I've heard way too many horror stories to go anywhere near g2a/kinguin

I tend to stay away from them EXCEPT for games that have been removed from steam. I've had no issue with those types of games, I do use buyer protection, and stick to users with high rep.

Just wanted to point out that these articles are from end of march 2014 as they claim for example that Humble Bundle does not provide keys only the possibilty to activate the game on a linked Steam account while Humble has stopped using OAuth for activation for quite some time. Still not a bad read.

I don't buy from these sites, and I will NEVER buy from them.

"i bought 2 games and never had a problem so it's legit. 101% recommended."

View attached image.

Here's another good write up on key resellers. https://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/comments/2yhlw4/key_resellers_and_what_they_mean_for_you

And no, I don't buy from them.

I buy from few finnish retailers some games that happen to be cheaper for any reason. And 'cos their physical stores exist within a tram trip I could always go complain with a molotov coctail :D

Just read some of the article. They seem to be mixing up an activated key of a game with a non-activated one. Obviously by activating the game you agree to the EULA and you are no longer able to be sell it. A non-activated key is a product that is not restricted yet. Wether you agree with sites like G2A, Kinguin or even ebay, you should realize that in a free market like Europe a company can't simply restrict which companies is allowed to sell their products. Otherwise everybody wouldn't be able to buy cheaper cars, hifi, Windows etc. from independant dealers but would only be able to buy stuff from manufacturer-approved dealers and higher prices.

my steam library is about 85% of G2A. I have something about 25+ buys from there... never had any problem.
legitimate or not, everything there works like any site that shorten the bridge between seller and costumer ebay aliexpress dx and shit
by the way, I don't really care where the key comes from, since it works.
if you own money, you spend. if you don't, you have to be creative.
if you own something, you do whatever you pleased to do with, like... give it away, trade or sell it whatever you want to. :}

I already feel kinda crappy for spending $1 for a bundle where I get some awesome games, and the developers get like $0.10, but to just give that money to some random asshole who's trying to make a profit, no, I'm against that.

I don't anymore for few reasons.

1) Sites now day just hide large part of price behind multiple steps (shield, vat, payment fee, processing fee, etc.)

Well, VAT is legally required, but so is including it in price displayed, which these sites tend to ignore (like Indie Gala, too).
Somehow I doubt they even pay taxes.

I read that G2A even makes recurring payments and hopes you remember don't cancel (you can't cancel during first 48 hours and if you cancel it costs 2€ extra next time you order.

2) I have bad luck when it comes to these sites, ie. getting invalid / dup keys.

3) I don't buy new games, and later on digital sales are very good.

4) Steam Cards

5) Playfire RIP

Almost every game in my library is bought from plati.ru. They're selling bundled games for cheap there. I wouldn't have enough money to buy it legit from Steam. And I don't have a credit card, but I have webmoney, which is the only way I can pay, so it's easier and cheaper to buy things from there than giving all money to steamwallet.

Yes, I had gotten already activated keys, wrong keys, I had once gotten a stolen copy of Goat Simulator, that has been revoked. But I got my money back from every purchase that went wrong, so it's ok for me.

What to expect form a business operating in Hong Kong to evade customer protection laws...

Unauthorized is a GOOD thing, folks. There are no stolen, hacked, counterfeit keys. As long as they deliver the goods, what's the problem?

I suppose I fall in both camps.

I like buying games legitimately. I think it supports the developers, and that's a good thing.

On the other hand, I am a poor college student. I have very little money, so $60 for an AAA just isn't happening.

I don't like pirating games, because that doesn't support the devs at all, so that's out.

Where does that leave me? I suppose I can sum it up like this. I'd buy an AAA game resold through Kinguin or somewhere. I would. These keys aren't necessarily "stolen"- most of them come from legitimate sources, and are issued by the developer and then purchased at a sale or for cheap through some deal that I missed. The developer still gets money, even if indirectly. The question then is "Should other people resell keys for profit?" This isn't that different from third party trading; in exchange for a game or games (or paypal wallet even) I trade some game keys/gifts I own. The developer doesn't see a cent of that, but no one complains. It's because it's an "unofficial marketplace" that people get uncomfortable. The image of legitimacy inspired by a large business makes us think that certain protocols should be followed, but in reality Kinguin, G2A and the like facilitate trading for money, something that many legitimate traders do indirectly through CS/Dota keys or even paypal wallet. The unreliability issue aside, I don't see anything morally wrong with this reselling.

