People are Stupid AKA What's on top of Steam Bestseller list? (Discussion and sort of PSA)

I'm a people, and I find this offensive.

many people don'te even use steam for buying games: they go to a department store and buy them retail dvds

Some people don't know about humblebundle obviously.

Wait.. What is Steam?

As others have mentioned, not everyone is aware of Humble Bundle, or bundles in general. Also, lots of people don't have Enhanced Steam, so they're probably not aware of regional price differences, especially how drastically they can vary. And some people probably just have credit in their Steam Wallets to burn. I know I'll purchase things on Steam or Amazon, in spite of a better deal elsewhere, if I have enough credit for the item. It doesn't really feel as though I'm saving money if I'm having to pay out of pocket, when I could chose not to.

A lot of people I know don't buy bundles - to support the developers, because they'd rather just buy the one game they want - and so on. Sometime you just see a price and you're okay with it - even though you know that if you were to look some more or wait you could get a better deal later on. There's always going to be a better deal somewhere, unless you got the game for free. Some people just don't feel like going through the hassle since they play games to relax - they would rather pay a little more than waste their free time.

Not to mention that I for one can't even begin to imagine what'd happen to pc gaming if everyone were aware of sites such as Isthereanydeal.com and bundles, since it's an overwhelmingly digital market [unlimited supply and no delivery costs]. It would nearly destroy competition.

This doesn't make people stupid.

So many guys don't know nothing about bundles, which use Steam as their only source, sadly

There are myriad reasons for folks paying more for an item. One of the reasons listed in passing here that I'll suggest might be a factor is convenience. Twice (at least), "no hassle" has been mentioned. And it's true.

Although ignorance may, in fact, be a large portion of what's going on here (more on that later*), it's also possible that folks that have money (has already been mentioned) and value their time (for any number of reasons) aren't going to spend an extra five minutes (or more) hunting down something from a buyer they are unfamiliar with (yes, Humble Bundle - remember, these aren't insiders). It's not worth the modest sum they'll save. They also perceive that they have better things to spend their time on.

We ALL do this as consumers. Some of us just do it in different sectors. None of us have time to research every...single...thing we buy. Now, if we buy something frequently, then we're much more likely to research it more/know more about it. I work in the auto business, and although there is certainly a fair amount of ignorance, there is also a large segment that cares about price, but cares only up to a point. They will pay more if they have a pleasant, smooth, non-harassing, quick transaction. And for high-end buyers, price is not object, but getting exactly what they want when they want it is tantamount.

In summary...I agree. There is probably ignorance. However, there may be other reasons. And even a judgment of ignorance shouldn't be seen in derogatory denotative terms. We are ALL ignorant in some form or another. And we all have strengths as well.

Buying video games right is important to some, and not at all to others. Willing ignorance is an opportunity cost to help us all stay sane at some point. It's worth noting and worth trying to find the positive attributes in others, and asking them for help (you could lend help in this case to those you know) when we are aware of our own ignorance.

My two pence.

When my bf introduced me to Steam last year, I was in the middle of a lot of stuff, so could not devote my attention to it. PLUS, I already had BFG games and game client installed on my laptop and I hate cluttering my computer with too much stuff. It wasn't until Xmas that I REALLY got into Steam because I had grown bored with BFG after a couple yrs and wanted to be back to regular PC gaming since my kids had taken over my PS3 (we had recently moved and had no tv and almost all my movie collection was packed away, so I let them play that or watch the few blurays we had on it). He bought me Monaco for us to play together and suggested some games for me and I happened to catch the last couple days of the Xmas sale, so got TL2 and a couple other things. I only ever used the client. Then around March or so, the steam client was being an ass and giving me issues much of the time, so I started using the website. I noticed there was enhanced steam and curious, I activated it. I had not done that prior because as I said, I hate clutter on my laptop (and this extends to my internet browser). I do not like tons of add-ons and try to stream-line when I can. Once I looked at the pages with ES on, I saw there was price comparisons. I only bought when it was cheap and on sale anyways. One day, out of curiosity, I clicked the link that was for the price comparisons and found Is There Any Deal and it is through there I slowly discover all the different outlets that sell Steam keys and bundle sites. Do not recall how I found steamgifts. It was sometime in like April or May, after I had bought a couple HB bundles, and didn't want to redeem any games I didn't want and wasn't sure what to do with them. I think I found sg in one of the forums on Steam, but can't really recall.

