What Happens If You Decline A Steam Gift?

Sometimes things like this happen. For both the giver and the recipient, declining a gift usually sucks. It could be accidental that you have declined a steam gift because you have accidentally pressed a key that made it disappear, but still it leaves a nasty taste.

But what happens if you decline a steam gift? Are there any serious repercussions? Will it destroy relationships? Allow me to quote this post on a forum online.

What if a friend declines a gift card I purchased for them?

Imagine the horror and disappointment you’ll feel if it is you. But what happens if you decline a steam gift? In the event, a friend declines a digital gift card you have given them, they will refund it. After you have verified that a friend declined your gift, they will give a refund back to your payment processor.

But what if my payment processor or payment method does not support this option?

If your payment method or payment processor does not support this kind of option, Steam will refund your purchase back into your Steam Wallet.

How about if it’s me who’s going to decline a Steam gift?

Now, this is tougher, but there is still a wiggle room for this kind of situation. As per valve user experience, once you declined a steam gift, they will return the said gift to the owner’s gift inventory. And the owner can use that gift to be given again to another recipient who will wholeheartedly accept it because it’s a token of goodwill.

You should understand that Valve rarely grants refunds regarding this matter. The moment you made a transaction, Steam notifies your target recipient that he already owns the game. But in most cases, when you decline a gift, Steam usually deletes the gift, and the sender receives a refund.

Usually, the giver receives a message like this:

Hello XXXX

Suspicious Alt Account has declined your gift

Please take this image as an example from Lebedev.

(Image courtesy of Newbedev)

(Image courtesy of Newbedev)

However, if the gift that was sent is from the sender’s gift inventory, expect no refund and it will just stay there and you may give it as a gift to another person or better, convince the recipient to just redeem it.

Restore gift cards with Steam Gifts

How do you restore a gift card? When someone declines a gift, chances are you can still restore it. But you need to be wary of these conditions so you’ll have a smooth transaction. Make sure that the account is registered.

Search for the name of the game and if your query produces no results, it means another user purchased that game before you. If that happens, simply click on the REFUND REQUEST button. You’ll see a form displayed and you need to enter your details and status and click on Submit.

After you have gone through the process, they will send a confirmation email to your inbox.

Do you see it as rude if someone declines a steam gift?

Here’s a thing, receiving a gift is like a double-edged sword. You feel happy when someone gives you a gift if that person is close to you. But, it can also be a little creepy if out of nowhere, you’ll receive something from an anonymous sender. It’s hard to be naive and over-trusting nowadays.

In a normal setting, most culture finds it rude if someone declines a gift. It’s like being slapped in the face in front of many people. Because in a normal setup, the one who gave you a gift exerted an effort because that someone sees you as someone special. There’s actually no code of conduct for that, but common sense will tell you it’s somewhat rude to refuse a gift.

But if you find it necessary to decline a gift, you may say it nicely, like I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your gift because it is against my values. It’s no guarantee that it won’t be less offending, but at least you have been honest. It’s no guarantee it won’t hurt someone’s pride and feelings. Be ready with your sensitive explanation and stick with it with dignity.

In declining a gift, always remember to say it with sincerity and avoid any drama doing it. The simpler the approach, the more effective it will be.

Can you refund a gift on Steam?

You can expect a refund for any gift you have purchased provided:

It is within the fourteen days duration limit

The recipient played it for no less than two hours. The recipient should be the first to express their desire for the refund and must approve the removal of the purchase from their account.

To help you guide on the process, follow these simple steps on how to get a refund from Steam.

To request a refund on Steam as a the gift receiver

Visit Steam Support and click on sign in Sign in to Steam

Click on Games and Software

Select from the list the gift you have received.

Click on the issue with the game

Click on I’d like to request a refund

Confirm the Steam game purchaser should receive a refund

Requesting a refund on Steam as the buyer of the gift.

After the recipient has done their end of doing the steps for refund, you, as the buyer of the gift, can now request to have your money back. Just follow these steps and you’ll have your refund in no time.

