Buying Steam Activation codes - Safe/Legit?

The Halk

The Halk

The Halk

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It seems I can buy games considerably cheaper if I just buy the steam activation code.

I've used steam activation codes before - OcUK had an offer on a graphics card, and I bought Skyrim that way.

Is there any risk buying them this way? I think it'd be ok to link but I'll not take the risk..

I fancy playing the Witcher 2 since they're going to enhance it and add controller support. I can get it on Steam for £26 or buy the code for £15.

Is it worth doing it this way?
 
It is absolutely fine, just be sure that the game you are getting the key for is not region locked.

Some will tell you different, but they have no proof to back it up.

I have done it with numerous games and lots of users here have done the same. Haven't read anywhere of anyone getting banned for it. A key is a key :)

Mysteam.net and g2play are both excellent places for keys. The bay can be petty good too.
 
I agree with Captain.

Many will say "ooh, your account will be banned".

The reality is, worst case scenario is that the game is removed from your account.

Just verify that who you are purchasing the keys from is reputable.

The majority of the time, the keys are from the "grey market". While most publishers do not give a monkeys, Activision games do sometimes have a habit of being removed from your games list if the keys have been acquired on the grey market. Again, not always, just sometimes.
 
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Well, mine came from Russia it seems, via Thailand, from a retail box. I presume they price games lower in Russia because people don't have the same income.

Cost me £11.49 and I paid through Paypal. It activated on Steam and that's where I saw the (RU) at the end. Their Mass Effect 3 did warn that it was in Russian and they had a work around. I'll need to wait until it finishes downloading to find out what language it's in.
 
I'd say it depends on where you are buying from.

If you buy from certain stores (like GreenManGaming), you often just get a steam activation code, and they are legit.

There are some sites that are known to have sold steam activation codes in the past, that then have turned out to be dodgy, and the game has been removed from the buyer's account (with no refund).

Perosnally, I'd only buy from a store that I know is reliable, or from somewhere with a reputation system where the seller has a near 100% rep.
 
I've heard far too many dodgy stories about sites like g2play, both about the site themselves and keys simply been removed from your account. I know someone who uses it and hasn't had any problems but I don't have the income to throw away if they suddenly remove a key.
 
For the price difference I think it's worth the risk. The chances are I'll play through it within a couple of weeks and then disregard it for a year or two, so if they do remove it they'll likely do it when I'm not playing it, and I could pick it up again later for a bargain bucket price.

I've just tested it there and it works fine, it's all in English, voice etc too. Not bad for a fair chunk less than half price.... I just need to wait until the enhanced edition comes out in a few days and I'm ready to go! :)
 
It all depends where you buy them from.

Personally I wouldn't touch G2play as they aren't legit, they've been known to sell stolen keys. People buying these keys have occasionally had their account disabled in some cases. Most recently this happened with MW2 I believe.

The keys came from somewhere random like Malaysia, Activision didn't like people getting the game for half price. They claimed it was breaking their ToS.

All you have to do is Google g2play, I'm sure there are enough Horror stories and bad feedback to put anyone off from using them.

I personally would never risk my Stream account (200+) games, just to save a few £.
 
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To all the people that have commented about stolen keys, disabled accounts, removed games - can someone post a link to a report where this has happened to someone.

I would really like to read it because I buy these keys and I have never actually read of it happening to anyone, just people claiming to have "known someone" who it happened to.

The only source I remember reading was when the Dirt 3 promotion keys were stolen, but that is slightly different.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
To all the people that have commented about stolen keys, disabled accounts, removed games - can someone post a link to a report where this has happened to someone.

I would really like to read it because I buy these keys and I have never actually read of it happening to anyone, just people claiming to have "known someone" who it happened to.

The only source I remember reading was when the Dirt 3 promotion keys were stolen, but that is slightly different.
Click to expand...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18080861
 
I bought a MW3 key from Ebay earlier in the year,seller had 100% feedback and had sold around 20-30 MW3 keys and had all positive feedback.

About 3 weeks later i had my steam account suspended as the seller had obviously committed some kind of CC fraud with Paypal/ Steam when buying the MW3 keys.

MW3 was deleted from my account, i got my money back from PP though

Other people left negative feedback the same as me about this on his Ebay page, Steam reactivated my account after 2 days, but warned me about buying steam keys from other places and said next time my account will be permanently banned.

As i have tons of games, i will not risk buying cheap steam keys again, though if buying from a legit store online all will prob be fine, Ebay itself was a big mistake on my behalf
 
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Hmm, I've just skimmed through that great big long thread. It's price fixing, illegal and will eventually be a thing of the past. I did write to my MP a few years ago about geographic price fixing on eBook retail, which I believed to be illegal and hopefully that will be a thing of the past eventually.

In the mean time though there's little or nothing end users can do, as it'd be daft to take someone to court for £11.49
 
I've used GreenManGaming with no issues and used CJS CD Keys but had quite a few problems with games disappearing from Steam (although others have been fine and were a good price).
 
ricky1981 said:
I've used GreenManGaming with no issues and used CJS CD Keys but had quite a few problems with games disappearing from Steam (although others have been fine and were a good price).
Click to expand...

greenmangaming are a legit source of games and nothing like some sites who sell foreign keys etc.
just wanted to point that out incase anyone saw it and though 'oh no!' :cool:
 
Semiskimmed said:
greenmangaming are a legit source of games and nothing like some sites who sell foreign keys etc.
just wanted to point that out incase anyone saw it and though 'oh no!' :cool:
Click to expand...

+1, I had the same thought.

Someone said earlier that the price difference makes it worth buying from key sellers. I don't think that's sensible. Steam games are frequently available for sale, and the price will be lower than the key sellers. Plus, if the game is removed from your account, you are out the full price you paid. The risk isn't worth it.
 
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