A big warning for all humble bundle gift link traders on barter!

[F4/80]

I came here to warn all honest users on barter to NOT trade humble bundle gift links to other users!

My HB account was permanently deactivated because of this, i guess.
No further explanation was given from HB but a default phrase of violation of rules.

So, what i suspect is either some bad guy reseller sold my to him traded link on grey site and the user who bought it there reported this link or it was a revenge from a user on barter for something what was not fitting in his eyes.

My unredeemed games are lost, my subscription is lost, btw some months ago HB didn't allow for classic subscribers to sub month by month plan.
And the most worse i can't buy anymore new bundles!

So, whoever sold my traded link/s, shame on you!

Do NOT trade gift links to anyone, do NOT trust resellers if they tell you that they need HB links for whatever reasons, if you really need to trade with them then only keys.


P.S.: Maybe someone has experience, but is it possible to make another HB account with same Payment account method?

[Yirg]

@F4/80 - is HB even open to discussing account purchase unlocking? Do you know what arguments (if any) have proved successful?

@klikzg - I'm not in the EU and having more than one PayPal account is against their terms of service. I'll check the option of a prepaid CC though.

[F4/80]

@Yirg: The only argument is maybe that other accounts were unlocked again, if there are such cases on reddit.
In my case i didn't try yet and honestly said i don't really want to come back again, cause they stolen my money for a year sub of choice games, no refund was done and revoked my games, too.
What they only achieved is that i moved to other stores.
What they achieved on other users? People who are smart will never again trade with gift links but only keys. Resellers, who caused all the crap, changed to ask for keys (most of them) and still resell the games.
The problem is not that people are trading with their bought games or leftovers but that resellers are trading with games which they didn't buy but got free. Of course one could argue that people value their games too high as for example Overcooked 2 is nothing special in my eyes, but it's really asked currently and people want only to trade it if they get an unbundled game, which a normal user would normally not trade, cause it's bought for much money. So it's a devil's spiral and of course unbundled games will in most cases win.

[Project Mayhem]

You know when this whole Humble Bundle anti gifting crusade started I was curious so I read their TOS. Nowhere in the TOS did it say trading was forbidden. The only official information from Humble that I was able to find was on their FAQ page which stated that they forbid you from trading the keys you purchase from bundles with others. The problem is that the FAQ is not legally binding while the TOS is, so technically it is OK to trade your Humble keys but good luck making that case in court.

I read the TOS way back months ago when this fiasco started but have not been keeping track of this controversy since then.

[[916] Spartan]

Basically, There is no safe way to trade?

[bluefoxxx]

Can I sell, trade, or use my keys for promotional purposes (i.e. Stream/Social Media giveaways)?

Keys obtained from Humble Bundle are meant for personal use only. We consider giving away keys promotionally different than other uses for keys.

If you've received keys through our Partner program, you are more than welcome to giveaway those keys. However, please keep in mind that you can only do so when there is no cost or barrier to entry in order to receive the key. Raffles, for instance, can use Humble keys as a reward, as long as you do not require some form of payment as an entry requirement.

Selling or trading keys is strictly prohibited.

[Grahf]

I haven't traded much lately. What's the status of these bans nowadays and does it even help to avoid gift links?

[🍒 Lilly (🌸◠‿◠)]

Grahf님이 먼저 게시:

I haven't traded much lately. What's the status of these bans nowadays and does it even help to avoid gift links?

With an increase of new accounts specifically created to take advantage of those juicy Humble Choice offers (like $6 / month coupons for new subscribers), I'd say that the bans are even in a greater amount than ever - but that's just my opinion.

On SteamGifts, I constantly see comments from people that are unable to purchase a regular Humble Bundle; and my subjective opinion (after reading pretty much all the comments on my threads for the past 4 years or so) is that these reports have considerably increased in the past year. A lot of people complain that they are required to do a phone verification or that their cards / names are not accepted any more. These are the first steps that Humble Bundle takes towards a full account lock.

Gift links have the advantage that you can see if it was already claimed or not, but the big downside is that they can create a connection between your account the other person's. If that person manages multiple accounts and they get banned because of that, there's the possibility that your account will also be affected negatively due to this linking.
I don't think one or two keys matter, but if you trade constantly with the same person then I guess it does.

[Grahf]

Thanks. Do you think it makes sense to pre-emptively reveal and save all keys in case Humble shuts an account down?

[🍒 Lilly (🌸◠‿◠)]

Grahf님이 먼저 게시:

Thanks. Do you think it makes sense to pre-emptively reveal and save all keys in case Humble shuts an account down?

Sure.
Lately they keep running out of keys for almost every bundle, so revealing a key ASAP is of uttermost importance these days.

[klikzg]

Has anybody got some good tool to pull out ALL THE KEYS? 🤷‍♂️

[shade00]

🍒 Lilly (🌸◠‿◠)님이 먼저 게시:

Grahf님이 먼저 게시:

I haven't traded much lately. What's the status of these bans nowadays and does it even help to avoid gift links?

With an increase of new accounts specifically created to take advantage of those juicy Humble Choice offers (like $6 / month coupons for new subscribers), I'd say that the bans are even in a greater amount than ever - but that's just my opinion.

On SteamGifts, I constantly see comments from people that are unable to purchase a regular Humble Bundle; and my subjective opinion (after reading pretty much all the comments on my threads for the past 4 years or so) is that these reports have considerably increased in the past year. A lot of people complain that they are required to do a phone verification or that their cards / names are not accepted any more. These are the first steps that Humble Bundle takes towards a full account lock.

Gift links have the advantage that you can see if it was already claimed or not, but the big downside is that they can create a connection between your account the other person's. If that person manages multiple accounts and they get banned because of that, there's the possibility that your account will also be affected negatively due to this linking.
I don't think one or two keys matter, but if you trade constantly with the same person then I guess it does.

that does tend to be one of the problems the bigger traders sending gift links often
and each gift link usually being to another person creates a problem
as the more they trade the more it looks fishy to humble is what ive always thought.
since 100+ people gifting too, the gift system was mainly meant for friends not as a trading mechanic.
its always safer to just send a direct key then check that they used it after, and making sure before they didnt own it, incase they try to say it was a dupe.

Grahf님이 먼저 게시:

Thanks. Do you think it makes sense to pre-emptively reveal and save all keys in case Humble shuts an account down?

best idea is usually to make a notepad file with all of your keys and then another with the list of what spares you have, or you can use pastebin which is great for listing your spares names only, it has a hidden/private feature too if youd wanna back them up.
some use google documents to record theres.
its usually on safe side to back them up as some bundle sites mention 30 day warranty if i recall past that ur chances of getting a new key are low


as was mentioned another good reason is because keys go out of stock at times
or well some dev/publishers revoke keys not very often but it happens the unused ones
or the still covered ones being sent back? think heard of before
so many possibilities

[Moomantik]

Thanks for sharing this

[Yirg]

Is this issue still relevant in 2024? Any way to use old gift links without risking getting my HB account disabled for purchasing again?

[shade00]

Yirg님이 먼저 게시:

Is this issue still relevant in 2024? Any way to use old gift links without risking getting my HB account disabled for purchasing again?

if its part of there updated rules system or whatever, doubt theyd remove it
this why its always best to backup keys and use keys instead of links
multiple links could be easily seen as a reseller if multiple people

[Yirg]

shade00님이 먼저 게시:

if its part of there updated rules system or whatever, doubt theyd remove it
this why its always best to backup keys and use keys instead of links
multiple links could be easily seen as a reseller if multiple people

So what's the best way to get the keys from the gift links without risk of triggering their system? Gift all to my own email address?