RPG Deals for 11/9 - 11/15
Disclaimer: Deals may not be available in all stores. Prices in each store may differ. You can try different stores to mitigate this, and always ask if a store has it before writing them off. You might be able to get a raincheck. A lot of these deals are in-store only, except where specified.

Hello, and welcome to the newly christened RPG Deals, where the name changes because it can, and it makes more sense this way.

Don't worry. I know you stopped caring the moment you clicked on the link.

We'll start off with a warning: If you were looking to save a few bucks by getting the Namco Museum on the 360 that came out this past week, be careful of the glitch for the Live games that doesn't allow you play them. It just backs out into the main menu.

This week sees the releases of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, Eternal Poison, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Wrath is this week's financial winner, as it has both a very loyal following and an exceedingly limited Collector's Edition that will easily fetch for three times its market value a scant two days after shipping. Eternal Poison will probably have a bit of an aftermarket value as well, because there's no way this thing is seeing more than its initial print run.

In terms of deals, Circuit City leads the week, but only of the in-store variety. I'll be honest (and probably said it before) Circuit City's in for hard times. That just means deals for you, though. Circuit City is closing 155 stores. Some of these might be in your area - check here for where. What this means for you, dear reader, is that these places are going to liquidate inventory to make money. Go for them, and buy games and systems at discounts. My only regret is that one of these stores isn't doing it in my area.

Also at Circuit City this week, Valkyria Chronicles is a whopping $45, $15 off the price and the game came out last Tuesday. Good luck finding it, though. Both GameStop and Circuit City don't have it on their website - the game seems like it's sold out before the week began. I'll be checking Circuit City this week to see if it does come in.

Circuit City is also offering tons of WoW stuff for sale: $5 off the time cards, $15 off the Battle Chest, and $10 off Burning Crusade. They're offering the Collector's Edition but not taking pre-orders, so all of you that missed out on it can possibly grab it through them.

Circuit City's last offer is two DS games for $40. The selection is limited to only a few, but Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals are part of the deal.

Target has put Age of Conan: Hyborian Online for the PC on clearance for about $26. There's still copies of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions on PSP for $13 as well. Don't bother looking there for Wii games this week - last week's Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale has wiped them all but clean.

Online, Amazon.com has Valkyria Chronicles for $50 (down from $60). Not as snazzy as Circuit City's deal, but still pretty good. Also: get it; it's the best game I've played in a long time. There's something about it that hits on all levels for a strategy RPG. Amazon.com also has Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the World and a ton of other stuff (Tales of Vesperia, Eternal Poison, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia) is on sale for about 10% off.*

I promised tips on shopping times for the holidays, and some hints on waiting in line. Well, let's start off with one from Joe Holaska, fellow GameStop employee:

"During the holiday season, the absolute best time to shop (at least in mall stores) is from 8:00am-10:00am from the 15th of December to the 22nd of December (not counting the weekend that falls in that time period). Customers can get in and out in under 5 minutes, and they will probably get everything they want excluding those really rare items. Also, during that time period, since everyone buys DS's for Christmas, stores actually have them (and other systems), often running out or running very low on the 24th. The benefit to the employee is that the chance of having a line during that time, especially of having a line of more than 2 people, is slim. Anyone who can get to the store during those hours will have a quick, easy shopping experience. The extreme sales of Black Friday and Christmas Eve/Day After Christmas may not be in place, but the absence of the headache for the customer and the employee more than makes up for it."

He's absolutely right - stores open earlier and close later for customers during this season, and no one pays attention. Most times it's barely worth the retailer being open. If you, as a customer, want to get in and out of the store quickly; follow Joe's helpful advice.

For shoppers: Pay attention to the holiday schedule posted at the front of the store when you go in. That's your biggest tool to achieving success this holiday shopping season. As stated above, shopping early will net you better results. In big box stores (Circuit City, Target, Best Buy, etc.) this is the best time to go there. Be late for work, if you can - make it up that evening and avoid the shopping rush home. Take a list with you so that you know exactly what you need. The best part is the potential to get the shopping done during the week and not have to be out on weekends - weekends are the absolute worst time to shop during the holidays. Avoid shopping on weekends at all costs! It is the enemy.

