[2020] Trading & Profit Guide

Soft's Guide about making money and my experiences.

My Experience & What I've Learned

Hey guys, after a long long time of gathering information I have finally decided it is time to release my new guide - a more in depth guide on how to trade.

Hopefully I will cover every possible aspect of the trading life, from entrepreneurial skills all the way on how not to get scammed. I will post my recommendations and simple ways in order to become a successful trader.

A little about me: I have been trading for over 3 years and 8 months. I have managed to turn over an enormous profit and continuing to do so. If you have any questions then comment them below, I am not going to help you trade 1 to 1, this is what my guide is for. If you would like to speak to me personally feel free to add me on steam.

What is an Entrepreneur?

Let us begin with a definition "An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit:"

Some people think of entrepreneurs as people who are willing to take risks that other people are not. Others define them as people who start and build successful businesses.

Taking the first of the two, the risk would be the money invested or the items that you have traded for. Taking the second of the two, success is measured by profit.

Regardless of how you define an "entrepreneur," one thing is certain: becoming a successful entrepreneur isn't easy... and hopefully this guide will help increase your chances of success.

Entrepreneurial Skills

I am able to identify the skills I believe are necessary in order to become successful. You may not need all these skills, however the more you have probably the easier it will be to turn over a profit.

A. Resilience - The ability to weather the ups and downs of any business since it never goes exactly as expected. This skill enables a trader to keep going when the outlook is bleak.

B. Learn - Successful traders realise they don’t know everything and the market is constantly changing. They stay up to date on new systems, technology, and industry trends.

C. Risk - The ability to take risks, and make decisions when facts are uncertain.

D. Initiative - The power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do.

E. Management skills - The ability to manage time and people (both oneself and others) successfully.

Recognizing Opportunities: Do you recognize opportunities Add to My Personal Learning Plan when they present themselves? Can you spot a trend Add to My Personal Learning Plan ? And are you able to create a plan to take advantage of the opportunities you identify?

Setting a Goal

Before entering the trading scene it would be a good idea to determine your goal. A goal is something that you hope to achieve by the end of trading. It could be a specific item or loadout, make money, or to just have fun and meet new people. No option is wrong, and no option is the best; it just comes down to you.

Investment

First things first, we are going to need to determine an investment. An investment is an item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future. In an economic sense, an investment is the purchase of goods that are not consumed today but are used in the future to create wealth. In finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will provide income in the future or appreciate and be sold at a higher price. Obviously the more money you invest the easier it will to generate a reasonable profit.

If you are one of few people who were lucky to unbox something worth a lot then you can skip this step.

Once you have decided how much you want to invest you will have to decide what you will buy with the money. You can buy keys for $2.1 from people using paypal, or you can just decide to buy a skin/knife.

Useful Definitions

Quicksell - Selling something lower than it's market price (cash or keys).

B/O or Buyout -The asking price that you would instantly trade your item for.

C/O or Current Offer -The best offer you have received for your item.

Pure - Price in Keys

SS - Screenshot

PS - Playside

BS -Backside

FN - Factory New

MW - Minimal Wear

FT - Field-Tested

WW - Well-Worn

BS - Battle-Scarred

Lowball - A very low offer.

Highball - When a seller prices his item ridiculously high.

Blue Gem - A Case Hardened knife with a lot of blue on it.

CH - Case Hardened

CW - Crimson Web

TT - Tiger Tooth

BTA - Better than average

WTA - Worse than average

TRADING

Buying - A good way to begin making profit it to buy items at quicksell prices. Quicksell means buying something for less than it's market value. Try to avoid paying the market price for any item unless it is a particular pattern on a knife. Don’t be impatient and keep your cool. If a seller won’t negotiate, shop around for other sellers of the same items. Usually people will quicksell items if your offering in pure keys. To determine the price of an item in keys simply divide it's market value by the price of keys in currency. For example, if an AWP Asiimov FT costs £29 and keys cost £1.7 then the market price of an AWP would be 17 Keys.

Selling - Try to sell your items around 1-5 keys more than you bought it for. Remember, if you attempt to sell for too much then you’re less likely to attract a buyer, especially if there’s a lot of the items you’re selling. If you struggle to sell an item reduce the selling price gradually down.

Quickselling

There is a lot of miscommunication with the term "quickselling" and hopefully I will try to clear it up. Most people believe a quicksell is determined by how low an item is priced below market price, usually believed to be 85%. If i reduce the price of an item enough so that demand will rise, then I am quickselling. You don't need to make something 85% to be a quicksell, aslong as it is below the price that the usual consumer is usually willing to pay then it will sell very fast. A good example is the AWP Asiimov FT, a very popular weapon. The AWP costs £29 and keys cost £1.7 then the market price of an AWP would be 16.5 Keys, however the usual asking price is 16k since that is the price the consumers are willing to pay. If someone were to sell the AWP for any lower then it will more than likely sell instantly.

Patience

When trading don't get attached to an item, always make profit. Constantly check market for fluctuations in prices that you can take advantage of. Patience, patience & more patience don't worry about having the same item for almost a week, good things come to those who wait. What really makes or breaks a trader is how long he is willing to wait for a deal. Some items may take time to sell, and that’s the hard truth.

Search up Price Elasticity if you want some more details.

Float Wear

0.45 – 1.00 Battle-Scarred
0.37 – 0.45 Well-Worn
0.15 – 0.37 Field Tested
0.07 – 0.15 Minimal Wear
0.00 – 0.07 Factory New

The closer to 0 the better.

If used correctly you will be able to determine the float and phase of an item. You are also able to see previous owners of an item and locate specific float skins.