Gog forums are far far better then they used to be, especially regarding alternative opinions, maturity and constructive criticism sadly many of the 'old guard gamers' don't follow that.

I dunno about them all being old guard gamers, but I DO know that many on the net seem to just want people agreeing with them or offering up sympathy, and if someone DARE offer criticism(even to help them grow in some way) they are insulted ad nauseum.....it's sad, really.

Indeed, it's also been sad to see many of your posts here being down voted simply due to not agreeing with the crowd.

I mean, in this sense (regarding refunds) GoG is equal to Brick and Mortar Stores.
Here in Germany it was always, as far back as i can remember, the case that any games (or movies or music) was not refundable if it was not sealed anymore, except if the disk was broken or damaged.
For games it was *always* the case that you need to inform yourself about the game before buying it. Back in the day that was done by reading magazines and playing demos, today it's by reading about the game online and watching videos.

And as was already pointed out: A full refund system like steam has is simply not possible without some kind of DRM. To be honest i am therefore somewhat afraid that GoG might come unter scrutiny of the same EU regulations that forced Steam to implement the refunds. A GoG with forced refund capability will not work the same way as it does now...

Conceivably there might be the possibility of some kind of time-limited DRM, going inactive after two hours, but that would still kill offline gaming.
And DRM free refunds are waaaaaay to open to misuse.

There are actually two:

1. Technical problems that GOG can't solve.

2. You haven't downloaded the game yet. I used this refund option recently when I bought a game separetely, only to find out that if you buy another game (which I also meant to buy), you get that first game for free. I got a refund as store credit for the first game, then I bought the second game and got the first game for free as an extra.

In fact I think I once did get a refund for a game I had already downloaded (but not installed), when I explained the situation carefully to GOG staff. I bought the base edition of the newest X space game when I meant to buy the Complete Edition. I got a refund for my first purchase, then bought the version of the game I really meant to buy.

Anyways, as for your problem, I guess many of us see the current refund policy as an acceptable trade-off for the fact that we can buy our games DRM-free from the store. If one could always get a refund and still keep the downloaded game (as there is no DRM to prevent them from doing that), that doesn't kinda work.

Mind you, there are some DRM-free games also on Steam so in theory you could do the same there, ie. buy a game, copy the DRM-free game files to yourself, and then ask for a refund saying "Nah I didn't like the game". The thing is that if you keep doing that over and over again, Valve will probably stop accepting your returns at some point, or simply stop selling any more games to you, as they feel you are misusing the refund system.

So, yeah, I guess GOG could still implement that kind of refund system (which will be allowed "within reason" ie. GOG might still reject it in case they feel you are misusing the system), but I guess many GOG customers don't see that as a biggie.

If I buy a game I don't like, I mostly blame myself (for not reading reviews or doing my homework), or just simply "meh, ok, I don't like this game, next". To me personally the current refund policy is fine, giving me a refund for games that simply don't work, or if I've made an error in purchasing a game.

If you feel the ability to evaluate a game (by playing it) and still getting a refund afterwards is important, then I guess Steam is a better option for you, for now. Decisions, decisions...

A big part of the world works on honesty just fine. And GOG's current mechanism works on honesty too; you can just lie about your game not working if you wanted to scam them.

Not allowing refunds for non-technical reasons after downloading means legit customers can't get a refund for a product they are not satisfied with while scammers can still scam.

As others have said, GOG doesn't have Steam's refund policy because GOG doesn't have Steam's DRM (which is what's required to de-authenticate the game). Likewise despite people abusing it that way, Steam's "2hr window" isn't intended to be a "playable demo or your money back" refund guarantee. People who have requested too many Steam refunds in the past have first been warned, then later had their future requests auto-declined / ignored / manually reviewed:-

"You've requested a bunch of refunds recently. Please keep in mind that refunds are not a method for trying out games. If we think the refund system is being misused we’ll decline to grant future refunds." - Steam's auto-warning

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/598199244885640951/

GOG trusts us with DRM-free games. I think the current refund policy is a good compromise in exchange of that trusr (and the superior product that DRM-free games are).

Thanks....it happens sometimes when I DARE criticize someone for partially being at fault for something they blame solely/mostly on their "demon" of choice......also I often get hit on multiple posts every day, which lends credence to the theory by some that someone is tweaking my rep with software(likely due to some grudge they gold or some misconception they have of me, or if I post on topics they find disagreeable).

I don't worry much anymore, though.....they could drop my rep to infinity and I wouldn't stop coming here.

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This is like saying because people don't follow other laws or respect other things we shouldn't have them/they are bad laws/things to have. That is not always correct.

Not true also.... GOG is pretty reliant with refunds. I only was refused once in my refund request and that was following 2 hour rule (I also left a review), and I use gog galaxy all the time.

No, this isn't about having or not having laws.

This is about providing or not providing a service.

The argument here goes that GOG shouldn't provide a helpful service because it can be abused. And my argument is that they are already open to abuse, and by not providing this service, they are just hurting the honest people.

Kinda like how DRM tends to hurt legitimate customers, and people who don't play by the rules will not suffer its problems.

You're still basically saying in part that they should change their rules because the current ones can be abused anyways, and also(seemingly) taking responsibility for one's purchase decisions(including the bad ones) away from the consumer.

Like the old adage says "Buyer beware"....such services would be nice, but since gog cannot afford to give them atm people will just have to excercise that responsibility and buy carefully.

It mainly hurts those who are not morally aligned with finding ways around said protections on the games they legally bought/paid for....some of us can get around them with little to no effort required(for bought games with DRM)

Kudos to you for not lying to GOG or trying to scam them.

Secondly you do have a point in that certain countries do have consumer laws (like Australia and Denmark) that guarantees a refund within a specific time limit no matter what the reason is. Ultimately GOG does not live up to those consumer laws the way they should no matter what their motive for not doing so is.

I fully understand GOG's position here but that doesn't change the fact of what the law in these countries state: that you can get a refund no matter what. GOG doesn't offer that.

Don't said businesses need to be a certain size or have physical offices/locations in said countries?

As I mentioned....they might not apply under the laws if such laws have exemptions/criteria for such......any info on such would be appreciated if you know any, btw.