Some users who are attempting to pre-order the Steam Deck are getting a message stating, “It looks like you’ve been attempting a lot of purchases in the last few hours. Please wait a while before trying again.” This can be incredibly frustrating for anyone trying to purchase Valve’s handheld PC. So after a year of frustrating pre-orders making users miss out on GPUs and new consoles, what should one do to fix this error?
Why do Steam Deck pre-orders say I’ve been attempting a lot of purchases and need to wait before trying again?
Unlike many retailers, Steam actually seems to be trying to prevent scalpers from grabbing up all the Steam Deck pre-orders. Several measures are meant to block automated purchases made by bots and keep people from violating the one-per-person restriction.
One of Valve’s automated measures against scalpers is meant to prevent users from attempting too many purchases in a short period of time. However, with so many people slamming the servers trying to purchase the Steam Deck, everything is not working as intended.
The message that “you’ve been attempting a lot of purchases” seems to be mostly happening to those attempting to use PayPal. Therefore, there are two solutions:
- Wait and hope that the issue will pass.
- Try another payment method.
Users can add credit and debit cards to Steam directly or add cash to their Steam Wallet. These two payment methods seem less likely to be affected by the automated protection that is causing these issues.
Of course, with an item this popular, there’s no guarantee that people will get a chance to pre-order it. Unfortunately, the measures meant to prevent scalpers sometimes harm those following the rules as well. However, there’ll be more chances to reserve a Steam Deck in the coming weeks, so users shouldn’t be too bummed if they don’t get one today.
