No, unless you're buying a region restricted game that requires you to use a VPN to activate it.
Keep in mind that you can get scammed if you're trading for games/items outside of the trading window and hat Valve's support will not help you in that case.
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I see you're a trader with experience i trust your answer. My problem was that i saw once an user on a forum saying he bought many gifts from an online Shop who sold him Gifts instead of keys and after some time he got a similar to this where he was informed his account was perma-banned and he just could play the games he got without buy/trade/use steam community services. Is it true?
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Thanks for the fast answer and thanks for show me the story of that guy. But the guy who posted the pic wasn't a middleman and wasn't a seller he just bought games from an online shop and was banned from all Steam Services. I got him in my friend list but i got too many friends and i don't really remember who he is
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Oh, I didn't know this happened to other users as well.
Anyway, like I said, as long as you're trading within the trade window, you should be safe.
You're also safe if you buy games from official resellers, such as GreenManGaming, Amazon, ... note that G2A is not an autorized reseller and AFAIK there are also user-to-user deals possible, so the chances of being scammed (key not working, game getting revoked, ...) do exists and you should use such a service at your own risk.
The worst thing that can normally happen is that you lose the money and the game gets removed from your account (or inventory), but in very rare cases, like the one I posted or the case of the other guy in your friend list, Steam support will just act childish.
When trading, use common sense (e.g. 2 TF2 keys for DayZ is not realistic and your chance to be scammed is at 99%) and try to look up the other guy's reputation (on steamrep / steamtrades / tf2outpost / ...) if possible.
Cheers =)
By the way, I also had a case where a giftable game that I traded for was removed from my inventory without any notice. After contacting support I've learned that the game's payment was revoked, so they revoked the game, too. Good thing I used the trading window, and ~1 week later I got the games restored to my inventory that I lost in the trade.
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Thanks for the answer :) I think that even if Steam is a huge organization that provides games and more it can't have to be so rude with their customers just because "It is rich and it can do whatever it wants". I'm too much In steam to go out but i don't approve Steam actions against its Users. Cheers :)
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agree. And also if (god forbid) I ended up in this unfortunate trader's place - I would move issue further and complain not to Steam customer service, but to some higher guy in the office. Since Steam is a "product" of Valve Corp - I would get in contact with them, and if needed - up to Vice president or whatever it's called in this case, hope you get the idea. And if that wouldn't help - go to media, and not just some blog or forums (though it's a good start) but to popular gaming magazines and such. I would think one or more of them would bite into such a story. When sums of real $$ involved is that big...
P.S. Oh, and don't forget customer protection agencies and BBB!
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Wow, what a bunch of asswipes. I can't understand we trust Steam with, sometimes, hundreds of dollars worth of purchases while they can flip the switch without providing a reason for doing so.
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What should he have said / done, according to you ?
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I don't know, personally I would never use the word "pissed", especially when I am writing a complaint.
Secondly, I admit I didn't read the full conversation in detail, but why did he offer himself as a middleman?
In that case, I am with the Steam Support guy, there is no need to use middlemen when the Steam trade system itself is a middle. (unless you are trading for game keys, which in that case, I would NEVER trade with some that I wouldn't feel comfortable with that I would need a middleman, not even the middleman can save you from buying a game that was bought with a fraudulent credit card)
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I see. I agree with middleman part. About using the word "pissed", well...
He didn't insult the guy, I think he managed not to lose his temper, I can imagine myself panicking and getting angry at them and their drone answers.
This kind of case brings the question : how can we defend ourselves if such things happen ? Especially when the company thinks you're shit and can drop the "this matter is no longer open to discussion" bomb on you.
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There is absolutely no need to use a middleman for game keys, since he can't just try the key, if it's working or not. Pointless.
The only use for a middleman is during real money trading.
(But still, middleman=meh. I remember, when I used to do some little d2 item trading back then, there was this big site and I think like 1-2 middlemen did some scam ... meh so you know, you just build up some massive rep by doing small trades, then when the big fish comes with his $3$+k trade, you just bail.)
Ohh, also I should add, just MY OPINION or something. :D
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Please keep in mind that this conversation is from 2012. the steam trade window was something rather new and it was sill common to act as a middle man.
Also consider this scenario: User A and User B want to trade, but since User B just changed his payment info on Steam, the games he buys to his inventory are untradeable, but can be sent by mail. Here it makes sense that User A trades his game to the middle man, User B sends the game by mail to USer A and after A confirms, the middle man delivers the stored game to User B.
Anyway, being a middle man or not has/had nothing to do with the problem at all.
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...he buys steam GIFTS from a seller (Steam User) or an Online Shop (Example G2A)?
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