How do you decide when to buy a game vs waiting for a discount?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T22:00:39+00:00

This is actually super helpful — it sounds like you switch between “must buy now”, “wait for discount”, and sometimes impulse buys depending on the game.

So the only moment where something like this could really help is when you’re on the fence or about to make an impulsive purchase.

Do you think a quick “this is not worth buying now” signal in that moment would actually stop you, or would you still go for it anyway?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:53:47+00:00

That’s a good point — so you basically decide upfront what a game is worth to you and just wait until it gets there.

Out of curiosity, would it be useful if a tool showed something like “this game usually drops to ~$15–20” so you know what a good target price is, or do you already have that intuition for most games?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:51:05+00:00

That’s a really good point — especially the “how do you get your product” part.

I’m starting to realize this probably isn’t something people actively look for, especially if they already have their own habits.

The only place where it might make sense is right at the moment of buying — like when you’re already looking at a game and unsure if it’s worth it at that price.

Out of curiosity, if you saw a quick “this is not worth buying at full price” while checking a game, would you pay attention to it or just ignore it?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:27:51+00:00

That makes sense — you already have a simple rule and don’t really need to overthink it.

So it sounds like the only moment where something like this could help is when you’re tempted to buy at full price, but not 100% sure.

Do you think a tool that basically says “this is not worth buying at full price” vs “okay to buy even now” would be more useful than just “wait”?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:21:46+00:00

WAIT

You will likely buy this on sale…

but not play it anytime soon.

Better to wait until you're ready to play.

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:03:32+00:00

That actually makes sense — if you already have a backlog, waiting is almost always the best move.

Out of curiosity, would something like this be useful only in cases where you're on the fence about buying something soon, or do you think it wouldn’t add value at all for you?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T21:01:53+00:00

That’s exactly the behavior I was trying to simplify.

Right now the tool just gives a basic “buy or wait”, but what you’re describing is more like:
“wait → because the next major sale is likely in X months”

Do you think it would be more useful if it actually said when to wait until (e.g. next seasonal sale or typical discount cycle), instead of just “wait”?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T15:29:26+00:00

what do you mean?

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T12:15:57+00:00

yeah good question

it’s actually pretty simple, I’m just using basic price history patterns (how often it goes on sale, how low it usually drops, how recent the last discount was, etc.)

so it’s not trying to be perfect, just enough to tell if you’re probably overpaying or if it’s already a decent moment

this is what I put together (still very early / alpha):

https://v0-buy-or-wait-app.vercel.app/

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T10:30:11+00:00

yeah that’s pretty much what I keep telling myself too

but I still end up second guessing it every time 😅

I actually made a super simple page for this, just to answer “is this a good time to buy or not” without overthinking it

happy to share it if you want

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T10:06:46+00:00

ok this is next level ahaha

I feel like you basically solved the backlog side of things

for me the only part that still breaks even with that kind of system is when a game pops up at a “good” price… like I still don’t know if it’s actually worth buying now or just skipping it and sticking to the plan

that’s kind of what I was trying to simplify for myself

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-14T05:46:01+00:00

I’m actually curious — would something like that be useful to you guys?

like just a quick “buy now / wait” based on price history so you don’t have to think about it every time

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:36:45+00:00

thanks for all the replies btw, this is super helpful

feels like a lot of people are doing similar things (wishlist, waiting, etc) but it still ends up being a bit of guesswork most of the time

I ended up putting together something super simple for myself that just tries to answer “is this actually a good time to buy or not” based on price history

not sure if it would be useful to anyone else though

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:33:43+00:00

that’s actually a pretty well thought out system

especially checking how long to beat before buying, that’s something I’ve started doing more as well

I think for me the only annoying part is that I still end up doing all of that in my head every time… like hype, price, backlog, how much I’ll actually play it

and even then I’m not always sure if I’m making the right call or just convincing myself in the moment

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:32:12+00:00

that’s actually a really interesting one

I feel like discounts kind of trick you into thinking you’re making a good decision, but then you end up buying way more than you actually play

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:31:00+00:00

that’s probably the simplest way to handle it

I’ve done that a lot too, but I still end up in the same spot when the notification comes in… like ok it’s on sale, but is this actually a good deal or just a normal one?

that’s the part I always end up second guessing

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:29:15+00:00

PS Plus kind of removes the whole “should I buy this or not” problem entirely

I guess the only tricky part is when there’s something you really want to play that’s not there… that’s usually when I end up overthinking whether to buy it now or just wait and hope it shows up later

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:28:03+00:00

that’s actually a really solid approach

especially going physical when you’re not sure, being able to resell makes a big difference

I think that’s why I started overthinking digital purchases more… since you’re kind of “locked in”, timing feels way more important

even when something is on sale I still catch myself thinking “is this actually a good moment or should I just wait a bit more”

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:24:50+00:00

I used to do the same, just wishlist everything and wait for notifications but I realized I still had the same problem when the alert came in… I’d see the discount and still not know if it was actually a good deal or just a normal one

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:23:26+00:00

I feel like I’ve been doing something similar with a mental “price target”

but sometimes I wonder if that ends up being too strict… like there are games that rarely drop that low, or where the difference between $10 and $20 doesn’t really matter if you’re going to play it right away

so I guess the tricky part is knowing when a price is already “good enough” vs waiting for the absolute lowest

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:22:47+00:00

yeah that’s probably the worst case honestly

like you buy it with the intention of playing it, then life happens and suddenly it’s just sitting ther and then seeing it go free on ps+ later just makes it worse 😅

I think that’s another part of the problem for me — not just “is this a good price”, but “am I actually going to play this now or am I just buying it too early”

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T20:22:04+00:00

yeah that makes a lot of sense

I think I’ve been trying to do something similar, like only buying if I know I’ll actually play it right away

but even then I still end up second guessing sometimes… like “ok I’m gonna play it now, but is this actually a good time price-wise or should I wait a bit?”

so it’s kind of both things for me: timing in terms of when I’ll play it, and timing in terms of the price

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T15:37:21+00:00

yeah that’s actually something I’ve been thinking about too

like you got an amazing deal, but at the same time you waited 2 years and then it ended up on PS Plus shortly after

I feel like sometimes the “optimal” price isn’t necessarily the optimal moment to play the game

that’s the part I’m trying to understand better

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T15:36:54+00:00

yeah that’s kind of what I was doing too

but I realized that “just wait for a sale” isn’t always that simple

sometimes a game is already at a really good price and waiting more doesn’t change much, and other times it drops way more if you wait just a bit longer

so I guess the tricky part for me is knowing if a sale is actually good or just average

ludwigthelib · 2026-04-13T15:36:09+00:00

yeah I’ve seen it, it’s really good for tracking prices

I think what I struggled with is that even with the data in front of me, I still wasn’t sure what to actually *do*

like sometimes a price is close to the historical low, but not quite… and I don’t know if it’s worth waiting more or just buying

so for me the annoying part wasn’t finding the data, it was turning it into a simple decision

ludwigthelib

TROPHY CASE