Hi guys,

One of my favorite things is finding a deal. I am not rich or even close, so any amount of money saved is something that makes me really happy. I've decided to try my hand at writing a guide, for finding Steam games on sale. You can apply the same techniques to find other things, but I'll focus on Steam games for this. At this point, they are pretty much the only things I buy and the only thing in this world that I collect.

Originally I was going to post this on a Steam group, but their layout made it too difficult and I ended up deciding I didn't want to post it there, anyway. It was more focused on sales, than this place, but I decided against it. I didn't want this to go to waste, so I'll post it here, just in case anyone wants to take a look at it. It isn't easy starting out looking for sales, so maybe this will help some.

The guide is intended to do just what it says, to guide you. You will still have to make your own decisions and take your own risks. Taking a little time to research a particular issue, before making a purchase, can make all of the difference in the world. Not all games will work in your region, not all sources are legit, and not every deal is a good one. This guide is just meant to help set you on the right path.

I'll put it on a list, but you can pick and choose what to do and what order to do it in. You can pick your own path, but the best one tends to be some effort put into more than one section, for each purchase. Once you get it down it becomes automatic.

The focus will be on single games and will have nothing to do with trading or straight Paypal type buying. I don't want to put anyone new, into a position to get scammed. Even though much of it is legit, I can't break it all down in this. This stuff can complicate the straight up effort to find your average game, since most games won't be available this way.

<--- Please note that I don't take responsibility for what you choose to do. That is all on you. --->
<--- Also note. Make sure that the game is Steam, if that is what you are looking for. --->

1. Deal Sites

Lets start with straight up deal sites. Why them? Well, think about tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people searching for deals and wanting to post them. So yeah, these will pretty much defeat most alternatives when you need to find anything on sale. Of course they offer up more gaming deals than you could find anywhere. There is a major focus on hitting big deals everywhere and being able to find hidden gems. Where a price checking site (See next #2) might automatically pull down prices at a few sites, these sites tend to pull from the whole world or a specific popular region, to enhance the results. Of course, the downside is that it tends to not be as specific. Still, though, having that much information and all these people commenting on the deals is a huge advantage over trying to do this yourself. Imagine someone posting a great deal on a Steam game, then someone being like no, you could get it even cheaper if you go to this other site. Then someone else is like, but wait, if you use a coupon, it will be even cheaper. Having actual people tends to lead to better results, since they all want to be the one to find the lowest possible deal. You tend to learn many of the techniques discussed throughout this guide, just by watching them go at deals.

So which sites? I like SlickDeals.net the most. It is huge and offers more deals, tools, information, and people than any other one that I have seen. It isn't specifically oriented towards just gaming, but other sites are. Check out the list below.

Other deal sites and forum sections (No specific order and not a final list, just some ones you can try.).:
LogicBuy.com
FatWallet.com
DealNews.com
TechBargains.com
Reddit Game Deals
DigitalGameDeals.com
Dealzon.com
DailyGameDeals.com
CheapAssGamer.com
DealCatcher.com
Dealspl.us
BensBargains.net

As you probably noticed, most have coupons too. You can reuse these sites later for the coupon part. :)

2. Price Checking/Comparison Sites

I like price checking sites for quick hits. I don't trust them fully because they don't offer all the information, but I do love them. You still will have to take the time to look up coupons and other things that you might see if a human had constructed a list, but the human lists often will miss a lot of games. I find myself using price checking websites more often than any other type, due to the quick view of what is available. They are updated first, more often than not, and that can be an advantage as well.

Advantages to using price checking sites include the history of prices, a comparison of multiple sites, and a clean interface to look for what you need. There are other reasons to use them, but these are some of the bigger ones. Knowing the something is the lowest price it has ever been, is a pretty big deal, by itself.

IsThereAnyDeal.com is a beast and can almost be used alone. It features updates from many different sites and can integrate with your Steam account and others. It isn't the only site available, but it can pretty much do everything. It doesn't have all those key sites that pop up weekly, but most of them are questionable in the trustworthy department.

