I can't purchase a game bundle for a gift because I already own it

[HAnilsen]

I want to buy my friend a bundle with a game plus a few DLC's. But because I already have the game and all DLC's in the bundle, the "Add to cart" button is greyed out. I can add the game (that I already own) and the DLC's (that I also own) to the cart individually, that would work, but then I wouldn't get the lower price that the bundle offers. I hope Steam would change it so I can buy bundles as gifts.

[Cathulhu]

Personalized bundles can not be gifted at all. No matter how much you own or not.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Send one of these, using external funds only...

https://store.steampowered.com/digitalgiftcards/selectgiftcard

[MoonC A T]

Tailored game bundles cannot and will not ever be giftable. Steam does not "make" bundles, the game developer does, ergo, Steam has no control over them.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by MoonC A T:

Tailored game bundles cannot and will not ever be giftable. Steam does not "make" bundles, the game developer does, ergo, Steam has no control over them.

Well, Steam could make them giftable, no problems. It would require some major changes to the shop logic/flow, though.

[MoonC A T]

Originally posted by Kargor:

Originally posted by MoonC A T:

Tailored game bundles cannot and will not ever be giftable. Steam does not "make" bundles, the game developer does, ergo, Steam has no control over them.

Well, Steam could make them giftable, no problems. It would require some major changes to the shop logic/flow, though.

Yeah, I'm sure there would have to be some major backend changes with Steamworks as far as the APP IDs and making sure they matched or whatever.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by MoonC A T:

Originally posted by Kargor:

Well, Steam could make them giftable, no problems. It would require some major changes to the shop logic/flow, though.

Yeah, I'm sure there would have to be some major backend changes with Steamworks as far as the APP IDs and making sure they matched or whatever.

Actually, App-IDs are all there, nothing new.

The thing is -- tailored bundles change their price, depending on who gets them. Currently, you put stuff into the cart, THEN go to checkout, and only then does the shop know who gets the thing. But that's a late step in the process, no need to track it over your shopping session.

With gifting tailored bundles, you'd have to select the recipient first, or at the latest when you put a tailored bundle into the cart. Afterwards, that selection (which should also be changeable) needs to stick around for your shopping session until you complete the purchase or reset it.
The alternative, having an item in the cart that says something like "between $0 and $159.99", is probably not acceptable for most users.

I'm not saying that's complicated -- I don't know anything about Steam's shop software. However, Steam has always been lazy, and it does take some programming and testing effort.

There may also be privacy concerns, because it does reveal some knowledge about the intended recipients game library. However, I think the current gifting does that too -- it should tell you whether the recipient has a game or not, before you actually complete the purchase?