Hello
I'm tempted to buy some games as Gifts for my friend as they're on sale (so we can play co-op)...
I'm mostly talking about Steam games (but not bought directly from the Steam Store), but maybe some other types too.
Also - clearly I'm only talking about digital copies.
I'm only looking at completely legit stores (e.g. ones where there is no question at all)
But please - I don't want this to descend into a discussion of what is/isn't legit ok... not here.
So for example - I'm talking about the kind of stores they list on IsThereAnyDeal.com
I'm mainly curious about the stores which are lesser known or the less dominant stores - as I've not really bought from many of these.
However, I'm also interested in how this stuff works with the big ones like Steam, Epic, Humble (both Store and Bundles) etc.
But I already know about the rule changes with Steam Gifting so you can skip that (apart from do the games ever expire if the Gift Recipient don't get around to actually activating them soon enough).
Take GameBillet, Fanatical, WinstoreGame and the other 'next cheapest' listings in order - for this Doom 2016 - Price list from ITAD
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/doom/info/
If I buy from the ones mentioned; and/or from any of the others on the ITAD list... can I properly Gift these games to my friend?
I assume it would only be gifted by email as it's not directly within the Steam system?
Or am I wrong... after they receive it in their email - can they keep it in their account as a Steam Gift or can they only use the Steam game code/key that's emailed to them?
If most of these sites work just fine this way; but there are exceptions which don't - could you please highlight the exceptions.
Also as an aside...
If I buy games from most of these sites (Steam keys or not)... Is there a time limit from which I must activate the game key?
If I wait too long (eg months, years) and the key won't work when I finally think to try it... - do the sellers usually give you a new key or are have you just lost your money as it were ?
The reason I've waited in the past is - buy things on sale; but don't activate it yet - in case I see some humble bundle etc where I can get a different copy even cheaper as part of something else I want to buy - then swap/trade it later with someone else (in theory - though I probably won't get around to it).
Sometimes an expanded version/edition will drop enough in price that it'd make sense to buy that and then trade the original key...
And before you say; why don't you just wait to buy when you're actually ready to play? If I had loads of cash and didn't care when I bought - that would be fine. However, I buy when things are cheapest/on sale.
Anything else that is important to know about buying stuff not directly from Steam/Epic/Ubisoft etc - post it!
Thank you for your help
I'm tempted to buy some games as Gifts for my friend as they're on sale (so we can play co-op)...
I'm mostly talking about Steam games (but not bought directly from the Steam Store), but maybe some other types too.
Also - clearly I'm only talking about digital copies.
I'm only looking at completely legit stores (e.g. ones where there is no question at all)
But please - I don't want this to descend into a discussion of what is/isn't legit ok... not here.
So for example - I'm talking about the kind of stores they list on IsThereAnyDeal.com
I'm mainly curious about the stores which are lesser known or the less dominant stores - as I've not really bought from many of these.
However, I'm also interested in how this stuff works with the big ones like Steam, Epic, Humble (both Store and Bundles) etc.
But I already know about the rule changes with Steam Gifting so you can skip that (apart from do the games ever expire if the Gift Recipient don't get around to actually activating them soon enough).
Take GameBillet, Fanatical, WinstoreGame and the other 'next cheapest' listings in order - for this Doom 2016 - Price list from ITAD
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/doom/info/
If I buy from the ones mentioned; and/or from any of the others on the ITAD list... can I properly Gift these games to my friend?
I assume it would only be gifted by email as it's not directly within the Steam system?
Or am I wrong... after they receive it in their email - can they keep it in their account as a Steam Gift or can they only use the Steam game code/key that's emailed to them?
If most of these sites work just fine this way; but there are exceptions which don't - could you please highlight the exceptions.
Also as an aside...
If I buy games from most of these sites (Steam keys or not)... Is there a time limit from which I must activate the game key?
If I wait too long (eg months, years) and the key won't work when I finally think to try it... - do the sellers usually give you a new key or are have you just lost your money as it were ?
The reason I've waited in the past is - buy things on sale; but don't activate it yet - in case I see some humble bundle etc where I can get a different copy even cheaper as part of something else I want to buy - then swap/trade it later with someone else (in theory - though I probably won't get around to it).
Sometimes an expanded version/edition will drop enough in price that it'd make sense to buy that and then trade the original key...
And before you say; why don't you just wait to buy when you're actually ready to play? If I had loads of cash and didn't care when I bought - that would be fine. However, I buy when things are cheapest/on sale.
Anything else that is important to know about buying stuff not directly from Steam/Epic/Ubisoft etc - post it!
Thank you for your help
Last edited:
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