Trading

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Trading is an in-game system first introduced in the Mann-Conomy Update that allows players to swap weapons, hats and misc items with others in order to obtain items they desire.

Mechanics

The trading screen, with an example trade in progress.

A successful trade.

To reach the trading screen from the main menu, select the Manage Items button, and then the Trading icon.

A player may select a fellow user from their friends list, from the current game server or by entering their Steam Community ID. A trading request will be sent to that player, providing they are online and are currently playing Team Fortress 2. Should the reciever choose to accept the trade, the game screen will be replaced with the trading screen. Should the player deny the trade or not accept within the 30 second time limit, the trade will be cancelled.

Up to eight items of any kind can be traded from one player to another. Items may be selected and dragged from the user's backpack on the left side of the screen to the upper eight trading boxes on the right side of the screen. The lower eight trading boxes display the other user's trade offer. Both users can communicate and determine the trade using the provided private chat box visible under your backpack. Because there are only eight trade slots useable in a single trade, it is strongly advised not to accept trade offers of over eight items, because either user could disconnect from the trade before it is fully completed, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

After reviewing the items offered in the trade, both users must click the "Ready to Trade" checkbox. If the offer is changed, the players will be required to click "Ready to Trade" again. Once both users are ready to trade, they must then click "Trade Now" to complete the trade.

Some items purchased from the Mann Co. Store are untradeable and therefore cannot be passed between players. Promotional items, such as Bill's Hat and the Lugermorph for example, can be traded.

Upon a player's first trade, he or she will receive a random item along with the items traded.

A player wishing to block all trade requests can do so using the game options.

The new trading window now shows the color according to the Rarity of the items

Trading Tips

Due to the wide range given to trading, players may be subject to scam attempts and or offer disagreements. They are advised to consider the following advice.

• Items should never be purchased using money from another player. One should only purchase items from the Mann Co. Store in order to ensure safe transactions and prevent account details being used maliciously by others. It is also against the Steam User Agreement and doing so can get you banned.
• Do not let other players open a Mann Co. Supply Crate in return for your items. Once the crate has been successfully traded, there is nothing to prevent the receiver opening the crate and then keeping the contents despite the agreements made. Ask for a key in trade instead.
• Similar to the above, do not let other players paint items as part of an agreement. Users may simply take the item(s) and then sever all contact.
• Do not agree to trade more than eight items. The user may disengage the trade after the first initial items are transferred. In addition, if the items are being exchanged for their metal value, ask for them to be converted into metal beforehand.
• In general, avoid any trades that require more than one trade session. There is no binding obligation on either party to fulfill more than the initial trade. If you do take part in one of these, ensure that early termination at any stage is acceptable to you.
• Players attempting to scam others may offer an item labelled as a Community weapon, Vintage, Unusual or otherwise, when in actual fact they have simply renamed a regular item. Fake named weapons can be easily identified by the colouring of the area surrounding the item, the item’s original name in the item description, or the name colouring in the item description(Community weapons have green named, Vintage have blue names, and Unusual have purple names), or by the quotation marks that always surround a renamed item. Furthermore, understand that Community weapons cannot be traded whatsoever.
• Remain impartial during a trade. Players may attempt to appear pleading or irritable in order to convince others to part with more items.
• Always check if there is a Blueprint for the item you want before trading. Creating it yourself might be cheaper.
• Be wary of offers that are too good to be true, since a legitimate offer should be an item exchange of approximately equal value.
• Some players will swap an item at the last second in the hope of it going unnoticed. The best protection against this is to check the items after you check your check-box but before you accept the trade. If it is cleared by the game after you clicked it, an item has been placed or removed from the trade.
• Use your common sense.
• Trading keys and crates is comparable to trading lottery tickets. If you trade for them, be aware that you may get items from the crates that you did not want; do not value them solely for what they might hold. If you trade them away, be aware that the other person can become hostile if they do not get what they wanted.
• The trading section of the TF2 Steam User Forums is a good place to communicate with players who wish to trade their items. It can also give you a sense of what items are worth at the time. Keep in mind that posters will only post offers favoring themselves (sometimes heavily) and that ultimately, you decide what your items are worth.
• Trading items in-game could get you kicked from the server if you aren't also contributing to the game.

Untradable items

Due to the possibility of selling items outside of the Mann Co. Store for real money, some items are not tradeable.

• Weapons and Hats bought from the Mann Co. Store are not tradeable.
• Gifts bought from the Mann Co. Store are not tradeable.
• Promotional or Bonus Items obtained through the Mann Co. Store are not tradable.
• Gentle Manne's Service Medal
• Golden Wrench
• Ghastly Gibus
• Bronze Dueling Badge
• Silver Dueling Badge
• Gold Dueling Badge
• Platinum Dueling Badge
• Cheater's Lament
• Mercenary
• Soldier of Fortune
• Grizzled Veteran
• Primeval Warrior
• Polycount Pin
• Some Alien Swarm Parasites
• Community weapons
• Developer Weapons
• Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head
• Unusual Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker
• Scream Fortress Hats, crafted using the Unusual Haunted Metal Scrap
• Items unlocked through milestone Achievements after the Mann-Conomy update are not tradeable.

Notes

• In the October 12, 2010 Patch, Ellis' Cap and the Frying Pan were made tradeable. However, the items were marked as purchased, and therefore remained untradeable. This was later fixed on the October 20, 2010 Patch.
• In the October 18, 2010 Patch, the item "Gift Wrap" was added but not implemented. Gift Wrap allows you to "wrap" an item. A wrapped item can be delivered to offline players, and allows players to trade items that are not normally tradeable.
• In the October 20, 2010 Patch, the maximum items one player can trade at a time is increased to eight as to prevent scamming. Also, a colored background to items and red chat warnings was added to stop fast switching between unusual, vintage and normal items. In addition to that, Mann Co. Supply Crate Key, Paint Can, Name Tag, and Dueling Mini-Game bought from stores are now tradeable. The issue with Ellis' Cap and the Frying Pan not being tradable is also fixed.