Visit Steam Support URL and sign in Sign in to Steam.

Click Purchases

Select the gift from the list. If you don’t see the game on the list, you are not eligible for any refunds.

Click a reason for the refund.

Click on I’d like to request a refund

Select the method of refund example: debit/credit card, or you may request for a transfer to your Steam Wallet.

Wait for the confirmation email from Steam that they received your request for a refund.

Accepting steam gifts

A lot of gamers like to keep all of their games on Steam. You can choose to be generous and give some of your games in your library to some of your friends. When you do this, it will grant your friends access to those games as long as you are allowing it.

Steam would grant access as long as they have the verified email. Make sure both you and your friend have a Steam account. With that, here are the steps on how to accept gifts on Steam.

Accepting gifts on Steam

Open the email link on your Steam Community profile.
Locate in your inbox the email from Stem technical support.
Find the notification of the gift received with the message if a friend decided to leave a wish and a link that allows you to accept a fit in Steam.
Click on the link and this will lead you to the activation page.

How to find out the sender of the gift

Receiving gifts can be surprising, but how would you know who gave you a gift on Steam? The simplest way is to check the email and look for the information. Look for emails sent by Steam that says Received a gift in the subject line. You’ll see the email address of the gift’s sender.

But mostly when someone hands you a gift on Steam, they would always leave a PM (private message) showing their details. It’s much easier than checking the details yourself. The Steam clients also display that detail, so it’s easy for you to identify the gift sender without having to check your email.

But what if you deleted the message accidentally? And you’re having trouble finding it. Can you still find the mystery sender? If that is the case, I would recommend you contact Steam support and ask for their help.

Steam usually notifies you when someone accepts gifts you sent to them. You can find the notification on your dashboard or on your desktop if you have configured it. Both Manage Gifts and Guest Passes, flashes notification status so you’ll always get an update if a recipient accepts or declines your gift.

Giving Steam gifts from the Steam Library

As I’ve mentioned a while ago, gamers use Steam to keep game-related stuff all in one place. When you feel a little generous, Steam allows you to share games in your library as long as you continue to permit them so. Having someone sharing resources with you is fun as long as both of you agreed mutually on the do’s and don’t.

You need first to make sure that everyone whom you want to share games with is having a Steam account and you are friends with them on the Steam platform.

Login using the Steam client or browser. Enter your details on the log-in box and look for the games you want to share with.

Select the game and look for Add to Cart or Buy this game as a gift for a friend

Choose Purchase as a gift

Enter your friend’s Steam username

You may add a personal message to make sure your friend knows that you’re the sender.

Select Continue and complete your purchase.

After you have completed all the steps, you’ll received a notification if your friend accepts the gift. You may customize your setting to schedule a delivery should you wish to surprise your recipients with a nice treat. We’re all suckers for surprises.

If the recipient didn’t own a game and your recipient declined it?

If that’s the case, the game will go back to your inventory and you may ask for a refund.

How long will it take steam to reject a gift automatically if your receiver won’t confirm receipt?

Unconfirmed receipts usually have thirty days (30) grace period. But you’ve got to be wary of regional issues like if in one region they priced the game-high, it would be impossible to have their gifts with a high price difference. Steam has a ton of restrictions on their store page. But on a lighter note, if you bought a game with extra copies, and you donated one of them, there is no expiration.

Activating received Steam gifts

Once your recipient acknowledges your gift, he needs to activate it so the fun would never end.

Look for the link you received in your email.

After clicking on the link, Steam will direct you to a confirmation page where you can either Accept gift or Decline gift.

Choose Accept gift

Choose the option where you can add the game to the library or on your inventory. Select Add to my game library if you would prefer installing it and play it immediately.

Go to your game list in Steam and choose the game and click install.

Is it wise to accept gifts from anonymous Steam accounts?

When you were younger, both your teacher and your parents do not encourage you to receive anything from strangers. When you decide to accept any items from a person you don’t know, there’s always a risk. It’s dangerous a long time ago, and it’s more dangerous now considering how easy it is for intruders to gain access both physical and thru electronic means.