It gets a little more iffy when bundle keys are resold. When a game has been bundled, the developer gets a portion cut, but some people buy bunches of keys and just scalp them off on marketplaces. That's exploitative and wrong. But again, many big traders buy bundles to trade, so is that wrong? In the case of many bundles, explicit reselling is forbidden, and that should be respected. But if that's the case, trading and gifting are often forbidden also. How do we make exceptions for those but not for others? That said, I personally do not buy bundled game keys through resellers, because it's hard to tell if it's an exploited bundle copy or a real one.

I tried purchasing from G2A once, my curiosity got the better of me. Most of these people who recommend G2A say to buy from trusted high volume trader. Thats where I got my keys and funnily enough it did not work. I even took the so call G2A shield and support told the guy to provide another key which still does not work.

Ultimately what causes me to issue a chargeback was the fact that I found a $2 transaction fee which is not stated anywhere else. Why people would recommend it is beyond me.

" I asked them if this constituted an admission of illegal activity, to which I received no reply."

I'm sorry, I sympathise with your position.

But reselling legit keys is not illegal.

Distasteful, yes. Illegal, no.

It's not illegal anywhere atm.

Reselling stolen keys is however, the same as reselling any stolen property.

It may be against your terms and conditions.

But they do not supercede the law.

The EU ruling explicitly stated that a publisher's T & Cs did not affect a statutory right of resale.

The reason that nobody pursues concerted legal action against resellers (other than it's difficult to prove keys are stolen), is that they are loathe to set a legal precedent in a case that they would almost certainly lose in the EU, at least.

The EU has already ruled that it is legal to resell your digital games.

That doesn't just mean extra keys from bundles, that means games you've actually played.

Legally the US is moving in the opposite direction, which in practice will probably mean resellers excluding US buyers / sellers in the future.

G2A/Kinguin/etc are complete scum.

I think Valve and all publishers/developers should file a CAL on all the big resellers. They'd easily get a few million if not more. Even try getting the US and local DA or equivalent for their locale to file criminal suits.

People like their money... So its not strange that when they figure out a way to make some extra cash by reselling keys for a profit that people will do so.
Regardless of the shady or non-shady circumstance under which that happens.
And its also not strange that there will be people that buy these keys - because consumers equally like their money.

As it stands, digital vs physical distribution isn't doing us any favors. $60 is still the standard price for most AAA-titles.
Yet with more and more games being entirely based around digital distribution - going so far as to have "boxed copies" come with either a downloader or a steam key. Its not strange that the consumer is calling foul.

Going from physical to digital distribution can cut down costs by 30 to 50% - this literally means that in some cases a $60 title could be sold for $20 to 30 LESS without losing profit margins. Because that is the money that with physical distribution would go towards production of the physical copies (less discs and boxes needing to be made, fewer booklets and other physical content, no more logistics and no more third party retailer costs with their individual storefronts and employees). Yet do we see this reflected in their prices?
No, rather we've seen the opposite where EA has INCREASED the price going over the $60 mark in some cases.

The reason given is that lowering prices would give digital distribution platforms an unfair competitive edge, but we all know that many of these publishers would not want to give up 30~50% 'free profits'.

-

Yet when do people call foul? When a consumer or reseller tries to "maximize" their gains.
Its perfectly acceptable for a publisher to do it, but when someone else does it its bad?

All things being equal there are things to be said against BOTH sides.

I was getting kind of confused while reading the article because the guy's name is Key. Kept thinking they were talking about game keys

The thing about resellers (and generally any type of shady business) is that it works most of the time, but in a few cases people get fucked over. Usually people who come forward complaining are always the minority, and since people who don't get scammed won't tell their story all over the internet an illusion emerges that the minority is the majority.

It makes perfect sense, if it would be a sham and all the customers are getting scammed then it wouldn't be a business going anywhere right? It could be a quick cash-grab for a couple of days till the culprit is found but certainly not a long-running website like G2A/Kinguin etc.

Yeah they are shady businesses, it's a grey area. Some people get fucked over but most people don't, it's a risk and it's up to you whether you are willing to take it.

Ubisoft should have held its ground. Now people feel there is less risk (or it is a calculated risk) in purchasing from these resellers since Ubi will honor them.

Nice article, thanks. And I don't buy from them.

The problem with most people is that they tend to only look how it affects themselves personally and not look at the big picture, and how it affects the game industry and the developers. Not that the devs are always victims, but it's always good to look at the big picture regarding everything, and analyze the issue critically.

Personally, I'd never use one of these sites. I do know some people who do buy games from Kinguin and say they have had no negative experiences so far, but I'm not willing to take any risks.

Also, how was your manicure? :P