Is G2A legit? Can I buy game keys from G2A? Is it safe?
G2A is an online marketplace like eBay where you can sell and buy cheap games, game keys, Xbox & PSN activation codes, software codes, and gaming hardware.
Everything You Should Know about G2A
To be precise, G2A doesn’t actually sell game codes, it only facilitates an interactive marketplace for people who want to sell and buy game codes without any hassle.
It’s a simple process- you pay for a game key you want to buy, get it delivered in your email and activate it on the relevant platform like your Steam Account, Uplay, Epic Games Store, etc.
As game codes in G2A cost way less than the original platform, codes’ legitimacy often comes under suspicion. Some users say that even though G2A offers better prices, Humble Bundle is more legitimate.
As for the safe part. The G2A partners claim that all the transactions are closely monitored by a support team and an AI Algorithm working at the back-end.
With features like these and a money-back guarantee, buying games from G2A isn’t the worst idea.
What’s Inside? show
Who Owns G2A?
G2A is a Hong Kong-based company run by a team of gaming enthusiasts with a motto to “deliver the best digital game licenses and retails services to customers and partners”.
Unlike most companies, G2A doesn’t hide their contact details. You can easily find their phone numbers, addresses of their Hong Kong headquarters, and Poland’s support office on their website.
They have stated clearly that all game keys available on their website are bought and sold by third-party sellers.
A seller could be anyone- it could be a person who has bought but not activated the game key. It could also be any business buying and selling game codes in bulk.
Therefore, the game code price varies depending upon the region. Sometimes, the price even depends on the average salaries of people in a country.
As a result, a platform like G2A makes it possible for users to buy games & their activation keys at a significantly cheaper price.
Is G2A Legit And Safe?
G2A offers the same quality of services as any other marketplaces.
Now, nearly 11 years since its inception, G2A collaborates with tech giants like Microsoft and Google.
With over 90% happy customers that buy and sell steam keys, video games, and several other services and goods, G2A is as safe and legit as it gets. (For a grey market site.)
All your purchases come with a money-back guarantee. Meaning you can claim for a full return in case something goes wrong with your product or in case the seller didn’t provide the needed support.
The price mentioned on the product denotes the base price.
In addition to that, G2A charges a 10 percent order fee as well. So, make sure to consider this factor while comparing the price to other platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Steam, etc.
How does G2A sell Genuine Product Keys so Cheap?
G2A is nothing more than a mediator between a third-party seller and buyer. They have no control over the prices which are purely set by the sellers.
Because it is an open-market, anyone can sell game keys, and other digital products at their desired price.
Since the price at G2A significantly differs from original publishers, it’s quite practical for you to come across this doubt. Well, considering both the white & black market, G2A falls somewhere in the grey market zone.
The game prices also depend upon your location, time of purchase, quantity, and many more.
Although we only have one way to purchase game keys, the rule doesn’t apply to independent sellers. After legally obtaining them, they can sell games, codes, and keys at discounted prices.
Addressing Complaints Against G2A’s Refund Process
G2A’s refund process is kind of a mixed bag.
They refund your money to the exact source that it came from. So, for a PayPal payment, the refund will be done within a few minutes.
However, it’s a different story for credit/debit card payment which can take up to 28 working days.
You may have seen many people complaining about G2A’s refund process. After a few inquiries in the G2A Reddit forum, we found that most customers have claimed to receive genuine and valid keys within minutes of their purchase.
However, some users have also opted for return immediately after being concerned about the legitimacy of the keys. The base fear was of getting banned by the real publisher in the future.
Few of them have also claimed to receive invalid keys and some even complained about not receiving the key at all.
Surprisingly, some users have also requested refunds even after receiving a valid key, as per G2A reports.
How To Buy Games, Keys, & Activation Codes at G2A?
Buying video games at G2A is as simple as buying anything at an online store.
1. Search The Product
Once you visit the store, you have to search for the product at the search bar. Now, in most cases your product will appear on the drop-down menu, otherwise, you have to select the ‘see all results’ option.
2. Select The Seller
Once confirmed, click on the desired game to select the seller of your choice.
Now you can see a long list of third-party sellers offering the same products at a different retail price.
Meanwhile, you can also sort the sellers by price and ratings.
