Community trading tips

“

I tell you, this is going much better than I ever expected it would. Click to listen — Wheatley on a successful trade.

”

Trading Tips

(For more general information about trading, see Trading.)

Before the Trade

• Ascertain the value of the items you want to trade. Always try to figure out what your items are worth before trading them. See Item Value for more information.

• Check if the person you are trading with is a legitimate trader and is who they say they are. Check the person’s Steam profile yourself (do not click any links) and/or their SteamRep page. Their SteamRep profile will also display if the person has a Valve trade ban or Valve trade probation. (For other ways to verify, see Reputation below.)

• Do NOT click on any links to external websites as these sites could be malicious and/or phishing sites.

• If cash trades are involved, make sure that you secure a verified community middleman.

• Do NOT use TeamViewer or any other software that the other user tells you to install or use.

• DO NOT believe anyone who says that they are from Steam Support. Steam Support will NEVER ask you to trade items to them for any reason.

During the Trade

• Click on the name of the other person while in the trade window to verify that is the real person and not an impersonator.

• DO NOT click on any links the person sends you in the trade chat window or run any programs the person asks you to run while in the trade.

• Pay close attention to the trade. Check the trade chat to ensure that no items were removed. Make certain all agreed items are visible in the window before accepting the trade. If you cannot see an item, cancel the trade.

• Pay attention to the quality of the items being offered. Take your time to verify all items by hovering over them to ensure it is exactly the item you agreed to get.

• Be aware of renamed items, as a scammer can rename a common item to appear as a rare item. Double-check the quality, names, and descriptions of all items. Items which are renamed or have had their description changed will have quotation marks (“) around the name and description. The chat box will also show notifications about renamed items to help avoid confusion.

• Inventory items appear in the order in which they are arranged in your backpack. Be sure to preview items by hovering over them in the inventory or trading boxes to make sure you are adding the correct one(s).

• Check if the items you receive in the trade are craftable. After the October 13, 2011 patch, weapons bought from the store are uncraftable, but can be traded. After the November 29, 2012 patch, cosmetic items bought from the store are craftable.

• Common courtesy is important. Always treat other players with respect.

Check if the items you receive in the trade are craftable. After the October 13, 2011 Patch, weapons bought from the store are uncraftable, but can be traded. Recently, through the November 29, 2012 Patch, cosmetic items bought from the store are craftable.

• DO NOT rush the trade. Give yourself plenty of time to review and verify all items before completing the trade- especially after the green box is checked but before the final trade button is pressed.

What NOT to Trade

• Do NOT trade for CD keys or games that cannot be traded through the trading window.

• Do NOT trade Steam accounts. The buying, selling, sharing, or trading of Steam accounts violates the Steam Subscriber Agreement.

• Do NOT trade for items in other platforms, such as for Runescape gold, Minecraft accounts, etc.

Reputation

Reputation is often used in the trading community especially in the realm of cash trading. Red Flags: New account! (if the account that the person is on is relatively new, they could be using an alternate account)

Low TF2 hours! (if the person has only 100 or so hours in TF2, but they want to trade for a high value item, it could be a fishy situation)

Low amount of games in their library, or only free to play games! People who have no attachment to their accounts (alts) often have almost no games in their account, or only free to play games. This way if they lose their account they don't lose any games)

Other Tips

To know how much metal is being asked for an item, keep in mind the specific values for each type of metal:

• 1 Scrap Metal is 0.11 Refined Metal (ref)
• 1 Reclaimed Metal (rec) is 0.33 ref
• 1 Refined Metal (ref) is 1 ref.

Adding these values by increments will give you the exact value of metal that a trader is asking for, and lets you know which and how many items of metal are being asked of you.

Make sure the items you are receiving are not duplicated. If you are trading for a strange weapon, its current kill count will be reset to 0. While trading, verify the trader's last alias (This user has also played as) at his profile. Scamming players often use many different aliases, so they can't be recognized after the trade. Some trading communities have adopted a verify system that can be very useful to the traders. If your trading spot has it, be aware of it.