Knife Trading - Rags to Riches and Everything Inbetween

This is a comprehensive guide explaining every stage of knife trading, including accurate price checking, the science of negotiation online, and safety tips so you can never be scammed again.

The Basics

Knife trading is very difficult. Most people get scammed the first time they attempt it, and most of those people give up. Whether you have been scammed out of a knife in the past, or just want to get into trading, this guide is for you. The best way to trade is by sending somebody a trade offer. This can be through their trade offer link (eg mine) or by clicking on ‘More” when you are somebody's steam profile. The last one only works if you are friends on steam.

FAQ's

Q: What is knife trading?
A: Knife trading is the process in which people exchange digital, in-game knives in CSGO.

Q: How much does a knife cost?
A: Like a night with a prostituté (pretend the accent a droite is gone), the price ranges from about $28 to $100,000.

Q: And wait, these things are just pixels?
A: Yep.

Q: What do you need to get started?
A: Just a steam account and a phone. We’ll get into that last one later.

Q: What makes you qualified to make this guide?
A: In 2 months, my inventory is worth $500 from $10.

Q: And you spent 18 hours a day on this?
A: No, knife trading is pretty hands- off. I probably spent 30 minutes a day.

Q: Well, with those numbers, wouldn’t you be better off working minimum wage?
A: I knife trade for fun, not profit. And consider this: I made my money watching Mad Men and eating a bowl of crispity crunch, not bussing tables at Mc. Donalds.

What you Need

You need a phone or a similar device. (IPod etc.) If you haven’t already, download the Steam Mobile App here
And then enable the “Steam Guard” feature. If you are having any problems with that, go here[http//storehttps]
After enabling the authenticator, you will need to wait 15 days. Technically, yes, you can trade without an authenticator, but it sucks. Nobody will want to trade with you, and if you find somebody who does, you need to wait 15 days for the trade. On top of that, they can change their mind throughout those 15 days, canceling the trade.

Levels of Trading

0 - No knife
1 - Knife under $100
2 - Inventory over $250
3 - Inventory over $500 - at least 1 knife over 200. At least 2 knives.
4 - Some assets in other games - $10 or below
5 - the criteria for level 4, but with at least 50 games, level 10 steam, and 100 friends
6 - Assets in other games totaling above $30. You need to have a profile that looks good, with a steam level above 20, a profile background, and above 60 games.
7 - Assets in other games totaling above $250

Level 0

This is, by far, the most annoying, horrible level to be at. You’re broke. Your account probably sucks. Nobody trusts you. All of these problems can go away - quickly. You just need some disposable coin. You have some options. Personally, if I had the money, I would spend $10 on Unturned Mythicals. Unturned is a very lucrative market right now, if a little hard to navigate. The best part about Unturned is the small, nice community. Here is where you learn subtle tricks of negotiation, some of which I will go over later. But STOP! Before you go off and buy some shiny new mythical off the steam community market. Redirect your mum’s Visa somewhere better. In Unturned, everybody just wants CSGO stuff. It’s actually pretty sad, but the entire community doesn’t want the items. OPSKINS[opskins.com]: is the best place to get low- priced CSGO items via PayPal. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. You can find it
However, once you have an account, go here for the best deals[opskins.com]:
And find yourself something discounted above 20 percent. Aim to buy a gun skin, maybe an AK-47 or an M4A1-S. This is because they are more popular in the community. Once you bought yourself something pretty, take a gander to the unturned trading forum[//].
Once you’re there, make a post. Title it “(H) CSGO Items (W) Mythicals” or something similar, and in the description, put “You need to overpay. I don’t go by the price people are selling them for, that’s stupid.”
The reason why I included that second sentence is the blatant overvaluation of Mythicals, as can be seen here. In my eyes, that mythical is worth $7.29. This is how you’re going to value Mythicals - what you can, in two seconds, sell them for.
Once you have some good Mythicals, create more posts, and respond to some. You would be surprised what you can get away with in this community, people will just send trade offers that are so, so stupid. Once you have about $40 usd in quicksellable Mythicals, sell them on the community market and buy a knife. Skip to my guidelines for knife purchasing to find the best deals.
Let's say, however, you have no money to spend on CSGO. Go on gambling websites, and use referral codes. Play a few times, and then withdraw. Then trade for some Unturned mythicals. For your referral codes, use mine.
dank free cash money green hella hella schwag[docs.google.com]
If you want to spend money to buy a knife outright, you can do that too. Use OPSKINS Good Deals[opskins.com], however.

