A New Way to Restrict Regional Gifting

[Sai Kyouji]

This concerns the regional restriction on gifting a steam purchase to a friend.

With all due respect, the current regional ban on gifting is something only an a-hole would have thought of. Here are a few reasons:

1. It is a one way restriction that allow regions of higher prices (USA, E.U, e.g) to gift regions of lower prices (SEA, e.g). Steam shamelessly absorb the difference between the game's price in USA & EU compared to SEA but does not let the money flow back.

2. It bans returning the gift for the region with lower price AT ALL. Even when someone in SEA would like regift the EU and USA friend despite the price hike, they are not allowed to do so. They cant even create a USA n EU account to purchase in EU and USA price anymore.

3. This is a very short-sighted and dumb way to conduct business. Even when exploited, allowing gifts to flow freely create SALE. The price difference between region is in theory only, until someone actually make the purchase. This ban turns the profit to zero.
(You are very naive if you think banning it will actually make the people of interest buy the game the full-price way. They would have done so already if they could or even wanted the game. This is a game market, not a luxury store and steam gifting has always been about throwing games that the receiver doesnt care enough to buy..)

4. Again, it is dumb. This ban pushes business into other game distribution platform (like GOG) or even snuff the gifting idea altogether (another type of gift, piracy, etc).

5. This ruined Christmas for me and my overseas friends.


Suggestion:

At the very least, make the gift sender pay the price of the receiver.
Wanna send a gift to USA from SEA? Fine, pay USA price.
Wanna send a gift to SEA from USA? Enjoy the discount they get in SEA.

[Brujeira]

Interesting that you call the entire process ‘dumb’ yet you haven’t done any research on the subject before posting that wall of text. Let us repeat the standard response:

Anything resembling a bait and switch tactic is illegal in various countries and therefore this won’t happen.

Any clearer?

[Sai Kyouji]

Originally posted by Brujeira:

Interesting that you call the entire process ‘dumb’ yet you haven’t done any research on the subject before posting that wall of text. Let us repeat the standard response:

Anything resembling a bait and switch tactic is illegal in various countries and therefore this won’t happen.

Any clearer?

Funny you only respond to the at-the-very-least suggestion at the end instead of any other part, like the one-way restriction.

Is unproductive nitpicking your job or just you get off on?

If you cant come up with a better suggestion yourself, why dont you just shut up?

[Joke]

@Brujeira

There are solutions to that:

Solution one:
Add a section to the the Steam SSA, telling people that prices on the store are valid for games bought for yourself. Games bought as gifts might be different.

Solution two:
They could display two "buy" buttons on the store page.

1. "Buy" - with the price for your own region.
2. "Buy as a gift" - together with a dropdown where you choose which friend you want to gift the game to. The price changes to the price for the recipients region.

Use your brains instead of just parroting what some vocal nay sayers repeat on the forums.

[Cathulhu]

Originally posted by Joke:

@Brujeira

There are solutions to that:

Solution one:
Add a section to the the Steam SSA, telling people that prices on the store are valid for games bought for yourself. Games bought as gifts might be different.

Steam SSA does not overrule laws. It would still be an illegal bait and switch. Valve/Steam literally can't charge more than advertised.

[Start_Running]

If you really want to give your friend a gift, send them a gift card,.

[Joke]

Steam SSA does not overrule laws. It would still be an illegal bait and switch. Valve/Steam literally can't charge more than advertised.

Are you saying the SSA doesn't apply? Interesting...

However in combination with solution two as outlined above, your argument doesn't apply does it?

[Sai Kyouji]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

If you really want to give your friend a gift, send them a gift card,.

This contributes to the dumb part instead of the a-hole part that I mentioned. It drives customers away!!! Maybe if Steam also sells gift cards or let me send money then it would be different.

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Originally posted by Joke:

@Brujeira

There are solutions to that:

Solution one:
Add a section to the the Steam SSA, telling people that prices on the store are valid for games bought for yourself. Games bought as gifts might be different.

Steam SSA does not overrule laws. It would still be an illegal bait and switch. Valve/Steam literally can't charge more than advertised.

Great another person that reply to part of another person's part.
What Joke said in his 2nd post.

