We'll there is one test someone could try... Go to the Steam forums and post a link to his site. If it gets changed to <<Unauthorized Seller>> either by the filter or a moderator, then you've got your answer as to what is likely to happen to those keys.

That's absurd!!! When it's written it's called libel:)

Sorry, hope I got that Spiderman quote right.
That's a problem with Valve and Steam, honestly.
The technical books I buy for 50 bucks here in the US go for 5 bucks on in India, in English even, no differences other than a slightly inferior binding.

Given the world market why does it seem hard to believe he found a source to pay 5 bucks per copy? There are some very poor regions of the world and software there retails for WAY cheaper.
I'm not even sure there is such a thing as contract fraud, did you mean breach of contract? You have to have a contract before you can breach it. You don't need a contract to sell merchandise in most parts of the world. Red Box used to buy their DVDs from Walmart because the movie studios wouldn't cut them a deal.

OP, was this the reason you posted this topic:

Want Duke Nukem Forever but Dont have money? here is your chance to get a free key! Post about cdkeysdiscount on different forums and if you help us to make some sales you will receive a free Duke Nukem Forever Steam key. Just emails us with the links where you have posted and we will check if any buyers came from that links, if we get 5+ orders from your links you will get Free Duke Nukem Key! Good Luck! :)

If it was, isn't this just referral spam?

What does that mean? That Steam/Valve doesn't approve. I don't think anyone is arguing that point. It doesn't prove anything is either legal or illegal about said transaction (and of course the jurisdiction matters).

Well asides from the fact that they can remove the game from your account (as mentioned above). It also means you won't be able to use the game as proof of ownership of your Steam account should something happen and Valve request you prove ownership -- as you need to have the actual CD key on hand in order to write the information Valve request directly on it.

That's a flaw with Steam/Valve, directly due to their (poor) policies. Again, I don't think anyone is arguing that Valve is happy with it, I think the contention is the idea that it's "illegal". Steam/Valve not being okay with it doesn't make it illegal, it just means they don't like it.

Whether it's legal or not doesn't really matter. The simple fact is, that by buying a CD key to a Steamworks game, you risk losing both your game and money (and potentially any other Steam game you have). And you simply have to ask yourself if it's worth it.

As far as I'm concerned, it isn't. But thanks to GamersGate I can get DNF cheaper anyhow.

Anyone who have a Steam account and preordered DNF on this website should open a new one just for this game.

Eh? This is economic common sense, and a bit of deduction. If you care to follow:

I hypotesize that it is impossible to sell DNF to US customers, or EU customers for that matter, for a price below $30, at a profit. I doubt he's selling the game for purely altruistic motives with a loss, so it follows that something is fishy with this deal.

If you want to look up import laws, then fine. To my best knowledge you can't buy goods abroad for reselling without suffering import tolls that severely impact your profit margins. It's a basic economic safeguard that holds true for most countries in the developed world.

You can import goods privately, to an extent. The extent is usually way below the volume you'd need to set up a business and profit from it.

Another issue is the asked price. If he'd been selling the keys for around $40 then it might be believable that by some way it's possible to make that profitable within legal boundaries. But for below $30? That's about half of what the retail asking price will be, and probably less than what retailers are paying the publisher, domestically, to purchase the product.

Add to that the fact that I know of people who do this kind of thing in Norway too. They'll drive to Poland, buy up loads of CDs and DVDs at an extremely favourable exchange rate, pack the car full, and drive home via some semi deserted forest road where the customs department are unlikely to be at 3 am. Then they underprice the market at home, primarily in online auctions. You see lots of this on ebay too I'm sure.

Thing is, since you're buying solely with the purpose of reselling, this is illegal according to our import laws. There was also a much reported case in Germany about a guy buying thousands of copies of MW2 in Poland and reselling in Germany. He got busted and started something of an online forum crusade to justify his actions. Which doesn't matter - it is illegal - and there are good reasons why, economically.

So don't come accusing me of random slander. This is probably about the most sensible and worked-through conclusion you're likely to find in this thread.

Just a nitpick, but in the US (and I can't believe it's the only jurisdiction like this) the buyer would be breaking import laws (maybe), not the seller. He didn't transport a truckload of "keys" across any border (unlike your car example, and yes, I know that does happen). Jurisdictions usually make the buyer responsible for paying sales taxes and duties on items because they absolutely zero jurisdictional authority over the seller.

So in Norway, he may be breaking Norwegian law (though I don't see how Norway has jurisdiction over him and I'm not sure you can "seize" a Steam key), I don't know. What I do know is in the US if you bought these and payed your local Use Tax on them it would be 100% legal.

He is the buyer so he did break import laws. Maybe not the US law (where the hell is he anyway?) He admitted that he bought these copies from cheaper areas on another forum. They'd have to get shipped out from there or he would have people go to these countries and bring them back. http://www.crysis-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=857&amp;page=2

And he offers illegal downloads. Why keep trying to rationalize buying from a shady seller who also retains full ownsership of the key they sell? A key that could easily get blacklisted or resold?

So what? Large businesses break import laws all the time.

You're pulling that out of your arse, you have no idea what jurisdiction transported them into and if he 1) paid duties (probably not, but you don't have any fucking clue, do you?), or 2) no duties were owed. In reality in some shitholes it's impossible to pay a real duty, you just bribe the inspector and call it a day.

Incidentally: This whole thread is about people being pissed that somehow developers are getting screwed, come on, admit it. You'll find any reason possible for this guy to be "wrong" because somehow people aren't supporting the industry from buying like this.

sigh

He's right though, you know.