Because there is so much phishing, spam, malware, viruses, and other misc crap online, I am VERY wary of where I go and the links I click. I got a nasty virus on my old laptop YEARS ago, on dA through one their ads, when I didn't have a sub. That was a yr or two before they finally acknowledged that viruses and malware could sneak in through the ads on their site. (I do have an ad-block on my new laptop; old laptop was fixed and had friend even upgrade it with a new HD so it would be bigger and better, it still works). So regardless of how "trusted" a site is, because of that dA incident, I am all the more cautious. On fb and other sites with friends lists, I have always taken the precaution of: if I do not know you, you do not get added when you send a friend request, and often then block that person. I check sg here to see if I have won and then use the profile link on here to go to their steam account to see if that person is the same one adding me. And if I didn't win, then I go straight back to Steam and deny/block.

I am cautious and skeptical. Better safe, than sorry. At first, bundle sites initially seemed to good to be true: so many games at a good price! One of the biggest lessons in life is just that: if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. So I looked around on Steam forums about Humble Bundle (since that was the first I found). Once I saw it was legit, I went ahead with buying on there. And with all the people that come on here: "I got scammed!", "I'm getting so many bot friend requests lately!", or their keys not working because they bought from bad sites, I feel I am justified in treating everything with so much skepticism.

How often do we get a 3 copy giveaway of cod ghost or another most overpriced title from a new sg user? Damn often. Just backing up your argument.

People also may have their own reasons for buying via the sale instead. Maybe AoE is the only game they'd want or don't have. Maybe they don't know about bundle sites. Maybe they can't buy via any payment options humble takes and only have Steam wallet, etc. Plenty of reasons why someone may go that route instead.

...well I did buy a BUNCH of sakuras at full price....so idk what I can say about the research for lower price, or manipulation by green % marks. But maybe ppl want to support developers more than charity.....though if u say it like that it sounds wrong XD

Message me if you find a way to convert steam wallet to paypal.

that's a very stupid assumption.
well i guess you have made your point.
people are stupid

Some people don't search for deals or even know about sites like that, for some its the ease of use on Steam(and card sales, sorry many of us don't wanna be bothered with TF2 card buying/selling/transferring money...etc...), some don't wanna be bothered and don't dedicate time to what we essentially do here, busy with other things, its not ignorance or stupidity.

-_-

There are some people that either do not have a credit card or do not have easy access to paypal for which HumbleBundle is a bit more complicated to get, but they can easily get a Paysafecard. On the Steam store this method of payment is allowed as well as several others. So the answer might be that Steam allows for a broader payment method and they directly buy from them. It is true that there are so many sites out there that let you pay as you want with prices cheaper than steam but maybe some sites go into that "grey" market and not everybody knows/trusts them.

I live in Italy and people here usually use cash or pay using a card named "bancomat" that takes the money directly from your bank account. The real Credit card is very uncommon because banks do lot of checks before giving one.

Pre paid credit cards are really easy to get, you can get one in every bank/postal office.
Virtual credit card is not common, i had one when i was 14 years old i think, but i never liked. Im not even sure that the service is still offered

Before I knew bundles I even bought bundle games for 2,50€.
When I knew bundles, but not steamtrades, the problem was that had no Credit Card/Paypal.
So, you need to know bundles and how steamtrades works if you are like me.

The mind breaking best seller is CS GO!
Anyway,to topic,some of my friends don't even know about those cheap deals,but when i tried to show those sites,they just say what is that e.t.c

I don't want the bundle, I'd rather keep the $1.26.

Maybe people are unaware of sites like that. I maybe wouldn't have heard of if I didn't check forums like this one. Then again I may have been told by a friend.

dCfCT

You know that not all poeple know about bundles, right? And there's also people who just don't buy bundles no matter what they offer. Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with the fact that people are stupid and ignorant, but it ain't one of the reason they are.

You know that is based on key activation and not actual purchase on steam

Or some people like me don't have a paypal nor a credit card, and can't get one either (still 17..). I could give tf2 keys for the games, but first, I'm not interesting in getting it since I wanna try to buy AC:Unity, and second some people don't want to trade with steam keys.