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With the fourth Humble Indie Bundle I received second copy of the third pack that I already own. Is there any way to add the key or the games to my account as something gift/trade-able? Duplicate games don't seem to be rendered giftable (I already owned e.g. Super Meat Boy) so I don't want to risk spending the key by activating the third bundle a second time and simply wasting the key.

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3 Answers

up vote 10 down vote accepted

Per the Steam article on the subject

Extra copies are not given in most cases.

Only titles purchased in special promotions as outlined below are eligible for giftable extra copies

There has also been some discussion in gaming chat about the ethics of giving away extra humble bundle keys, as the site says the keys are for your sole use.

Humble bundle description

The original discussion was here. Ullallulloo emailed Humble Bundle support and asked for us. He posted the reply in chat here. Here's what it said:

"Our Steam keys do not generate giftable copies on Steam. Please consider your bundle a "unit" and not to share copies of the games or Steam keys from it.

If you'd like to give a copy of the games away, we have a system in place that allows you to buy a gift key from www.humblebundle.com so your friends can have access to direct downloads as well as any Steam or other keys we have included.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

Thank you for your support"

For non-Humble Bundle trading, I would suggest the meta post related to game trading.

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thanks, already done. Concerning the ethics, maybe you're right. But having the key a second time seems just such a waste to me. – Zommuter Dec 22 '11 at 15:22
@TobiasKienzler I just did some more research, and Ullallulloo actually emailed support regarding the questions we raised in chat. The response is above. – Dave McClelland Dec 22 '11 at 15:29
Thanks, so I'll understand that as "Please don't". I guess you're right – Zommuter Dec 22 '11 at 15:44
I did not notice this post until now. :) – Ullallulloo Dec 24 '11 at 0:48
@Ullallulloo Thanks for doing all the work to find the answer to the question for me :) – Dave McClelland Dec 24 '11 at 19:07
up vote 2 down vote

On your personal Humble Bundle page, you'll see this message beneath the Steam keys:

All keys are for your personal use only. Steam will not provide you with extra giftable copies of any bundle games you already own prior to redeeming your bundle key(s).

So now, you are not given extra copies for this. Technically, you're not really allowed to give the keys away as per the "personal use" clause, however, most people interpret this to mean "I can do what I want with them" and do so.

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hm, technically I got a second bundle (the bonus one plus the one originally bought) and wouldn't give away the key for the non-steam downloads, but I see your point. I wouldn't dream of exploiting these awesome folks, but it's a pity letting that Steam key go to waste... – Zommuter Dec 22 '11 at 15:26
1  
@Tobias I agree with you. I paid fullprice/over full price for all of the other Humble bundles, so the bonus bundles I've received are all redundant. I reason that they would rather us share the awesomeness of their games and encourage new people to buy future bundles than to just sit on a useless code. – FAE Dec 22 '11 at 15:29
@Tobias: Does anyone else see black text on black background on that page? – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Dec 22 '11 at 18:20
@BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft no, but maybe your adblock/noscript accidentally blocks the white background? – Zommuter Dec 23 '11 at 8:48
up vote 1 down vote

I'm afraid there isn't a way to gift duplicate games. Atleast, I have not yet managed to find a way to do this.

It seems the only way to do this is to give away the key which is not really an option if the key activates any games you want for yourself.

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I know for game packs this depends on the pack, one may obtain the games one already owns as gifts, but it is not always the case. What I'd like to know is however whether I can trade an entire collection that is activated with one Steam key. I already have the bundle activated so I could give away the key. It's just one of the points discouraged in the Steam Trading FAQs: avoid Trading items/gifts for CD keys (without the Steam trading system you're acting on good faith, which is fine on xmas, but I'd prefer regulation) – Zommuter Dec 22 '11 at 15:00

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