All TF2 traders occasionally run into trouble when trying to sell an item, even the experienced ones. It is important for all traders to know how to get out of this predicament without losing well-earned metal. Many traders find it difficult to sell an item when others are selling it for less. If you are not one of the most famous traders in the game, and others would feel it is an honor to trade with you, then most likely, you will find yourself struggling to offer the lowest price.

Eventually, you will find yourself with minimal or no profit, and you could even lose metal. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. By using these methods, you will sell your item in no time, and make money while you do it.

A trader’s reputation goes a long way when he is trying to make trades, especially trades of higher value. If you have a reputation thread on SourceOp, where people post why they recommend you as a trader, or if you have a lot of positive rep comments on your Steam profile page, it is more likely that other traders will want to trade with you.

Although it seems like a daunting task to get one hundred different people to write a comment on your profile saying that you are a good trader, it’s actually quite easy. Use a trading site such as TF2 Outpost to buy many small items, even as small as weapons. Once the trade is complete, ask if they can leave a comment on your profile, and tell them you will do the same. After seeing them post their comment, post yours on their profile. You now have one more person commending you.

However, it is important that you go on SteamRep to check whether or not the people who have posted positive reputation comments are not scammers. To do this, go to their Steam profile page, copy the link, and paste it onto the search bar on SteamRep. There will be a large red “X” next to their name if they are marked as a scammer.

It is important to delete reputation comments from scammers. There have been incidents where scammers have other scammers place fake reputation comments on their profile to make them seem legitimate. Even if you aren’t purposely doing it, if someone notices, they may accuse you of such an act.

Reputation is also a must if you are attempting to sell an item for real-life currency. Most good, experienced traders will not sell an item for real money unless trading someone with a long reputation thread on SourceOp or a lot of positive reputation comments by players who also have good reputation.

Knowledge is important when you are dealing with traders, particularly newer ones who are less experienced in the market. There are many ways to go about trading with less experienced traders. One way is to simply tell them that your item is worth more than it is, and hope for the best. However, that is frowned upon by many other players.

If you would really like to set yourself apart from the sharks (people who take advantage of newer players) while trading new players, and still make money doing it, the easiest way is through knowledge. For instance, say you are selling a hat worth one refined and one reclaimed, and you want to sell this hat for one refined, one reclaimed, and one scrap. You can tell this new player about the economy of hats, and explain to him what craft hats are and dirty hats are, and tell him that the prices of hats are always changing, and that there is always someone who really wants a hat and will overpay for it.

After you tell him all of this information, and you haven’t already told him what your price is, tell him now. If he asks what the value is, don’t be afraid to tell him that it’s worth one refined and one reclaimed. Then, explain to him that even though he is paying one scrap more than it’s worth, he has the potential to get more profit if he finds someone willing to pay. Tell him that you, too, are running a business, and you need your profit, but he can also make his profit from your item.

Another way to use your knowledge through trading is to learn how to negotiate well. If you are an able negotiator, you should be able to convince even the most adept traders that if they do not buy your item now their entire family is going to be eaten by a pack of wild lobsters. How are you using knowledge in this? You share with them the fact that they want this item. They wouldn’t still be in the trade if they didn’t. They know it’s hard to find, or they would already own it. Teach them their own thoughts.

Selling items in bulk or in sets is a clever way to get rid of an unwanted, unneeded item. For example, if you are trying to sell the hat “Bonk Helm” for one refined and one reclaimed, and you are unable to sell it, try buying a “Bonk! Atomic Punch” to sell with it. Come up with something funny as a sales pitch, for example: Selling a Bonk Helm with Free Refills! Of course, they aren’t actually free.

Sell the set for one refined, one reclaimed, and one scrap. You’ll get your scrap for the Bonk! Atomic Punch, and sell the hat you’ve been trying to get rid of, all while your customer believes that you are just selling the hat for one refined, one reclaimed, and one scrap, and he was getting a weapon for free.

