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Gift codes at steam.

+8 votes
Is it ssafe to buy them on eg. Ebay ?
asked 12 years ago in GeneralGeneral by andrew.nobody1234 Mercenary (1,103 points)   4 19

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6 Answers

0 votes
No it isn't.

Always buy on authorized sites like D2D and GMG.
answered 12 years ago by xboxer King (32,462 points)   6 11 48
+2 votes
Technically eBay sellers aren't supposed to e-mail / digitally send you your purchases. So the buyer protection you would receive by buying a digital gifted copy from eBay is iffy from the start.

I would also be very wary of the fact that this is from Steam. Some people receive gift cards to other sites and use eBay to flip them into cash, giving a nice deal to whoever helps them out. However, the only form of credit Steam has is through that of Gifting games.
answered 12 years ago by mrtowel Prince (27,434 points)   8 18 41
+1 vote
As first it is not safe to buy them on ebay,

also it is against the steam rules to buy or sell gift codes for steam.
answered 12 years ago by RageQuit Soldier (2,345 points)   1 4 17
0 votes
it isn't safe because there's no way to know if the code actually works, they could sell you a used code and you won't be able to do anything about it
answered 12 years ago by drakaenae King (41,339 points)   5 9 79
–2 votes
It really depends.

 

First off, there is a difference between gift codes (having an existing steam user gift you a copy of the game) versus getting a legit retail code (code the comes in a retail box).

In general gifts are a bad idea as they are often purchased from stole accounts and or credit cards, or paid with via fraudulent funds/methods. Eventually steam will catch on and at the best, take back the game (you lose your money) and at the worst ban your account for being part of this.

Actual retail keys are a bit better. What usually happens is that games are sold at differenct prices around the world due to various reasons (different market conditions, standards of living, value of currency etc), which means some games are sold at much reduced rates compared to others. While you could have someone in another region/country buy a game for you, having to pay to ship the physical copy usually reduces the amount of savings you get.  But with internet distribution (eg Steam), the physical copy no longer needs to be shipped, so this becomes a viable option.

Essentially what the person does is buy the game, open it, and only send you the activation code, (which can be done via email, instantly, at no cost), you type in that code and voilla, you have the game.

This is generally much less risky then the gift method as these are actually valid paid for codes (as long as the seller is reputable, sometimes you have to be careful that they aren't using stolen codes).  You can run into trouble with certain games though if Steam decides to not let users from other regions activate. (Ie. You can't activate a "Russian" code with a computer on an internet connection in  North America). This is an extra complication that probably isn't worth the risk, thankfully it's quite rare and a simple bit of research can check to see if the game in question is using these tactics.

All this being said, if you are smart and cautious about it, you can get some good deals on the games with minimal (although there is always some!) risk.
answered 12 years ago by aggies11 Journeyman (660 points)   2 11
0 votes
Obviously NOT. But people do it, you see beta codes, gifts, rare collectables, cliff's signature, COD team signature edition up for sale in eBay most often.

If the owners/Valve find your account , they could permanently ban your account and ip. So be careful and play safe.
answered 12 years ago by gamerx1990 Mercenary (1,491 points)   2 18

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