Below you will find a list of other sites. Each one has specific advantages and disadvantages. As you look through them, you will be able to see why each one might have some use, but I am not recommending using them all or to even get too focused on any of them. Remember to only trust sale prices from sites you know or that come highly recommended from people you trust. This is by no means a definitive list.

SteamGameSales.com
cdr.Xpaw.ru
CheapShark
SteamSales.rheukua.com
CAGomatic
GameKeyFinder.de
SteamPrices.com
CheapDigitalDownload.com
AllKeyShop.com
CDKeyWatch.com
GoCDKeys.com
DLCompare.com
CDKeyPrices.com
SteamWatch.com

One thing to note. You'll notice all features aren't created equal. For example, price histories are all different because the sites all popped up at different times. Keep this in mind. I tend to use more than one site, usually IsThereAnyDeal and SteamGameSales, to verify price histories. IsThereAnyDeal has more sites, but SteamGameSales goes further back.

Should you choose to go the route of a price comparison site, without it being focused on games, you can try:

BizRate.com
PriceGrabber.com
Google Shopping
CNet Shopper

3. Coupon Sites

These aren't perfect sites. Especially when dealing with foreign gaming sites. Coupons are missing, dated, and maybe never worked in the first place. On top of that, they sometimes look like they are gibberish. They get lazy in checking them, so you end up not really always knowing what is going down. Still, you might find a good one. I use coupons whenever I can and I really have found some great ones when I needed them.

Of course, before I get all the way into this, you can find coupons all over. The previously mentioned deal sites, postings all over the web, and even from the stores themselves. You can always choose to combine methods to get the best results.

RetailMeNot.com is probably the biggest and possibly the best at this point. There are only 8 bazillion other ones out there. I'll add a small list of some pure coupon sites. Like I said before, use the deal sites, too. They have many coupons and their own coupon sections, mostly.

CouponCabin.com
Coupons.com
Savings.com
MyCoupons.com
ShopAtHome.com
PriceBlink.com
CouponFollow.com

Fair warning, if you click through their sites, even to activate a coupon, you will give them the referral. This comes into play later on when I talk about cashback.

4. Browser Addons

Feeling lazy? Me too...

You can use browser addons to speed up the process a bit and to aid you in finding what you need, without having to leave a page. Most, if not all, work in Chrome and Firefox, at least. Should you be using anything else? ;)

Price Blink is probably my favorite. It automatically checks deals at many sites and also tells you about coupons. On top of that, it is lightweight, not annoying at all, and actually has many other useful features. It works in a number of browsers.

Invisible Hand is a similar tool. Invisible Hand used to be the big one, but I think PriceBlink passed it, mostly due to inactivity with development.

Coupons At Checkout presents coupons at the checkout, for you. This is always helpful.

Coupons Helper presents coupon codes in a toolbar, when you visit sites.

Camelizer shows charts on a few sites, detailing pricing history. Not worth it unless you really want it for those sites. Basically NewEgg, Best Buy, and Amazon.

Ciuvo is another best deal finder. It seems to have a large list of foreign sites. I've never tried it, but it looks alright. The reviews are good.

Shop At Home is another toolbar to help you find the best deals.

Price Finder is another bar. Reasonable reviews.

Shopping Assistant is a comparison tool. It is popular on chrome, but might not be the best possible solution.

Enhanced Steam boosts the steam store, although it is far from perfect. Still, it will make shopping there a lot easier. This of course is only for the regular browser version of the store.

Now... If you get to this point and you still aren't happy, you can use scripts and enhance your experience. UserScripts.org offers scripts for many sites and desires. Chrome automatically runs some of them, for Firefox, I recommend Scriptish or GreaseMonkey for running scripts. Stick with popular scripts, since the less popular ones may not work right or may be untrustworthy.

Just to note, like the coupon sites, they could steal your cashback referral. Only hand type or copy/paste coupon codes. If you click through to a deal, make a note of it, then go back in through a cashback link.

