Hey all, colonelpopcorn here, I thought I'd just go ahead and make this thread on request of user Rhaknar. As any good PC gamer knows, Steam likes to have massive sales about twice/thrice a year, usually around summer, thanksgiving, and Christmas. This year's sale starts at 10AM PDT/1 PM EST, or so some evidence (midweek madness ending early, Killing Floor event) might suggest. However, before we get to that there are a few things that should be pointed out.
 
First there's HaraldoNVU's guide for steam sale beginners, it was really helpful last Christmas even though I still ended up paying way to much for stuff that wasn't a daily deal. Think of it as a the "Buying Games From Steam on Only $5-a-Day". Don't panic. 
 
After you've gotten your feet wet with the beginner's guide, then make sure your computer is up to snuff. There are several generic graphics benchmarking tools, Furmark, 3Dvantage, etc. However, a simple and straightforward benchmarking tool exists so you don't have to decipher the numbers put out by furmark, 3Dvantage, etc. This utility will answer the question: "Can you run it?"
 
Next there is the giant bomb gift/bulk pack cooperative, this is where the savings get crazy. As most people will tell you, if you buy more stuff from place's like Costco, BJ's, or Sams's Club then they'll give a per ounce discount, thus making it cheaper in the long run. As crazy as it sounds, Steam does this too. Often Steam will have 4 pack's of games for even crazier prices per game than the individual sales have. This is where the bulk pack cooperative comes in, with this hand community organization you can save even more money on a game by going at it from 4 different angles. More details are here in this sentence.
 
Finally after all that all gross and unnecessary spending of money, make sure to bra....er, I mean tell us about your purchases in our "What are you going to/What did you buy?" thread. Some jerk made that thread, if you want you can go ahead and post in it.... the link's right here.
 

Midweek madness ending early? The deal is still up and seems to be staying until the normal time.

Hopefully this does happen, but people have been predicting when they'll start for the past few weeks.

Can we wait until the sale ACTUALLY goes up to create a thread? This is like the second time I wander into a thread thinking "Oh, Steam sale!" only to see more speculation. For all we know, there might not even be a sale this summer. This is Valve you know, they make a living out of crushing fan expectations.

I hope there's a sale. Really want Guild Wars Trilogy and whatever else I can get for 2 bucks.

Noticed a TF2 drop recently linked to the summer sales, seems to require a key to unlock a box of in-game goodies which some are speculating will be obtained through the sales.

At this point it's likely to start on the 1st of July. I have only just finished playing all the games I bought in last year's summer sale!

I'm glad you're the one who started this thread; you seem to have things all sorted out with all the links and whatnot. Bonus points if you actually update the OP everyday :o
 
Although, you've jumped the gun again. At this point it's still just speculation. People have claimed that the sale was going to start every day for over week now. Having said that though, it does seem like this is the real deal - but we'll see.

I was wrong, it's been confirmed it starts today: http://wccftech.com/steam-summer-sale-start-today-swarm-arena-killing-floor-avilable-huge-discounts/27713/

After today's deal ends

i didnt request it, i asked if anyonme was doing it :P

Either I'm retarded at using twitter, or announcing steam sales early is a big no-no. It looks like that tweet got deleted. :S

Edit: Probably both.

Fuck. I have to leave. I can't do this. I just...no...I can't be around anything even remotely connected to the internet. I won't let you take all my money Gabe!

Son of a bitch. I have to set a limit for myself this year. Steam is the black hole of my savings account.

My wallet is not ready.

I'm going to buy a game every single day of the sale.

I'm done for, I can't make it through this one.

EDIT!: NO WAIT! Tomorrow is payday! YESSS, I have hope yet.

Sigh,  I finally just bought Hydrophobia. I had to flip a coin to see if I should buy it or not. I just hope it isn't complete garbage, or even cheaper during the sale '>__>

@seanfoster said:

I'm going to buy a game every single day of the sale.

That's the spirit :D

Ha! My wallet isn't ready at all for Steam sale + already have games I need to play! And I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow! :D

MY wallet is scared.. 
 
pussy.

Ugh im going to try and not look at Steam for my wallets sake.

I joined the GB Co-op group, is anyone else in there that wants to hop in the chat?

OMG! Most games on Steam are now less than 5 euro!!!!

Rockstar collection 39.99
 
Max Payne 1 and 2, Manhunt, Midnight Club 2, GTA, GTA2, GTA3, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA4, GTA Eps from Liberty City, Bully

also Valve Complete pack for 44.99, all Valve games including Portal 2
 
also Nancy Drew Complete Pack (lol?) for 39.99, has 17 Nancy Drew games heh

I don't see any sales yet, when were we supposed to expect to see them?

@IcySandman said:

I don't see any sales yet, when were we supposed to expect to see them?

I think 18mins from now.

Yep, nothing here in the US yet... Different regions probably have different times :/

15 minutes to go :)

I'm getting scared, I just gotta make sure I only buy games that I actually wanna play.  

@1nfinitum: Look under the specials, that's where we're finding these packs.

sweet! i'm excited for this, even though i probably either 1) cant run them 2) dont want them/not interested in them 3) dont have enough money for them. Odds are ill just buy really stinking cheap dlc for civ 5 or other games when its on sale

ohmyfuck is it steamsale time in the Us yet- tomorrow is payday for me to.  That's so bad.

Between 2 refresh I saw the 1C complete pack at 87% off and Assassins creed complete pack at 25% off. Clearly its coming.

a Mumbojumbo complete pack is up too, whoever they are (never heard of any of those games)

7 min left.

@SMTDante89: Nothing there, I don't know what you guys are going on about :P

Dragon Age and Dead Space collection is up for me, $64.99 and $34.99 respectively.

Also Mass Effect pack and Need For Speed pack and Sim 3 pack.

Oblivion GOTY edition for £5.10. Aw, and Bit Trip Beat for £1.75!

where is IT!!!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! nothing on my end, its so damn hard to be patient right now

I don't see anything either.

This is Valve you know, they make a living out of crushing fan expectations.

I don't see anything :(

Yeah, it's not up yet for anybody but if you snoop around in like developer catalogs etc. You'll see loads of the catalogs are 33% off and occasionally stuff like Oblivion GOTY is 66% or something (so i presume thats a daily deal).