Level 1

Now, you have a knife under $100. This is when most people get scammed. It is an absolute cesspool of scammers and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. A tool that is very useful at this level is cs.money. Go on, type it in your browser. The link gets removed here. Cs.money is an automated trading service. In principle, they always make money. However, they use their own pricing system, not the globally accepted steamanalyst[csgo.steamanalyst.com].
If you type in any knife, it gives you its actual value. At this level, it might be difficult to find people who use steam analyst. That’s why steam market price is still a factor. A huge community that goes by steamanalyst is Alias Trade Server[cs.http]:
Alias dictates the market and pricing. It’s quite easy to trade on their servers too. Everyone should give it a shot.
Besides trade servers, there are simpler ways to trade. Try using {LINK REMOVED}CSGO Lounge
And the CSGO Trading Subforum.
Also, don't forget about the CSGO Trading Subreddit even if the post requirements are a bit fickle.

Level 2/3

These are by far the easiest levels. Now you need to stop using cs.money. You should be looking to trade into other games with huge overpay for slow upgrades, buying items with a subjective value (Like katowice stickers) and selling them for the high rate. Try to become a broker! It’s easy, fun, and boosts your reputation. A broker is a person who takes somebodies knife and trades it to certain point. When they are done, they take a cut from the price difference between the original knife and the knife that is there now. Obviously use {LINK REMOVED}CSGO LoungeAnd the CSGO Trading Subforum.And the CSGO Trading Subreddit can be your friend. At this poit, you should proably have a nice profile and high-ish steam level.

Level 4/5

What games are your assets in? If it’s TF2 or Unturned, I refer you to my LV. 0 guide. If it’s anything else, sell it on the community market and buy a cheap CSGO gun in the 5 dollar range, then I refer you to my LV. 0 guide. If you’re level 6, you will have an easier time, as you look more trustworthy, so I suggest getting an acceptable steam level and profile.

Level 6

Go on the CSGO trading forums and the trading forums for the game you have items in. Make a post using the words “I want literally any CSGO knife.” Then bide your time.

Level 7

Level 7
If you have a decent inventory in another game, look for somebody who has a nice CSGO inventory who is willing to cross- trade. Try to negotiate the lowest price while maintaining a relationship with that person. Your other option is to sell those items on the Steam market or OPSKINS[opskins.com].

Selecting a Knife

I love selecting a knife. It’s so much more satisfying than trading - you truly have the pick of the litter. If you’re investing cash, use OPSKINS Good Deals[opskins.com]. If you have steam cash, you need to do some more research. Personally, I abhor buying Battle Scarred knives. If you don’t know what that means, you’re not alone. Float dictates how your knife looks in every way. You want the lowest float possible, because the higher float you have, the less of the knife you can see. This is a battle- scarred knife, which is in the lowest float range.
Here is the same knife in Factory New, the highest range.
See the difference? The more ‘paint’ on the knife, the higher the value. Float is a number randomly assigned to a knife. Here is a chart of floats and the category they become.
However, be warned. A battle scarred knife with a .44 float is worth no more than a knife with a .58 float, except in very rare cases, like with Rust Coat knives, where you want the lowest float possible. Even then, however, the price is adjusted by a dollar. Maybe.
Go on steamanalyst[csgo.steamanalyst.com] and find a knife with the highest value. Keep sellability in mind, however. Some knives are very hard to sell, like Damascus Steel, Safari Mesh, Gut Knives, Falchion Knives and Battle Scarred/ Well Worn knives. However, Fade knives, Karambits, Tiger Tooth, Slaughter and Butterfly knives are very easy to sell.
If buying a knife off of the steam market, install SteamWizard[chrome.google.com]
for float values and knife patterns.
Knife patterns are how the individual knife looks. This is only important with some patterns. If you want to learn more, go here:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=247406953

