Ah key resellers, a topic that always generates a lot of heat. A lot of it usually directed at me for 'telling you what to do', but this might help clear some things up.
A little background: I really do not like key resellers like G2A. I, amongst many other members of the 'press' think they are a shady outfit that profits from fraud. I refuse to even link to them when talking about them, as they are so shoddy. Their systems essentially allow people to sell any old key they can find.
While you can argue (and I'm sure you will, it's always argued by pro-G2A people) that they are legitimate as they allow people to sell their spare keys, a lot of keys will be 100% fraudulent. I still stand by my firm belief that they would be nowhere near as popular or as full of keys if it was truly legitimate, because that many spare keys just don't exist in my opinion. The way it works is usually thus: keys are purchased with stolen credit cards that end up doing chargebacks, which affects any store out there as they then lose their money, the keys sold and then have their own charges to deal with from payment processors and a lot of lost time. This has forced stores to close, removed financial support from developers who needed it and it just goes on and on.
It's another reason why sometimes it's damn hard for us here to get a review key from a developer, as developers have had to become more and more careful about who they give a key to. I've heard too many stores about keys being given out that just end up on G2A being sold, it makes it harder for us all.
John Bain or 'TotalBiscuit' as he is known, a fellow brit, spoke to Gearbox recently as Gearbox planned a partnership with G2A on a AAA revamp of an older title. You can read what he had to say here (it's legitimate, video here if you don't want to read his statement), including details on what Gearbox have said G2A need to do, or Gearbox will not partner with them. John actually spoke with Gearbox at length which allowed Gearbox to come to a decision about what to do due to a massive backlash from gamers.
If you really don't think G2A are shady, read that link, seriously.
For those too lazy to read it, essentially Gearbox has told G2A they need to give fraud protection to all customers for free (the fact that they didn't before is more evidence against them, doesn't make them sound confidence in what people are selling), G2A is to open an API for developers to search for fraudulent keys and have them removed (how do they still not have such a thing, makes you wonder doesn't it?), implement some real fraud check flagging for new sellers and developers to prevent mass fraud being sold (again, how do they still not have something so basic implemented), make their fees simple and clear.
All extremely reasonable demands and to be honest, things all stores should damn well have from day one of opening.
G2A's reputation is so poor, they even resorted to commenting on my last article about them, where they suggest that you buy their fraud protection. Again, does that fill you with confidence? Sure doesn't make me think about buying from them.
I also fully expect G2A to back out of it somehow and prove once and for all they are the shady business I believe them to be. If they do clean up their act, I will be shocked to my core.
We have so many stores that constantly run sales like GOG, Steam, Humble, itch.io and FireFlower Games that are legitimate, there's little need to resort to key resellers. If price is really your issue, then wait for a sale. Practicially every game ever made goes on sale and the seasonal sales especially make things easy on the wallet. It's not like we're short of them, seriously, if that's your argument for using a grey market reseller then you need to re-think. If it's a case of a store not taking your currency, well that's a fair point, hopefully there is a more legitimate store out there that will. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
A little background: I really do not like key resellers like G2A. I, amongst many other members of the 'press' think they are a shady outfit that profits from fraud. I refuse to even link to them when talking about them, as they are so shoddy. Their systems essentially allow people to sell any old key they can find.
While you can argue (and I'm sure you will, it's always argued by pro-G2A people) that they are legitimate as they allow people to sell their spare keys, a lot of keys will be 100% fraudulent. I still stand by my firm belief that they would be nowhere near as popular or as full of keys if it was truly legitimate, because that many spare keys just don't exist in my opinion. The way it works is usually thus: keys are purchased with stolen credit cards that end up doing chargebacks, which affects any store out there as they then lose their money, the keys sold and then have their own charges to deal with from payment processors and a lot of lost time. This has forced stores to close, removed financial support from developers who needed it and it just goes on and on.
It's another reason why sometimes it's damn hard for us here to get a review key from a developer, as developers have had to become more and more careful about who they give a key to. I've heard too many stores about keys being given out that just end up on G2A being sold, it makes it harder for us all.
John Bain or 'TotalBiscuit' as he is known, a fellow brit, spoke to Gearbox recently as Gearbox planned a partnership with G2A on a AAA revamp of an older title. You can read what he had to say here (it's legitimate, video here if you don't want to read his statement), including details on what Gearbox have said G2A need to do, or Gearbox will not partner with them. John actually spoke with Gearbox at length which allowed Gearbox to come to a decision about what to do due to a massive backlash from gamers.
If you really don't think G2A are shady, read that link, seriously.
For those too lazy to read it, essentially Gearbox has told G2A they need to give fraud protection to all customers for free (the fact that they didn't before is more evidence against them, doesn't make them sound confidence in what people are selling), G2A is to open an API for developers to search for fraudulent keys and have them removed (how do they still not have such a thing, makes you wonder doesn't it?), implement some real fraud check flagging for new sellers and developers to prevent mass fraud being sold (again, how do they still not have something so basic implemented), make their fees simple and clear.
