Just came across an article today that I found interesting and wanted to share... http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexNichiporchik/20160620/275379/G2A_Sold_450k_worth_of_our_games.php

So, for those who haven't heard of it, G2A is a website which primarily sells Steam keys. However, unlike other third party markets (Humble Store, GreenManGaming, etc) it is effectively like eBay. Users sell their game keys on the G2A marketplace and the customer generally receives a game cheaper than its official Steam price because of it.

This site gets a ton of attention via streamers and stuff because of their (presumably) good affiliate rates. However, I have long since viewed the site with concern because it is one of those "too good to be true" things. For example, some games you can find at 80% discount or greater. It was even more common back before Steam added region locking to keys - look at the "RUS" game code pricing to see what was once attainable here in the US.

In any case, this article by tinyBuild showcases that they've been harmed thanks to this marketplace. They are not the only ones, but it is the most recent article on the topic. I'd urge against using G2A but I guess the consumers themselves are doing nothing wrong by ordering from it. I admit to having bought two very cheap games on it before but feel increasingly that it is best to stay far away from the site.

g2a is one of those places I refuse to use as a service out of principle. This is far from the first time I've heard of shady crap from their service and they don't do anything to try and curb this kind of behaviour, so they're just as guilty as the people doing the illegal selling in my mind.

G2A have responded to all this hubub by saying they'll now give 10% of royalties on marketplace sales to the developers. Of course, developers have to apply for this and 10% is tiny all things considered. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-06-28-g2a-to-give-developers-royalties-on-third-party-auctions

I have to wonder how hard it'll be for a developer to apply and actually be approved. After deciding to stop using them, I had to remove my G2A Shield subscription (that they actually flung on me without my consent to begin with) and that was one hell of a process. Not only can you only access the unsubscribe function in the last two days of the subscription, you also have to go through a million steps full of clicking tiny grey links at the bottom of pages. It is honestly the most consumer unfriendly thing I've seen in a while.