someone explain cs2 skins

[jisei]

ok what is the lore behind some skins costing upwards of hundreds, thousands near tens of thousands of dollars? what makes a skin.. cost that much. like it blows my minds.

[Le fishe au chocolat]

Money laundering is a real thing though.

[Triple G]

Originally posted by JDON MY SOUL:

Money laundering is a real thing though.

You do this with CS skins?

I thought the old fashioned pizza shop, or any other restaurant, casino, or whatever would be still the way to go, as You can easily make money with people who were never there to begin with. And it´s usually done in cash, which is the bare minimum for good money laundering. I don´t know if crypto currency works as well, as i never needed to launder my money - because You need a certain income for it. Like more than You need to make a living...

[Candyy]

Originally posted by succubun:

ok what is the lore behind some skins costing upwards of hundreds, thousands near tens of thousands of dollars? what makes a skin.. cost that much. like it blows my minds.

Looks like someone never heard of supply and demand huh?

[ナルゴ]

Originally posted by Masque:

Originally posted by Nargo:

Supply and demand.

Good question by OP, I've always wondered that too.

So there's a limited supply? That's why some are worth more than others?

Are they like NFTs, then?

They're digital goods. And I'd argue it's superior to NFT's because Valved managed to create a thriving economy based on video game hats, while NFT's crashed. Not surprising because valve hired an actual economist to manage it:
https://www.businessinsider.com/yanis-varoufakis-valve-game-economy-greek-finance-2015-2
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/6/15/3089588/valve-hires-economist-varoufakis-linking-virtual-economies

And yes there is scarcity. Artificially created through Valve's various monetization strategies such as lootboxes and battlepass rewards. Thus in some cases, there's a limited supply of a given item relative to demand.

Here's one example. Look up the listings for "Scree'auk's Talon"
https://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/570/Scree%27auk%27s%20Talon
Set zoom graph to "Lifetime"

This item released over a decade ago and was relatively stable in value for years. But because of speculation for an upcoming update which focuses on a character that uses this item, people suddenly wanted this item. Thus it quadrupled in price in a matter of months.

[Masque]

Thanks for the explanation, Nargo. That's pretty amazing.

[Kiryn]

Idiots with too much money, combined with the general "I must own something RARE" and "gotta catch 'em all" attitudes that humans have had towards collectables/etc for centuries. Plus the generally absurd aspects of financial markets.

(yes, I think the whole "trading skins" and Steam Marketplace thing is a giant indictment of the stupidity of humanity. With NFTs and Crypto being even worse examples.)

[Shiro♌]

As mentioned before, it's a simple supply & demand thing.

Generally speaking, the more popular and rare the skin is, the higher the cost.
One of the best examples are blue gems of Case Hardeneds, Dragon Lore, Howl, and so on..
Only a few of those were unboxed and obtained, and so their price tag is.. Literally infinite. There, I said it. Infinite.

As silly as it sounds, it's about how much are people willing to get them.. And people don't know where to stop, so their price tags are rising even furthermore..

[HarleyIsntReal]

The rarity. The pattern. The float. If the skin is nice looking in general.

Will admit though there's some ugly skins that cost $500+.

[Xero_Daxter]

https://youtu.be/q5w8tqjoqF4?si=4L3Fx1m7xu09pnsk

[Swarmfly]

They are largely status symbols.

[|ツ-ColeTrunks]

Nothing valve killed trading years ago. I remember there wasn’t a trade cooldown and I could flip several skins for profit. Now you can’t do anything. I sold all of them and quit.

[TomSands]

First off, let me just say, Steam is like the ultimate playground for gamers, am I right? It's the hub where dreams of epic gaming adventures come to life. And when it comes to hunting down those perfect CS:GO skins, it's like diving into a treasure trove of awesomeness!

Now, let's talk about CS2 skins. Oh boy, where do I even start? They're like the icing on the cake, adding that extra flair to your gaming arsenal. And when you're on the hunt for the best CS2 skins, Steam is definitely the place to be. I mean, with its vast marketplace and diverse community, you're practically spoiled for choice!

As for the question at hand, I'd say Steam is hands down the best site to buy cs2 skins[skin.land] (php). Not only do you get access to a plethora of options, but you also have the peace of mind knowing you're dealing with a reputable platform. Plus, the thrill of discovering that perfect skin amidst the sea of options is unbeatable!

[Alliesaurus]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1121049474
Gifted this to my friend a few years ago and he sold it for like £300 (without counting the price of the stickers).

Now the skin is worth over £500 on it's own and the hologram stickers are £125 each.

[RaccoonBiceps.♡]

Demand

Good game -> people are willing to spend money -> cases costing ~3€ to open each -> knives rare 1/400 which people try to desperately get and then you have rare patterns, wears stupidly inflating the prices.

[AerSilver ♞]

Rarity, quality, supply and demand.
Same goes with craters.