General Tips for Everyone

Everyone shoud install Steam Wizard[chrome.google.com] for ease of access. It is, in every way, worth it,
Knives sell more quickly if you use a Metjm[metjm.net] when advertising.
To make one, go on Steam Wizard, click on your knife, and click “Get Screenshot.” Wait a little while, and you’re done. Your second option is to right click on “Inspect in Game,” open it in a new tab, and copy- paste that into metjm. The finished product will look like this:
Everybody should use {LINK REMOVED}CSGO LoungeAnd buy Autobumping for 5 bucks. It’s worth it. Click {LINK REMOVED}here to buy the auto - bump every 30 minutes and 6 of them. The website may say they last for a month, but they last forever. If they didn’t it would be the most unworthwhile thing ever.
Use steamanalyst[csgo.steamanalyst.com] for item pricing.
If you’re finding a knife untradable, sell it on cs.money for something slightly less valuable.
A huge part of trading is negotiating. If you send more messages than the other person, you wseem desperate. Always use decent grammer as well, it makes you seem more respectable. If somebody says something incoherent, say "Use your words." It puts them off- guard. Never say please, and always remain formal. In my experience, using the text emoticons (;( :3, :P) Makes you look pretty stupid. However, using :D seems effective, if it is not overused.

How to Avoid Scams

The thing about not getting scammed, is it’s not difficult. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, you’re golden. It’s actually more difficult to get scammed than not, because to get scammed, you need to do something. This is a list of scam I have encountered with brief descriptions. I am updating this list, but I rarely encounter scams anymore. I just block anyone with a steam level lower than 20 who doesn't have a knife. The quotations are what the scammer says.


False Wealth
“I can buy this knife, but I don't know if you are serious about trading. Send me a trade offer of your knife and I will send you mine.”

False bot trade offer
The scammer asks a trader to list the item for $10000, then a scammer sends fake confirmation trade offer that looks like it’s from an OPSKINS bot


Invoice
The Scammer sends an invoice instead of PayPal funds

Refundable Payment
The scammer doesn't send a payment through Friends and Family on PayPal


Gift Request
Asking me for money via friends and family instead of giving it



Fake PayPal Email
The scammer sends an email with a PayPal letterhead that will say that you received a payment

Item verification
You know those bugged items? Can we just trade to admin to make sure?"

False middleman
Impersonation of a steamrep middleman

Item switching
Removing items in the trade window - only works in live trade, not trade offers

Phishing
"Look at my knife screenshots"

Activation Scam
"Use this code after completing the trade offer. It will not be valid until you accept the offer. MG74A-HH384-GDT5L-6D78F
It is for $200 USD in wallet codes."

Jackpot Scam
“I made a script to never lose on x gambling site. Just trade me the knife and I will trade it back with another expensive item!"


What it boils down to is never send your knife in a trade offer. Ever. Another tool to help prevent scams is Steam rep. If a person is marked as a scammer on steamrep, don’t trust them. Honestly, in this toxic community, it's not the best idea to trust anybody.
While yes, steamrep is right, +reps don’t mean much. They do, however, mean that at the very least, people care enough to rep farm. I have found that people with an intermediate amount of +reps (Maybe 10 pages) are the least likely to be scammers.

Big, Fat, Stupid Document to ward off Scammers (Feel free to use mine, but give me credit please)

[Paragraph A] (3)
IF YOU CONTACT ME IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM YOU AGREE THAT YOU READ, FULLY UNDERSTAND AND IN SOUND MIND AND BODY AGREE TO THE TERMS AND AGREEMENTS LISTED BELOW OF WHICH ARE NOT SURROUNDED IN BRACKETS(1) OR A LINK TO A WEBSITE.

[References and footnotes surrounded by parenthesis.]

https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffer/new/?partner=113255323&token=IRmNQJg6

[Feel free to add me, but trade offers preferred :D]

If you do not speak English well, please use a translator. I speak some of French and Spanish, but I prefer that all trades be conducted in English. I absolutely will not conduct ANY trades in any language that does not have roots in Latin.

This includes, but is not limited to: Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, German, Pennsylvania Dutch [(Why the ♥♥♥♥ do you speak Pennsylvania Dutch?)], Thai, Swedish, Finnish, Maya, Inca, Zulu, Afrikaans, Hindi, Polish, Urdu, Swahili, Xhosa, Greek, or Hebrew.

I also will not conduct ANY trades in the following romance languages: Romansch and Bulgarian.

