Well if you've stumbled upon this page you are probably a gamer or know a gamer and want to know how to find the best deal for buying video games. I'll share with you some tips of mine that I've found to be very useful especially in these tough times. So lets begin.

Tip 1: Try to never buy a game new as soon as it comes out.

Xbox 360 and PS3 games retail for 59.99 plus tax brand new while Wii games usually go for 49.99 for the most part PSP and Ds games range from 29.99 to 39.99. Why is it not a good idea to buy a game at full price you ask? Game prices drop fast depending on the title, and in these times I've noticed they drop price sometimes up to half price or more in a few months. Prime examples of this trend is movie based games and disney games, even though those games tend to not be that good to begin with, for young kids they might hold well. If you really gotta have that game as soon as it comes out look for deals in you local paper with stores such as Best Buy and Fry's. Your best bet though would be to check out Amazon.com or Newegg.com. Amazon ships free if it's over 25 bucks and doesn't charge taxes (depending on your location). Usually more popular games tend to hold their value longer, but nonetheless have to go down in price sometime.

Tip 2: Gamestop vs. Ebay

So now that you can't buy new where should you go? Gamestop and eBay seem to be the top places to find good deals on used games. Gamestop is also a good resource as to checking out the current prices of certain games and can be used as a reference to knowing what you should pay on eBay for it. Gamestop also offers a card for about 15 bucks that includes a year subscription to Game Informer magazine and a 10% discount on used games. It's a great deal if you buy lots of games and the subscription itself is worth the 15 bucks. Ebay is a great place to try to find cheap games, sometimes you can find good deals on older games you missed out on and might even get lucky in winning newer games at a fraction of the price. Auctions that end at certain times of the day (middle of the night, early morning) tend to not have as many people bidding on them as you would during peak hours.

Tip 3: More Gamestop

Gamestop offers a weekly ad and newsletter you can subscribe to in which they send you the latest deals and coupons to you every Friday. The deals can range from "buy 2 get one 1 free" to various coupons giving you more of a discount. Sometimes they can be up to 25% off, and if you add that with your Gamestop card you can get up to 35% percent off. That's way better than paying full price isn't it? I've been an avid customer for quite sometime now and it seems they're offering better coupons more and more frequently than they used to. So take advantage while it lasts.

Tip 4: Overstock

Every now and then I see that more stores like Walmart and Target are seeming to have overstock on certain games that didn't sell all as well as they had planned and are left with lots of games they need to get rid of fast so they put them on clearance. I've seen some games that have lowered down to 30 bucks or less after a few weeks or months after their release. So always try to keep a lookout for those overstock games, sometimes the stores can be sneaky and have them tucked away somewhere around the store not even close to the electronics section, not so smart if they're trying to get rid of them eh? Sometimes they have clearance sections as well. Always keep an eye out.

Tip 5: Sell your used games

Yes, you know that game you've been putting off playing or haven't even looked at in about a month. Sell it. The sooner you sell it the more you'll get for it. You might not get what you paid for it, but it's better than having it lying around collecting dust. Technology moves fast and games depreciate in value fast, so get rid of it while it's worth a pretty penny. Also try not to sell them to Gamestop unless you just have no choice. Gamestop usually won't give you more than a few bucks for most games. Your best bets are 1. Garage sale  2. eBay   3. Craigslist 

Tip 6: Read before you buy

This tip is just in general for all gamers. Spending up wards of 60 bucks for a game is a big investment. It would be awful if you ended up with a bad game for that amount money. Do your research on the game and check out it's reviews beforehand. Some recommended sites for reviews are Ign.com and Gamespot.com just to name a few. Of course just because they say it's good or bad doesn't mean that it is, but it gives you a better idea of what type of game it is and if it's something that still keeps your interest. Try to get the most for your money, see how long the game is, if it has multiplayer, and what's the replay value of the game. It could be the difference between playing for a couple hours and be done or being entertained for hours on end everyday for quite sometime.

Tip 7: Gamefly

This tip is not really a tip for buying, but one that'll allow you to enjoy all the games you want without going broke. If your not one to play games for long or tend to play them and beat them quickly then maybe Gamefly.com would be a good service to think about. Gamefly is basically the Netflix of games. They send you a game on your checklist, you play it, return it by mail and recieve another game within a couple of days. Prices for their service vary from 16 bucks a month for one game at a time to 23 bucks for two games at a time. You get to keep the games as long as you want, so if your one of those people that doesn't need to own a game, or just want to be able to play all the games you want without spending a fortune Gamefly might be something you might enjoy.

Hopefully these tips will help alleviate your wallet in these tough economic times and still let you enjoy the fun that games have to offer.