Would you recommend PayPal or Steam Wallet as the payment option?

[Mizufluffy]

I reserved Steam Deck last year and I'm currently in Q3 queue for a 256 GB model.

I normally do my Steam purchases through PayPal which is linked to my debit card. I've made sure that all kinds of limitations should be fine when the time comes but after reading these discussions here for a while I'm still getting a little bit anxious if everything will be okay.
I haven't received a mail yet and my reservation is still active so everything is fine so far.

What I'd like to hear is what kind of experiences those who already purchased their Steam Deck have had with their payment and especially if you used PayPal. Did it go just like a normal purchase on Steam or was there any issues on Steam's, on PayPal's or on your bank's side?

Should I consider using Steam Wallet instead? I could start adding funds there little by little to minimize the risk of PayPal somehow not working later.
There are two main concerns I have about this: 1) What if I add the funds but then miss the mail or the deadline, 2) any Steam purchase such as when buying games is probably going first from the Steam Wallet. Or is there a way to use PayPal even if Steam Wallet has money? It would defeat the purpose if I add the funds to Steam Wallet for the Deck but can't buy games on Steam without having to add more funds.

I'd like to hear which one of these two options, Steam Wallet or PayPal, you would recommend and why.

In the end I just want my purchase go as smoothly as possible and also prepare for the worst.

[bean]

1- I too have seen all the paypal threads. It seems to me that the kinds of accounts/locations are more of a factor than the paypal aspect, but it still happens through paypal. ymmv

2- Steam wallet works well, you CAN still use other payment options while you wait and on the day of purchase it goes through real quick.

3- I don't know if it is available in your area but there are also steam gift cards and digital gift cards you can use so you can wait.

4- Don't miss your deadline. Just don't.

[PopinFRESH]

As Bean noted you can still use a different payment method even if you have funds in your Steam wallet. It will automatically default to use the Steam wallet first though, but when you are going through the checkout there is a change payment method section that you can choose to split the payment or just use a different method like PayPal.

In regards to what happens to the funds if you don't purchase the Steam Deck, they will forever be in your Steam wallet until you buy something on Steam with those funds.

And, while I'd agree with Bean "Just don't miss your notification / deadline"... if you do happen to miss it contact Steam support asap and they may be able to re-activate your purchase link so you can complete the purchase. It's much easier though to just not miss the deadline :)

If you have a smartphone, I'd recommend getting the Steam mobile app if you don't already have it (and while you're at it setup Steam Guard on it!!). When you're able to complete your order they will send a push notification to you via the Steam mobile app. They also add a big button at the top of your Steam client so if you are fairly regularly on Steam its pretty noticeable when you can complete your order.

[ReBoot]

PayPal. Prepaid payments suck for the usual reasons for why prepaid payment suck.

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by Mizufluffy:

What I'd like to hear is what kind of experiences those who already purchased their Steam Deck have had with their payment and especially if you used PayPal.

I used PayPal. It was fine. I did have to specifically reauthorise Steam to take money from PayPal for that transaction.

Or is there a way to use PayPal even if Steam Wallet has money?

When you buy something, if it says that it's going to use your Wallet, press the back button and pick PayPal instead. I always have a bit of money in my Wallet from selling off cards, but I use PayPal to make purchases.

[Kietan]

I used wallet funds and Paypal (200/300 split). It went straight through. No bank app approval etc. I recommend Paypal and the reason is the refund situation. Wallet funds can only be returned to your method of payment within 14 days.

[Mizufluffy]

Okay. Thank you everyone for responses. I really appreciate it.

I think I'll try PayPal but if there are some issues with it when the time comes then I'll see if I can first add funds to Steam Wallet and take it from there instead.

Thanks to also for those who pointed out that PayPal can be used even when there is money in the Wallet. I've sometimes used the Wallet but very rarely so I haven't paid much attention to payment options. Good to know that there's an option to skip the Wallet if needed.

[Mizufluffy]

I just wanted to add that I just got an email and a notification in Steam client about my Steam Deck. As long as you remember to keep the Steam client open then it should be impossible to miss it.

For those who haven't got the notification: There is new button on Steam client at the top on bright yellow background with white "You have an account alert". Clicking it opens a window about how to proceed with your Steam Deck purchase including a "Complete your purchase..." button.

Additionally you cannot close the window without ticking a box that says "I have read this message (Required to close the window permanently)". So you clearly must acknowledge you've read the message before you can close the alert window.

The alert window also has "Available for purchase" text that changes to "Purchased" text after your payment.

Anyway, I'm glad I didn't miss my deadline as it was one of my fears. Now I just hope the delivery goes well.
On my bank's app the payment shows under preauthorisations category which slightly worries me because the way how I understand it, it's in a pending state.

I'm going to be carefully hopeful for the next few days just to see if the payment will properly go through or if it is returned to me.

Assuming that everything goes alright then I might (hopefully) soon hold a Steam Deck in my very own hands, and that makes me excited!

Thank you everyone again who answered my questions and worries here earlier.

Edit: "Shipping Status: Shipping Soon" in shipping details. Nice! Earlier it was in "Processing" state so I see this is a good progress.

[bean]

let us know how it goes

[NuLife]

why dont u just use ur debit card to buy it when the time comes?

[Mizufluffy]

Originally posted by bean:

let us know how it goes :gordon:

Sure!
The status is now "shipped" with a tracking number so everything is going well so far. Now all I can really do is to wait and hope that the package finds its way here.

[Mizufluffy]

Originally posted by Mizufluffy:

The status is now "shipped" with a tracking number so everything is going well so far. Now all I can really do is to wait and hope that the package finds its way here.

I just wanted to give a status update that I successfully received my Steam Deck earlier today about an hour ago. I'm currently in process of downloading some games so I can try it out.

Thank you Valve for this product.

[bean]

Originally posted by Mizufluffy:

Originally posted by Mizufluffy:

The status is now "shipped" with a tracking number so everything is going well so far. Now all I can really do is to wait and hope that the package finds its way here.

I just wanted to give a status update that I successfully received my Steam Deck earlier today about an hour ago. I'm currently in process of downloading some games so I can try it out.

Thank you Valve for this product.

nice, congratulations.
Steam decks are the bee's knees, imo