A rich man’s way of using this technique could be to package Unusuals that are for the same class, have the same effect, or are the same hat as a set. Say that you are only selling these as a set unless someone is willing to overpay for a part of the set. Make the price of the set equal to the sum of the original prices of the items. Now, you’ll actually make even more profit if someone decides they only want one of your items. Additionally, if someone buys the set, your purpose is still complete, as you no longer have your item, and you didn’t lower the price.

This is also a convenient way to sell multiple items that are particularly hard for you to get rid of. If you can think of some way to link them to each other and forge them into a set, then you are able to sell them together for the sum of their original prices. Sometimes, people buy items based on the creativity you put into your set alone. For example, if someone likes the “Bonk Helm with Free Refills” idea, they are more likely to feel they need to have that set.

Nearly all items have a way to be differentiated from all other items. It is important to be unique when trying to sell an item. The rarer you make something seem, the more people want to have it. Item numbers, craft numbers, and quantity are just a few factors that differentiate items from each other. Uniqueness is important when you are trying to sell items to collectors.

One example in differentiation comes when selling Unusuals. Backpack.tf lists the number of Unusuals currently in the TF2 world on their site. If you see that you are the only one who has this Unusual, it can be used as a selling point. Also, if you see on TF2 Outpost that no one else is selling your Unusual, you can say yours is one of one on the market. Saying your Unusual has a clean history, meaning no scammers or hackers have owned it, and that it’s never been duplicated is another selling point for Unusuals.

For less rich players, look at the item number and the craft number (if there is one) of your item. Go onto stats.tf and find your item. The site will say how many copies of your item exist. This is how you find out if your item is odd-leveled, which greatly increases how many people want to buy your item. You can also say how many copies of the item exist as a selling point, if there aren’t that many copies.

Additionally, with craft numbers, there is a way to differentiate each crafted item from all other items. For example, say you have a craft number 1235 “Boston Basher”. Even though it’s not a particularly pleasing number, you can advertise it as the only craft number 1235 “Boston Basher” that exists in the game. If you are lucky enough to get a good craft number, then you should be able to sell your item by advertising that in no time.

When selling an item, many traders are looking for someone who is reliable. Many traders do not want to trade with a scammer or a hacker. Reliability goes hand in hand with reputation. However, reputation happens naturally over time. Reliability is entirely controlled by you. If you make a mistake once, it could affect the rest of your trading career. Traders are more trusting that you are selling legitimate items if you are reliable.

Never scam anyone, for any reason, ever. This can and will affect who will trade with you forever. However, scamming and hacking aren’t the only ways to lose reliability. On SteamRep, traders are able to see how many scammer friends you have. Choose your friends wisely, as they may affect you. Having too many scammer friends gives you a caution tag on SteamRep. That isn’t instant game over, but it does hurt you. Thus, you shouldn’t friend scammers.

Also, never buy hacked or scammed items from other traders, especially if you know that they were hacked or scammed. Most likely you will get them for a very low price. Dumping these items on other players is not a good idea. If the items get confiscated by Steam for being hacked, there is going to be one angry trader who wants your head on a silver platter. Generally, that is a red flag in trading.

Additionally, you should check the histories of Unusuals you buy on the TF2 Items site. In order to do this, copy the trader’s profile ID, and paste it onto the site. You should then see their backpack. Click on the item you would like to purchase. It should show up with a list of previous owners. If one or more of the previous owners are scammers or hackers, it is not safe to buy the item. You can also advertise your items as having a clean history, if there were no previous scammer or hacker owners.

If there is a message next to the previous owner that says this item may still be in their backpack, check their backpack to make sure it isn’t. This won’t necessarily lose your reliability, but it is an important thing to know when you are dealing with Unusuals. You’ll get stuck with an item that’s duplicated, and those are hard to sell to experienced traders.

The TF2 world is fast-paced and ever-changing, much like the real world. Additionally like the real world, traders want their items now. Valuing your customer’s time is an important way to sell an item. This is most important when selling items of high values and Unusuals, considering the vastness of the Unusual marketplace. Many Unusual offers are redacted every day, because the buyer found another Unusual they would rather have.

