How we confirm prices and availability before you pay

Game key prices are not fixed. Our supplier's prices and stock change through the day, and a key that was available this morning may have sold out by the afternoon. We keep a copy of the whole catalogue and refresh it regularly, but no copy of tens of thousands of listings can be up to the minute everywhere at once. So instead of relying on it at the moment that matters, we check with the supplier directly at each step on the way to checkout.

Where the prices on listing pages come from

The prices on the home page, in search results and on product cards come from our copy of the catalogue. They are usually correct, but they can be behind the supplier, particularly for listings nobody has looked at for a while. That is why we do not rely on them at checkout.

Check 1: when you open a product

When you open a product page, we ask our supplier for that product's current price and availability. If either has changed since our last update, the page shows the up-to-date figure, and our catalogue is corrected at the same time, so the next shopper sees the right price too.

Check 2: when you open your cart

Your cart is saved in your browser, so an item you added days ago may no longer be priced or stocked the way it was. When you open the cart, we check every line again. If anything has changed, the cart makes the change and tells you what it did:

• A product that is no longer sold is removed.
• If fewer copies are available than you asked for, the quantity is reduced.
• If a price has changed, the new price is shown.

We check again each time you increase a quantity, because more copies may not be available. Reducing a quantity does not need a check.

Check 3: at checkout

When you press the button to pay, we check every item one final time. This is the check that decides what you are charged.

• If a price has gone up, we show you the new total before you are sent to the payment page. You can review it and decide whether to continue. We will never take you to payment for a higher amount without telling you first.
• If something has sold out, checkout stops and tells you which item it was. You have not been charged.

When we cannot reach the supplier

Now and then, the supplier cannot be reached for a moment. For most products we can still sell from our own records, because they show plenty of stock. For products where stock is limited, or that we have not checked recently, we would rather not guess. In that case checkout tells you that we cannot confirm availability right now and that you have not been charged. Trying again a little later usually works.

The "In stock now" filter

On the game keys page, the In stock now filter shows only listings whose stock we have actually confirmed with our supplier, rather than ones we expect to be in stock. If you want to be sure a key is available before you start comparing editions, switch it on.

Why we do it this way

Checking with the supplier at every step takes a little more work on our side, but it means the figure you agree to at checkout is the figure you pay, and a product that is shown as available is one we can actually supply.

Something look wrong with a price? Email [email protected] with a link to the product, and we will look into it.