My experiences with Valve Steam

B

Brian Boyko

[H] Consumer Editor
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
345
Customer (Brian Boyko) 01/21/2007 08:01 PM
Hello - I bought HalfLife2 from Half Price books in Austin, TX, attached is a photo with the box, reciept with date and CD key. Please reset and send notification to brian.boyko@gmail.com

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Response (Pete) 01/25/2007 12:28 PM
Brian,

Unfortunately, used CD Keys which have been resold by individuals cannot be reset.

Please see the Steam Subscriber Agreement and the CD Key Reset Process FAQ if you would like more information:

Steam Subscriber Agreement
http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=subscriber_agreement

CD Key Reset Process
http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=70

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Customer (Brian Boyko) 01/25/2007 02:49 PM
If used CD keys which have been resold by individuals cannot be reset, can you provide me with a new CD key? I am willing to ship the materials I've purchased back to the manufacturer for a replacement item.

As you can see from the photograph, I bought and paid for this software from a reputable organization, have a receipt, have a CD key, and nowhere on the physical box (which is all I saw when I bought the product) is the line "cannot be resold."

-- Brian Boyko

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Response (Pete) 01/25/2007 02:56 PM
Brian,

Please investigate the possibility of a return or exchange with the vendor you purchased the game from.

If you have any further questions regarding this issue, please reply to this ticket within seven days to receive an expedited response.

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Customer (Brian Boyko) 01/26/2007 05:05 PM
Could you escalate this ticket to your supervisor?

Thanks, Pete.

-- Brian Boyko

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Customer (Brian Boyko) 01/28/2007 10:10 AM
Another reply.

Pete, I'm trying to be helpful here, but the truth is, I'm a little dissapointed.

This game was bought from Half Price Books in Austin. I bought it, legally, have provided CD key AND Receipt. All things considered, I should legally own this game, and you're preventing me from playing it.

I could return the item to Half Price Books for a refund, except that the problem isn't their fault. They purchased this game used from someone who sold it, just like I did. They also didn't see anything on the packaging along the lines of "cannot be resold."

In short, my choices are to say goodbye to $8 that I paid for the game, or charge $8 to a blameless entity. It's not like Half Price Books can find the person who sold it to them and ask him for their money back.

Additionally, I'm not asking for something outside the realm of possibility here. I'm asking for either the CDKey provided to be reset, or for a new CDKey. Further, I feel that I'm going above and beyond what a normal consumer would have to go through by offering to send you my copy of the discs and the original CDKey, in exchange for a replacement product.

I'm not going to get into "the evils of DRM" - Steam is fine when legal users can play their legally owned games. But in this case, I'm a legal owner, and I'm not allowed to play my legally owned game.

In short, all I am asking is for Valve to replace a defective product with a working one. I don't see how this is an unreasonable request.

------------------

 
Most stores don't accept returns for PC games because of this very issue. There was nothing from stopping people from buying a game, installing it, and taking it back.

The truth is whoever owned that copy before you still has the game tied to their account, and can still log in and play it. It's a trade off between preventing piracy and the convenience of not needing disks to play games.

I don't have my Half-Life 2 box in front of me, so I don't know if there is a statement saying the game cannot be resold, but this is part of Steam's policy, and I'm not going to complain about it. Just giving my opinion.
 
How does he know that the receipt is yours? What if you just ripped that pic of the box off the internet somewhere?

Your kind of putting him in a tough spot
 
Why don't you write your Senator asking for regulations that require publishers to clearly print such restrictions on the outside of the games' box. You could also sue, since the original owner was deprived of his or her "first sale" right.
 
drizzt81 said:
Why don't you write your Senator asking for regulations that require publishers to clearly print such restrictions on the outside of the games' box. You could also sue, since the original owner was deprived of his or her "first sale" right.
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The right of first-sale is a gray area with software.
 
ComputerBox34 said:
How does he know that the receipt is yours? What if you just ripped that pic of the box off the internet somewhere?

Your kind of putting him in a tough spot
Click to expand...

As I said, I offered to ship the box and original discs back to the manufacturer. I could also ship a xerox of the receipt. Also, the reciept is mine because it contains the last four digits of my credit card number (which are blacked out in the version I showed you but not the version I showed Valve.
 
drizzt81 said:
Why don't you write your Senator asking for regulations that require publishers to clearly print such restrictions on the outside of the games' box. You could also sue, since the original owner was deprived of his or her "first sale" right.
Click to expand...

