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Valve Opts To Preserve Steam Economy, No Protection From Sour Trade Deals Anymore
While many use Steam as a storefront for PC games, there is another aspect of the service worth quite a lot to Valve. The Steam marketplace allows users to trade and sell trading cards, emotes, Team Fortress Hats, Dota 2 items, and even games.
Up until recently, Steam offered protection for trades gone wrong due to scams. Those affected could contact support with an image of item history, detail the situation and, on a case by case basis, have their inventory restored.
The FAQ that exists on the Steam page related to scams now tells a different story, with an explanation that protects the many over the few.
As an example, multiple Counter-Strike GO items carry market value of over $400 (and sell for those prices). Valve’s decision reflects an evolution of the peer-to-peer sales and trading that occur via the service.
You can read the entire Steam scam FAQ and learn about ways to protect yourself from fraudulent deals. This decision also comes on the heels of Steam’s new refund policy, which allows users to request reimbursement for any reason (with stipulations).
Our Take
Dota 2, Counter-Strike, and Team Fortress 2 item trading is big business. Valve gets a cut of all those sales, and is protecting itself as much as it is the community. Action can still be taken to remove scammers from the Steam population, but its up to users to be smart. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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