Steam/VALVe and why they're no different than any other corporation.

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I have a grievance with Steam right now. Currently they've been running holiday sales with great deals for games. I decided to buy the Jedi Knight Bundle on Dec. 23rd because $11.99 was a good deal compared to the regular $19.99.

Today I log onto Steam to see what deals they had running, and lo and behold, they had the same EXACT bundle for $4.99. Suffice to say I'm pissed off to no end. I feel Steam basically screwed me over, offering 2 sales of the same product within days of each other during the same Sale period.
You could say "but you should have waited til it was lower in price." I respond to you like this: "How in the hell could I know they'd drop the price again 4 days later?"
I have sent Steam a letter tactfully and respectfully asking not for a full refund but just the difference credited to my Steam wallet, as I feel this was an unfair business practice.
Just another example why Steam isn't better than any other digital distribution company out there for you folks who hold them in high esteem.
Thank you for your time.

 

[Lilani]

You missed a sale. Hate to say it, but that isn't Valve's fault at all. They didn't actually HAVE to give any of those discounts, both the 50% you took and the 75% you missed. This happens in both physical retail as well as online. I work at a clothing store, and I have people getting mad at me all the time because we'll mark something down a week after they purchased it, or we'll run a special I didn't even know about until the day of and it will have cost them some money. So if you're going to lump them in with another group, just lump them in with retail in general.

And really, you got off pretty good. It cost you $5, where I've seen people miss sales and have it cost them $20 or more. That's just how it works, I'm afraid.

Also, you seem to want to bring Steam "down a peg" with this, as though they don't deserve the praise they get. Last I heard they're a hell of a lot better than Origin in about every way imaginable (looser rules, the ability to give games as gifts, warnings when you're going to purchase something you already have, etc.). I think it's also likely a lot of their praise comes less from their services and more from Valve and their products in general. Because Valve owns Steam, the reverence people have for their games just sort of trickles down. That's just sort of how people are.

 

[Comic Sans]

I have a grievance with Steam right now. Currently they've been running holiday sales with great deals for games. I decided to buy the Jedi Knight Bundle on Dec. 23rd because $11.99 was a good deal compared to the regular $19.99.

Today I log onto Steam to see what deals they had running, and lo and behold, they had the same EXACT bundle for $4.99. Suffice to say I'm pissed off to no end. I feel Steam basically screwed me over, offering 2 sales of the same product within days of each other during the same Sale period.
You could say "but you should have waited til it was lower in price." I respond to you like this: "How in the hell could I know they'd drop the price again 4 days later?"
I have sent Steam a letter tactfully and respectfully asking not for a full refund but just the difference credited to my Steam wallet, as I feel this was an unfair business practice.
Just another example why Steam isn't better than any other digital distribution company out there for you folks who hold them in high esteem.
Thank you for your time.

I see you are clearly unfamiliar with the Steam Christmas sale. You never buy the game bundles until the last day possible. Always hold off. Since there's a new sale every day, it's not uncommon to see games and franchises already on sale get marked down lower. If you see one you want, you hold off to make sure it doesn't get marked down further. Once the sale is concluding and there will be no more markdowns, only then do you drop the money for it. Given that this fact is clearly evident by the daily sales, it's your own fault, not Valve's. Your situation does not affect my opinions of them.

 

[Zhukov]

Uh... you missed a sale. Lost an immense fortune of $7.00. It happens.

What exactly are they supposed to do?

 

[chaosyoshimage]

I bought a game the other day for $5, I can't get it to work even though my computer should meet the specs (System Requirements Lab says so, and I've played more taxing games on this computer). Am I mad at Valve/Steam? No. Am I mad at the developer, Supergiant Games? No. I'm just mad, partially at myself for not trying to run the demo I already had on my computer first...

Also, I bought that Jedi Knight bundle last year for $5, I got lucky it seems.

 

[SarcasmoPope]

Oh god.
Really?
That's Valve's fault?

 

[Neonit]

so you are angry because you bought product for lower price, and then they lowered price even more. wow. how dare they lower their prices!

just for laughs, they should make you pay full price.

and no need to thank me for my time, it was very funny for me, i consider this time well spent.

 

[BarbaricGoose]

I can see why you're upset, but look at this way: you're getting angry that Steam offered an awesome deal on a great game.

Yeah, it's weird that they'd do that, but again, you're still saving money. Not many companies out there offer an entire publisher's/developer's catalogue of games for 70% off.