I could sue for $8? Yes - let's spend the time and money on that transaction.

Your first suggestion, however, is right on the mark.

I would love to see legislation which states that the following must be disclosed if applicable.

* This product cannot be resold.
* This product contains software which runs at the administrator - or root - level of your OS. (Sony Rootkit, Starforce... I still haven't reinstalled my copy of Splinter Cell, even though I'm just as pissed about that as well.)
* This product serves online advertising and collects data on which ads you watch and how long you watch them, however, no personal or identifying information is sent.
* This product will be made into a movie by Uwe Boll.

But as for writing my senator? I'm sorry - I'm pretty sure both my senators and my representative couldn't -spell- DRM, and they'd see it as a complete non-issue. That's life in American politics.
 
Brian Boyko said:
I could sue for $8? Yes - let's spend the time and money on that transaction.

Your first suggestion, however, is right on the mark.

I would love to see legislation which states that the following must be disclosed if applicable.

* This product cannot be resold.
* This product contains software which runs at the administrator - or root - level of your OS. (Sony Rootkit, Starforce... I still haven't reinstalled my copy of Splinter Cell, even though I'm just as pissed about that as well.)
* This product serves online advertising and collects data on which ads you watch and how long you watch them, however, no personal or identifying information is sent.
* This product will be made into a movie by Uwe Boll.

But as for writing my senator? I'm sorry - I'm pretty sure both my senators and my representative couldn't -spell- DRM, and they'd see it as a complete non-issue. That's life in American politics.
Click to expand...

I agree. If they're intending the product not to be resold they need to print that clearly on the package. I don't give a fuck if its in big ass letters or tiny ones. IT NEEDS TO BE ON THE BOX. Some idiot goes and sells his copy and someone who doesn't know better buys it. Valve just looks the other way and says no? Thats BS. Its not the original owners copy anymore. He was willing to provide proof of purchase in various ways. Reset the key and be done with it. Just adds to the fact that Steam blows.
 
This is ridiculous. Any store should not resell a game because the previous owner is able to retain the cdkey. Holding online access to him only. Even you should have clued into that. Its like buying a used copy of Windows then trying you get updates through Windows Update. What do you think would happen?

Go back to the store and get your $8 back. If not, next time use your head when purchasing used software.
 
Silverghost said:
This is ridiculous. Any store should not resell a game because the previous owner is able to retain the cdkey. Holding online access to him only. Even you should have clued into that. Its like buying a used copy of Windows then trying you get updates through Windows Update. What do you think would happen?

Go back to the store and get your $8 back. If not, next time use your head when purchasing used software.
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What are they gonna do with the copy? Put it back up for sale so some other guy can buy it? They've lost money buying the copy already. You think they wanna give a refund too? That means they're losing money again. Brian would better be served trying to get the copy to work I think.

But some ppl are responsible. In my case I've sold a bunch of games on FS/T here and don't retain shit. Obviously this person wasn't responsible..OR he didn't know about their No Reset policy.
 
markt435 said:
What are they gonna do with the copy? Put it back up for sale so some other guy can buy it? They've lost money buying the copy already. You think they wanna give a refund too? That means they're losing money again. Brian would better be served trying to get the copy to work I think.

But some ppl are responsible. In my case I've sold a bunch of games on FS/T here and don't retain shit. Obviously this person wasn't responsible..OR he didn't know about their No Reset policy.
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The worst part is that I did see the Steam policy from Steam's support site, and here's the applicable wording.

http://support.steampowered.com/cgi...popup_adp.php?p_faqid=70&p_created=1092517154

Current CD Keys are comprised of 18 numbers and letters (Prey) or 25 numbers and letters (Valve games) arranged into five groups of five characters separated by hyphens:

Prey example: AAB1BB2C345CDD6E E7

Valve game example: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q

If your CD Key fits one of these patterns, please follow the link below to create a support case to provide the following materials:

* A scan or digital photo of the CD Key
* A scan or digital photo of your retail purchase receipt (game must have been purchased within the last 90 days - we do not accept receipts from auction sites or in cases in which the game has been resold by another individual)
* The Steam account username you would like the CD Key moved to

Contact VALVe Billing and Support

http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=294
Click to expand...

Now, even assuming I had any sort of foreknowledge of this policy when I picked the title up off the shelf (and I most certainly did not,) the problem is that this has not been purchased from EITHER an auction site or another individual. I purchased this from Half Price Books, which is a retail store. Yes, they focus on overstock and secondary market, but they're neither an individual nor an auction site.

