F1 2015

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by Holger53, Jul 10, 2015.

  1. Rodger Davies

    Rodger Davies Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the info, I didn't know that - where do they source them from then if they're not buying them? Genuinely curious. I assumed they bought in bulk or via the methods stated above (all legitimate).
     
  2. nate

    nate Well-Known Member

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    That's actually a good question, and not something that can be answered definitively imo, without some major cooperation from both the website in question, and the developer/publisher of the game being sold there.

    For example, each game key is produced from the publisher. A cd key is generated, and that key is then authorized for the game it was created for. The publisher then distributes those keys to retailers, who then sell the games to you and me. So, when you end up with a key, the publisher would be able to check their internal system, and know exactly when it was first produced, when they sold it to the retailer, and when that retailer sold it to you...

    This becomes much muddier when those keys pass through 3rd party sites. Those grey market sites arent going to cooperate, ever, by telling you where their keys come from. And the publishers wont make public exactly where a certain key went through its life cycle of being produced to getting to the end user. So, it would be quite hard to accurately say where a specific key came from.

    That said, thoughtful observations could be made. For a new game at launch being sold half off or so by some of those sites, they probably get their keys from russia or ukraine. That is the source of many cheap keys. Keys from those regions cost a fraction of what they would at retail in the US. So those 3rd party grey market resellers can gobble them up from connections they have in those countries, and then sell the keys at a low price while still making a profit. This is the part that makes them shady. These 3rd party sites have suppliers that no one knows about. No one knows who gives these 3rd party sites keys, and the sites surely will never tell you. It's all very much on the down low and done under the table. Inherently making them grey market.

    Im not privy enough to know exactly how they work, and Im sure few know precisely besides those who actually work for those companies and source the keys from wherever they do.

    Post-launch keys can probably be obtained via many more methods. Via stolen credit cards, charity bundles, or gpu promotions like Nvidia and Arkham Knight. Keys float all over before they ever end up to you, if you look to places that arent Steam, Origin, etc.

    It isnt possible to precisely say where a specific key ever came from unless you are the one distributing it pretty much, so as a consumer, the best you can do is avoid shady sites, and buy legitimate keys from retailers that source their keys directly from the developer/publisher.
     
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  3. Ernie

    Ernie Well-Known Member

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    Sums it all up.
     
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  4. Revvin

    Revvin Member

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    Its got nothing to do with disagreeing or not understanding, your use of the silly poking tongue smiley is insulting and looks like deliberate provocation - troll like behaviour.

    There are thousands of small businesses - independent retailers out there on the high street and online that won't be able to get on authorised dealer lists, even more so when the big retailers in the high street and online are paying to get exclusivity either on the game outright or on bonus content, those independent stores buy their games from wholesalers and other sources but by your judgement that makes them illegal. I'm sure GAME the huge highstreet retailer is on Codemasters authorised retailers list yet they were found to be going into supermarkets that had a game on sale (the supermarket using it as a loss leader to entice people into the store and do their shopping) and they bought up all the heavily discounted stock (in some cases less than half the cost GAME were selling it for) and restocked their own shelves and marked the games back up to their own full RRP price so it seems Codemasters are either not too fussy over who they sell to or they don't check up on what their authorised retailers get up to. Incidentally CDKeys has a higher customer satisfaction score on Trustpilot than GAME does , not bad for an illegal reseller who you imply uses stolen keys, stolen credit card information or sells fake keys which you have still not been able to back up as fact.
     
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