5. Cashback/Points

There are three main ways to get cashback or points. Off your payment type, off a referral link, and from the site you are purchasing from. Yes, it is possible to get all three off the same purchase. This can be a bit tricky, depending on the store. You may not be able to get any off from certain purchases.

Lets start with payment type. Basically, your card or payment selection may be able to get cashback or points. A simple example is the free Paypal Debit MasterCard, which is a free to use debit card that uses your Paypal account first, then your bank account. Basically it is the debit version of using Paypal, but you get 1% cashback. Most banks and all credit card providers offer cashback cards. Some are quite nice. On top of this, many stores now have their own credit card that has better cashback or points for that store. That isn't to say you should sign up for every card. It just doesn't hurt to have one. The better your credit, the better the cashback/points credit card, usually. Decide on what you want and your needs, then you can find a card that fits what you desire. Citibank, Capital One, and Chase all offer great options. If you prefer American Express or Discover, they have loaded cards as well. If you want to stick with debit cards, check with your bank or try the Paypal option, to still use your bank, but get a little back when you use it.

Now, getting cashback/points from sites that offer it for their referrals, that is the best method to make money. CashBackHolic.com actually maintains a decent list of sites that offer cashback, for each store you want to purchase from. This isn't a perfect list and you can't trust all the sites, but at least you can get a general idea and look up feedback on the sites, from there. I personally use FatWallet.com and Swagbucks (Points system) as my main two choices. The basic idea is that you click through their link and you get money or points back, from it. There are many sites out there that offer this. There may be special rules and limitations for each available site, so read the directions before you click.

For the third part, you can get cashback/points from certain sites. This is a slowly becoming popular method of getting your business. Check with your favorite sites to see if you have earned cash or points back from your purchases. You can also use rewards cards and other things, to get this stuff. Some do it with cards, some just do it. Staples is an example of a rewards program, GamersGate is an example of just doing it. When you make a purchase from a store, check first to see if there is a way to get something back from it. You would be surprised at how many stores have some way of getting something back, for being loyal to them.

6. Price Matching

I'm actually surprised at how few people price match. You can do this in stores or online, at many different places. Some stores even say they don't, but they still do. I know, for example, that some people using CheapAssGamer get price matches on Amazon games, that are lower at some competitors. Many stores will price match a select list of stores and you may be able to convince them to extend it, a bit. Some stores will price match certain items or during certain times of the year.

So why do it? Well, you could want to use a coupon at another store. I do this all the time with Staples, for a non-gaming example. They have coupons, but Amazon doesn't usually, so I price match items and use the coupons. You may also want to get rewards from a certain store, move to a more trustworthy store, try to avoid tax, or for many other reasons. Sometimes the same price at two stores is not actually the same price, to you. It never hurts to ask if they will price match.

7. Deal/Price Alerts

Slickdeals.com has a deal alert system that actually emails you when keywords are found in new posts. Many other sites offer price alert services, including main stores, that will alert you to price drops on their own products. This can be great and can keep you alert of sales on items that you are waiting to buy. Steam, for example, emails you when a wishlist item goes on sale. Simple, yes, but kind of effective if the price is right and you aren't paying attention.

Some examples:
IsThereAnyDeal.com will alert you to wishlist items and even to special items, like new game bundles.

ShoppingNotes.com is a service that allows you to add items to watch.

PriceBlink.com can add from their toolbar or through their site.

BizRate.com is one of the many price comparison sites that offers the service.

The list goes on and on. Pretty much all the major price comparison sites offer them. You can sign up at some stores, to be alerted. When you see the offer to alert you and you don't want the item at the current price, why not try it and be ready for the drop. You can combine this with some of the browser addons and always know when deals are available.

