Buy two video games, get one free

Buy two used console games, get a third free from GameStop.

(Credit: Rick Broida)

It's the weekend, so why not stock up on some new games (well, new to you, anyway) for your Xbox, PS3, Wii, or other system? GameStop is offering a buy-two-get-one-free deal on used games for all consoles. Free shipping, too.

To take advantage of said deal, add three games to your cart, then apply coupon code B2G1FREE. After that, apply coupon code SAVER to get free shipping. (Sales tax may still apply.) Both coupons expire May 31.

You can mix and match on this: You don't have to stick with games for the same console. Thus, you could choose one game for Wii, another for Xbox 360, a third for Sony PSP, and so on. Obviously the freebie will be the one with the lowest price.

The good news is that all GameStop's used titles are guaranteed to work. The bad news is they're not guaranteed to come with a box or manual. What's more, many used games cost only a few bucks less than their new counterparts.

Of course, when you throw a free one into the mix, it all looks a lot more attractive. What do you think? Is this a deal worth jumping on, or are cash-conscious gamers better off with a subscription service like GameFly?

[livingaudio]

i always miss Gamestops buy 2 get 1 sales. But not this time, although i usually stick to buying used titles off Amazon market place, theres nothing like Gears of War 2 for 13.99 and GTA4 for 11.50 woot! Now its only a matter of time for RockBand2 to be posted there for under 20 bucks :-P

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

Gears of war $9.99 at Frys.com if you don't have it already. Do you want the whole RB2 kit? Try Dell home coupon Z0WPL1J0CC3W47 for $151.99 after coupon

It's not Rockband, but you can still get the GTWT band kit for XBOX 360 at Walmart.com for $100.

[anuerism44]

Great deal. Free shipping only applies when you spend $25 or more.

[techie2479]

I've used GameFly before (a couple of years ago), but ultimately decided against it. It was difficult to realize the value of renting as a casual gamer, since I couldn't churn through titles like the old days. And the mail turn around times for returning old games and receiving new ones seemed to get longer and longer.

These days, I buy like livingaudio - under $20 and deals like Gamestop's buy-2-get-1 offer. Although the occasional triple-A title may get picked up on release if I can't wait.

[paulimusmaximus]

I agree. I'm fairly busy with work and whatever, so I got rid of my gamefly subscription too. I felt like I had to play a lot to get my money out of it, but in the end I was still only playing a few hours a week.

[NervClaX]

Never thought I'd see GameStop featured in a Cheapskate post.

[rickbroida]

Why is that?

[NervClaX]

I see GameStop as setting the maximum price for games both new and used. They take longer than other retailers (Wal-Mart, Target) to mark down new titles and their used prices put a ceiling on eBay auctions. I use GameStop prices as a guideline for the MAX I should be paying for a video game.

[Carrick1973]

Very strange - it's a good deal and I decided to go for it. Loaded three 19.99 games into the cart, and applied the two savings codes and they showed 2.99 off for the shipping and 19.99 off one of the games. Everything was fine until I actually entered my credit card information and clicked on the purchase button. After successful processing, it didn't show the 19.99 off (only the 2.99 off for shipping displayed), and the total had changed from 42 to $64.77. I've cancelled my purchase and will go into the store instead. Buyer beware. Perhaps only one code can be used at a time and the second code replaced the first.

[Microgates]

Be cautious when buying used games from GameStop cause most of there used games are scratched to high holy hell!!! (Even the scratch resistant PS3 games!) Check the games before you hand them your money. They won't always like it when you ask them to see the games, but oh well!

[viper396]

"most games"??... you're exaggerating. I buy my used games from GameStop all the time and only rarely have I had problems with scratched discs which was easy to remedy by returning to the store.

The used games have a 7 to 12 day return policy. If something is wrong you can always exchange it. That's clearly stated on the receipt as well as by the guy behind the counter. For the discounts you get on some of the used games there's little risk.

[dddouchebag]

This didn't work out too well for myself... all the games i might want for that price are "not available online". Way to advertise to get people to visit your website, EBgam... i mean, gamestop. If you really want us to buy all your copies of NCAA Football 2007, just say so.

Thanks buddy, I picked up Kingdom of Hearts( 10 bucks), Dragonquest 8 (10 bucks) and Resident evil 4 (It's 9 bucks but got it for Free) for about 21 bucks at a local gamestop :)

[azadam24]

Gamefly subscribers ultimately get the better deal all the time on used games -- the guarantee on the games plus free shipping on (at least with the games I have purchased thusfar) an apparently brand-new box and game manual. Additionally, Gamefly sends out email coupons for purchases. A recent personal example: I was going to purchase Gears of War 2 from Gamefly for $34.99 used (already about 12 bucks cheaper than Gamestop). I then got an email coupon for a $10 discount on any used game priced $30 or higher. So I got the game and they shipped me the box and manual and, get this, the box even still had the unused (not even peeled off yet) coupon for free Gears DLC and 2 days of Live Gold (though I'm already a subscriber). Gamefly wins this one, hands down.

[cmsell]

You can track Gamestops's daily deal at the following site (I believe its one of the last deals listed). You can even install it as a gadget to your homepage, like iGoogle so you can easily track their deals. There's also video game deals from other sites on there as well:

http://www.frugalgadgets.com/

[dpenny13]

Its a great deal. I went yesterday and got Streetfighter 4, fallout 3 and resistance 2 for my ps3. One game was $54.99 and the other 2 were $49.99, so i got $50 free. Obviously the games them selfs weren't much cheaper than a new one but getting the one free at $49.99 is a steal.