Even so, again - I think I'm going way beyond the pale here in offering to ship all the materials back to them so that they can see for themselves that I am a legitimate purchaser of the software. They can't reactivate the key. That's fine, that's policy. But in that case, the game I bought was defective for my purposes, and since it can be fixed with an exchange from the manufacturer, I don't see why this is a problem - especially if my current CD Key is inactive or deactivated, which is something they obviously have the power to do.
 
Silverghost said:
This is ridiculous. Any store should not resell a game because the previous owner is able to retain the cdkey. Holding online access to him only. Even you should have clued into that. Its like buying a used copy of Windows then trying you get updates through Windows Update. What do you think would happen?
Click to expand...

Actually, I think Microsoft would honor that if you shipped them back genuine CD with hologram and everything as well as a xerox of the receipt.
 
aeonrevolution said:
Why would you buy a game used that needs a cd key in the first place?


:confused:
Click to expand...

Mostly because the retailer allowed me to open the box and see that, yes, the CD Key was indeed inside the box. So far as I can tell, that, and the game discs, were all that I needed in order to play the game.

Again, the problem is not with the policy but in the fact that if they would have disclosed the policy on the box, HalfPrice wouldn't have resold it and I wouldn't have bought it. Put whatever DRM you want on a game and consumers have the choice whether or not to spend money on it. But when you put DRM on a game and don't disclose it, limiting the right of first sale or allowing the product to be resold, that, to me borders on "fraud through omission" - while I'm not accusing Valve of willful fraud, I do think that the problem has a simple solution which apparently, they're not willing to honor.

My proposed method, by the way, is, I think, more than fair to ensure that the game has not been pirated. Worst case scenario is that there's someone out there playing on backed-up CDs using the CD key he resold. It's much more likely the person sold it to half price books not KNOWING that the key had to be deactivated (because again -- not on the box) but let's call that the worst case scenario.

What would be lost if Valve receives a Xerox of the receipt, the original game discs, the original CD Key, the original package, and then deactivates the CD Key in that box (which the person shouldn't even be playing to begin with) and ships me a replacement item with a new CD key?
 
Whine whine whine, go buy a new copy for $20 and get a tube of Vagisil. :p Think of it as a lesson learned. You tried to save $12, and it cost you $8
.
I never buy used games, unless they are pretty old. because of this reason. Especially something that would require online activation.
 
AdamNesvick said:
Whine whine whine, go buy a new copy for $20 and get a tube of Vagisil. :p Think of it as a lesson learned. You tried to save $12, and it cost you $8
.
I never buy used games, unless they are pretty old. because of this reason. Especially something that would require online activation.
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It's the principle of the situation, not the money.
 
I tried talking about this on Valve's forums. While it was a polite conversation, the thread was closed by a moderator before I had a chance to post this.

TonJohn: It is safe to say that if the original owner HAD deactivated his account, then the package I received would have been entirely identical - atom for atom - than the package I did receive. There is no reasonable way to distinguish a usable package from an unusable one. For that reason, I do not think that the onus falls upon the store.

Furthermore, while you make an argument that the 2nd-hand store should have checked to see if the software CD key was active before agreeing to buy the software, there is no way that the 2nd-hand store would have been informed that they would need to do so. When it comes to computer software - even computer games, Valve's software is unlike other software titles, where all you need to check for is a valid CD key - not online activation.

Forfeiting rights is an action which must be made actively. Neither I nor Half Price Books undertook any action which would have resulted in a forfeiture of rights. Nor, may I add, is there any known proof that the person who originally sold it did so as well (It could be a VAC problem, but it's equally likely it's just that the original person forgot to deregister it and didn't think twice about it.)

Allow me to point out something that I've yet to state about this. This could have been handled with some grace and tact - instead, Valve officials have ignored the problem in the hopes that it would go away. For example, I would have been disappointed, but not annoyed, if they said something along the lines of: "Gee, we really can't help you there. What we can do is try to contact the original owner of the game and ask him to deactivate his account. If that doesn't work we'll give you $8 in credits towards any Steam game you want to purchase online if you return the product and a copy of the receipt to you, or you can return the product to the reseller instead."

Instead, I got dismissed.

Obviously I wouldn't be posting about this if I didn't feel that this is upsetting - that now you've got a person who is in it for "the principle of the thing" and this is just bad customer relations all around.

