anyone have experience with "Kinguin"? seems a bit TOO cheap to be legal to me.

[jboydgolfer]

I saw a video on Youtube from what I would normally say is a legit person, but he was showcasing how to get a $20 Win 10 key, or a $17 Win 7 key...I obviously want to save money, but this seems a LOT like , or close enough to Pirating. Im not an idiot, but I try not to make assumptions either. Let Me know if You have experience with this site please.i feel like this is one of those "buy the key, install the OS, and a month later microsoft flags it, and Your S.O.L

thanks.

 

[Toothless]

The one tech dude on youtube with glasses made a video about a $20 key, I forgot who though.

Found himmm

 

[jboydgolfer]

yeah , thats who i was referencing. He basically does his best to NOT give any solid opinion, or info regarding the sites legitamacy in that video, so i thought id poke aroud somewhere that I trust most of the other people.

 

[AsRock]

Yeah, because he was able to actually get it, don't mean your bank account or paypal details are safe after.

 

[TheGuruStud]

Kinguin is just a marketplace. You mean g2a, g2play, etc.

As long as the keys weren't bought with stolen CCs... They buy keys in poorer countries, then sell them.

The largest sellers seem to be solid.

Anyone paying for windows needs punished. I use it for games.

 

[R-T-B]

Most of the "cheap" keys are misused volume license agreement keys that will activate for about a month, and then microsoft will revoke the activation.

 

[rtwjunkie]

The one tech dude on youtube with glasses made a video about a $20 key, I forgot who though.

Found himmm

That looks like one of the guys that used to be on Newegg TV.

 

[Solaris17]

That looks like one of the guys that used to be on Newegg TV.

is that him?!

 

[AsRock]

It don't look like, it is .

 

[newtekie1]

Some of the games are legit. For example, the ones that come as game vouchers with GPUs. People get on there and sell those all the time, and they activate without a problem.

I'd wouldn't buy Windows on there though.

 

[95Viper]

Here is an interesting article... The truth behind those mysteriously cheap gray market game codes

 

[jboydgolfer]

so my gut feeling was right apparently,,, sketch city.

 

[95Viper]

so my gut feeling was right apparently,,, sketch city.

Sorta, like, gambling... sometimes you win and sometimes you could lose.

The site seems legit; however, are the sellers legit, is the real question. Were the keys purchased illegally, should not be sold retail, cracks, etc. or, they could be perfectly legal.
Which, ever, seems R, A, B, C, or whoever ain't taking no blame... it was them, not us.

Really, when you think about it... it is not any different than any other site that sells online... some just give better customer service, guarantees, buyer protection, etc.
But, you really want to go with a sure bet most of the time.

 

[R-T-B]

Sorta, like, gambling... sometimes you win and sometimes you could lose.
or, they could be perfectly legal.

Unlikely. Even if they work for eternity, they aren't legal. Reselling OEM keys is a violation of MS TOS. And if it's full retail, why the heck would you not sell it as such with proof of license?

 

[newtekie1]

Unlikely. Even if they work for eternity, they aren't legal. Reselling OEM keys is a violation of MS TOS. And if it's full retail, why the heck would you not sell it as such with proof of license?

Well, that depends. If you haven't broken the outer seal, the red sticker on the envelope the OEM software comes in, then it is perfectly legal to resell it. The TOS applies to the person that breaks that seal, before that you haven't agreed to any TOS.

However, Kinguin requires the seller to take a picture of the COA and send it to the buyer. The only way to do this is to break the OEM seal. Also, the sale of the OEM software must include the transfer of the COA, which isn't happening either. So Kinguin is definitely operating outside of the law. But they also do sell Retail keys.

However, what I think 95Viper meant was that the keys could have been acquired legally, and never activated. The only less than legal thing is transferring the un-activated key from one person to another in a way not approved by Microsoft. But that isn't going to stop the key from working. Microsoft doesn't really care when activating if the COA is actually stuck on the side of the computer. They only want to make sure the software hasn't been activated already.

