why is sending games on steam so weird

[nilly!]

i recently gifted my friend a 30 or so dollar game on sale and it went through perfectly fine. however when i tried gifting them another game a while back i wasn't able to. i live in canada and my friend lives in the us. does anyone have a reason for why this happens? its been confusing me for the longest time now

[FFL2and3rocks]

If the game's price difference between countries is greater than 10%, you can't gift it.

[mimizukari]

gift games to friends in same country. no issue.

[nilly!]

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

If the game's price difference between countries is greater than 10%, you can't gift it.

i know this but why does it only let me send gifts to them sometimes but not all the time?

[FFL2and3rocks]

Because it depends on the game. Games are priced differently in each region.

[mimizukari]

Originally posted by nolan:

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

If the game's price difference between countries is greater than 10%, you can't gift it.

i know this but why does it only let me send gifts to them sometimes but not all the time?

price difference, best to just gift friends in your own country.

Or buy your friends the game on isthereanydeal.com and it should be region free unless you live in Russia, Turkey or Korea.

[nilly!]

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

Because it depends on the game. Games are priced differently in each region.

ooh, i thought the actual value of each dollar (value of cad to usd) was what mattered. thanks for clarification.

[Nemo, Forevermore]

They should at least give you the option to pay the regional price the recipient would be paying, adjusted for currency. The current system of completely restricting gifting is nonsense.

[FFL2and3rocks]

Originally posted by Veles, Keeper of the Underworld:

They should at least give you the option to pay the regional price the recipient would be paying, adjusted for currency.

That's a bait-and-switch, which is illegal in many countries. People would be grabbing their pitchforks because they saw a game advertised for one price, went to buy it as a gift, and suddenly the price went up. Not to mention other problems, like taxes for each region.

Instead you can buy a digital Steam wallet card so your friend can buy the game.

[Nemo, Forevermore]

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

Originally posted by Veles, Keeper of the Underworld:

They should at least give you the option to pay the regional price the recipient would be paying, adjusted for currency.

That's a bait-and-switch, which is illegal in many countries. People would be grabbing their pitchforks because they saw a game advertised for one price, went to buy it as a gift, and suddenly the price went up. Not to mention other problems, like taxes for each region.

Instead you can buy a digital Steam wallet card so your friend can buy the game.

Wouldn't be an issue with a proper warning.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Veles, Keeper of the Underworld:

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

That's a bait-and-switch, which is illegal in many countries. People would be grabbing their pitchforks because they saw a game advertised for one price, went to buy it as a gift, and suddenly the price went up. Not to mention other problems, like taxes for each region.

Instead you can buy a digital Steam wallet card so your friend can buy the game.

Wouldn't be an issue with a proper warning.

With laws in some countries, it would still be an issue.

[FFL2and3rocks]

If it was as easy as "let me pay more," I'm sure Valve would've already implemented it as soon as possible.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by nolan:

i recently gifted my friend a 30 or so dollar game on sale and it went through perfectly fine. however when i tried gifting them another game a while back i wasn't able to. i live in canada and my friend lives in the us. does anyone have a reason for why this happens? its been confusing me for the longest time now

An ideal alternative is a digital gift card https://store.steampowered.com/digitalgiftcards/ these will convert into the recipient's local currency.

[Count_Dandyman]

Originally posted by Veles, Keeper of the Underworld:

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

That's a bait-and-switch, which is illegal in many countries. People would be grabbing their pitchforks because they saw a game advertised for one price, went to buy it as a gift, and suddenly the price went up. Not to mention other problems, like taxes for each region.

Instead you can buy a digital Steam wallet card so your friend can buy the game.

Wouldn't be an issue with a proper warning.

Those same laws tend to include very strict clauses against "proper warnings" too so yes it would be an issue.

The only accepted caveat is missing a time limited sale period that is clearly displayed.

[Riyeko]

Gifting games between diffrent countries comes with some problems. If the price difference is too high e.g a local sale, you can not gift the game.