Steam Community Market

The Steam Community Market is Valve's built-in marketplace on the Steam platform where players buy and sell Counter-Strike 2 items including weapon skins, stickers, cases, and other cosmetics using their Steam Wallet funds.

Overview

The Steam Community Market is the primary marketplace for CS2 items. Any tradable and marketable item can be listed for sale by any Steam user, with Valve taking a percentage fee on each transaction. The Market uses Steam Wallet funds (not real currency directly), though Steam Wallet can be loaded with real money.

How It Works

Selling

Navigate to your Steam Inventory
Select a tradable/marketable item
Click Sell on Steam Community Market
Set your asking price
The item is listed; when purchased, Steam Wallet funds are deposited minus fees

Buying

Search the Steam Community Market for desired items
Filter by game, type, quality, and price
Purchase directly (funds deducted from Steam Wallet)
Or place a buy order at a lower price (fulfilled when a seller matches your price)

Fees

Each Market transaction incurs fees:

Steam transaction fee: 5% (minimum $0.01)
CS2 game fee: 10% (minimum $0.01)
Total fee: ~15% of the sale price

The buyer pays the listed price; the seller receives the listed price minus fees.

CS2 Market Economy

CS2 has one of the largest virtual item economies in gaming:

Most Valuable Item Categories

Knife Skins — Premium knife models, $50-$50,000+
Glove Skins — Hand cosmetics, $50-$30,000+
Rare Stickers — Tournament stickers (especially Katowice 2014), up to $100,000+
Covert weapon skins — Red-tier skins, $10-$10,000+
Souvenir items — Major Championship drops with gold stickers

Price Factors

Skin Rarity — Higher rarity = generally higher price
Float Value — Lower wear = higher price
Pattern — Certain patterns are extremely valuable (blue gem Case Hardened)
Applied Stickers — Valuable stickers add price premium
StatTrak — Kill-tracking versions cost more
Supply — Discontinued cases/items appreciate over time

Buy Orders

Buy orders allow you to set a maximum price you're willing to pay:

If a seller lists at or below your buy order price, it auto-fills
Multiple buy orders at the same price are filled in chronological order (first come, first served)
You can cancel unfilled buy orders at any time
Useful for getting deals on frequently traded items

Market Restrictions

7-day trade hold — Newly purchased or obtained items cannot be sold for 7 days
Steam Guard required — Must have Steam Guard enabled for 15+ days
$200 maximum listing (can be higher with extended history) — Very expensive items may require third-party platforms
Region restrictions — Some regions have limited Market access

Third-Party Alternatives

While the Steam Market is the official platform, third-party sites also exist:

Some offer lower fees than Steam's 15%
Some allow real-money cashouts (Steam Market only adds to Wallet)
Caution: Third-party trading carries scam risks
Always verify legitimacy before using external platforms