Buying + Trading PC Games?

[JimmyRecard00]

Hello

Please note – I’m only interested in PC Games.

Can you tell me the best sites to find info on:

• Historical lowest prices of games in stores/bundles etc
• Best current lowest prices and where etc

Also – what sites can I read to find the best FREE game listings?

And can you help me with a list of sites and names for all the best:

• Gaming Subscription services
• Game Developer/Game Launchers/stores/sites (eg epic, ubisoft, steam)
• Best Bundle sites
• Best Stores to buy from
• Best info re Trading Game Keys etc
• Best sites for competitions/give aways

BTW Is there any way to do a search on a site for any free games – eg humble bundle store (if not within the site – from google or some other way? I stumbled upon some free games on there today but couldn’t find any way to actively search for free games on it?

I’m really curious to hear your opinion on Game Subscription Services as I’ve never really considered them until now? I like the idea of being able to try out loads of games for a low monthly cost – but hate the idea of not owning anything after you unsubscribe?

Are there any other advantages/disadvantages to these kinds of services that I may not have thought of? (please keep in mind I’ve never even used these with consoles as I’ve not owned one since my super nintendo came out back in the day – yes I’m that old).

Can you use subscriptions or even game in general with a vpn like Nord?
I don’t have to use it – but I do for different reasons – so just curious?


I’ve seen people list sites with very cheap cd keys…

I’ve always been unsure if any of them are legal or even morally acceptable to use as I’ve heard many bad stories as to how they work and where they get their keys etc?

And even if you get your key – can they get cancelled at any time? If they do – do you have any recourse to get it back?

Tell me what you think and link me to some of the better/safer ones just in case I might try them?
I just don’t know?


The other thing I’d really like to know about is trading game keys… in particular where to do it, how, and how to do it safely (or relatively)?

I’ve only traded a handful of times and stopped when I got ripped off as it really put me off trading!

But I’d like to look into it again – but can you tell me what sites to use to check if people are legit, what methods to use to do it as safely as possible. For steam keys and non steam keys etc.


When I got ripped off it was actually using steam’s official trading system (which you’ll have to point me to as I can’t even remember much about it).

All I know is – I had to change my password and somehow that meant that steam wouldn’t protect me for a number of weeks etc and so what I understood to be a safe/protected official steam trade was actually wide open and broken.

Of course, I did not understand any of that until afterwards when people explained it to me.

I remember even checking his steam account via a steam-ish website… but I was told later that even that can be pointless as people can just hack legit accounts…. So is there even any point?

Steam should have done a much better job!

The guy added the games he was going to trade just as I did… then somehow at the last second he pulled them and accepted my games.

Was not happy – especially since I thought I was doing it the right way!

And so I’ve never traded since… but I’m open to changing that with your help?
So yeah – please point me to all the best sources of info on trading safely etc.

Maybe there’s some really important info or new ways to get games/trade… that I’ve missed in all that time…. If so – then please feel free to fill me in!

Any other links or tips/info that might help to buy games at their lowest price the better!


Thank you for your help

 

[WoodenSaucer]

The cheapest way to buy games is to buy keys on gray market sites. They're sites where people resell their unused game keys for cheap prices. Maybe they got games in bundles they didn't want, or maybe they bought them on sale and then sell them for lower than retail price later after the sale is over. But it's also possible for people to try to do shady things on those sites, so I'm not sure if it's allowed to link to any of them on here.

As for ways to buy cheap games that are 100% legit, I think Steam's winter sale is still going on for a few more days. You can usually get some great deals during a Steam sale. Also, if you haven't checked them out, check out Humble Bundle. Sometimes they have really great deals on game bundles. Also, you can get a subscription where they bundle some AAA games each month for a low monthly price. You can cancel anytime you want (even after one month), and you get to keep the games. But you don't get to choose the games they bundle, so you never know what you're going to get.

Other than that, make sure to check out the Epic Store. They always have a free game running. They're usually going to be indie games, but every once in a while, they throw a gem in there. Usually they have a new free game each week, but during the holidays, they've been doing one a day. There is a thread on here where people post free game deals. You might want to keep an eye on that.

