Selling beta keys?

bha2597 · 03-29-2012, 08:16 PM

Is selling or buying beta keys such as dota or cs:go legal?

Disc1ple · 03-29-2012, 08:28 PM

No. You can only gift\trade them. That's all.

mspacapan · 03-30-2012, 09:50 AM

People do it, but I don't think it's legal.
You can send it to me though

lol

MikeBlaszczak · 03-30-2012, 11:30 AM

Nothing to do with Steam Community, so this moves to the general area.

Reselling keys, if you're not an authorized reseller, violates the Steam ToS.

Newt182 · 03-30-2012, 11:33 AM

Of course it IS legal, but as said it is against the ToS.

Satoru · 03-30-2012, 11:49 AM

As Newt182 said it's nuanced.

Selling keys is not 'illegal' from a criminal sense.

However as Mike said it is a violation of the ToS and can get your account banned.

Cheating is not 'illegal' but it is a violation of the ToS and can get you VAC banned, or perma-banned depending.

mattila95 · 03-30-2012, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disc1ple

No. You can only gift\trade them. That's all.

If we are accurate, buying stuff with money is actually... well.. Trading stuff for money..

Porcupeth · 03-30-2012, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeBlaszczak

Reselling keys, if you're not an authorized reseller, violates the Steam ToS.

Does that apply to beta keys though? Nobody is "reselling" anything and there can never be "resold" because..they aren't.."sold"

MADDOGGE · 03-30-2012, 01:15 PM

No law against selling keys. However you are violating the ToS, which is a contract between Steam and yourself, that you signed and agreed to when you installed Steam.

~Slash · 03-30-2012, 01:20 PM

Illegal. Trading beta gifts isn't.

jdun · 03-30-2012, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Slash

Illegal. Trading beta gifts isn't.

And this is why I found it funny. On one hand selling beta key for cash violate TOS. On the other hand trading beta key does not violate TOS. The difference between the two is one you need to give the cash to Valve instead of keeping it yourself.

~Slash · 03-30-2012, 02:48 PM

I said trading beta gifts, not keys. Keys can't be sold, because Steam said that in their TOS, but gifts can be traded without problems for other Steam gifts or items. However, if you decide to trade gifts for PayPal and you get scammed, Valve can't help you.

jdun · 03-30-2012, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Slash

I said trading beta gifts, not keys. Keys can't be sold, because Steam said that in their TOS, but gifts can be traded without problems for other Steam gifts or items. However, if you decide to trade gifts for PayPal and you get scammed, Valve can't help you.

Keys and Gift are the same thing in regard to DOTA2.

~Slash · 03-30-2012, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdun

Keys and Gift are the same thing in regard to DOTA2.

Nope, a gift is a game license that you can, obviously, gift. The gifts are stored in your Steam inventory and you can trade them or simply gift them.

A key is a game code that you can use to activate directly a game to your account. It's easy to be scammed when you're trading keys, because Steam Trading don't support them.

jdun · 03-30-2012, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Slash

Nope, a gift is a game license that you can, obviously, gift. The gifts are stored in your Steam inventory and you can trade them or simply gift them.

A key is a game code that you can use to activate directly a game to your account. It's easy to be scammed when you're trading keys, because Steam Trading don't support them.

I don't thing you understand. As far as I know Valve doesn't give DOTA2 keys. They give the beta keys as gifts. The gifts are in your inventory. Beta keys and Gifts are interchangeable for DOTA2.

For example my friend got two extra beta keys. He immediately trade it for two games. He could have put it on Ebay and get cash for them but instead he used Valve trade system. You still have to used Valve system if you sold it on Ebay for cash.

My friend is happy that he got two free games. The people that he traded for the games are happy to be able to play DOTA2. Valve is happy that they got money for the "Free Beta Keys". Everybody is happy. Win-Win-Win for all parties.

I no problem with it. I think it is a great money making idea for Valve. I would really like to see how much money they are making out of those beta keys. Probably 10 times more than it took to develop DOTA2.

What I find amusing is people think that selling the beta key for cash is evil. While trading the beta key for games is alright.

03-29-2012, 08:16 PM	#1
bha2597 Join Date: Aug 2011 Reputation: 2 Posts: 325	Selling beta keys? Is selling or buying beta keys such as dota or cs:go legal?

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03-29-2012, 08:28 PM	#2
Disc1ple Join Date: May 2011 Reputation: 24 Posts: 511	No. You can only gift\trade them. That's all.

03-30-2012, 09:50 AM	#3
mspacapan Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 14 Posts: 404	People do it, but I don't think it's legal. You can send it to me though lol

03-30-2012, 11:30 AM	#4
MikeBlaszczak Valve Join Date: Feb 2007 Reputation: 4590 Posts: 5,067	Nothing to do with Steam Community, so this moves to the general area. Reselling keys, if you're not an authorized reseller, violates the Steam ToS.

03-30-2012, 11:33 AM	#5
Newt182 Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 6 Posts: 52	Of course it IS legal, but as said it is against the ToS.

03-30-2012, 11:49 AM	#6
Satoru Join Date: Jul 2008 Reputation: 3146 Posts: 9,084	As Newt182 said it's nuanced. Selling keys is not 'illegal' from a criminal sense. However as Mike said it is a violation of the ToS and can get your account banned. Cheating is not 'illegal' but it is a violation of the ToS and can get you VAC banned, or perma-banned depending.

03-30-2012, 01:15 PM	#9
MADDOGGE Join Date: Jan 2008 Reputation: 8194 Posts: 25,030	No law against selling keys. However you are violating the ToS, which is a contract between Steam and yourself, that you signed and agreed to when you installed Steam.

03-30-2012, 01:20 PM	#10
~Slash Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 17 Posts: 10	Illegal. Trading beta gifts isn't.

03-30-2012, 02:48 PM	#12
~Slash Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 17 Posts: 10	I said trading beta gifts, not keys. Keys can't be sold, because Steam said that in their TOS, but gifts can be traded without problems for other Steam gifts or items. However, if you decide to trade gifts for PayPal and you get scammed, Valve can't help you.