Yesterday was the lottery email. Today is the money email.
If you landed in the reservation queue, Valve is sending purchase links in batches starting September 18. That link is the only official way to buy a Steam Frame in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, and Australia. You get 72 hours from the moment they send it. Miss it and they tap the next person. This is not another “you’re in line” note. This is pay or bounce.
I am on the waitlist so I am watching this from the nose bleeds. Still. If you got the buy mail, check spam, check the account, and actually finish checkout. The Frame is $1,059 for 256GB and $1,299 for 1TB. Power supply is extra. Alyx is in the box. The clock is real.
Now the ugly part.
eBay filled up with “Steam Frame reservations” the second those queue emails landed. 256GB listings starting around $1,700. 1TB around $2,000. Some of those posts already sold. A lot of them are just a screenshot of a reservation mail. Not a headset. Not even a paid order. A JPEG of an inbox.
Valve built this whole shuffle to keep scalpers from camping a refresh button. One signup per house. Old Steam purchase required. Random draw instead of first in line. It slowed the bots down. It did not stop some winner from trying to flip the slot before the box exists.
Reddit is reporting listings and eBay is pulling some of them. People are asking sellers for the Steam ID tied to the reservation so they can flag the account to Valve. That is the correct hobby for a Friday. Paying a stranger $900 extra for the privilege of then paying Valve full price is not.
If you are waitlisted like me, the next official mail is “you got moved into the queue.” Until that shows up, there is no secret third path. Buying a listing off eBay does not put a Frame on your desk. It puts you in a dispute thread.
Play the games you already own. Check the email if you won. Leave the $2,000 ghost listings alone.
