon for games. Getting Halo 5 for $22 was amazing.
 
I already got Halo 5 for $22 from Best Buy and Mario Maker is $48 at Best Buy. I don't know why anyone doesn't have GCU at this point; there's no reason to shop at Amazon for games. Getting Halo 5 for $22 was amazing.

The closest BB is over an hour away from me.
 
Yet you can only sign up for it in store.

I wish they would change that policy.

That's true, the in store activation limitation does suck, but I'd say it's probably worth a trip. Go one time and get like 4 years of membership so you don't have to go for a long time. With all the additional money you save, it'll probably be worth it. Heck, Halo 5's discount pretty much paid for two years of service and I still saved $8 on top of that with buying one game.
 
I already got Halo 5 for $22 from Best Buy and Mario Maker is $48 at Best Buy. I don't know why anyone doesn't have GCU at this point; there's no reason to shop at Amazon for games. Getting Halo 5 for $22 was amazing.
Is that with or without tax? If without tax, how much extra was it? Thanks.
 

lt519

Member
I already got Halo 5 for $22 from Best Buy and Mario Maker is $48 at Best Buy. I don't know why anyone doesn't have GCU at this point; there's no reason to shop at Amazon for games. Getting Halo 5 for $22 was amazing.

I just got SMM for $35 on Amazon through Amex, and if I hadn't it would of been $47.50 through my Discover Card. On top of the free release day delivery to my doorstep and great customer service, I dunno. But hurray for generalities. You also can get Amazon ordered items a day early by having it held at your local UPS store and picking up the day before it was scheduled to be delivered. Was rocking my PS4 a day early that way (;
 
Can someone explain this gcu best buy stuff? I want to get this game.

GCU is a membership you pay for at Best Buy. It's $30 for two years. You can stack as many two year subscriptions you want. There used to be frequent sales to get it for even less. Some people got it as cheap as $10 for two years. Once you have it, you get 20% off any game purchases. Accessories don't count, but some things like Amiibos, Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures do count. Sometimes they'll have an additional deal for GCU members only. Also since you need to be a Rewards Member to begin with, which is free, you also get things like for every $250 you spend, you get $5 back, or $10 certificates for preordering specific games. The discount applies to even when games go on sale like if Best Buy does a B2G1 free sale, you get 20% off that which means three $60 games will be $32 each, which is nearly half off. Also when Black Friday rolls around, their super cheap sales will also let you take an additional 20% off too. It's totally worth it.

Is that with or without tax? If without tax, how much extra was it? Thanks.

That's without tax. Tax was an additional $2.80 for me on Halo 5.

I just got SMM for $35 on Amazon through Amex, and if I hadn't it would of been $47.50 through my Discover Card. On top of the free release day delivery to my doorstep and great customer service, I dunno. But hurray for generalities. You also can get Amazon ordered items a day early by having it held at your local UPS store and picking up the day before it was scheduled to be delivered. Was rocking my PS4 a day early that way (;

Which deals did you use to get those prices with Amex and Discover? Of course there are always going to be exceptions, but I'd say 9 times out of 10, you're going to get a better deal with GCU. The other 1 time out of 10, buy it from Amazon or wait until Best Buy has it for that much and get it for 20% less.
 
That's without tax. Tax was an additional $2.80 for me on Halo 5
Sorry, should've been more clear. I was asking about tax on Mario Maker.

Edit: also, how is BB's packaging? I sometimes order from Amazon and notice they ship in a flimsy envelope so sometimes have to return damaged games. I get them shipped to the UK from Amazon US though, so perhaps they use different packaging if you're shipping within the U.S.
 

Instro

Member
It's kind of sad to see Amazon trying this after they used be pretty damn good with gaming deals several years ago. Used to love all those gift card deals.
 

lt519

Member
Which deals did you use to get those prices with Amex and Discover? Of course there are always going to be exceptions, but I'd say 9 times out of 10, you're going to get a better deal with GCU. The other 1 time out of 10, buy it from Amazon or wait until Best Buy has it for that much and get it for 20% less.

Not trying to start an argument, GCU is great, but it's silly to say that buying games anywhere else is dumb. To answer your question:

Discover has 5% off all Amazon purchases this quarter, Chase has 5% off all Amazon purchases next quarter, Amex runs a couple promotions every year to match these cards (this one is $15 off $15, others are getting better deals). Stack those with the $10 off for being a prime member (which I do for other services like Kindle Lending Library and Instant Video) and it's a pretty good deal. Amazon will also price match any other deals out there. But I'm not saying Amazon is always the best solution, GCU beats it many times, but right now I could go get a new game at Walmart for $15 off with an Amex deal I have too.

Amex also runs $25 off $250 at Best Buy and on Black Friday when they have 15-20% off PSN and eShop cards I load up (and get a $5 BB reward voucher). I then use that credit to pre-order games when PSN has deals like spend $100 get $10 voucher, etc. It stacks a lot. GCU is great but its a pay for subscription that ties you to physical media and is only for video game related items. I make out better in the end, especially since I go mostly digital, by just finding the deals when they show up. And I really only buy games day one and only buy a couple games a year. I'm skipping the $25 off $250 this year since I still have $100 in credit on each system left.
 
Not trying to start an argument, GCU is great, but it's silly to say that buying games anywhere else is dumb. To answer your question:

Discover has 5% off all Amazon purchases this quarter, Chase has 5% off all Amazon purchases next quarter, Amex runs a couple promotions every year to match these cards (this one is $15 off $15, others are getting better deals). Stack those with the $10 off for being a prime member (which I do for other services like Kindle Lending Library and Instant Video) and it's a pretty good deal. Amazon will also price match any other deals out there. But I'm not saying Amazon is always the best solution, GCU beats it many times, but right now I could go get a new game at Walmart for $15 off with an Amex deal I have too.