The best part about shopping in the mornings? A lot of larger stores unload at night, meaning the next day is ripe for the pickings. Smaller stores receive shipment during the day, making it hit-or-miss; but the larger sores receive shipments on trucks that are unloaded before the store opens.

If you are shopping late, the last hour that a store is open tends to be okay for shopping. There's a 50/50 chance you'll have to wait in line. The exception is the last week before Christmas; stores will be packed until closing time. The other thing to keep in mind for late shoppers is to get in line 15 minutes before close. Don't dawdle in the store looking around for something. The people behind the counter have things to do before they leave that night; and it's highly likely they have to come in again the next morning. Let them go home by getting your items sooner.

Regarding lines: they're not going to be a problem at the big stores. They have built-in line management to accommodate you. However, if you are standing near a counter-only section (like the electronics section at Target) or in a small store (like GameStop), lines can get troublesome.

First off - Don't stand off to the side expecting help or service. This time of year, if all the associates are behind the counter, you are now in their blind spot. Even if stuff needs to be pulled from a display case next to you or some other location, get in line and ask for their help. They will ring you out right after they get your item so you do not have to wait in line again.

Second - If a line is provided, stay in it. Do not shop around after getting in line and expect to get back in where you left off. While there are people who will hold a place for you, it's still rude to other customers. If no line is provided, don't be shy; ask other customers. Many times they'll let you know where it is. If they do not know, ask the associate - you might get a higher place in line, thus getting you out of the store faster. Finally, if the associate does not know, then there is something wrong. Some one is not doing their job. If you have time, speak to a manager. If not, ask yourself if it is worth the hassle and head out to another store if it is not. Or be daring - start the line behind you. You'd be surprised how many people will respond to you leadership and form up behind you.

Third - If there are multiple lines, unless you're absolutely certain jumping to another will get you out of there faster, do not jump to another line. More than likely that line is empty because something is slowing it down. It might be a technical error, cash only, associate malfunction, or a bad customer. Whatever it is, it's probably a headache. In smaller stores, it should be a single line to eliminate problems. If it's not, there might be a problem that needs to be rectified on the store's end.

For retailers: Pay attention to your holiday schedule. It's going to change your regular schedule - a lot. Try to keep the times in mind so that you are handing out the right information to customers. And try to get as much accomplished as possible during those slow times you are open. There's little time for most of your work now.

Remain pleasant and suggest to your customers that since you are closing soon, now would be the best time to come up to the register. If you have a strict closing policy, politely inform customers that at such time, the register cannot take any further transactions.

Line management is your greatest ally during the holiday season. It's easy for customers to get mixed up in your store, so try to keep an eye out to ensure a smooth transition from shopping to purchasing. Larger stores have lanes for this type of thing, but smaller stores or departments might want to grab some signs or collapsible borders to show where the line is marked. Your customers will appreciate this. If neither of these is possible, either ensure an employee is doing full-time line management, or notify the customers every few minutes where the line begins and ends - customers will communicate with each other in the meantime to help you out.

Smaller stores should try to keep everyone in a single line, even if there are multiple registers. This way no one is line jumping or confused about which line leads where. A single line also just serves the next customer in line, making them feel better about shopping at your store.

If you can't manage a line, then you are failing and need to come up with a plan. It's a harsh way to say it, but it's just that simple. Line management will make your Christmas so much easier.

For both the customer and retailer, the simplest line solution is always the best. And play nice together to keep shopping from becoming more of a pain than it already is.

Finally, it's still November - that's plenty of time to shop online and have it sent to the house. It's a lot less of a headache to let the mail service handle your shopping for you. Just buy it from an online store that has a physical location, in case you need to return it. Online stores also tend to have larger inventories to pull from, anyway.

Thanks for the two submissions today. It lets me know I have readers. If there are more things you'd like to add; drop me a line.

Have a nice week, and good luck with the deals - and the shopping.

* - submitted by Phil, of this very site. Once again, thank you!