On almost every Unusual trade on TF2 Outpost, there are current offers (C/O). This means that all of these traders have received an offer for these items, but the trader has not yet accepted or declined the offer. There is an overwhelming abundance of current offers on TF2 Outpost, but not of actual trades. More and more people are keeping their items, waiting for an amazing offer.

If you are trying to get rid of your item, odds are you don’t feel like waiting for an amazing offer. In order to use this to your advantage, you should counter-offer your price after the buyer offers. Tell him that he will get the item immediately if he pays that price. There will be no waiting, there will be no current offers, and no one else will be competing with him to buy the item. He gets it now.

Valuing your customer’s time is vital in the TF2 world. Trading just isn’t like it used to be after the invention of sites like TF2 Outpost, scrap.tf, and countless other trading sites. After these sites were invented, where you can get items almost instantly, traders in the TF2 world have been more anxious, and they want their items much faster than they did before.

Relationships are always important, even in the TF2 world. By knowing other traders, and them knowing you, you are able to repeatedly trade with them. If you are both friends, it is likely he will get you out of your predicament by buying your item for your price, because he knows that if he helps you now, he’ll be able to get more items from you again in the future.

Also, by being friends with many other traders, it is likely that at least one of them will want to buy the item you are trying to sell. If you are an experienced trader, you should have a large friend’s list of fellow traders that are rich but not incredibly greedy. This way, they’ll be able to help you out when you need their help, knowing that you will help them sometime too. The longer you’ve known a trader, the more likely it is that you will be able to sell the item to him.

The more traders you are friends with, the more probable it is that they will know someone that wants your item, they will want your item, or they will have some use for your item in some way. Your unwanted item could be someone else’s dream item.

Another target you should go after when trying to sell an item is everyone you trade with regularly. If they always want to buy your items, and they always can, they may be afraid that if they don’t help you, you will no longer sell them your items. This shouldn’t be true, and you shouldn’t tell them this, but it is a mind game that may be playing in their head without you knowing.

Friends and fellow traders, however, should not be the only target. If you are an admin, manager, owner, or well respected member of a community and server, you should go onto it and ask if anyone can buy your item. The fellow server dwellers should know you, and may help you.

Although you may think longevity doesn’t matter in the TF2 world, it does. If you have been in business selling items for years in TF2, and you have made a name for yourself, people are more likely to buy from you, because they believe you are reliable and you have a positive reputation. You wouldn’t be selling items for so long if you weren’t trustworthy.

You can use your longevity as a selling point when you are trading with newer, less experienced traders. By telling them that you have been trading for years, they are more likely to look up to you. Some will buy your item, and then send you a friend request, because they believe that you can help them become better traders. The longer you’ve traded, the more respected you will be by new traders.

Another benefit of longevity is that if a shark believes you are a new player and tries to trade you, once he sees that you’ve played TF2 for two thousand hours, he will probably back off. Thus, longevity does not just help you sell items better; it also protects you from sharks and scammers. Experienced traders have the advantage of longevity.

Like in real life, if a business lasts a long time, everyone knows they’re doing something right. Most likely, in the TF2 world, the person you are trading with will believe that they are giving you profit, because you obviously are making profit, or you wouldn’t be trading for such a long time. If you’re lucky, this shouldn’t matter to him, as he knows you are experienced, and wants to buy your item.

This method is reserved for only admins, managers, and owners. On some TF2 servers, there are events. Events include spycrabs, boxing, trivia, raffles, and much more. In an event, there is generally a buy-in, which is the amount needed to enter the event, and there is a prize. At the end of the event, the prize is given to the winner. There is a way for admins, managers, and owners to take advantage of this to get rid of their unwanted and unneeded item.

Simply host one of these events with the buy-in being an amount you choose. The prize will be the item you wish to get rid of. Do not host the event until you have enough buy-ins to cover the cost of your item. Once there are enough buy-ins, host the event, and keep the buy-ins. This is perhaps the simplest way to get rid of an unwanted item and not lose profit. However, only admins, managers, and owners can do it.