 

[95Viper]

Unlikely. Even if they work for eternity, they aren't legal. Reselling OEM keys is a violation of MS TOS. And if it's full retail, why the heck would you not sell it as such with proof of license?

Don't quote someone and re-arrange it so it is taken out of context.
What you mention would be covered under my words, "should not be sold retail".

I was stating that some on the sites may be selling legitimate keys... and, you never know it could be a retail key, with all the goodies.

 

[newtekie1]

I was stating that some on the sites may be selling legitimate keys... and, you never know it could be a retail key, with all the goodies.

Actually, on Kinguin, they differentiate between OEM and Retail keys. If it is a retail key it costs a little more and they let you know.

 

[R-T-B]

Don't quote someone and re-arrange it so it is taken out of context.
What you mention would be covered under my words, "should not be sold retail".

I was stating that some on the sites may be selling legitimate keys... and, you never know it could be a retail key, with all the goodies.

I really was just trying to get to the point. I honestly missed the part where you mentioned retail keys, I thought you were just assuming cheap keys could be legal. I wasn't trying to take your words out of context, and I actually did not rearrange them... FWIW.

EDIT: Oh wait, I did rearrange them. It was only supposed to be the bottom line quoted. I blame my phone.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Kinguin is fine for game keys.

Kinguin and G2A are pretty much direct competitiors.

However its best to stick to sellers that are in your area.

Example 100% positive feedback / if in an english region aka Canada / uk / australia / US you can buy from any of those territories without much issue. I have seen complications buying say Russian keys etc. But just pay attention to the details and its fine.

Legal ? Its Grey Market keys. The legality is kinda moot. no different than selling keys from steam gifts etc via PM or friends or the like just in this case a third party exists. I would avoid buying Microsoft keys via G2A / Kinguin etc. But games? yeah zero problems in that regard.

 

[MustSeeMelons]

Kinguin and G2A are pretty much direct competitiors.

Are you sure? Kinguin sells keys from many sites, including G2A, it's more like an aggregator.
Kinguin is fine, have bought a few games there - if the key doesn't work, you can choose to refund or get another key. Same as G2A, but without all the odd questions.

 

[Capitan Harlock]

Never had issue with kinguin in the last years that im using it .
About Paul from Pauls Hardware is a good and reliable guy so if you dont follow him and the other circles of youtube tech that are friend with him then dont judge .
Because does not make any sense.

 

[jboydgolfer]

eh, i wasnt so much intending to say he is terrible or anything(and i didnt), I just thought of him "differently" before that video(with more respect)..now i view him with less regard is all...i suppose that is/could be viewed as judging, but that is My prerogative...im certainly capable of forming my own opinion's of other's. my opinions are certainly not intended to offend You or anyone else, but I am certainly allowed to have them..and will continue to.

thanks for all the feedback...Im gonna make the decision that this site just isn't for me. Im with whoever said making smaller game purchases might be okay...but OS purchases are IMO not too many steps above pirating, either way the M$ T.O.S certainly aren't being followed....i have enough corruption in my life & dont need any more.

 

[Vayra86]

Don't buy Windows keys at these prices, it's not worth the risk.

Don't get me wrong, I buy all my games through G2A and the like, but Windows... no. Just no.

You can also find cheaper Win 7 keys now, look for those, especially on business-related sellers. They sell them at a good price and you can still upgrade to 10 until 29 june or july. If you find them at 40-60 bucks, that's very decent.

I found my OEM W7 key for 45 or so, not too long ago.

 

[alucasa]

The problem with those cheap keys is that you don't know when they will suddenly deactivate. It's probably better to seek alternative.
When it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

never had issues with said keys.

Fallout 3
MGS V
Witcher 2
RAGE
A shit ton of other older games i picked up for a couple bucks.
Over the last 3-4 years zero keys revoked. Like i said stick to sellers in your region. It is not rocket science.