precipitate8: It's nice that they are sending some profit the way of the developer. I think it's important to remember, though, that the transaction fee is the least of steam's profit here. Anytime you add money to the wallet, steam has your cash. So if people add money to the wallet to buy cards, which transfers it to another wallet, steam still owns it. Depending on how people use the wallet money determines their profit margin. I bet they make a lot more from increased game sales from card buyers increasing overall wallet values than the transaction fees.
Thanks for all the opinions. This is obviously a 'not for me' thing, but hope those for who it is, enjoys it. Just don't blow your rent money on a virtual number :)
kalirion: I have $15 in my Steam Wallet right now, and I did not spend $0.01 real money to get it.
If you already have games which drop Steam cards, how would it be a "not for you thing" to get those cards and sell them on the market for free Steam Wallet money? Unless of course you don't have a Steam account :)
I have $8 from my card drops. But I'd gladly have traded that 8 bucks for a fun level up system that reflected your activity and accomplishments in PC games, that everyone could participate in without needing to purchase stuff other than games. I think this also would have had broader appeal and been better in the long run for steam loyalty. And I feel a little exploity selling this stuff to other people when I feel like they have no value; but I keep being reminded that I don't get to decide what other people feel is valuable. So, now that I have no card drops left, there's not much for me to participate in the system (I'm under level 10 so my booster drop chance is looooow). Who knows, when the system goes live and all the cards are 5 cents a piece, maybe I'll make a badge, but mostly 'meh'. So, 'not for me' means I'm not really interested in leveling up with the current system, just exploiting it a bit and then ignoring it.