There is no difference in accepting anything from any platform. But Steam has got this covered. It’s highly unlikely to receive anything from people with whom you are not friends within Steam. But for safety reasons, if you don’t know the person on the other end of the line, don’t even entertain the thought of receiving anything from someone you don’t know.

One more thing, accepting code or gift always poses a risk. They used most codes in account recovery and it would require access to your email and that would get information from you. Digital cards can charge back to your account and this might lock your account. And if that happens, I assure you; it sucks.

Re-gifting Steam gifts

There are times you received gifts which are you don’t like or the gift is something that you already have. Either way, you’ll end up wanting to give them to someone else. I would advise you to re-gift it and make someone else happy.

Before, re-gifting steam is possible as long as you accept them as gifts and place it on your inventory. Then Steam made an update regarding re-gifting. On that update, Steam gifts that you redeemed are added automatically to the recipient’s library. It means you no longer have an option to redeem it to your inventory.

But DLC made an exception for a game you don’t own. It says DLC that you can either trade or redeemed a game in your inventory at a later time.

What if you received a game as a gift, played it for a while and decided you want to send it back? Is it possible?

Here’s a problem with gifts. You love to receive them, but seldom you can choose the one that truly matters to you the most. Here’s the catch: when you received a game, you played it for a while and then you decided you don’t like it, and would like to return it, isn’t it rude?

Remember, it’s something given to you and something you didn’t buy, so I would like you to have your thoughts along those lines. But on a technical aspect, can you do it? Of course, you can, because Steam allows a refund for gifts you have purchased as long as:

It stays with you for fourteen days, and
You haven’t played it for no less than two hours and you, as the recipient, would have to express your intention for refund and approve the refund.

But as I’ve said, though not technically illegal I advise strongly against it.

Benefits of having a Steam Card

A Steam is like a precious stone for a gamer. Steam is like a gamer’s paradise because it’s a marketplace for gamers. It has tons of titles and games that a gamer surely loves. I have yet to hear a gamer who didn’t enjoy a piece of what Steam offers. Any gamer from any part of the globe would appreciate and enjoy a Steam card.

Allow me to highlight the good things about having a Steam card

Having a steam card can give you almost all games from almost all developers from all parts of the world. – As I’ve said, Steam is gamer’s paradise, no joy is greater than for a gamer to have their hands on games from different game developer from different parts of the world. Most games on Steam are great and priced reasonably well. There are sales that sporadically happen now and then. When you have games that are discounted up to 75% off, you aren’t wise if you don’t avail of it. Like what I’ve said, I have yet to meet a gamer who’s not happy with his time with Steam.

You can make software purchases with your Steam gift card. – Aside from an awesome repertoire of games, Steam also boasts of great softwares. You can get your hands of softwares that are new and trending, softwares that sells like hotcakes and softwares that are most widely. If you are into animation, design and game development, I’m sure Steam got your back covered. A lot of Steam’s softwares are for gamers. You’ll find softwares sold on Steam to be interesting.

Steam gift cards allow you to send digital gifts to all of your friends and loved ones. – Gifts make everyone happy. A Steam gift card allows you to enjoy playing side-by-side along with your friends or with many people across the globe. A steam gift card allows you to share a lot of gamer’s love with everyone.

You may think of a dozen of reasons for having a Steam card but I assure you, Steam allows you to interact and build a relationship with people having the same passion as you are. It’s no science that Steam provides you with a platform that can get you to play, socialize, and interact with fellow gamers all over the world.

Being a part of a community that moves toward a direction is quite beneficial because it allows you to share your views and joy with people who have the same interest as you. I would only advise you to be cautious with your dealings because no matter how noble or how good your intentions may be, there are those who always spoil the fun. But it’s no reason for you not to go out and play. Enjoy and continue spreading positive vibes with Steam.

What Happens If You Decline A Steam Gift?

What is a steam gift?