This allows you to buy a product from best-rated sellers. You can also go a little deeper and check out some feedback too.
After selecting the seller, click the cart to add the game to the shopping list.
Then, click continue to proceed further to the checkout page.
On the checkout page, G2A will display the final price of the product, which includes the processing fee and other relevant fees.
You can directly purchase the product from the cart or use a promo code to get great discounts. However, make sure the code is allowed in your country.
Then you have to agree to the T&C’s of G2A and confirm your agreement by entering your email address.
Now, click on the ‘Go to Payment’ button to proceed further.
3. G2A Shopping Cart
On the payment page, you will find 11 modes of payment procedures. Select your payment process and continue further.
Before that, make sure to Uncheck the 7-Days Free Trial box.
Otherwise, you will endure an additional cost of £1.99 per month for the G2A Plus Club Membership, which will reflect on your current billing.
4. Order confirmation
Once G2A confirms your payment, you will be redirected to the confirmation check, from where you can check your purchase details and access your product key. To retrieve your game code, click “get CD key’ and you are all set.
How To Choose The Right Seller On G2A?
Despite the strict filtering process, it’s not possible to completely get rid of fraudsters and scammers on an open platform like G2A. So, instead of blaming G2A, the better approach is to be wary when choosing your seller.
Here are some important tips that can help you choose the best seller out of the vast majority.
1. Scout The Seller
First and foremost, scout the seller. Check out the reviews and ratings to get an idea about the seller’s reputation before buying anything. Suspiciously low prices along with a negative rating are the biggest red flag.
2. Check For Region Compatibility
Don’t end up buying a region-locked game key. Usually, the region for the steam codes or game keys is mentioned in the product description. If not, ask the seller, and only buy a working key that matches the region.
3. G2A Selected Offer
It’s features like these that make G2A better than the competition. G2A tags the best sellers listings as “G2A Selected Offer”. It helps differentiate the good sellers from lousy ones.
What To Do If The Key Does Not Work?
G2A takes several precautionary measures to prevent the entry of fraud sellers inside the platform.
Before approval, sellers need to verify their credentials like social media details, phone numbers, and email.
Moreover, each seller can only make up to 10 transactions. To sell more, sellers need to provide some additional verifications.
Despite all efforts, you cannot completely stop scammers and fake sellers from the platform.
Besides, you should also make a purchase only after doing thorough research about the seller.
According to G2A’s money-back policy, you can return a product if:
- The end product is different from the description
- It does not work
- It stops working after a while
If your issues match any of the above descriptions, you can claim a refund.
In cases your digital items don’t match the description, you can register a claim at the G2A support.
Then the team will investigate the claim to ensure the legitimacy of the claim. Once approved, you will receive a full refund in your bank or G2A account.
You can find out more details here.
How To Use The G2A Money Back Guarantee?
Before, G2A used to offer customer protection where all you have to do is file a complaint, send proof and they resolve the issue instantly.
However, to take necessary and strict actions against the seller, G2A has introduced the Money Back Guarantee program, which has made the process a little complicated for the consumers.
1. You have to file an official fraud report
It goes like this, whenever you encounter a fake key, you need to contact the concerned seller first. Now, if the seller is honest, then he/she will resolve the issue right away.
However, if the seller stays unresponsive or refuses to address your complaint, then you must brace yourselves to do some extra tasks.
First, you need to file a complaint against the seller at your local law enforcement. After obtaining a police report, you have to submit a copy of the report to G2A, who argues that a police complaint can put the fraud seller in line.
Regardless of the price, you have to file a police report for each key you have purchased at G2A.
In other words, to get your $10 back, you need to pay more than the price for filing a police report. Consequently, you will end up losing more than you receive from the money-back scheme as well as your time and peace of mind.
This is a prominent reason that discourages individuals from applying for a refund at G2A. After all, nobody likes to go to that extent to get a few dollars back.
Moreover, even though you file a complaint, it’s not sure whether proper action will be taken on the scammer.
Even scammers know that, as a reason why they never cease to stop.
In the end, it’s the buyers who lose their money, the scammer gets free money and the processing fee you paid to G2A remains untouched.
2. You can only apply for refunds for three times in one year
Yes, you heard it right. G2A is not responsible for the fourth time you get scammed.
