The demand for digital goods has resulted in the explosive growth of online marketplaces devoted to selling game codes. One of the benefits of there being so many of these websites is that there are plenty of other options if you have reservations concerning one. Though with any site, it’s important to practice due diligence, as there could be hidden issues that could pose problems later down the line.
Gamivo is one of the newer sites to grace the already competitive market. It mainly sells codes for PC games, gift cards, gaming subscription cards, software licenses, and preorders. The site also offers a service called Smart, which charges a small fee every month in exchange for perks like buyer protection, customer service live chat, giveaways, and discounts.
According to a representative from Gamivo, “keys are sold by merchants who are verified before being allowed to set up their offers on Gamivo.” They added that keys are “provided by official resellers and distributors.” In some cases, Gamivo asks for ID verification after your first purchase, and a Gamivo rep said they don’t store any “sensitive information.”
In terms of both legitimacy and safety, Gamivo seems to be one of the more polarizing marketplaces. At the time of this writing, its Trust Pilot average rating is 4.2 out of 5, with over 17,000 reviews, yet it has a surprisingly low excellent rating of 75% and a high bad rating of 17%.
There also seems to be some controversy involving its Smart service. Some customers state that when they purchased a key through the site, they were charged a two-month subscription for Smart. This may have been a misunderstanding on their part, though, and the Gamivo rep told us that the Smart subscription is optional and that the customer can easily opt out during the purchase process. “If you subscribe to Smart you can cancel it at any moment in your account settings,” the rep said, adding that “buyers often use the coupon from the service with their purchase and later complain that they did not want the subscription even after using its benefits.” So if you use the site and don’t want the Smart service, be sure to double-check that you’ve opted out.
It seems that Gamivo is technically a legitimate site, but the Trust Pilot rating and some comments from disgruntled customers could warrant caution. Of course, these are individual cases and may not affect your experience, and online, people tend to complain more than compliment. As always, the best place to buy a game key is from the official website, which will direct you to the publisher’s partners.
