BUYING KEYS: we need help

[AISTHESIS]

You can buy steam keys at discount prices. Some are criminal, some are legit.
Some legit retailers begin accepting non legit keys.
Steam doesn't seem to have a list of legit retailers.
Developers still sell batches of keys to retailers.
Every posted list of legit retailers ends as a multi post debate.
If there is a SURE WAY of knowing what's legit please tell.

I won't buy from Steam only, that's hundreds of dollars over the years.
I will not pay over $40 for a game.
I would like to honor Steam and Developers.
Steam can stop overpricing and give us a list of who they accept or maybe we just buy games at $5 and they can pull the ones they don't like. I don't want any part of illegal gaming, I have research for days, I would rather go back to discs than deal with these mini monopolies.

[The End]

Use this site https://isthereanydeal.com/ to find good deals, and you will not run into shady keysellersites.

[Dakota]

If legit retailers are buying illegitimate keys, then they're not a legitimate retailer

[AISTHESIS]

Dakota, yes. I heard of a site that was legit but went non legit. If we verify we may have to re verify a few months later. Rockon, I'm gonna check it out. Thanks both.

[AISTHESIS]

isthereanydealsite: there are big complaint reviews onthe site about it's stores. There is no indication of Steam acceptance. Some of the stores featured have complaints of games being pulled. Back to the same problems.

[General Zod]

Originally posted by PHANTOMHATE:

You can buy steam keys at discount prices. Some are criminal, some are legit.

Steam can stop overpricing and give us a list of who they accept or maybe we just buy games at $5 and they can pull the ones they don't like.

Steam does NOT set the prices, only the developers do. There are a few Steam authorized resellers that are legit, that I am aware of:

https://www.humblebundle.com
https://www.bundlestars.com
https://www.indiegala.com/

[Carolynne]

It is important that you understand, Steam is not fully responsible for the price tags of games that are being sold here. Their publishers are responsible for those.

Steam allow game key redemption as long the keys are legitimate, and legitimate keys can be found in certain physical copies of these games or from trusted websites that Steam themselves have confirmed to be acceptable.

Unfortunately since these websites can at any point turn illegitimate then Steam would not want to advertise any of them, let alone that it'd also damage the sales if they're just going to advise people to resort to other places for discounted games. It's your job to search for what you want.

One good thing to remember is that when a website is censored, such as mentioning it in a post and it turns into a string of hearts emoji instead then that is because the website has been confirmed to be fraudulent and therefore Steam do not wish to associate with that at all.
Such as ♥♥♥.com or ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com.

Having that said though, websites that are not censored are websites that are either unknown to Steam or have yet to confirm their illegitimacy. It does not mean that they are trustworthy. Such as Humblebundle.com.

[ KARR™]

Valve can block links to certain sites, but in the end it doesn't mean they ARE or AREN'T 'legal' sites. If one publisher decides to deal with a specific site and supply them with keys for a reduced price, then for that publisher they would be legitimate, but others probably not.

All Valve can do is block 'well known' sites that cause issues with keys etc. Mostly sites that either knowingly deal in stolen keys, or sites that deal with an 'ebay' like system, where users sell keys through the site.

At the end of the day, pay what you want and what you feel is right for what you are buying. From a financial standpoint, $40 for a game is NOTHING - the prices of games have gone down compared to the inflation rate for the past few decades - they should be a lot more expensive than they actually are.

But 'you takes your choice and you takes your risk' - people can try to persuade you away from certain places, but if you are determined to go there that is your risk. You would need to speak to each publisher individually to know which sites they deal with directly and which sites they don't provide keys to.

[AISTHESIS]

OK, good information, very good. Where can I find the information which sites Steam has verified? I guess try posting the name and look for the hearts? Is there a list somewhere or do the sites have Steam Verification marked on them? I have been told which sites are legit but that is hear-say. I need the info from Steam or publishers directly. For now I am going to stick with Steam, Origin, and the publishers themselves. I won't buy used, mostly because that takes away new sales. Doesn't seem right. Trading for games seems dead wrong as well. I was told if a site sells keys but does not have the game for download it is most likely piracy. I made a purchase from a site and downloaded the game from the site and ..... got no key! So the game worked but I deleted it from my system. I can't find true verification anywhere so like I stated, I'm sticking with direct from publishers or Steam, Origin, Etc. and avoiding all other sites, trades, and used. I still can't pay $60 for a game, I can only earn about $12,000 a year. My old disc games won't work on win10. Old titles I seek are only available in shady playes. Anyway. This is not about what's legal but what is moral and it makes me happy to see so many players searching for moral answers and giving advise to others.

[Darren]

So basically the difference between a legitimate site and an illegitimate one comes down to the source of their keys.

If the keys are directly from the publisher/developers they are always legitimate. If they won't tell you where the key comes from, or they admit that it comes from another user then they are NOT a legitimate key.

Greenmangaming.com is clear that they get their keys from the 500 odd developers/publishers/distributors that provide them their keys directly.

Bundlestars.com is owned and operated by Focus Multimedia a legitimate reseller of keys, and again has deals with developers and publishers.

GOG.com is owned by CD Project Red (a game developer) and has deals with many other publishers about their older games.

Humblestore.com again gets the keys directly from developers.

{LINK REMOVED}g2a.com gets the keys predominately from users selling to other users, this is NOT a legitimate reselling model.

And so on. Basically look at the sites. See where they get their keys from. If it's not the developer/publisher do not purchase from them. This is in no way difficult to work out.

isthereanydeal.com doesn't contain any illegitimate resellers that I've been able to find (I haven't checked all of them personally however and you should do your own research).

[AISTHESIS]

Excellent. I have checked the sites, I see where they list the source of their keys. The "look for the hearts here in posts" advice is proving accurate as well. You and the others here have cleared the fog for me to be a propper game shopper. Thank you for your time everyone.