Counter-Strike didn’t enter the gaming scene the same way as other popular shooters did. This legendary title is a pioneer of several gaming aspects including the one we’ll speak about right here.

It’s the concept of in-game cosmetic updates, better known as skins. Those skins were a major breakthrough back in 2013 when they were released. Now, almost a decade after Valve’s update, we’re noticing that the majority of popular game titles have this option available. 

However, Valve didn’t stop over there. The skin market enjoyed such tremendous popularity that the guys behind CS:GO wanted to utilize that opportunity. They opened an option to sell those skins to the Steam market and players would get Steam cash in return. And, more importantly, they let players send and trade those skins among each other. 

Logically, numerous CS:GO skin trading sites were born along the way, giving players another dimension of gaming. Now, if you’re bored with your current arsenal of battle-scarred weapons, you can easily swap them with other players, exchange with online bots, or even cash them out. 

But if you’re new to the entire concept, you might be easily confused, with no clear idea of where to head first. Luckily, we’ll briefly go through the entire concept of CS:GO skin trading, and you’ll know exactly what to afterward.

So, let’s start. 

How to trade skins in CS:GO?

There are a few possible ways to trade skins in CS:GO. Those include: 

• Trading skins with other people
• Trading with bots on specialized sites
• Steam Market trading 

We’re going to start with the first option, as it’s the natural one and the easiest to understand. 

Trading CS:GO skins with real people

Trading CS:GO skins with other people is as simple as it gets. Once the two parties make an agreement, one has to send an offer that the other will accept. 

Perhaps the easiest method is to use a skin trading site to browse other players’ offers and pick the one you like the most. Also, you can post the offer yourself and wait for fellow gamers to contact you.

Another good method is through Reddit’s CS:GO community. In addition to a trending discussion about the players, events and matches, you might find enough skin exchange opportunities, especially for the rarest finds. 

Trading with bots

This is the most popular CS:GO trading method, and it’s based on an algorithm that sets the real value of your items. The main factors that determine the price are the rarity of the item and the exterior quality. 

Here you can get a real valuation that’s the closest to the average market value of the skin. However, as there are many trading sites, each of them uses a slightly different algorithm. As a result, we’re having prices that differ from site to site. 

Some people even try to seize the opportunity due to the price difference. However, as there are provider fees of up to 10%, this mostly isn’t a way to earn bucks. 

The best part about trading with bots, or trading via skin trading sites is the option to cash out your skins. This might not always be the case, yet the majority of sites accept a cashout. So, if you’re a bit lucky with chest drops, you might earn some decent cash. 

Steam market skin trading 

Skin trading sites certainly outmatched the Steam Market, both in popularity and deals quality, but the Steam Market is the only official trading platform. Here you can sell your skins, and in return, your Steam wallet will get the exact market value of those skins. 

This might sound like a great deal, however, the key lies in that Steam wallet. Unfortunately, if you happen to sell an expensive skin here, you won’t be able to cash out your money. The only viable option would be to use the money within the same platform.  So you could either buy another available skin or buy some other game. 

Also, another drawback is that the prices will greatly differ here, and you might see certain price spikes. So make sure to wait for the right moment before you buy or sell a truly valuable item. 

On the positive side, as this is the only official method, you cannot be scammed. Also, the entire process is hassle-free, as you’ll do all the trading inside the familiar platform.