(Doubly so because I'm a semi-accomplished member of the press!)
Click to expand...

Here's the thread on Steampowered.com: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5972038
 
Brian Boyko said:
While it was a polite conversation, the thread was closed by a moderator before I had a chance to post this.
Click to expand...

why is that not a surprise...:rolleyes:

you could prolly do an editorial on this too. see if many other companies do it (which I'm sure they do)
 
I think this would be a great oppurtunity to write an editorial on US software laws and their impacts on the consumer.

But your issue has nothing to do with Valve. You should never purchase second-hand software, period.
 
tonjohn said:
I think this would be a great oppurtunity to write an editorial on US software laws and their impacts on the consumer.

But your issue has nothing to do with Valve. You should never purchase second-hand software, period.
Click to expand...

Well, I do plan to call up some game companies and see what the policies are on this - now that you've given me the idea. Might as well call Microsoft too, see what they say about Windows.

Blaming click-wrap or even, as you put it "opening the box means you agree to the EULA you haven't seen" may be a question for legal scholars. But there's a question here about morality. Just because Valve is legally entitled to do something, is it the right thing to do? Even if, in the end, Valve has every legal right to not offer any sort of support here, that really doesn't matter. The decision to impliment Steam was Valve's, and the decision not to help me with my problem, and to make the policies, and the EULA, was Valve's.

Here's the question - it's not a binary, "Is Valve right or wrong?" but rather "How does Valve stack up against it's competitors in the area of customer service?"

-- Brian.
 
Brian,

This is an isolated incident. As a journalist, it would be unprofessional to take this and use it as your basis to write about the quality of Valve's customer service.

I have been volunteering for Valve for nearly two years now and incidents like this are few and far between to say the least (as in this is the first time I have encountered it).

I think you make some valid points as to informing the uninformed and how Valve, as well as other companies, could improve in that area. But I find your jabs at Valve to be a bit ridiculous and slightly unprofessional.

Best of luck with your work. I'm a big fan of Kyle and his [H]ard Workshop, Keep up the good work.

Cheers!
 
tonjohn said:
Brian,

This is an isolated incident. As a journalist, it would be unprofessional to take this and use it as your basis to write about the quality of Valve's customer service.

I have been volunteering for Valve for nearly two years now and incidents like this are few and far between to say the least (as in this is the first time I have encountered it).

I think you make some valid points as to informing the uninformed and how Valve, as well as other companies, could improve in that area. But I find your jabs at Valve to be a bit ridiculous and slightly unprofessional.

Best of luck with your work. I'm a big fan of Kyle and his [H]ard Workshop, Keep up the good work.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Now, you're right on one point. If I left this the way it is, I'd be terribly amiss because if this is an industry-wide practice that puts Valve in a better light.

I really should call up the big game manufacturers, Activision, Bethsada, Microsoft, EA, EPIC, Ubisoft (Remember Starforce?) and a few indie places like Cinemaware Marquee and Manifesto Games and ask them how they'd handle a similar situation - for a true and honest comparison.

I don't know if Kyle will go for it (I'm strictly a freelancer now vis a vis my relationship with the [H]) so I may have to start my own tech/gamer blog just to publish it. I think it'll be an interesting read though.

As for ridiculous, you've stated that:

  • "In the US, opening a box = agreeing to the EULA."
  • "You are the legal owner of the physical media but not of the game. Since the SSA was violated you or whoever possesses the media forfeit all rights to using the software."
  • "It isn't Valve's policy - it is the law of the United States of America."

But as for unprofessional... here's a dirty little secret. Worst case scenario, I'm out $8. $8 is nothing. $8 is two steak burritos at the drive-thru at Taco Cabana. Let's forget about the "end" result that I couldn't get a new CD key or the key reset. In trying to go about this, I...

  • Followed Valve's instructions to the letter.
  • Was completely blown off (steam pun!) by official support
  • Was completely blown off in the steam forums, with the moderators going so far as to lock the thread.

I honestly didn't think this would blow up the way it would but if Johnny Gamer encountered this, he'd have no recourse. Because I happen to write well and I've made a few connections, I've got the ability to write something on the subject that might get read by a few people. Morally, I think it would be unprofessional if I didn't at least research the subject.

You will be right - the finished article will likely be more well researched and approaching the subject from multiple angles - to tell the truth, this is just forum-chat right now.

But hey - thanks for giving me an idea. See you on Slashdot. :)

-- Brian.
 
