Dealing Steam accounts allowed?

Hey guys, just for future reference, is buying/selling steam accounts allowed on these forums? I've got quite a few laying around with games like Crysis 2, CoD: MW2, Bioshock 2, Fallout: New Vegas, etc.. very recent games, and I'd like to try and get rid of them. I'd like to just open up a buy/sell thread but I'd rather double check and make sure I won't get in any trouble for it. They're all legitimate accounts, non of them VAC banned, and I've had them for the longest time.. very secure.

Just post and let me know, preferably a longtime member or moderator.

Thanks!

 

You may already be in big trouble:

Steam user violates subscriber agreement, loses $1,800 in games

Steam Subscriber Agreement

 

Wow, interesting read.. i've dealt online accounts for years (World of Warcraft mainly) and have never had that happen to me. They probably got in trouble because they posted a screenshot with their username visible or something, that or posted it with an account that had an email matching up with their account.

Either way, I can guarantee that the accounts will be safe and don't have any worries about that. Thanks for the post though, it's good to stay on your toes.

Also, I just noticed:
Update: Valve has since posted on its forum that the account has been re-activated.

 

It's against Valve's rules, and against the rules here against selling non-tangible items.

 

Damn, alright. That's what I needed to know. Thanks Mastershroom.

 

No problem. Good luck with your shady business.

 

LOL not sure how it is shady to sell something that you own. I have friends that have sold many Steam accounts with zero problems.

 

Okay, so it's not necessarily shady or morally ambiguous, but it's still against Valve's terms of service that all Steam users agree to when they register their accounts. Regardless of whether you like the terms, you agree to them.

Just because your friends were lucky enough to not have any trouble doesn't mean they aren't violating those terms.

 

Of course, but it's not like any of us have not broken the law. BTW I have never actually seen the Valve statement where it is against the TOS of the Steam account to trade/sell. I know it is there in the TOS, but I guess one has to go searching through pages to find it.

 

Also, keep in mind you don't buy games on Steam, you buy a subscription to them. The Subscriber Agreement specifically states:

"The Software is licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Software."

Steam Subscriber Agreement

As for selling/trading accounts:

"Accounts which have been bought, sold or traded will be suspended. This includes any other accounts in your possession at the time of the sale or trade, regardless of whether those accounts were also sold or not."

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5406-WFZC-5519

 

There was a story that showed how one man with over a hundred games sold his account.

Man Sells Steam Account for $1,000 on eBay

It's just stupid that Valve has those stipulations. Buy something that you can't resell? Not sure how Valve gets away with it.

 

You don't buy games, you buy subscriptions to access them; they are not yours to re-sell. That much is clear to anyone who bothers reading the subscriber agreement. Of course, who does that these days?

 

I only read apple's, after that south park im scared also ever since that i seem to have to accept a new agreement every day on itunes

 

While I understand that, it comes down to downright childish selfishness really. Game publishers have always said they were not happy with the used games market because they didn't get a piece of the pie. So digitally they can control that, which I think is ridiculous.

Why can't I even GIVE my game to someone else like I could do with a boxed copy of a game in the not so distant past? Even game console games you could trade with people. I don't get why that's so forbidden. To me it sounds like they couldn't play so took the proverbial ball and went crying home.

 

Steam should just take a 2-3% cut of account transfer sales and then everyone would be happy imo

 

let me show you http://www.thegamingvault.com/uploads/2011/05/gabe-vg-cats-money-pool.jpg

you dont just get that way getting 3% maybe they will get 97% and you will get 3%

 

LOL this made my day

 

I always thought it would be cool if they had a Steam trading area where Valve would take half the cost, and they set the price. I'd be fine with that. I know it's digital and all, but if someone bought a new game at $50, sold it for $25, valve takes $13 you take $12, and sold to someone who otherwise wouldn't have bothered to fork over $50 for the game.

 

I completely agree, and honestly I'm very surprised to hear that valve treats digital downloads like virtual items in an MMO.. and now to be shown that that very concept is insinuated in their TOS. Very upsetting. Especially since I was under the influence that steam was a convenience for PC gaming. LIke you, I thought that it was simply the purchase of a product key.

As a matter of fact, for instance, what if you buy all of your games retail and activate the keys on steam? does that mean you're forfeiting your games to Valve? This is starting to bring up some very important questions now that I come to think of it..

 

FWIW The part of the agreement about "Software" refers only to the Steam Client. The games are part of the "Subscriptions" as defined in the first part of the agreement.

Here's where they define "Software":

The only thing the Software can do is 1) access Steam, and 2) access Subscriptions (e.g. games).

Each of the games have their own EULAs.

 

I paid money for it and I can now use it where I couldn't do so before. IMO, I bought it. If some greedy corporate overlord tries to take that away from me, I will show them my BitTorrent client and then they'll get nothing.

 

Pretty sure with any digital game service your not actually buying the game your buying rights to the game, and you of course cant sell your rights to somebody else.

 

First of all, it is not a subscription, but a license. All software (and other media) publishers have been using the term 'license' instead of 'sold'. Nevertheless there has been support (in some court cases) to recognize that even if you don't own the license you can sell you right to use to others.

Not that I want to discuss on the topic, I just wanted to clarify.

 

Also, I think there is some confusion here. All Valve has control is on the use of the accounts (not the games). Of course if they ban your account you can't access the games...

And the licensing (not subscription) term is used in all media (film industry, music industry, game industry).

 

You couldnt bring it to court because its in their agreement and you signed it, if their agreement said that if you hit accept we will shove a monkey up your butt well legally they can do it because you basically said "oh yes go right ahead" but honestly its valve they will not take away the right the play the game that you purchased if you follow their rules and honestly they have the rule in affect to stop people from selling their account to someone with bad intentions ie giving wrong info and still getting money or giving correct info and then you changing back the password. Because once a cd key is in a account as long as you still own that cd key and have the original contact information steam support will give it back to you. You might say thats stupid that support will do that but its really a great system if your account gets hacked to get it back.

 

Not really, those are called shrinkwrap contracts. The point is that the buyer has no knowledge of the specifics (or even the existence) of the contract until (s)he has bought the product, thus it is not in the same level as an actual contract that is signed (or accepted) before the transaction is made.

 

Boxed products also claimed that you were buying the rights to use their product. And was perfectly fine to sell it or gift it to someone else. But since it's digital they feel they can control your purchase I guess.

Just because something is in writing doesn't make it legal. If in fine print I say I can kill you if you sign here, doesn't mean it's legal for them to kill you. That's an extreme case but it makes the point. It's an agreement, not a binding contract that you had the opportunity to discuss with a lawyer to make sure it's legit and legal.

Exactly. But to this day why do they make buying games and movies and music so complicated? I mean it's entertainment yet you're shackled by all these requirements, legalities, and threats. I get less detail when buying a $25000 car than I do a $25 game. It's stupid and ridiculous.

It gets back to my point that I've made millions of times. There's tons of protection for the publishers, but NONE for the consumers. I would be ok (well sorta) with all these restrictions if users had a recourse, like a return or exchange policy, even if limited, say 3 days, or a tiered structure like within 1 day 100% money back, 3 days 75% back, 5 days 50%, 7 days 25%, 9 days nothing. But I digress.

 

Just fyi, Green Man Gaming lets you trade games back for credit.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I was surprised by that. There's one good solution. Even if it's a few bucks, at least it's something.

 

The EULA has no bearing in court. You CAN sell it and if Valve decides to cancel your account, you can take them to town in court. Just sayin', the thing is nobody is ballsy enough to do it.