 

[Brian Boru]

gray market sites … I'm not sure if it's allowed to link to any of them on here

It's not, and thanks for asking first

Check out:

Game keys giveaway thread

Greetings community! Here is the thread for the people wanting to give away game keys to the community. We have created some ground rules to make it fair and to prevent bots from stealing them: 1. First comes first served. When the giveaway is posted, the first person who responds will get the...

forums.pcgamer.com

And here's the free thread:

The Free Time Limited Games List

I thought it would be nice to have one place to post games that are free (Not Play for free or free games through a subscription) for a limited time, regardless of the platform. Feel free to share some gems and I'll try my best to keep the thread updated whenever something new has been posted...

forums.pcgamer.com

Free games:

The best free PC games in 2021

A curated selection of our favorite free games right now.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Micorsoft Gamepass is great, I sometimes subscribe to it when I'm at a loose end game wise and un-sub when I'm into stuff. I've bought a couple of games I tried on there first and others I've just played through and been done with.

Little extra info on the gray market sites. Doesnt seem to be just where people sell extra keys they happen to have come across, and at least some developers are not happy about it.

Developers and G2A clash over the impact of grey market keys on indies

The infamous key reselling site G2A has published a lengthy blog post defending its business practices after the storefront came under fire from developers and publishers.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Developers tell people to pirate their games instead of using G2A

The key reseller is pissing devs off again.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[JimmyRecard00]

Hello


I'll reply to all of the above here... but also have more questions first...


I'm really hoping to get some more info ASAP as the Steam sale ends in a few hours and so will a lot of others!


I'm grateful for the info listed already - but was really hoping for a lot more especially regarding:

- Trading games - where and how, and how to do it safely and so you don't get
ripped off (whether steam keys or not?)

- Are there specific sites that are good = where you say I have these keys and want to trade, or I want these games - what do you want etc? Are you allowed to tell me what they are?


- In particular - I'd like to hear about the official steam trading process (which I got screwed by last time)... has it changed since 2012 or pretty much the same? How do you stop people from pulling their games and accepting yours at the last minute like they did to me?


-Especially like to know the best place to check the cheapest price a game has gone for and where (whether online store, physical or bundle etc (whether digital download or phsyical DVD etc)?

And - list of the best places to buy games officially (eg sounds like you can't give me a list of grey sites?)?

Also are there a few good sites that have big lists of all the best info re all this stuff? Or where people post the latest best deals etc?








@WoodenSaucer

If you did buy on the grey market - could steam or some other game launcher/developer get annoyed and ban you and delete all your keys that you paid for whether grey or not?



@Brian Boru

Thanks for the lists Brian



@Kaamos_Llama

I am tempted by the idea of Subscription services - even if I have a month on then nothing and 6 months later another month etc depending on what I'm doing.... but still hate the idea of not owning anything!

At the very least it would be good to try out games before I buy a real copy?


Was yours the PC game pass (I'm only interested in PC)?

Did you get any other games or subs from other companies as part of that?

I've heard Xbox PC sub gives you EA subs as well?




Thanks for the info guys - keep it coming

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Sounds like we're probably not allowed to talk about gray market sites on here, and those are the only places I know of where you can trade your keys. I don't think anyone has ever been banned from Steam for using a key bought at one, but I know there has been at least one time when they found out a lot of keys were stolen with credit card fraud, and they did ban those specific keys. So there is some risk there, and there is the possibility of someone selling keys in a shady way. Hence the reason we're not allowed to list them here.

 

[mjs warlord]

Not pointing the finger at any single person here but conversations like this really annoy me because contributors end up talking about trading ( trying using some pre owned games online ) , or buying keys or grey websites.

The reason this annoys me is because i have games that i have on disc that have been used on my other pc's.
On the pc i have now i cant use any of the crysis games , alpha protocal , prey , plus a few others. This is because they wont install unless they are registered online and then you get the message that the email address and game code are already in use ...... YES THEY ARE ....... THEY BELONG TO ME !

I have come up against a brick wall every time i have contacted customer services , do you have your purchase receipt as proof you bought it they ask , well even if i did i would not know where to find it

 

[Frindis]

Opening the thread again as I was a bit too strict. Sorry for the inconvenience and keep on trucking guys Do keep in mind that it is not allowed to link to or sell grey market items on this forum.