Usually, if you are given a key, then there is no problem with it.
I also have keys that are a few (over 5) years old and seem to be fine.
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How do you know they're fine if you don't try to redeem them?
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Humble doesn't allocate keys until you actually reveal them, so they're gonna be as fresh as just bought.
The only possible issues will be delisted games (for which keys cannot be generated anymore), weird region locks (more common with certain AAA publishers), and their schizophrenic policies about gifting since IGN's takeover if you ever need help.
Check for region locks on https://steamdb.info/ and/or threads about the specific bundles, and always generate keys, NEVER gift links, because if you send too many to different recipients they'll label you a trader/reseller, refuse help, and ban your account.
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This seems to be the answer I'm looking (hoping) for. If the keys aren't actually generated until I reveal them then there should';t be a problem with them.
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If I make giveaways and they key aren't good won't it hurt your account standing?
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Take Peiper's advice and test one or two in the orphan/anti-ninja threads. People will tell you if the key worked. If one or two do still work, that's a good sign for the rest of them.
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that's no good advice, games are from different publishers, so it doesn't show anything
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to be sure that users agree to delete
https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/O5LX8/group-delete-giveaway-if-key-is-not-working
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No, it won't. Worst case you'll get giveaways marked as "not received", but it's not punished in any way.
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I recommend you ask to join the Unlucky7 group. As long as you've activated that 1 win you had, I believe you'll be eligible. After you win your 8th game, you can stay in as a contributor, considering you've got the key supply for it. It's a great group.
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There is also a group that specifically is geared toward keys of this type:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/dgikinw
Of course, users - even those in such a group - are not obligated to agree to a giveaway being deleted. But odds are highly in your favor in such a group.
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I don't think the keys every expire, but there are some rare cases where the devs have revoked keys. Also, if it is from Humble, I believe they provide you with a key when you click the button to reveal the key, so if you just revealed them, they should all be new keys that were just assigned to you.
Maybe try creating a few giveaways at a time and don't do all of them at once, so if there is a problem, you won't have a bunch of bad giveaways. If a key doesn't work, the winner can select the box "not reveived" and you will lose 1 giveaway slot, but you gain an additional giveaway slot for every 3 keys that you send and are marked "received", so it's not hard to build up a lot of slots. Or you can ask the giveaway creator to delete the giveaway and you won't have the "not received" mark on your account, but you will still lose 1 giveaway slot.
Having a not received on your account isn't that big of a deal as long as you don't build up a lot of them. If you are worried about it, there are some groups where to be a part of the group you have to agree to delete the giveaway if the key doesn't work. You can just join one of these groups and create giveaways that are restricted to the group.
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As long as you haven't revealed the key prior to gifting it to the winner, you shouldn't have any problems. I've been pretty lucky... so far.
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Revealing the key is fine (in 99% of cases I'm aware of). I would actually encourage revealing every key immediately after purchase, for a few reasons, including games becoming out of stock by the time you reveal it, screwing you out of your legitimate purchase (yes, that happens, with Humble, and likely with other retailers as well). I've redeemed keys many years later that I revealed immediately after purchase.
edit: I'm assuming you meant revealing on your purchase page, but I suppose you could also mean revealing to the world which... yeah... don't do that.
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I've redeemed keys many years later that I revealed immediately after purchase.
That's actually good to know, considering all the reports of HB has been cracking down lately.
I'm assuming you meant revealing on your purchase page
You assume correctly. 😁
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maybe try trading some for keys from more recent bundles
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I never had any issue with HB keys; some of them were really old
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Recently I've been scrolling through my Library on Humble Bundle and noticed that I have some really old unused keys - for example I had Alan Wake's American Nightmare from "The Humble Bundle Weekly Sales" back in May 2013. The key worked just fine, same goes for the other games that were similiarly old.
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I'm more welcome to help. I can test those keys for you! Free to charge!
Just kidding🤣
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Don't worry if the keys don't work. Just ask for deleting the giveaway.
For me, I never have a problem with a very very old key unless the developer/publisher makes it invalid(Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade).
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So in looking at my Humble account I have a bunch of keys that I've never redeemed. I logged in and checked the "show unclaimed keys" button and there's like two pages of them. so it looks like these were all games i'd already owned. I'd like to give them away but i'm concerned that some of the bundles are old... Do these keys expire? I'd hate to create a giveaway and find out that the key didn't work because of it's age.
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