Amex also runs $25 off $250 at Best Buy and on Black Friday when they have 15-20% off PSN and eShop cards I load up (and get a $5 BB reward voucher). I then use that credit to pre-order games when PSN has deals like spend $100 get $10 voucher, etc. It stacks a lot. GCU is great but its a pay for subscription that ties you to physical media and is only for video game related items. I make out better in the end, especially since I go mostly digital, by just finding the deals when they show up. And I really only buy games day one and only buy a couple games a year. I'm skipping the $25 off $250 this year since I still have $100 in credit on each system left.

You're right, I should be more specific. There is very very little reason to shop at Amazon for games these days and there's very little reason to not have GCU these days too. Of course there will always be exceptions, and it's always best to go with the best deal, but it's also important to understand how the deals work and how frequently they're available and generally when they are available. But my stance still stands. In general, there's little reason to shop at Amazon these days when Best Buy is going to be cheaper 9 times out of 10.

I consider myself a very savvy shopper with deals and how to work the system so let me disect your points. I don't mind being wrong since being wrong means I learn how to save more money and that's always a good thing. So for Amazon to break even with your additional 5% from Chase or Discover, the game has to be sold at $48. Is Amazon selling $60 games for $48 with the Prime Membership discount? No. Let me break it down for you as to how that works.

Best Buy is $60 - 20% is $48. Subtract 4% for GCU Reward Zone points and 1% for credit card cash back and your end cost is $45.60 a game. In order for Amazon to match that, you have to buy a game from them at $48 to get the same cost. That's just to break even. You'd have to be even less than that to actually save more money than Best Buy. Not to mention this doesn't factor in the additional $10 off that Best Buy offers on some games and Amazon's discounts aren't on all games where as GCU, Reward Zone and CC Cash Back applies to every game at Best Buy. It's even better if you have a credit card that gives you 2% back on all purchases. If you're an Elite or Elite Plus member, it's even better/cheaper.

I'd also be surprised if you're saving going digital. In my experience, even with stocking up on point cards during deals, rarely are the deals better going digital because you have to factor in that physical sales happen all the time and then the 20% stacks on that. They're much more frequent than the digital sales and usually at a larger percentage off. Plus you have to plan ahead of time to always have enough points on hand.

So I still stand by that shopping at Amazon for games is typically a waste and not the best deal. That doesn't mean it's never a good deal, just usually it isn't, especially for recent releases. For every sale Amazon does, Best Buy usually does the same either before them or sometime shortly after them. These deals that Amazon are offering for Prime members though are not deals relative to getting it at Best Buy with GCU. The way I got Halo 5 would pretty much never happen at Amazon.
 
I remember the heyday of 2008 or so when Amazon had discounts and gift cards with almost every major release.

Yep, Amazon used to be great. They sold most things a few bucks off retail, didn't charge tax, and then on top of that had preorder discounts. It was easy to get games for $20 off at launch. They were the first place to check when trying to buy a game. That's not the case anymore. It's now Best Buy.
 

wiibomb

Member
everyone talking about BB GCU and I just wish they could ship to my forwarding address.. they have been rejecting my orders because of it...

I guess I'll stick with amazon if I buy this game
 

AgeEighty

Member
you just ran In to somebody shitty but he doesn't represent the whole company. Just like Subway doesn't actually support child porn because one of their employees does. had you gone over his head to district to complain, he would have been groveling at your feet. You shouldn't have to go that far of course. Also, why not just go to a different best buy? You mentioned specifically going to the store where it was purchased, but you dont need to do that. Lastly, you of course WERE outside the return policy. You can accept some blame yourself.

Wow, necro reply.

You don't know all the details.

I did accept responsibility for being a couple days late. I had been told the day before by another manager that they'd be able to accept the return, but I didn't have the item with me. When I brought it back, the store manager was an asshole right from the moment I told him why I was there. I was never rude or impolite to him. You weren't there, you didn't see how it went down. The way he behaved was completely uncalled for.

I did go over the guy's head to district. They said they'd look into it and then did nothing. After that, I posted on their Facebook page and inquired about the situation, since social media is often a good way to get a quick response from a company, wishing to avoid any negative experiences from being in the public eye. They apologized and promised me they'd get to the bottom of it and let me know. Never heard back again. I was never rude or pushy with any of them. It wasn't just this one guy; everyone I went to for help at the company failed to help, even if only to tell me there was nothing they could do.

I didn't go to another store because that's the only one anywhere near me. I could drive an hour to get to another one, but I don't have time for that. Nor should I have to, and nor, after that experience, did I particularly want to.

It also was not the first bad experience I've had at Best Buy, and I'm hardly the only one. Anyway, what's it to you if I stop shopping there? I'm perfectly happy with my choice, and I haven't missed out on anything as a result. Best Buy is unnecessary.
 

Kawngi

Member
GCU + the games that give the extra $10 in reward dollars is just too good to pass up, although I'd rather give Amazon my business vs. Best Buy!
 
Can someone make a list of all the games and discount for this program? I don't have prime anymore but I can upgrade for a year for $40. If I can save that much with my existing preorders then I Will go for it but I don't think many qualify. I have the CE of MGSV and Fallout 4, The TKK LE PS4, Uncharted 4, SFV, Scalebound...
 

GeoramA

Member
It's kind of sad to see Amazon trying this after they used be pretty damn good with gaming deals several years ago. Used to love all those gift card deals.
Yep. Getting a $25 gift card for pre-ordering Just Cause 2 was awesome. Now it's just unheard of these days.
 
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