8. Sales

I can't stress this enough. Wait for holidays and special events. Stores usually do these at the same time, each year. This is a great time to get many things, at cheaper prices. Say you have $100 to spend. Would you want ten $10 games or forty $2.50 games? Holiday sales, especially American Thanksgiving through the Christmas season, can be huge. Yes, those sale prices may be hit throughout the year, but they aren't bunched up. You will be sitting around, waiting for stuff to hit. Now does that mean skip a great sale on a single item? No. Just don't feel like you have to buy something now, when it might go on sale soon. I understand not wanting to wait forever, but you can usually get an idea of when something will go on sale based on community feedback at various sites, price histories, and upcoming sales events.

You can guess at sales throughout the year in other ways, as well. I like to watch for new versions of games, new DLC, and other things that might drive companies to drop prices on their games. Take right now, for example. Steam ran a big Arma II sale to announce Arma III. When the new Skyrim DLC hit, the price went down for a sale, then stayed down after. It isn't uncommon for base games to drop fast, but leave you having to pay for the DLC or something else, later on. Is that bad? No. You still get the base game for a cheaper price.

Like with any product, the market determines the price. When people are ready to move on, prices usually drop. When the market gets a new item, similar items tend to drop. If too much of an item hits at a cheap price or even free, then it might drop it everywhere. The quality of the item and the willingness of people to buy it may also factor in. Sleeping Dogs and Hitman Absolution dropped quickly because they had many free copies given out by AMD, then Steam accidentally did a monster sale on Sleeping Dogs. Borderlands 2 was given out by Nvidia, then Gamersgate accidentally sold cheap four packs of them. All three of these games are very cheap right now or have been recently in sales.

If you put some thought into what might happen with the game you want to buy, you might just find that it works out. I've found that I can usually guess what will happen to a games price, within a certain period of time. I say make a little effort to read pricing histories and see what else is connected to the game you want. You may just find that you can predict a soon to come sale. It isn't a low probability thing, either. These sales usually come from somewhere and with a purpose. Companies like to promote, they sometimes need money for their next projects, they may want to make their money off from connected items, etc... If you spend any time at gaming forums, there are always really smart people making predictions on this stuff and it usually ends up being right. People can predict many sales.

Now with all of that said. If you aren't using price checking sites, at least take the time to check the sales section of the sites you visit. They will usually have a clean loadout of all of the available sales.

9. Packs/Bundles/Collections/Etc...

There are really no better deals than when you can get multiple items at a discount, over already discounted items. It may even just be items thrown into a bundle, that reduce the cost down to nothing. Does that mean it is always cheaper? No. Some are actually more expensive, so you have to check the prices that you could possibly pay on items and make sure that what you want is actually worth the price you are paying. You will be surprised sometimes that it is actually cheaper to buy games individually, here and there. I have had that happen multiple times at the Steam Store. I may end up paying only a few cents less, or a little more, but buying individually can be cheaper. Usually it isn't, so look to combine and get the best deal possible.

Pretty much there is no need to link anything, but the actual bundles. For anything else, just look for multiple games being sold together, in the stores you are visiting. You may want to buy a trilogy of games, for example, and then you may realize that it is actually cheaper to buy a trilogy pack. You may want a game and dlc, then realize it is cheaper to buy them all together. You should be on the lookout for these with every store you visit.

Now, for bundles, these are a bit different. Basically sites bundle games together for one purpose or another. Usually those bundles are quite cheap, though they may not be Steam games or may only be partially Steam games.

Some of the sites I use:
Humble Bundle
Indie Royale
Indie Gala
Groupees
Greenlight Bundle
IndieBundle.org
All Game Bundles
The Free Bundle
Bundle In A Box
MacAppDeals
Indie Game Stand
PlayInjector

To see more, try:
IndieKings Bundle Tracker
Indie Game Bundle Wiki
Indie Game Bundles

My preference is to get the most bang for the buck. Many games for a low cost can be better than one game at the same cost or higher, even if the game is better. Any game could end up in some kind of bundle, pack, collection, or whatever else they call it. Some are so cheap that you have to move like lightning or lose out on them. If you see one that looks to good to be true, like some of those December and January ones from this year, you had best pounce quickly.

