Humble Bundle Issues

[Little Mike]

Hello all,

Not really a Steam Support issue, necessarily, and that's why I'm posting here, but has anyone ever had any issues with Humble running out of Steam keys for games you've purchased?

I bought a game on the 25th and when I tried to redeem my Steam key for it, it said "Keys are temporarily exhausted for this product." I contacted Humble support and they *finally* got back to me 4 days later. Yes, I realize there is a holiday, but that shouldn't mean there is zero support for purchasing issues.

Support told me that they are waiting for the developers to issue them more keys yet they have the same game I purchased available in the Humble Store (no longer on sale, mind you.)

Obviously I'm ticked off, and that's the reason for the post, but what recourse do we as customers have for something like this? How is it that Humble can sell a game without actually having it? If I could buy the game directly from Steam, how is it that they can run out of keys and have to wait for the developer? I'm trying to understand how that works.

I guess for now, I will just have to try to be patient while they get more keys in, but I guess the question is, how does this even happen, and what do you think about them continuing to sell a game they can't actually deliver on right away?

Thanks all, and happy holidays.

[TheMuggles]

I've not had any problems with any bundles yet. What bundle did you buy? Also I could see why this happened, but its not the humble team's fault as much as it is the game developers really. Its just an issue of the humble bundle needing more game keys than they have, so they are waiting for the game developers to send them over. (Also you pretty much know all of this already, I was just saying :P )

[Cathulhu]

Such things can happen. Believe it or not, it happened quite a few times on Steam as well. Shops generally get a batch of keys, a certain amount. If they sell them faster than anticipated, they may go over the limit of available keys and run out. Then they have to request a new batch from the publisher.

[Little Mike]

@Dan - it wasn't a bundle, but it was a game that was on sale.

@Cathulhu - That makes sense, but then how can they still be selling the game, though no longer at the sale price?

[Conortroversial]

I wouldn't be bothered if they couldn't deliver the game straight away, if it's on sale (lower than anywhere else or the lowest price ever) then I would be glad that I saved some money. They only get a certain amount of keys before getting a new batch in.

[Little Mike]

@Conortroversial - It's on sale on Steam right now :P

I see what you're saying, but I disagree. I could have ordered it from Amazon and it would have been at my door already. My (personal) opinion on digital downloads is if I don't have instant delivery, then why am I bothering with the digital version at all?

[Conortroversial]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Little Mike:

@Conortroversial - It's on sale on Steam right now :P

I see what you're saying, but I disagree. I could have ordered it from Amazon and it would have been at my door already. My (personal) opinion on digital downloads is if I don't have instant delivery, then why am I bothering with the digital version at all?

Fair say,but it depends on price for me. If I buy a game from Humble at the lowest price ever £2.99, the usual price is £20.99 and Steams sale is £4.74 then I would not mind waiting a couple of days, as long as I get the best possible deal.

On the other hand, if it's a very small amount then yeah, I'd probably be annoyed.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Contact humble. They will fix it

[Little Mike]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Conortroversial:

Fair say,but it depends on price for me. If I buy a game from Humble at the lowest price ever £2.99, the usual price is £20.99 and Steams sale is £4.74 then I would not mind waiting a couple of days, as long as I get the best possible deal.

On the other hand, if it's a very small amount then yeah, I'd probably be annoyed.

It was very similar to that. Like 25% off versus 33% off. Still, it was a Christmas gift to myself. LOL

@Muppet among Puppets - I did. 4 days ago. They finally got back to me saying there are no more keys right now. Thank you, Captain Obvious, I realize that. That's exactly why I contacted you.

In either case, they said that they are waiting on more from the developer (that's what I was talking about in my OP) and that they will fill my request when they get them. No ETA and that ticked me off even more.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Little Mike:

@Muppet among Puppets - I did. 4 days ago. They finally got back to me saying there are no more keys right now. Thank you, Captain Obvious, I realize that. That's exactly why I contacted you.

Then dont write in steam help about humble bundle maybe.
If normal help reminds you on captain obvious.

[Little Mike]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Muppet among Puppets:

Then dont write in steam help about humble bundle maybe.
If normal help reminds you on captain obvious.

I think you misunderstood my response. The Captain Obvious comment was in reference to what their support told me - that there are no more keys right now. I already knew that. That is why I contacted them to begin with. For them to tell me that is useless.

As far as your comments go, did you read my original post? I had already mentioned that I contacted their support and they were of no help at all. I posted on here not looking for help, but looking for discussion. Have you ever encountered this issue? If so, what did you do? Do you feel it's right for Humble Bundle to still sell a product even though they are unable to fulfill the order right now? When I place an order for a digital product, I expect to be able to download it immediately after. If they can take my money right away, then I should be able to get what I paid for just as quickly, no?

[Muppet among Puppets]

I read the replies. So i missed that.
Found the support ok when i contacted them. So i recommended that.

Then tell them you want your money back.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Muppet among Puppets:

Contact humble. They will fix it

^This

There is always that chance keys run out. Even on Steam this has occurred numourous time for some of these really cheap deal when everyone is grabbing it right then and the keys simply dry up. They just have to wait for more keys, which will come.

Please be patient and deal with Humble Support. Steam can't help u here.

[Little Mike]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Muppet among Puppets:

I read the replies. So i missed that.
Found the support ok when i contacted them. So i recommended that.

Then tell them you want your money back.

No worries. Like I said, when I contacted them, they were useless. All they did was tell me they were out of keys and they would get back to me. I asked if they had any estimate on how long and I even said if it's a long time, I would rather have a refund and they have not responded. Unfortunately their refund policy is basically no refunds unless you have a good reason. We'll see what happens.

Początkowo opublikowane przez Bad-Motha:

Originally posted by Muppet among Puppets:
Contact humble. They will fix it

^This

There is always that chance keys run out. Even on Steam this has occurred numourous time for some of these really cheap deal when everyone is grabbing it right then and the keys simply dry up. They just have to wait for more keys, which will come.

Please be patient and deal with Humble Support. Steam can't help u here.

Again, I already have, as I stated in my original post. They have been less than helpful for me. I'm glad you had a better experience than I have, but so far, it's been unsatisfactory for me. This is not the first time I've had to contact them for support either. I had an issue one other time and they were not helpful then either. As far as running out of keys, though, I was unaware this happens with Steam too. I've only heard of it happening (a lot) through Humble. I did not realize it could happen here too. Maybe they need to change the way that keys are generated to avoid this problem. That's one for the suggestion box, at least.

As far as help goes, I know Steam can't assist with this. I just wanted to discuss and see if anyone else has experienced this and what they did. If I didn't know this could happen, then others may not know as well and could find this post informational. :)

[Kargor]

Yes, Humblebundle runs out of keys, occasionally. You don't generally have to do anything; they'll restock and you'll get your key "soon".

Although, doing so requires talking to the publisher, so if it happens during holidays/weekend it might not happen until after the holidays/weekend.

[Little Mike]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Kargor:

Yes, Humblebundle runs out of keys, occasionally. You don't generally have to do anything; they'll restock and you'll get your key "soon".

Although, doing so requires talking to the publisher, so if it happens during holidays/weekend it might not happen until after the holidays/weekend.

Any idea how that works, exactly? For this kind of situation specifically. Humble is still selling the game right now even though keys have been exhausted. Do they not pull it if it's "sold out" and just fill the orders as they get more keys in?