The ones who had the most "keys stolen" are the richest companys around... so... maybe a bell is ringing now.
I think Steam or other shops are not doing it anymore, instead they seem to focus on selling lot of keys... and a lot of them may become lost or even stolen... i got no clue. Fact is, the stuff works and those key-sellers was doing it in the past, even today and tomorrow aswell.

Look... i can fully understand, as a good merchant, you always try to get the maximum possible. Every customer got a different limit and in order to reach every customer you need to be very "elastic" considering your prices. This is not even a trade-secret... MS is doing it all the time and they got bloody rich doing so. A "bad customer" is better than "no customer"... important marketing rule, especially when it comes to "digital goods" which got a transportation cost of close to none.

I have no intention "animating" anyone for being cheap, my message simply is: Pay the amount which is worth it and/or affordable to you and indeed there is many possible options for getting cheaper prices. On GoG a sell is sufficient for me... on other platforms i am way more stingy (DRM is just not worth it to me).

Erm, it's looking broken. It's showing for the 10% launch discounts on Raidborn and Gripper, even though AFAIK those have only been put up for sale today. "Lowest price from 30 days before discount: €24.99", but it hasn't been for sale at that price.

Not really broken, this is just a unhandled special case.There was no "before discount", so it displays the current price.
https://www.gogdb.org/product/2061161309

Still wish GOG would put...

... how long a game is on sale...

... on the game's page.

Yes, like they do on Steam (ie "____ is on discount until ____"). I hate going to a game's page (on GOG), finding the game on discount, and having no idea how long that discount is in effect...

... unless I can then dig through the concurrent sales and promos until I find the one with that particular game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRdfYwvGTos

Cool feature! ^_^

In the beginning of GoG i got a compensation from GoG themself regarding the usually higher regional price i usually got. However, at some point GoG stopped handing it out because they said "it is stressing their bill to much and they can no longer afford it". So, actually GoG is not in favor of inequalities and regional pricing, although, with increased size GoG will have to adapt to the international "rule of economy" and they are simply to small in order to make their own rule.

The opinion of Steam should be well known by now: They are in big favor for regional pricing, although, they got the "key-way" at their back, in order not to lose the customers who may not enjoying it.

Steam got enough of might in order to have everything based on their own rule... so if there is no change then it is simply their own view and how to "get the most out of it".

And i can say, the regional price can be as big as 15 more... so indeed, the customers affected can be ripped off.

Good Video, indeed a bit of a mess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCfwoC1Dx8

On GoG i still do not avoid the regional pricing because usually the price, especially with a cut, seems fair to me or simply the price i am willing to pay. Still, a lot could be saved up if someone feels the need for it.

For example Witcher 3 CE:

Lowest regional price: 15 CHF
Lowest Brazil regional price: 30 REAL = 5.37 CHF

https://gg.deals/deals/?minRating=0&store=10&title=witcher+3

So, the same game almost 3 times cheaper based on region.

For Disciples Liberation, it looks, because of the higher "base price" even worse:

Brazil price: 63 REAL = 11.27 CHF
My home location = 33 CHF

3 times difference...

However, in Germany the price is about identical... and i seem to know "all Germans are rich... so they can afford it"... oh yeah, do not take everything i tell to serious. As we know, there is no equality, not even in the smallest environment, and true fairness is not possible.

Of course the Internet is basically "world wide" so there is not really such a thing as "regional internet", so in this term we have to use some sort of "region lock" in order to make it work: And yes, this is some sort of DRM. Bascially everything we are locking or "controlling" outside of anything critically needed is already a DRM. Although this DRM is server-based, not game-based.

Clearly, to me there need to be some "special value" to a already higher price, else simply not acceptable:

This could be:

-DRM free: Accepted
-Physical Disc: Accepted

So this means for me... GoG or PS5... Steam regional pricing will be avoided.

Then again people in Germany earn 4 times more than in Brazil.
Of course not ALL are rich or poor, the prices follow the average.

And for that reason they introduced region locks, so keys bought in Brazil or similar countries are not supposed to activate for EU people.


Btw, pPeople in Germany can afford 40% more than people in Italy. Still, Italy has the same price.

The "average" person is not interested in me...

So what else should i care with "average" or "median"? Just plain useless... if i have to find the few peoples loving me or if my moneybag is one of the smallest from a entire country.

The other thing taken into account: Economy was never about fairness... forget about. The whole economy we was building up, it was great at exploiting the weak, but surely never a good economy for raising "equality": This is a fact, so... no need for believing me.

People simply usually are demanding "the maximum possible", and if not... they may already be loving you.

Wow this thread deviated a lot from the original post.

Is the key-reselling mostly abusing the regional pricing system?

Or is it credit-card fraud?

You seem to be suggesting the former but I have heard most people say the latter?

If it's regional pricing I would be swayed a little but I don't want to be part of credit-card fraud.

And yet I've seen streamers endorse some of the keyselling websites - admittedly for majority DLC games like Cities: Skylines, and the discounts were modest at best.

The best thing to do, if you got no clue... just full of assumptions, is simply pay the value worth it to you. Thats how the economic-system is working,... for way to long already.

You are free to pay 10 times more, just do not expect those ideals to be part of everyone else; the same way you can not expect everyone from loving you. People are different, so is their morale and ideas about "what is right or wrong".

You didn't answer the question.

I can only guess because this, the source of the codes, is very hidden.

I think mostly it is "abusing regional pricing"; many keys are even handed out directly from a publisher... although officially they are telling us "they will never do something like this", yet they have to because you can not avoid a customer demand: Lower price. Officially you do not want to deal with it, but inofficially you may still make some "hidden actions", because it will generate a lot of revenue.

The smallest fraction can be some sort of payment-fraud... however, this fraud-matters can never totally be avoided, this is just "utopistic". Fraud, in all their forms, can be everywhere (i would say, fraud is almost everywhere and can affect anyone, but it is usually hidden well) and some sort of fraud may have even a good effect in some way, so the legitimacy is not clear to us. Usually, it is the thing of the credit-card (or other payment-) company and customers, actively protecting their data and if they feel they are not able to... simply do not use it (i am not using credit cards... because i simply can not afford it).

The only cost for my prepayed credit card i1 1€ each time I put money on it, that's very affordable :)

This also allows me not to have too much money on it, so in case I ever am the victim of fraud again the damage is not all too high. These days it doesn't happen anymore anyway, now TANs are usually enforced if it's used for a new site. ~10 years ago, when I actually was a victim (not much, less than 200€), the guys used it to buy phone credit, which at that time did not even require the PIN on the back. Luckily I got the money back after a complaint.


I welcomed GOGs attempt on regional pricing, but I understand that the publishers are not all to happy if the game sells for the same price in a very region with very low income ... or better: "doesn't" sell.