Guide · Spending

In-game purchases and spending limits

Many online games ask for no money to install and start, then sell things once you are playing. That model works for a lot of people, but it moves the spending decision from a single checkout page to dozens of small moments inside the game. This guide explains the mechanics and gives you a simple way to stay in control.

What an in-game store usually sells

The items on sale vary from game to game, but they tend to fall into a few broad groups:

Cosmetic items. Paint schemes, outfits, decals, emblems and similar items that change how something looks but not how it performs.
Time savers. Boosters that speed up progress, or items that let you skip part of a progression path that could otherwise be completed by playing.
Premium memberships. Time-limited accounts that change rewards or give other benefits for as long as they are active.
Specific items. Characters, vehicles or equipment that are sold directly rather than earned.
Random items. Containers, packs or draws whose contents are not known until after they are opened.
Season or battle passes. Tiers of rewards unlocked by playing during a set period, with a paid track alongside an unpaid one.

Not every game sells every kind of item, and the balance between them shapes how a game feels. A store that sells only cosmetic items affects your wallet but not your results. A store that sells time savers or specific items can change how long it takes to reach the content you want.

Virtual currencies

Many games do not let you buy items directly in Canadian dollars. Instead, you buy a game currency in fixed bundles and then spend that currency in the store. This has three effects worth knowing about.

First, it hides the real price. An item priced in game currency requires you to work back to dollars, which is easy to skip. Second, bundle sizes rarely match item prices, so it is common to have a small balance left over, which encourages the next purchase. Third, a balance of game currency feels less like money than a balance in a bank account does.

None of this is unusual or necessarily unfair, but it is worth doing the conversion once. Take the smallest bundle of currency, note its price in Canadian dollars including tax, and work out what one unit of game currency costs. Keep that figure handy and convert before every purchase.

Items with random contents

Random items are the part of in-game spending that draws the most attention from parents and consumer groups. When you buy one, you pay for a chance at something rather than for a known item. The odds may or may not be published, and duplicates may or may not be converted into something else.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board, whose ratings appear on many games sold in Canada, uses the interactive element In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items) to flag games that sell randomized items, alongside a broader In-Game Purchases element for games that sell other things. Its ratings guide explains both. Checking for these labels before you install is the quickest way to know what kind of store to expect.

If a game sells random items, find out whether it publishes the odds, whether there is a limit on how many draws you can make, and whether the same items can be earned through play. Treat any spending on random items as entertainment money you do not expect back, not as a route to a particular item.

Coravend does not present any game that sells randomized items or simulated gambling as suitable for children or teenagers. Our page on families and younger players covers the controls available for shared computers.

Setting a limit that holds

The most reliable spending limit is one you set before you have played, when the store has no pull yet. The checklist below takes a few minutes.

Decide on a monthly figure in Canadian dollars, including sales tax, that you are happy to spend on this game. Zero is a perfectly reasonable figure.
Write down what one unit of the game's currency costs in dollars.
Do not save a payment card to the game account. Entering the details each time adds a useful pause.
If you would rather keep a card on file, use a prepaid card or a gift card with a fixed value, so the limit is enforced by the balance.
Check your card or bank statement at the end of the first month and compare it with your figure.
Look at your account's purchase history in the game or on the publisher's website; most keep one.
Switch off one-click purchases in any launcher or store that offers them.

Sales tax and currency. Prices shown in a store may or may not include GST/HST or provincial sales tax, and some stores charge in a foreign currency. Check the final amount at checkout, and expect your card issuer to apply its own exchange rate and any foreign transaction fee if the charge is not in Canadian dollars.

Common pressure tactics

What to watch out for

Countdowns on offers. A timer on a bundle tells you about the store's design, not about whether the bundle is good value for you.
Prices that only appear in game currency. Convert before buying, every time.
"Starter" bundles shown during or right after a tutorial. You do not yet know whether you will keep playing.
Leftover balances. A bundle size that leaves you just short of the next item is a nudge, not a necessity.
Unofficial sellers. Third-party websites offering cheap game currency or accounts can breach a game's terms of service and are a common route for fraud.

If something goes wrong

Mistakes happen: an accidental purchase, a charge you do not recognize, or a child who bought something without asking. Act quickly, because refund options tend to narrow with time.

Contact the store or publisher first. Use the support route on the official website or in the launcher you bought through. Explain what happened and when. Many stores have their own refund rules for in-game purchases.
Contact your card issuer if you do not recognize a charge at all, or if the seller does not respond. Your issuer can explain whether a dispute is possible.
Change your account password and review its security settings if the purchase was not made by anyone in your household. Our account security guide walks through it.
Report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre if you believe you were deceived by a scam rather than simply charged in error.
Find your provincial consumer protection office through the Canadian Consumer Handbook if a dispute with a business remains unresolved.

Misleading offers

Under Canadian law, businesses may not promote products in ways that are false or misleading. The Competition Bureau's pages on deceptive marketing practices describe what that covers and how to file a complaint. They apply equally to websites that advertise games, including affiliate sites such as this one; if anything on Coravend seems misleading, we would like to hear about it at info@coravend.online.

A sensible way to think about it

In-game purchases are neither good nor bad in themselves. They let some people play for a long time without paying anything and let others pay for what they value. The difference between a comfortable experience and a regretted one is usually a decision made in advance: a figure, a rule about random items, and a habit of converting game currency back into dollars before you tap "buy".