If you speak Creole or Kurdish, please tell me and teach me some for a $1 discount!

I have this document translated into some different languages below. Please view them so you can fully understand what you agreeing to at your leisure.

Russian/ русский / russkiy

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r6XLAg5llhyotaCIdGXAA4REXGpZD0BPhskBvno-uYo/edit?usp=sharing

Spanish/ Español
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12W6rxtGpqWct2my_tCWD-H1Q7M_ChuHI9Sun_LcKz4s/edit?usp=sharing

Japanese/ 日本語

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kxMpmY9U1aoVlKVlMA1rtr6ArDl8tPlwq0Y93ZYRZo0/edit?usp=sharing

French/ Français

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16_cbz0sD3sg_kL_GU9GDvT0ZVE_rPmtigTUWgXI5dGU/edit?usp=sharing
[Paragraph B] (3)

You must go first if we are trading via PayPal, Steam Wallet Codes or PaySafe cards. I don't care how many digits you tell me, or how much rep you have, you go first. If you wish to trade via PayPal, be willing and able to use PayPal.me.
Send it to PayPal.me/EyeKanSpel friends and family only.

[Feel free to add me, but trade offers preferred :D]

[Paragraph C] (3)

[Scams I have encountered:
This list is so others are not scammed this way and so people reading this will not attempt this scam on me.] You will not attempt to trick, hoodwink, con, scam, or bamboozle me in any of the following ways, including the use of similar language (2).

[OPSKINS scams:

(I can buy this knife, but I don't know if you are serious about trading. Send me a trade offer of your knife and I will send you mine)
Opskins trade offer skin

(List the item for $10000, then you send a fake confirmation trade offer)

Invoice
(Sending me a payment instead of PayPal funds)

Refundable Payment
(Not sending payment through Friends and Family on PayPal)

Gift Request
(Asking me for money via friends and family instead of giving it)

Fake PayPal Email
(Sending me an email that says he payed me from the scammer)

Item verification
("You know those bugged items? Can we just trade to admin to make sure?"

False middleman
(Impersonation of a steamrep middleman)

Item switching
(Removing items in the trade window)

Phishing
("Look at my knife screenshots")

Activation Scam
("Use this code after completing the trade offer. It will not be valid until you accept the offer. MG74A-HH384-GDT5L-6D78F
It is for $200 USD in wallet codes."

Jackpot Scam
(I made a script to never lose on x gambling site. Just trade me the knife and I will trade it back with another expensive item!"]

[Paragraph D] (3)

Mobile Authentication Enabled traders only. All other offers will be declined.

Dota 2/ Tf2 = You will Overpay by 50% according to the pricing on the community market. This is because I am not familiar with these trading systems and will market them and wait 15 days to sell my knife, and in that time I can make a large amount of profit. Also, at least 2 need to be sold per day at that price.

Unturned is 1/4th of CS GO market price, and skins purchased on the community workshop are worth 17¢ each, unless they cannot be purchased individually.


[Paragraph E] (3)

Rules that you are to follow:

If you added me, you trust me.

I am probably trading with about 5 other people. I will respond, but it might take time.

I always accept the best offer.

Be polite (4)

You will not say "bro, breh, brah" or similar language (2)

I will not and never will read your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ "trading rules." Shut up.

I'm not clicking your link.

You will go first on PayPal and trades involving Steam Wallet Codes or PaySafe cards. See "Paragraph B" for complete set of rules on non- steam trading conduct.

You will go by my pricing.

You will not attempt to scam me. See Paragraph C for list of conduct recognized as a "scam."

All trades are to be conducted in USD unless contraindicated by myself. This will normally include a fee, as I will be converting it into a medium of exchange that is useful to me.

DOWNGRADE IN ITEM - AS DEFINED BY ME - EQUALS 10% OVERPAY IN STEAMANALYST PRICE!

[REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES]
(1) - Bracketed Formatting
Brackets look like this: [Give me your knife.] As defined by paragraph one, you are not contractually obligated to abide by "Give me your knife"

(2) - Similar Language
"The implication of any of the of the following known scams, rewording of these phrases, sentences or conversations, or indirectly asking me about any of the following terms, phrases, sentences or conversations, potentially but not necessarily varying in numerical amounts, random digits or PINs, or the use of these phrases, terms, sentences or conversations in a language other than English"

(3) - The ABC's [Yes, this has been an issue.]
Lettered paragraphs start and end at the soonest alphabetical character in a chronological order when you sing the "ABC's" or read the characters not in black on my steam profile picture from left to right, and upon completion of a line, move down to the next leftmost column.

