Update 2012.12.01: Some advice for getting the best deals during Steam sales: In my experience, Steam will usually have AAA software on more than 50% off but what seem like great deals at 30-50% come early so try to hold out for the over 50% deals. Deals for 75% off happen more often then you think!
I’ve just run into a poor customer relationship experience head on in the past few days with Valve’s Steam, a digital download service. On Wednesday I made a purchase for Max Payne 3 at USD $29.99 and, as you can see now, the price a day later was reduced to $14.99. After requesting a refund or an upgrade for the difference I was told Steam does not provide refunds or exchanges. This is poor, poor customer service and this scenario is why retailers often have ‘price beat’ guarantees even after the purchase up to a certain time period. I like Steam, I really do, I’m a significant customer on their service, but I feel cheated and mislead so I want to make sure everyone is aware how Steam sales work. They’ll offer a particular set of games at one price one day and then they’ll quite often release a set of those same games later in the sale at a much better deal. So, beware of this tactic and see if you can wait for a dramatic savings. I do not respect Valve for gouging early customers when they’ll be releasing the same games for less later on. This is not how you treat your customers. Valve should know better.