“Loot Runs” are when Zombie and I go shopping for deals. Although mostly focused around video games and pop culture stuff, Loot Runs can also be about any deals, Hell even groceries.
Ah, impulsivity is such a monster. Zombie and I went to our favourite pawn shop but didn’t see anything compelling. So we swung around the corner to EBGames and… well…
The Plucky Squire has been on my radar since it came out last fall. The art style and concept really caught my attention. So when I saw the new copy marked down from $45 to $35 with only one copy left on the shelf, I grabbed it.
Sept 7th – thought I’d drop some screenshots to give you an idea of how endearing this title is.
Thanks for reading! (wrote this a while ago and left in drafts…. oh the shame)
Another local Shopper’s began clearancing their games. With a x25 points bonus I grabbed 3 titles.
And another Bitty Pop
Not much else to say. Thanks for reading.
Ok, I lied. I went back to Shopper’s the next day because they had a Redemption event, giving me 50% extra in point value. Grabbed some more games and indulged in some Bitty Pops! (mini Funko Pops) that my girlfriend and I are a little obsessed with.
(eek! they’re adorable and I got R2!)
All the games were at least 50% off. Demon’s Souls (24.99), Metal Gear (27.49), Avengers (14.99) and finally a Nintendo first-party game, Mario Tennis Aces (39.99). All these cost me only the tax ($16.12) and roughly 70K in points.
Long story short, Zombie’s BF has never been to our favourite pawn shop so we brought him yesterday. And like a junkie I got my fix.
The cheap Funko’s got me first. I used to only pick them up at the Dollarama when they were $4-$5 so there was little guilt at these prices. I love the obscure (or lesser known) comic book characters so Omega Red and Nova were great additions.
But $7 seems a little light for a pilgrimage to our store and Ghost of Tsushima was as low as I was going to find. There was a copy of the Director’s cut for $50 but realistically the original vanilla release is enough for the collection. I’ll probably never dive deep enough into it to need the DLC.
Zombie’s BF excitedly picked up a copy of Mario Kart Wii for a reasonable price and replacement Joy-Con. I was impressed, he wanted to train on that game to kick his friends’ asses. A most honorable pursuit.
After an incredible start to the Canada Day long weekend with a trip and concert, I had one thing in mind. I wanted to maximize the Shopper’s Redemption event. The app kept reminding me of the greatest potential, 500K points for $900.
Sunday morning I was on my own and decided to tour the city for the best deal. I had an inkling that I would spring for a Canon digital SLR camera if I could find one. The first location had nothing but I was not deterred. From previous tours I knew certain locations were more likely to still have electronics. The second stop was all the way across town, a locaton I only visited during these events. Walking over to the glass cabinet section I was disappointed to only see Apple products and basic electronics (cables, headphones, ect). “Oh well, onto the next one” I thought. And then almost tripped over the cart full of clearance games.
Long story short; 15 games, 1 Google doorbell, and 4 little blind-pack collectibles. Total out of pocket: $65 (insert smug smile here)
The last step was taking my loot to my favourite pawn shop to see if I could upgrade. Traded 5 titles there and paid an extra $12 to get a Switch game and (drumroll) Spider-Man 2 (PS5)!
And that’s about it. It sounds like bragging but it’s just extremely regimented planning. I want other people to feel the rush of a deal. To not feel guilty for buying stuff for yourself. Collect points, wait for an opportunity. Anyone can do this.
Alright, I’ve got to keep these posts going and with the nice weather I’m at risk of falling behind.
Bionic Command for $5, Darksiders for $15
Only 2 games picked up this past week. Got Bionic Commando for XBOX360 at the East Coast Comic Con this past weekend for $5. Zombie and her crew dressed up (so did I) and we spent Friday evening drooling over all the nerdiness. It was great, can’t wait for next year. I also picked up a wood-cut stand for my 3DS so I can finally display it on my shelves.
Apart from that it was a pretty tame week for pick-ups. I spotted Darksiders: Warmastered Edition in the wild for $20. Went back to pick it up only for a 25% off sale. So 14.99+tax. I’m absolutely sucker for this series of games.
That’s about it. Nice and simple. As always, thanks for reading
I swear I was going to do the responsible thing this morning. A respectable deal at Shoppers Drug Mart had me planning to restock the essentials. I expected to pick up some toilet paper, paper towel, toiletries, and maybe some food if it was on sale. But it all went wrong/right.
Today’s deal was a regular one at Shoppers. An offer to spend $60 and get a mystery bonus of either 20k or 30k in points. Potentially 50% back in points but at a minimum 33%, not bad. The only real restriction with this bonus is to limit yourself, purchasing only as close to $60 pre-tax as possible to maximize your bonus.