[Cathulhu]

Still doesn't change the fact that it would show different prices THAN ADVERTISED.
THAT IS THE ILLEGAL PART!
Don't you get that simple concept?

It's illegal to show one price on the store window, then a different one in the aisle of the store.
Find a solution that fixes that. Which would be hard as Steam can't know which region you want to gift to before you attempt it.

[Joke]

That's why the SSA is expanded to explain that prices might be different for gifting. You will have to accept them to buy stuff on Steam, so there is no problem.

If you know that prices are for your own use, laws does not prevent alternative pricing for special cases.

[Cathulhu]

Again, that won't fix the legal issues. It would still be an illegal bait and switch.
SSA does not overrule law.

[Joke]

No it would not be "bait and switch", and no laws would be broken.

[Sai Kyouji]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Still doesn't change the fact that it would show different prices THAN ADVERTISED.
THAT IS THE ILLEGAL PART!
Don't you get that simple concept?

You keep saying that term. I dont think it means what you think it means.
Why dont you quote the exact article and words?

Because afiak, Bait and Switch does not applies in 3 cases:
- the consumer is shown 1 item but gets talked into buying another
- the consumer is notified on he advertisement that the product is unavailable for x reasons (this applies here)
- the consumer is actually able to buy the product at advertised price (this applies here. I am perfectly able to buy it at advertised price, I just want to also buy it at another price for international transfer)

[Radene]

Originally posted by Joke:

Steam SSA does not overrule laws. It would still be an illegal bait and switch. Valve/Steam literally can't charge more than advertised.

Are you saying the SSA doesn't apply? Interesting...

If found to be illegal, it sure does not. Of course, for that, someone would need to sue first, and it's not like anyone ever sued Valve...oh, wait.

Thing is, Valve pays people to look into this kind of thing. And they're the ones who will say "Yes Gabe, this will hold up in court" or "No, Gabe, this is not going to be legally feasible".

And they are the people who actually read the laws on pricing, taxation, and digital good transfers. Not you or me with our "gut feeling" and "yeah yeah it's gonna be just fiiiiine".

[Brujeira]

Originally posted by Sai Kyouji:

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Still doesn't change the fact that it would show different prices THAN ADVERTISED.
THAT IS THE ILLEGAL PART!
Don't you get that simple concept?

You keep saying that term. I dont think it means what you think it means.
Why dont you quote the exact article and words?

Because afiak, Bait and Switch does not applies in 3 cases:
- the consumer is shown 1 item but gets talked into buying another
- the consumer is notified on he advertisement that the product is unavailable for x reasons (this applies here)
- the consumer is actually able to buy the product at advertised price (this applies here. I am perfectly able to buy it at advertised price, I just want to also buy it at another price for international transfer)

Quote the exact wording... of each country’s law that tells vendors that they can’t do this.

.........

I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you do a Google and find the myriad threads where we’ve tried explaining this to people already. Yes, it’s a mess. No, it’s not turning customers away. Why not?

1. Most of us limit our gifting to family and close friends. You know, people who tend to live in the same country as us.
2. For exceptions to rule 1, we work around the restrictions by sending a gift card for the exact amount as per Start_Running’s suggestion.

Yes, it’s messy but that’s what happens when the law gets involved. Want a one size fits all solution? Only way around the laws is to get rid of regional pricing and no-one wants that.

[Joke]

Originally posted by Radene:

If found to be illegal, it sure does not. Of course, for that, someone would need to sue first, and it's not like anyone ever sued Valve...oh, wait.

Thing is, Valve pays people to look into this kind of thing. And they're the ones who will say "Yes Gabe, this will hold up in court" or "No, Gabe, this is not going to be legally feasible".

And they are the people who actually read the laws on pricing, taxation, and digital good transfers. Not you or me with our "gut feeling" and "yeah yeah it's gonna be just fiiiiine".

I agree with you 100% on everything you wrote.

Us users should not shoot down suggestions on the basis of technical or legal issues that we have little understanding of.
A suggestion should be supported if we think it would make steam better, or not supported if we think it would make steam worse. It's as simple as that.

Leave the technical and legal issues to the people working at Valve.