You can still install it without Steam and play Half-Life. You can even play online if you like, just not with everyone else. ;)

Also, you said you bought it secondhand because this Half Priced Books allowed you to see the CDkey first prior to purchasing... Isn't that a bit you know, weird? That meant anyone could simply pretend to be interested, see the CDkey, potentially memorize or something and walk out. Free game.
 
you should have known that the cd key could only be used for one user account. people have been been complaining about it for years that they bought HL2 at some flea market and won't let them play online.
tough luck.
 
I'm with the other's saying this is on you. It's not like you're some kind of PC neophyte, you've written for [H] in the past for crying out loud. Claiming you are looking at this from the view of the common man doesn't hold any water.

Why does Valve use a CD-Key system? To sell more copies, to prevent people sharing a copy, whatever, this isn't some new thing that has suddenly been sprung on the gaming community. Some games you can sell some you can't, whining that you bought it from a "Retail Store" is meaningless.
 
Brian Boyko said:
Now, even assuming I had any sort of foreknowledge of this policy when I picked the title up off the shelf (and I most certainly did not,) the problem is that this has not been purchased from EITHER an auction site or another individual. I purchased this from Half Price Books, which is a retail store. Yes, they focus on overstock and secondary market, but they're neither an individual nor an auction site...
Click to expand...

Well i'm no fancy shmancy lawyer or anything but i do believe a corporation is treated as an "individual" in regards to property rights and stuff like that.

Honestly though, why would you buy a used PC game? Especially if you know about steam and the likes?
 
Brian Boyko said:
I don't know if Kyle will go for it (I'm strictly a freelancer now vis a vis my relationship with the [H]) so I may have to start my own tech/gamer blog just to publish it. I think it'll be an interesting read though.
Click to expand...
You are more than welcome to publish articles/editorials/whatever at www.SteamHardware.com. If you are interested, just head on over there and post in the forums saying I sent you and someone will hook you up with the correct permissions.

  • Followed Valve's instructions to the letter.
  • Was completely blown off (steam pun!) by official support
  • Was completely blown off in the steam forums, with the moderators going so far as to lock the thread.
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Nobody has blown you off. Valve have given you an official response. And then when you came to the forums, there is nothing that anyone can do there. Personal account issue threads are always closed and the user directed to support.[/QUOTE]

The King of Pants said:
I'm with the other's saying this is on you. It's not like you're some kind of PC neophyte, you've written for [H] in the past for crying out loud. Claiming you are looking at this from the view of the common man doesn't hold any water.

Why does Valve use a CD-Key system? To sell more copies, to prevent people sharing a copy, whatever, this isn't some new thing that has suddenly been sprung on the gaming community. Some games you can sell some you can't, whining that you bought it from a "Retail Store" is meaningless.
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Well said.
ro4ddogg said:
Honestly though, why would you buy a used PC game?
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That is what I want to know. I have known since I was very little to avoid purchasing second hand software. While it might have not been a problem in the past, companies are now able to enforce the legal contracts we enter into.
 
To answer many people's questions - this was just my first experience with Valve Steam.

I didn't even get into PC gaming until late 2005. Before then I was strictly a Mac user.

While I can't say I've bought a whole lot of used software, this is the first time I've had a real, significant problem with it, including buying Battlefield 2, and Battlefield 1942.
 
The "you should have known better" argument doesn't work, and I'm disappointed to see so many people use it. Every one of us was once new to everything we consider normal today; regardless of whether the OP knew better or not, the fact is millions of potential PC gamers are going to be stumbling into problems like this in the next few years. Most of them will abandon PC games and go to consoles where CD keys and EULAs aren't an issue.

The same goes for Half-Price Books; they can't afford to know the policies and restrictions of every game on the market, or even every publisher and developer. If they verify that the CD key is there and the media is not damaged, they're doing what they need to do. It should be up to the publishers to note ON THE BOX that a game should not be resold due to online registration of the CD key. That simple change could be made at almost no expense and at least give them an easy response: it says right on the box not to do that.

Valve's big failure here was not taking the extra step to satisfy the customer. I think they should have at least sent an e-mail to the registered customer and informed them that their CD key had be bought at a resale store and someone else was attempting to register it. Was the CD stolen, or did they sell it? Valve could facilitate the return of a stolen CD, or resolve the problem to the satisfaction of the buyer in a relatively short time--and again, at little expense.

