“Authorized resellers” – who is authorizing these, and where is this evidenced? /u/yeoldetelephone Steam on Reddit

I see a lot of talk about ‘authorized’ Steam Key resellers on Steam, Reddit and in the general gaming press. I can’t find any list of who is authorized to resell keys, and who is doing the authorization. Valve themselves would not list authorized resellers, as this is up to the publishers/devs to mint keys for sale, so presumably this is up to the publishers to do individually.

So I’m wondering how can a service like ITAD claim to only list ‘authorized’ resellers if it’s up to the individual publishers in each case? Is there something that authorises them in some way? I’m guessing there isn’t and it’s just that it’s a more reputable company, and that the idea of authorization came from authorized discussion topics on forums like Steam communities and/or Reddit.

I see a lot of talk about ‘authorized’ Steam Key resellers on Steam, Reddit and in the general gaming press. I can’t find any list of who is authorized to resell keys, and who is doing the authorization. Valve themselves would not list authorized resellers, as this is up to the publishers/devs to mint keys for sale, so presumably this is up to the publishers to do individually.

So I’m wondering how can a service like ITAD claim to only list ‘authorized’ resellers if it’s up to the individual publishers in each case? Is there something that authorises them in some way? I’m guessing there isn’t and it’s just that it’s a more reputable company, and that the idea of authorization came from authorized discussion topics on forums like Steam communities and/or Reddit.