 

[Something Amyss]

I have a grievance with Steam right now. Currently they've been running holiday sales with great deals for games. I decided to buy the Jedi Knight Bundle on Dec. 23rd because $11.99 was a good deal compared to the regular $19.99.

Today I log onto Steam to see what deals they had running, and lo and behold, they had the same EXACT bundle for $4.99. Suffice to say I'm pissed off to no end. I feel Steam basically screwed me over, offering 2 sales of the same product within days of each other during the same Sale period.
You could say "but you should have waited til it was lower in price." I respond to you like this: "How in the hell could I know they'd drop the price again 4 days later?"
I have sent Steam a letter tactfully and respectfully asking not for a full refund but just the difference credited to my Steam wallet, as I feel this was an unfair business practice.
Just another example why Steam isn't better than any other digital distribution company out there for you folks who hold them in high esteem.
Thank you for your time.

Yup. Like ANY corporation, you run the risk of missing a better deal later. This is part of consumerism.

As much as I hate the word "entitlement" because it's been thrown around so much where it has no business, this is entitlement, and an unjust sense of it, too. Sorry, but you are not entitled to the lowest price. Yes, you had no way of knowing. JUST like everywhere else.

But moreso, I think your complaints fall of deaf ears here. I mean, the fact that they offered such a large chunk off the asking price in the first place does put them above most DD etailers.

I'm sorry, but there are real problems with Steam: Monopolistic behaviour, poor customer service, etc. "Not giving me the best possible deal" is not one of them.

 

[Blue_vision]

"Steam sucks because I bought this stuff for 40% off the normal price, and then they sold it again for 75% off! Valve is as unfair and money-hoarding as any other company, I tell ya!"

I feel like you should just be happy that you got a ton of games for $12.

EDIT: I can't be convinced that this isn't a joke. Please tell me it's a joke!

 

[MightyRabbit]

I bought a game the other day for $5, I can't get it to work even though my computer should meet the specs (System Requirements Lab says so, and I've played more taxing games on this computer). Am I mad at Valve/Steam? No. Am I mad at the developer, Supergiant Games? No. I'm just mad, partially at myself for not trying to run the demo I already had on my computer first...

Also, I bought that Jedi Knight bundle last year for $5, I got lucky it seems.

Supergiant Games? Oh shit man, you can't play Bastion? That honestly, really, truly sucks. It's also on XBLA, Google Chrome & iOS I believe. Totally worth buying twice.

 

[Something Amyss]

I see you are clearly unfamiliar with the Steam Christmas sale. You never buy the game bundles until the last day possible. Always hold off. Since there's a new sale every day, it's not uncommon to see games and franchises already on sale get marked down lower. If you see one you want, you hold off to make sure it doesn't get marked down further. Once the sale is concluding and there will be no more markdowns, only then do you drop the money for it. Given that this fact is clearly evident by the daily sales, it's your own fault, not Valve's. Your situation does not affect my opinions of them.

Be an informed and responsible consumer? Surely you can't be serious!

 

[Slaanesh]

You really had me going for a second there OP. Nice one.

 

[Lev The Red]

cool story, bro. tell it again.

valve is a company. they are out to make money. that aside, they run a fantastic business. i can't think of many other sites where you can buy a product for more than 50% under retail. realistically, you should consider yourself lucky you caught a sale in the first place. it's not their fault you missed a better one, even if it was two days later. a few months ago, i bought Civ 5 for full price, only to see it selling for 66% off a few days later. was i frustrated? hell yes. but i wasn't gonna decry a company or a business that is WILLING to sell a game for 66% off in the first place.

like my dad used to say: "Dem's da breaks."

 

[Blunderboy]

First world problems man.
It sucks when that happens but really, it's not worth getting so bent out of shape for dude.

 

[Master Kuja]

Please be a troll thread.
There's a damn good reason why EVERYONE says don't buy anything until the very last day, otherwise it's your fault for your own impatience.

 

[Chocomint]

I can empathize (purchased a game at almost full price, was on daily deals a few days later), but this topic comes up every single time they have a big sale. Retail stores could do the same thing - sale one week, clearance the next. Think of it as a learning experience and wait for the increased discounts every day, if it doesn't appear there then pick it up on the last day of the event.

 

[WalrusPowers]

Steam barely even functions on any of my computers. I can't run it in offline, I can't connect when my net is running slowly (not off, just slowly, can still load web pages) and I still fucking love valve. I just really love all of their games. To me, that shines through anything they can do.