(4) - Polite
"Polite" is defined as without profusive or potentially minimal swearing, profanity, general jackassery, dependent upon the severity of the words used or similar language (2). For example "♥♥♥♥ that" is "Polite" while "♥♥♥♥ you, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ maggot, crawl back into your mother's crack den of a snatch and rot there" is the antithesis of polite.

What I copy- paste on trading sub-forums and CSGO Lounge (As of 1/28/17)

IF YOU CONTACT* ME IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ, FULLY UNDERSTOOD, AND IN SOUND MIND AND BODY AGREE TO THE TERMS AND AGREEMENTS LISTED BELOW THAT ARE NOT IN BRACKETS.

[My thoughts on the document below: This is a ton of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ meant to deter scammers and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. If you send me an offer for CSGO items for my CSGO items OR Unturned items for my Unturned items, you're good. UNLESS wyou send a trade offer where you don't have any items in the trade window. If you do all tbat, you have not violated any of the terms below. If cross- game trading, please read Paragraph D. If you wish to trade via PayPal, please read Paragraph C. If you add me, read ALL of it. ]

You will read this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fvP3GIyydfsX3LNO0yebAqjHTYQa69V7DTPnQUMdUJY/edit?usp=sharing

OR Find it on my profile of you are unwilling or unable to use Google Drive.

You will use this: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffer/new/?partner=113255323&token=IRmNQJg6

[My Knives!
BFLY (Fade):
http://s.metjm.net/nlcpf77.jpg
Daggers:
http://s.metjm.net/7Hjq9eO.jpg

I'm a broker, add me if you're interested!
Knives I'm brokering:
Kara Safari Mesh:
http://s.metjm.net/KWaqMlw.jpg

Use these codes for free money to gamble!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fBuhTnUYK4tQ05JkSQq2R2wbazpVMQWVjEOEseSArTQ

[My Discord:
https://discord.me/mommy ]

*Contact includes adding me as a friend on steam, sending me a steam trade offer, steam message, or commenting on my steam profile. It also includes talking to me in-game, or on discord, including both voice chat or discord messages. It also includes contacting me on any website through comments or messages that have steam integration, are affiliates of the Valve™ company, or exist for the purpose of propagating, supporting, integrating or adding to the Steam experience, including websites made for the purpose of trading steam items.

You will disregard this:
H} .04 Full Fade BFly, SD Night, Kara Safari Mesh (W) Anything! All offers seriously considered.

[H] .04 Full Fade BFly, SD Night, Kara Safari Mesh [W] SA price (92, 21, 43), or other items

(H) .04 Full Fade BFly, SD Night, Kara Safari Mesh (W) Anything! All offers seriously considered. Add me, send me a trade offer or hit me up w/ a room number.

(H) Mythicals, Sweets, Open Inv (W) Offers! All trades seriously considered.

B/O (92, 21, 43)

In Conclusion

Knife trading is hard, but if you follow my steps, you should be quite successful. Now that you’re filthy rich in CSGO, want to tip me? Great!
https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffer/new/?partner=113255323&token=IRmNQJg6
Or, if you’re feeling more up to cash, that’s alright too. PayPal.me/EyeKanSpel
Anything I need to add? Something grammatically incorrect? Just tell me. If this helped you at all, please rate, favorite and refer people who need it to this guide.

[Carl Johnson]

RUS: Выберите что то одно из этого списка и напишите в моём профиле, отвечу тем же!
ENG: Choose the one that's on the list and write in my profile, I will answer the same! <3
PL: Wybierz jeden z komentarzy ponizej i zamiesc w moim profilu, odwdziecze sie tym samym !
TR:Bir tanesini seç ve profilime yaz , aynısını sana yazacağım !
+rep Good Player
+rep Ak-47 Good
+rep Krall
+rep Very Good
+rep ez gg
+rep AWP King
+rep nice aim
+rep one tap good
+rep you are the best
+rep Nice Player

[Denniz]

pls give me a knive xD