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Trading / Game Swapping
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g000h Jan 19, 2017
First of all, I'd like to ask Admin Staff on this site whether you'd be happy with the following:

Game Key Trading (i.e. mostly Steam Keys) between site users, using the Forum as a way to introduce interested parties.

I've personally accumulated a lot of spare game keys (70 or more), some because I've bought a game bundle and the bundle had a few games I already owned. Some I bought by mistake, thinking I didn't already own them (doh!) Some I've received as giveaways on websites. And some, because the bundle offer gave away more than one copy of a key in the bundle.

I'm not so keen on trusting random 'trading' people on Reddit or following the structured trade mechanisms that those people adhere to. However, if someone is a regular commenter on GOL articles, maybe a Patreon supporter of GOL, and has been around for a while, then I'd be happier to trade / game-swap with them.

I'm sure other people (here) have done the same as me. Bought a bundle, have an unwanted key. I don't want to give it away, but then I don't want to have it sitting there doing nothing, when someone else might want it and I might want one of their keys.

I'm not suggesting filling up the Forum with trades. I'm suggesting having a Forum Topic, and anyone interested can post their 'Trading' interest to the Forum, and then those people can chat/email amongst themselves - What they have, what they want, and so on. I'd be suggesting people to private message/email each other (and share their lists of unwanted keys).

Also, one more thing to note (which is more specific to me and my unwanted keys): I generally have not bought the key "on Steam" but on other sites, such as HumbleBundle, Bundlestars, Indiegala, Groupees, GOG. It is due to this, that I wouldn't be logging onto Steam's own community of game trading. (You can use that community to trade games, only if you bought the game direct from Steam.) To clarify, I buy plenty of games on Steam directly, but in my Steam purchasing very few bundles appear. (Mostly individual game purchases, and very little risk of purchase in error. Steam also don't really let you split up bundles into individual gifts.)

Also, horror of horrors, a fair proportion of my unwanted keys are not for Linux games. Still useful to a dual-booter though.
PieGamer314 Jan 19, 2017
If this were implemented, I would use it for sure.
Blurps Jan 19, 2017
Maybe we could give keys to GamingOnLinux.com
It could be rewards for new articles and authors who contribute with great content.
g000h Jan 20, 2017
Quoting: nIQnutnMaybe we could give keys to GamingOnLinux.com
It could be rewards for new articles and authors who contribute with great content.

Some people want to give away a spare key here or there. I've given away some of mine to friends already. I spent my own money to pay for those keys in those bundles. Imagine if 70 keys are worth £5 each. Are you proposing that I give them all away, and leave myself considerably out of pocket?

My proposal is about not losing out myself, by helping someone else get a game they don't have and swapping for one of mine. Two people have recouped lost value.

What do you do if you bought a pair of £15 cinema tickets, but can't go due to circumstances. You try to sell them to your friends, to recoup some of your money. Yeah, you might end up giving them away, but the majority of the time you don't want to lose out.

----

Actually, sharing a little story, which prompted this Forum post...

----

I keep my eyes open for good deals much of the time. I spotted the Humble Bundle from last week (Overwhelmingly Positive Bundle) and there were a few games in that which I wanted, but others which I didn't. That Bundle was still running, and the latest Bundle (Best of 2016) came out. There were two games I really wanted in the Best Of Bundle, so I bought it. But, at the same time, there were 4 games in the Best Of bundle which I already owned.

I posted emails to a few friends, who might be interested in the Bundles. I wasn't really expecting a reply, because most of the gamers I know are very particular about what they buy. In the email, I mentioned that I'd bought the Best Of bundle, but already owned 4 out of the 6 games in it. And I mentioned that I hadn't bought the O.P. Bundle, and there were 3 (Linux) games in that which I wanted.

The person who got back to me - amazingly *they* already owned the three games in the O.P. Bundle which I wanted, and so it was a pretty perfect swap. They sent me their spare Gift Links, and I sent them my spare Gift Links. Everyone's happy - money hasn't been wasted.

If *only* I knew more people wanting to do this.

How many times do you *not* buy a bundle because it doesn't have enough Linux games in it, or you already own half of the bundle. It's common sense, trying to overcome issues like this.
Blurps Jan 20, 2017
You give what you want.
If you prefer trading keys with someone else, that's you choice.

In another forum, someone created a thread for this.
Everybody can give keys.
Every month, everybody can ask one game.
Recent games are only available for donors (1st month).
Only restricted to user with 100 messages and profile > 6 months.
Liam Dawe Jan 20, 2017
The problem with this, is that it would need some kind of security for people. It would be very hard for us to keep an eye on it and make sure it goes smoothly.

We may all think we wouldn't ever scam someone, but it attracts scammers.
Samsai Jan 20, 2017
Yeah, the security aspects would potentially make this pretty tough to implement. Just opening up a thread or a forum section for trading isn't necessarily enough. Transactions would likely require either party to first send their key over, which makes it possible for the other party to just grab the key and run. Obviously this issue could be minimized by only allowing people with enough "karma" (approved forum posts, comments etc) to trade but the best we could do should someone still abuse this is to ban them. Also, I imagine people could also try to abuse it the other way and falsely claim they have been scammed which leads us having to investigate private messages and whatnot to discover who is being the honest one. All in all, we'd probably have to put quite a bit of resources into moderating that section of the forums.

Another potential problem I can see is "key laundering" where people would try to trade illegitimate keys for legitimate ones which could lead to the other party essentially getting nothing when the keys get revoked while the other party gets a free or a very cheap game. Should this happen we would be completely unable to detect and track it, so we probably couldn't even stop such actions. I'm not sure if this kind of stuff is being done in the first place, but if I could think of it then someone else probably can too.
g000h Jan 20, 2017
Well here are my suggestions for guarding the safety of the swappers...

No need to involve site admins. Although if you have a bad unresolved deal, you can share that happened on the Forum.

Only trade low-end game keys until you feel confident that the person you are dealing with is not a scammer.

Consider swapping partners who are regulars on GOL, rather than randoms who've only posted one comment.

----

To be honest, the amount of feedback that this Forum Post has generated so far - It already looks like it isn't going anywhere. Probably means that people don't buy as many bundles as me, or don't care about recouping value.

----

If anyone wants to deal with "me" specifically - Get a list of my spare keys. Then Private Message me. Either here on GOL or on Steam ( steam id: gill0h ). Please note that I don't want to deal with GOL randoms / recent joiners - Only people that have been around for a while, and made numerous comments.
zro7 Jan 30, 2017
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If you would like to support us, you can purchase our game and look forward to content updates that will be released throughout the year. More info can be found here:


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tuubi Jan 30, 2017
Quoting: zro7We've recently added a version of our indie game, Wormhole City, on Steam Early Access. There is still an enormous amount of work to be done, but we hope you may enjoy some of the content we currently have while we work on adding more to our game.
We might if it was actually available for Linux. ;)
Blurps Feb 17, 2017
I have some games to trade from the latest bundle:
The Witness
VVVVVV
Guacamelee
The Swapper
JumpJet Rex
Hand of Fate
Subnautica
Frozen Synapse
Limbo
Magicka 2
Not the Robots
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