Reason- G2A claims that 99% of games on their platform go through without any issue.
Therefore, the chances of getting scammed for the fourth time in a year are slim.
Controversies Around G2A
Let’s give you a brief about a scandal that broke a few years back. According to news, the popular game platform ‘Electronic Art’s Origin’ once purchased a massive quantity of game codes.
Then, the codes were moved to Kinguin & G2A for reselling. Now, the issue was that all those codes were purchased using stolen credit cards.
Soon after the news circulated, Ubisoft revoked all the game keys sold from G2A, leaving thousands of consumers disappointed.
The scandal caused a domino effect denting the reputation of every similar site worldwide.
Ever since, G2A is taking regressive steps to eliminate such fraud sellers from the platform, ensuring customers receive genuine products.
Following the aftermath of Kinguin, the gaming industry has raised its concerns regarding the grey market.
Most popular game developers like Vlambeer, Spooky Squid Games, and No More Robots have said that they prefer people to pirate their games instead of buying them on G2A.
So, the question arises, why would a developer encourage users to pirate their games?
The answer is simple- When you pirate it, the game developers don’t get any money from it.
However, when buying games through G2A, the profit goes to someone else and not the game developers.
Either way, the game publishers are losing money. Therefore, it’s better to pirate, than to buy games from a grey market site.
The other main reason is about combating negative publicity. Sellers on G2A often sell keys bought with stolen credit cards and enjoy the riches of someone else’s hard work.
Moreover, if the concerned user files a complaint about his/her stolen credit card, it will do more harm to the developers than the sellers.
As a result, the developers will lose their credentials among their gamers and eventually end up losing potential customers as well as investors.
Sites Alternative To G2A
Interestingly, G2A is not the only grey market site to fulfill your gaming needs.
In fact, there are many websites offering daily flash deals coupled with super fast delivery via email.
Here are some notable game code sites for your reference
Some even provide VIP features free for 7 days so that you can judge their legitimacy with ease. They indeed deserve your attention at least.
There’s a high chance you will find games you want to play on G2A. Whether you take that leap of faith, and if you’ll get the game as and how wanted it, there’s actually a high chance that you will.
FAQs
Q. Can You Buy Used Steam Keys On G2A?
G2A is a legit place to purchase steam keys at a discounted price. Once activated, they are bound to an account and are non-transferable.
So, to answer your question, you can not buy used steam keys on G2A.
Important Note: Some sellers might try to fool you into buying a de-registered steam key, but keep in mind that the key becomes null and void after de-registration.
Q. Who Are The Sellers On G2A?
Because it is such a simple business model, everyone can sell products on G2A.
For the most part, G2A has a majority of individual sellers. But, high profits have attracted a lot of sellers and now some large-scale businesses are also a part of G2A.
After buying large quantities of game codes and keys during flash deals, they make hefty profits by reselling.
Q.What Are The Consequences Of Using Stolen Keys?
G2A has had its history of stolen keys as well as keys bought with a stolen credit card. As a user you won’t face any legal proceedings however, Steam is known to remove its games from your library if you use stolen keys.
These game codes and keys are valid for life, provided they are not stolen. If your cheap keys stop working mid-way, know that it’s a stolen one and it’s time to contact your seller for a refund.
Q.What Makes G2A Better Than Other Game Code Sites?
G2A isn’t just a website to save money on game keys, it’s a global marketplace for gamers to buy digital as well as physical gaming products. You can find consoles, controllers, various accessories, and much more on G2A.
Q. Is Humble Bundle Better Than G2A?
G2A is a bigger marketplace in terms of variety of products. Humble Bundle is much more safe and legitimate than G2A, but it has higher prices.
Humble Bundle is the better choice to buy games at good prices.
G2A offers better discounts on game keys and codes.
Final Thought
All controversy aside, G2A remains the most reliable platform to buy budget-friendly game keys for the biggest video games. But it is not the only one out there. Just keep your eyes and ears open to grab any opportunity coming from legit sellers from time to time.
After all, with growing competition in the market, you can expect to see back to back discount sales from one seller to another. Why pay extra money by sticking to one seller?
Let’s know about your views down in the comment section below.