10. Giveaways (Bonus Section)

There is no better deal, than to get the chance to win something, for nothing. Well... or very little effort. I'll add some sites, but there are probably many others out there. I haven't looked that hard. Obviously the big one, you are already a member of, so I'll add in some others.

Sites where you can give and have the chance to win games:
GameMiner.net
Gala Giveaways
PlayBlink.com

Other sites to get free games (Via other means):
Tremor Games
Raptr

11. Where To Shop?

I'll finish off with a section for where I shop and where I hear you can get some decent stuff. I'll give some explanation on where to look and what to expect. This is not a complete list, just some of the places I look to, for sales.

Steam Store should be checked daily. They run many sales and you know they are all for Steam, which is a lot more than I can say for any other store on this list. The downside to shopping on Steam is that they are more robotic than any other store. They seem like they are just processing sales and not actually going for anything beyond that. They don't act like they need your business. Due to this, you might not always find the best sale. They don't go out and try to get the best deals like Amazon is doing right now, coupons are almost non-existant, and there are really no extra incentives to shopping at Steam. Still, there prices can be really good and some stuff goes on sale there, that you won't find elsewhere.

The best time to shop Steam is during their sales, especially their end of the year holiday ones. They run plenty of good deals throughout the year, so always be on the lookout. They simply bunch them up during major sales.

Amazon started competing like crazy the past few months. They actively pursue deals by contacting the publishers directly and mass buying keys. The result has been some insane deals. On top of that, they have been doing coupons more and more. I was buying games and packs for nothing in December, then using the coupons from those purchases to buy more stuff for nothing in January. This might actually be the best retailer, right now, for mega sales. They only happen here and there, but when they come up, you had best not miss them. Some people sat on their Paradox deals, with many games for next to nothing, and the main one sold out really fast. This thread on CAG has an official Amazon Rep, Tony, updating people on sales and possible future sales. It is a great place to start. There is a similar thread at this place, located here.

Green Man Gaming is a good place, if you are able to buy from them. They have the worlds dumbest security system, with a support staff that takes the auto response, then blame you approach. Basically, if your IP changes, the system may ban you from using it and then tell you that your card failed and to contact your bank because it may think they are a gambling site. The system actually thinks you are using a proxy or VPN and won't let you order. How dumb is all of this? Look at the thousands of posts on their own forum and find out.

So basically... Order failed, write bank, bank laughs, write GMG, get auto response about how they take security seriously, write GMG, get response about using proxies and VPNs, write GMG, get second response about using proxies and VPNs, write GMG, have them reset account, make purchase, make purchase, order failed, write GMG, get auto response about how they take security seriously, write GMG...

Once you are able to purchase, you will realize most of their games are for their own client, Capsule. Another dumb thing. Like we need more...

Still, they do some great Steam deals and usually have a 20% off coupon, so their prices can go really low. Good luck finding the Steam games, but when you do, you may find some great prices. You will mostly be swimming through capsule infested waters, to get to those one or two good Steam deals.

GamersGate took a lot of flack for two debacles back in December and they probably deserved it. They want to be big, but yet can't handle problems at that scale. This place is alright, but some people lost some trust in them.

Half their problems seem to come from their counter-intuitive website. When you sign up for an account, you don't get your confirmation email. You have to go to another page and request that they generate one for you. There is no automation. Then when you place an order, it sends you an email before you even pay for the order, almost like they are invoicing you. Almost everything seems out of order on the site, almost like speech getting lost in translation, when you are talking to someone. That is alright normally, but is really bad when their site gets hammered and new users end up confused to the process. I would sign up for an account ahead of time, just to make sure you don't get lost during a mega sale, when the site isn't loading correctly.

Once you get past this, they have some decent sales. Not everything is Steam, but they do run nice Steam deals throughout the year. You might find one or two each day. I also like some of the more unique features of their site, like the points system and the cashback. There is some real potential.