The path I travel through this particular location had me pick up deals on cookies (2/$5) and then I drifted over to my guilty pleasure, the coffee-flavored Monster energy drinks. They were 2 for $6 which is now a better deal than the Dollarama and I thought I should treat myself. I drifted through the aisles glancing quickly for sales before aiming for the paper products. Although I had decent stock at home, if any were on sale, it was always a good idea to pick them up. And that’s when I saw the clearance section at the back of the store.
I had generally been ignoring this section of the store since Shoppers announced they were getting out of the electronics business. Although this was my favorite location for grocery shopping it didn’t have a great game section to begin with. From what I could tell the only remaining games were Xbox One titles behind a glass case and they were still at full retail price. So it became a routine to quickly look at the case, make sure nothing was on clearance and move on. But to the next of this section was a cart and some baskets, evidently the most recently clearanced items in the store that had yet to be put on shelves or out front to be seen. I thought nothing of it but then did a double-take when a PS5 logo appeared amidst a small collection of movies. Long story short, I grabbed every non-sports title.
Most were $10 each but the real score for me was Avatar at $25. This game had been on my radar for a while as it was current-gen exclusive and I knew it would showcase the power of my PS5 or Xbox Series X. It consistently sold for $50 in my favorite pawn shop and I was not willing to buy a potential Far Cry-esque experience with all my unfinished titles in that series still on the shelf. But thanks to this deal I was spending $25 plus tax and getting 25% back in points (yes, I did the math).
Will I play all these titles? Probably not anytime soon but we all know I’m a hoarder and at these prices I don’t feel that guilty. I’ve even been toying with the idea lately of reselling some of my collection if I know I’m not going to play them. I’m sure I’d be able to get $20 for most of the $10 games, heck they’re still sealed.
NIck Wilde Disney Infinity character acting pretty impressed with his new buddy
On top of that this weekend started amazing with the end of my work day on Friday. A client surprised me with a 3D-printed Deadpool that I had always wanted. Modeled after the Disney Infinity toys I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. He wasn’t thrilled with the work as it was challenging and the model was not easy to work with. He insisted on giving it to me for free. We agreed that I would be buying the Deadpool mask from him in the future and I’ll make sure to repay him then.
Finally, because it’s also geeky I’m excited to be going to my colouring tattoo for my Skull Kid in the next couple of hours. Stay tuned for more pics.
Hope everyone has a great weekend whenever you read this.
“Problems” is such a relative statement. I don’t have Xeno(blade) problems. I just love the games but have never beat any of them. It hasn’t stopped me from trying to collect them all though…
Last night on Facebook Marketplace I made a great life decision and drove across town at 1030pm to pick up the Japanese copy of Xenoblade 3 for a great price. Do I regret it? Not at all. Am I tired at work today. Absolutely.
Although we went to our usual haunts this weekend we didn’t pick up any games. But that doesn’t stop us from geeking out on our loot runs.
Spider-Mug, Spider-Mug, friendly neighborhood…
I like big coffee mugs and I cannot lie. When my trusty Spider-Man one started to chip in the dishwasher I had to let it go. Days later Zombie and I find this little beaut at Winners for $13. Thanks Universe, or Multi-Verse, or whatever.
But the big win on this run was bookends. Zombie has been looking for months and you’d be surprised how hard it is to find good ones. On our semi-regular visit to winners where we found the above mug, we still had no luck in the usual houseware section. We always do a walk through of the geeky area and kids toys in case we find some cool Funko pops, etc. I wouldn’t have seen these but somehow she spotted them and they’re perfect.
I’m not going to lie, I’m seriously tempted to head back there today and buy the other set. 40 bucks for a pair and they’re extremely high quality resin. You can’t miss! Well a Stormtrooper can miss but well if you know you know.
Yet another Loot Run round up. This one is brought to you by Amazon impulse purchasing. You know, when you check Amazon for deal and then manage to add multiple items to the cart? All in the name of free shipping, right?
Recently picked up a 3rd-party Lego rose bouquet and accidentally added a couple of Switch games. All under the guise of a birthday gift for Zombie Fish. A birthday that’s 3 months away. 3. Months. Yeah, so I gave them to her yesterday. What?
She’s a big fan of Studio Ghibli animation and they partnered with Level 5 to produce the first title. This was originally released on the PS3 and I’ve started it but never dove deeper. The cut scene animation is as good as any of the studios best such as Princess Mononoke. And a real tear-jerker too, you’ve been warned. The sequel is not as highly rated (although still good) and is a separate story much like Final Fantasy’s releases.
I’ve also done a rare thing and pre-ordered a game. It’s not often I’ll do this but I’ve been waiting for a physical release of this title. Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered has been released digitally and finally getting a physical release in July. At $45 CDN I easily convinced myself I deserve it.
Finally, Zombie’s love of Kinder Surprise eggs has got me hooked on these tiny Marvel characters.
That pretty much wraps up the last couple of weeks Loot. As always, thanks for reading.
wickedchadwick 
You must be logged in to post a comment.