As for the "I bought it at a retail store" argument, that same argument applies to returning it. You take it back, tell them it didn't work and they sold an unuseable product, and demand your money back. Unless they have an "all sales are final" policy on used PC games they have to honor it.
 
PopeKevinI said:
The "you should have known better" argument doesn't work, and I'm disappointed to see so many people use it. Every one of us was once new to everything we consider normal today; regardless of whether the OP knew better or not, the fact is millions of potential PC gamers are going to be stumbling into problems like this in the next few years. Most of them will abandon PC games and go to consoles where CD keys and EULAs aren't an issue.

The same goes for Half-Price Books; they can't afford to know the policies and restrictions of every game on the market, or even every publisher and developer. If they verify that the CD key is there and the media is not damaged, they're doing what they need to do. It should be up to the publishers to note ON THE BOX that a game should not be resold due to online registration of the CD key. That simple change could be made at almost no expense and at least give them an easy response: it says right on the box not to do that.

Valve's big failure here was not taking the extra step to satisfy the customer. I think they should have at least sent an e-mail to the registered customer and informed them that their CD key had be bought at a resale store and someone else was attempting to register it. Was the CD stolen, or did they sell it? Valve could facilitate the return of a stolen CD, or resolve the problem to the satisfaction of the buyer in a relatively short time--and again, at little expense.

As for the "I bought it at a retail store" argument, that same argument applies to returning it. You take it back, tell them it didn't work and they sold an unuseable product, and demand your money back. Unless they have an "all sales are final" policy on used PC games they have to honor it.
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QFT.
 
I'm not sure what your problem is. You knowingly bought a pre-used game and account key and are complaining about not being able to get the account reset? Buying it from a resell store is the SAME THING as buying it from an individual.
 
Brian Boyko said:
To answer many people's questions - this was just my first experience with Valve Steam.

I didn't even get into PC gaming until late 2005. Before then I was strictly a Mac user.

While I can't say I've bought a whole lot of used software, this is the first time I've had a real, significant problem with it, including buying Battlefield 2, and Battlefield 1942.
Click to expand...

Dont' buy used software. So many games are tied to the account of the initial buyer.
 
No shit, he's saying it should be listed on the box. Without listing it on the box there is no way any random can just go to a store and know that the key is 1 user only and none-resettable.
 
MrFace said:
Dont' buy used software. So many games are tied to the account of the initial buyer.
Click to expand...

The whole problem here is that it's assumed that the consumer knows this. MOST DON'T.

The publishers need to inform people of that ON THE BOX to prevent this sort of thing. Look at it this way: every time a problem like this comes up, that's one more chance for someone to give up PC gaming entirely.
 
sabrewolf732 said:
No shit, he's saying it should be listed on the box. Without listing it on the box there is no way any random can just go to a store and know that the key is 1 user only and none-resettable.
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In large friendly letters across the bottom of the box:

NOTICE: The enclosed CD key must be registered to a user account to enable online play. Registered CD keys must be released prior to resale by the consumer. If this game is being purchased in any condition but new and sealed (for example "used", "preowned", "open box") please verify that the CD key is not registered prior to purchase by visiting preregister.steam.com.

The first sentence tells you why you should pay attention. The second sentence (with a more legally binding clause in the EULA) says that if a user sells their copy without releasing the key, they violate the EULA. The third would give consumers and retailers a way to check on a CD key prior to purchase. Obviously I invented the URL :)

edit: to the OP, I'd suggest making this a focus of your article. An informed consumer is less likely to do things like create forum threads and write articles about why something sucks. It should become an industry standard to inform people if there is a potential for a used product to not work because the original owner still has the access rights to it. Offering them a reasonable and inexpensive solution is always the best way to get businesses to listen.
 
This sounds like a case of buyer beware... It's $8, don't do it again, it's not Valves fault, it's the retailer. I don't see how this would be any different on buying it from a yard sale. I doubt Valve gets money for the license you bought. This is the same type of scenario if you bought Windows XP second hand.
 
PopeKevinI said:
The whole problem here is that it's assumed that the consumer knows this. MOST DON'T.

The publishers need to inform people of that ON THE BOX to prevent this sort of thing. Look at it this way: every time a problem like this comes up, that's one more chance for someone to give up PC gaming entirely.
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Another thing is that while I obviously was ignorant of this case, I don't exactly consider myself a neophyte or clueless "luser" when it comes to technology issues. If it could snag me, it could snag anyone.
 
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