Just remember. This company isn't big enough to handle major problems. They may take weeks to get back to you via their support system and they may struggle to do simple things, like refund your card or add any promised discount. They don't have the staff to handle getting hammered.

GameFly is a site I have been using a lot, lately. They have sites in the US and UK, with mostly the same deals on both. They run coupons, you can sometimes get cashback from cashback sites, and they have some really nice sales. Their sales section will usually have at least a couple of Steam games, to go along with frequent 20% off coupons. You can find some great deals here, each month.

Nuuvem is a strange contender. They are from Brazil and their site is only in Portuguese. It isn't hard to make your way around it, though. Everything should seem familiar. They run deals all throughout the week and the currency conversion to USD is roughly half, so whatever price you see in Brazilian Real, the US Dollar conversion should be about half. Not exactly and it is higher than half, but still, you can get the general idea. They take Paypal and many of their games are Steam. I have placed a few orders and I have been happy. I don't even translate the site. Just make sure they are Steam. They have a little block in the corner that tells you the DRM.

Gala Store is actually a great store, considering they are just a spinoff store for the Indie Gala bundles. That actually makes it really great. Basically they run game and bundle deals throughout each week, but then sometimes give you discounts if you buy their main bundles. This can be lower prices by using points or just lower prices for having bought the bundles. This is a great place to get cheap indie games, that are mostly Steam.

Get Games is an nice site. It actually has some decent deals and should be a bigger site than what they are. They are rock steady and have probably as many good Steam deals as GreenManGaming and GamersGate. They do have a few weird quirks about their site, like randomly not accepting Paypal for some orders, but overall they are worth the effort.

Newegg is tricky. They sell boxed games, but some activate on Steam. They are trying to be bigger in this department and have been running some crazy sales, including many free after rebate. Enter at your own risk, with your own knowledge of which cd keys can be activated on Steam. They don't tell you on the site.

Game.co.uk is a site that I haven't used because they haven't had any deals that I wanted at the time, but perhaps you will see one you want. I do know of people that use it and are happy with it.

ImpulseDrive is the online, digital download store, for GameStop. Decent deals here and there.

GameTap is another store that offers nice deals, here and there. A clean interface and a decent selection.

DLGamer is another site that I haven't had the chance to use, but it pops up all over. I have checked them out a few times, but their prices haven't been right for what I was looking for.

Humble Store isn't really a store, but they do sometimes have items that are really cheap. This is just a branching off of Humble Bundle. You might get a really good deal on a game heading towards greenlight, like with Anodyne a little while back. I'm not sure I would bother with the site, otherwise.

Also, take note that sometimes you can buy really cheap games straight from the source. Developers and publishers sometimes sell right off their websites, to increases their funds. I see good deals here and there.

12. Final Thoughts

Nothing on this list is intended to be final. It is just a collection of random thoughts that I tried to put into a list, for others to learn something from. I am aiming it towards newer people to all of this. If you know what you are doing, you probably won't get anything from this. I don't feel like hearing about that, but you are welcome to point it out.

I am awful with spelling, grammar, and anything else related to it. I don't care. I wish I did, maybe I would have bothered to learn something in school, but I don't and didn't. If there is something that needs correcting, let me know, if you want. I'll fix it. I don't reread all of what I type, so there may be mistakes.

This is posted referral free and I tried to link you to where you should be going, in some cases. Most links go directly to the main sites, but a few go to the sections you should be looking for.

I also did a small Window's Optimization Guide, if anyone is new to it or has problems that need fixing. I write everything off the top of my head and only break to go and find links, so what I write tends to be kind of informal and it may be something you aren't used to. I prefer it that way, since I try to work towards getting through to newer people that really need help.

If you have questions, comments, or derogatory remarks, feel free to add them below.

Edit 1: Added SteamWatch, MacAppDeals, IndieGameStand (No idea what to put this under), and CheapShark.
Edit 2: Added PlayInjector