All extremely reasonable demands and to be honest, things all stores should damn well have from day one of opening.
G2A's reputation is so poor, they even resorted to commenting on my last article about them, where they suggest that you buy their fraud protection. Again, does that fill you with confidence? Sure doesn't make me think about buying from them.
I also fully expect G2A to back out of it somehow and prove once and for all they are the shady business I believe them to be. If they do clean up their act, I will be shocked to my core.
We have so many stores that constantly run sales like GOG, Steam, Humble, itch.io and FireFlower Games that are legitimate, there's little need to resort to key resellers. If price is really your issue, then wait for a sale. Practicially every game ever made goes on sale and the seasonal sales especially make things easy on the wallet. It's not like we're short of them, seriously, if that's your argument for using a grey market reseller then you need to re-think. If it's a case of a store not taking your currency, well that's a fair point, hopefully there is a more legitimate store out there that will. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: cprnIt's our laziness and ignorance that made those frauds possible.
I'm just not owning a credit card, I'm paying cash or via bank transfer. (Had to make an exception for Feral, using my wife's card.) I wonder if this would be possible in other countries, though. Germany seems to be more cash-friendly than others.
0 Likes
If there is something worse than Steam™, than it is Steam-Key-ResellersⓒⓇ™, basically, parasites on the Steam itself. The fewer of them remain the better.
Used this method exactly once (so called "wired transfer" via "SWIFT" inter-bank relay system). Man, was it atrocious! On top of 40% commission I had to fill in a lot of papers in English, in the bank where the majority of the employees did not know English and (on top of that) was not trained in SWIFT transactions (they were just pointing towards each other). It took 2 hours and required a trip to adjacent town (in the so called "Main Office", which turned out just an ordinary office but with slightly more experienced workers). Never again!
Last edited by Alm888 on 7 April 2017 at 9:47 am UTC
Quoting: EikeI'm just not owning a credit card, I'm paying cash or via bank transfer. (Had to make an exception for Feral, using my wife's card.) I wonder if this would be possible in other countries, though. Germany seems to be more cash-friendly than others.
Used this method exactly once (so called "wired transfer" via "SWIFT" inter-bank relay system). Man, was it atrocious! On top of 40% commission I had to fill in a lot of papers in English, in the bank where the majority of the employees did not know English and (on top of that) was not trained in SWIFT transactions (they were just pointing towards each other). It took 2 hours and required a trip to adjacent town (in the so called "Main Office", which turned out just an ordinary office but with slightly more experienced workers). Never again!
Last edited by Alm888 on 7 April 2017 at 9:47 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Alm888Used this method exactly once (so called "wired transfer" via "SWIFT" inter-bank relay system). Man, was it atrocious! On top of 40% commission I had to fill in a lot of papers in English, in the bank where the majority of the employees did not know English and (on top of that) was not trained in SWIFT transactions (they were just pointing towards each other). It took 2 hours and required a trip to adjacent town (in the so called "Main Office", which turned out just an ordinary office but with slightly more experienced workers). Never again!
Wow! Which country is this?
We used to have free bank accounts and free transfers (using forms way back in time), nowadays with low interest rates I pay I think 2 € per month and can have as many transfers as I want. I do them at my own computer. Really convenient and safe.
0 Likes
Quoting: EikeWow! Which country is this?
We used to have free bank accounts and free transfers (using forms way back in time), nowadays with low interest rates I pay I think 2 € per month and can have as many transfers as I want. I do them at my own computer. Really convenient and safe.
Russia. And the bank in question is Sberbank™. The bank so huge due to its Soviet Union inherited branch tree (where in most of the small towns it is the sole bank) that for the 20 years after collapse it simply refused to change and adapt, instead flushing through itself insane stream of pension and grave-money from the elderly. The year is 2009 (or so), yet in order to get your money you have to stand (literally!) a queue of 15 people in a small stuffy room, then stand near operator while ancient (yet cost-efficient!) dot-matrix printer fills your income-outcome ribbon. Classic!
And the game was pre-order (my first and only) for "OilRush" from Unigine. Apparently this whole deal with pre-orders were new to them also (and there were no native banking at the time) so they had chosen "ABN AMRO Amsterdam" as their bank. For a 600₽ base price I parted with 1040₽ that day. Nice interest, Sberbank, very nice!
1 Likes, Who?
Just want to point out that there is such a thing as virtual credit cards that you can create at will for online shopping without the need to even own a credit card(a debit card will suffice in my country). Not only can you do that but you can create single-use and multi-use credit cards. I realize this is not available in every part of the world though.
0 Likes
Quoting: nitroflowJust want to point out that there is such a thing as virtual credit cards that you can create at will for online shopping without the need to even own a credit card(a debit card will suffice in my country). Not only can you do that but you can create single-use and multi-use credit cards. I realize this is not available in every part of the world though.
