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As the title says, I'm wondering if there's any way to check if a Steam key has already been used. In my experience Steam will display the same message if you try activating a key for a game you already own, no matter if the key is still valid or has already been used. And in my experience you also can't test the validity of a key for a game you don't own yet without instantly redeeming it to your account. (another thing our cosy little GOG does so much better than Gaben's multi billion dollar abomination)

The thing is that I still have a buttload of Steam keys for all sorts of games and I can't tell (and sure as hell don't remember) which ones I've already redeemed / given away. Most of them are still valid and I'd gladly give some of them to GOGers but of course I won't host giveaways if I can't tell if a particular key is still valid.
This question / problem has been solved by lebedkirillsevenimage
Hey, bro.
I googled this problem (I am also intrested to know) and on Steamgifts.com there were questions about checking the code. Mostly people were joking there: "Give us the code and we'll check it for ya kekekek", but there were some answers that simply said, that No, you can not check the steam key for validity.

http://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/NKKcp/can-i-check-if-a-key-is-valid-or-fakeused-without-adding-to-my-steam-account

http://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/4tBtm/how-to-check-steam-key
No. If you try to 'test' the code, it will either tell you that it's a duplicate of a game you already have, if you have it, or it will add it to your account, if you don't have it. (One of many things that drives me nuts about Steam!)
Post edited April 26, 2015 by penumbren
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lebedkirillseven: Hey, bro.
I googled this problem (I am also intrested to know) and on Steamgifts.com there were questions about checking the code. Mostly people were joking there: "Give us the code and we'll check it for ya kekekek", but there were some answers that simply said, that No, you can not check the steam key for validity.
Sigh, as I thought. I also checked a while ago on the web but I thought that maybe something's changed by now, that maybe there's another (trustworthy!) website that allows you to test the validity of a Steam key by entering it there or something. Or that Gaben has simply decided to do something useful after all these years of not making Half-Life 3 and introduced that tiny little change on Steam they need to make to solve this big problem.
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lebedkirillseven: "Give us the code and we'll check it for ya kekekek"
Jokes aside, suppose if there was some people I actually trusted who already had the game, would it be feasible to pass them keys to test?
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lebedkirillseven: "Give us the code and we'll check it for ya kekekek"
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Exoanthrope: Jokes aside, suppose if there was some people I actually trusted who already had the game, would it be feasible to pass them keys to test?
Eh... let me think.
If I am not mistaken, you will get the same error messege if game is in your library OR if the game is already activated in someone else's library. Because of that it is impossible to know e.g. the game might be in your library but messege actually refers to other library.
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Exoanthrope: Jokes aside, suppose if there was some people I actually trusted who already had the game, would it be feasible to pass them keys to test?
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lebedkirillseven: Eh... let me think.
If I am not mistaken, you will get the same error messege if game is in your library OR if the game is already activated in someone else's library. Because of that it is impossible to know e.g. the game might be in your library but messege actually refers to other library.
like a thousand years later, let me add something:

- there's no way to know what's inside a Steam key without activating it
- you get an "already in your library" message if you have it
- you get a "duplicate key" message if someone else has it
- you don't get any notice of any kind if it's a package and you already own some of the contents (basically, they go to waste without you ever noticing)

keep in mind, that the first point is valid for the other two, you don't get to see what's inside since you don't get to activate the key, real-life example: someone just dropped a key, tried to activate it, said I already had the product...so I never got to know what actually was inside, only that I already owned it

it has to be the worst serials/keys system ever =\