Do you mean like Paypal? Do you have example providers of such services to look at?
0 Likes
Quoting: Alm888Quoting: EikeWow! Which country is this?
We used to have free bank accounts and free transfers (using forms way back in time), nowadays with low interest rates I pay I think 2 € per month and can have as many transfers as I want. I do them at my own computer. Really convenient and safe.
Russia. And the bank in question is Sberbank™. The bank so huge due to its Soviet Union inherited branch tree (where in most of the small towns it is the sole bank) that for the 20 years after collapse it simply refused to change and adapt, instead flushing through itself insane stream of pension and grave-money from the elderly. The year is 2009 (or so), yet in order to get your money you have to stand (literally!) a queue of 15 people in a small stuffy room, then stand near operator while ancient (yet cost-efficient!) dot-matrix printer fills your income-outcome ribbon. Classic!
And the game was pre-order (my first and only) for "OilRush" from Unigine. Apparently this whole deal with pre-orders were new to them also (and there were no native banking at the time) so they had chosen "ABN AMRO Amsterdam" as their bank. For a 600₽ base price I parted with 1040₽ that day. Nice interest, Sberbank, very nice!
Holy crap, you guys are getting shafted on banks.
Then again, have any of yours caused any financial collapses in recent memory? :P
0 Likes
Quoting: EikeQuoting: nitroflowJust want to point out that there is such a thing as virtual credit cards that you can create at will for online shopping without the need to even own a credit card(a debit card will suffice in my country). Not only can you do that but you can create single-use and multi-use credit cards. I realize this is not available in every part of the world though.
Do you mean like Paypal? Do you have example providers of such services to look at?
In my country(Portugal) there's a service called mbnet which most banks have a protocol with(mine only established that protocol a few years ago after being acquired by another bank) that you can activate through an ATM(thus being associated with a particular card) and you get a printout of your login data to the site mbnet.pt. After that you just go to the site and create a virtual credit card(visa) that you can use anywhere. You can create a multi-use credit card, so-called "merchant card" that becomes associated with a single merchant the first time you use it so it only allows payments to that specific merchant. However, some stores that use a third party like Stripe for example to do the payments you can't use that type of card because of that lock so you have to create a single-use card for every purchase you do.
EDIT: after a quick search I found this for Germany https://www.deutscheskonto.org/en/credit-card/
Last edited by nitroflow on 7 April 2017 at 12:59 pm UTC
0 Likes
Quoting: niarbehtHoly crap, you guys are getting shafted on banks.
Not so much lately. Even Sberbank implemented electronic queue and air-post system (tubes for fast document transport) and added couches to the room. And there are lots of options to get free (without upkeep) debit card (basically a credit card with zero overdraft) for anyone with a passport. So, wired transfers are something from the past.
Quoting: niarbehtThen again, have any of yours caused any financial collapses in recent memory? :P
Among the banks I used? No. But banks are exploding almost constantly. The prime reason is that there are a lot of precarious banks that were founded only for "money laundry" purposes. Apparently, it is insanely simple to open a bank here, every semi-big firm wants to own a bank just for salary distribution purpose. Some banks are virtual (without physical branches), so called "internet-banks". There are thousands of them!
0 Likes
All the anti g2a sentiment out there. That's fine, but realize that g2a can never "go legitimate" because they are by necessity dealing with a black market. The keys are by their very nature non transferable. The studios and distributors make them that way. There's no legitimate way to transfer the rights of a game you've bought/acquired.
You can use eBay, or g2a, but either way you are assuming the full risk of an illegal transaction. The fix for this isn't on g2a side, it's incumbent on the gaming industry to give consumers the right of transfer back. Guess what? They won't. They like not having to recognize the legal principle of first sale. They like selling the same game over and over to each player, with no secondary market.
I'm not saying g2a smells like roses, but they fulfill a need the monopolists have denied us. And when/if the keys are revoked because they are illegitimate that's exactly what should happen, and the buyer will be left holding the bag, so do some due diligence. For the record I've never had a key get revoked and I've bought quite a few, but I don't buy brand new releases where actual surplus keys are unlikely to exist.
You can use eBay, or g2a, but either way you are assuming the full risk of an illegal transaction. The fix for this isn't on g2a side, it's incumbent on the gaming industry to give consumers the right of transfer back. Guess what? They won't. They like not having to recognize the legal principle of first sale. They like selling the same game over and over to each player, with no secondary market.
I'm not saying g2a smells like roses, but they fulfill a need the monopolists have denied us. And when/if the keys are revoked because they are illegitimate that's exactly what should happen, and the buyer will be left holding the bag, so do some due diligence. For the record I've never had a key get revoked and I've bought quite a few, but I don't buy brand new releases where actual surplus keys are unlikely to exist.
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me