The winner still makes a great profit because the buy-in is always much less than the value of the winner’s prize. This means that you will be able to get rid of your item, possibly make profit, and give someone else profit, all in one simple step.

Now, I will post a warning. Do not do this unless you are an admin, manager, or owner. You can get banned for scamming other traders, even if you aren’t. There are a lot of admin impersonators in the TF2 world, sadly, and that means that there is less trust in other players. Never impersonate an admin, and never host an event if you aren’t one. Even if you are just spycrabbing another player on the server, you should always use a middleman.

Although this method seems foolproof, you may get backlash for keeping excess buy-ins that are more than the price of the item you are giving away. It may seem like the only reason you are hosting the event is so that you can make profit, not just sell your item. In order to get around this, you should say how much you will keep out of the buy-ins, and then add the excess to the pot.

Selling an item on the Steam Market is an easy way to make real-life profit. By selling it on the market, you don’t have to lower your price. You can make it whatever price you wish, and eventually, someone will buy it. After visiting the Steam Market, you will see that there are people currently selling keys for two hundred US dollars. Anything seems to be possible in the TF2 world.

Although you may think that this is not a good idea, because you aren’t making in-game profit, you’re wrong. With your new money, you will be able to buy items from the Steam market and resell them in-game. The most solid, reliable choice would be to buy keys from the market, and sell them in game for their normal price. That way, you can turn your unwanted items into keys.

Also, this is a great way to buy games on Steam. All money that you make from the Steam Market can only be used in the Steam Market or in the Steam Store. If you would like to purchase games from the Steam Store, you will be able to sell your items for real money, and then buy the games with your profit. This is a great way to get games for free if you are skilled at making profit in-game.

The Steam Market, although the most reliable, may not be as good of a place to sell it as on SourceOp and by PayPal. You may be able to get better deals there than through the Steam Market, because there is a stronger flow of people who buy items through those sites. However, be aware of scammers, because they prey on those who use PayPal.

Sustainability means that whatever you are doing is not currently hurting the TF2 economy. For instance, selling keys for what they are actually worth would show sustainability. You can use sustainability to help you sell an item to someone who cares about the economy, like someone who sells keys for the old price to try to “save the keys.”

Although sustainability isn’t the easiest way to sell an item, if you are able to find the right person, he will buy all of your items if you tell him that it’s saving the economy. However, you can’t lie when you are saying that it is not hurting the economy, and you actually have to know that it is helping the economy in order to use sustainability as a reason traders should buy your item.

An instance that you could have where you can use sustainability is if you are trying to sell an item that is rising in price, much to the dislike of the community. Say that you will sell that item for a set price, no matter what the economy says the current price is. You’ll be telling the truth, because once you sell that item, you won’t have another one. That way, you aren’t lying when you say you’ll always sell it for that price. It’s just that you’ll only sell one of them. Who would ever buy an item that’s impossible to sell twice?

Sustainability is like recycling. Not everyone does it, but there are no haters. If you say you are trying to help the economy, no one will accuse you of scamming or sharking, highballing or lowballing. Everyone will appreciate what you are doing, and hopefully, one of them will have enough compassion to buy your item from you to try to make the TF2 world a better place.

Availability and mobility are two important ways to sell an item. I know from experience that when I am trying to buy an item on TF2 Outpost, and I want to buy it fast, I am willing to pay more now than wait. Thus, if I send someone a friend request, and they don’t accept it immediately, I keep searching. This is why it is important for you to always be available at all times.

In order to be available at all times, it is recommended that you get Steam Mobile. It is an app that allows you to access the Steam Community on your phone. This way, if someone needs to talk to you, you are always available. Even if you can’t trade at the moment, showing you are there and willing to make the trade will help your odds of selling that trader the item.

Another way to increase access is to keep your Steam online. Stop going offline whenever you aren’t using your Steam. Even if you aren’t at your computer, having the appearance of being online allows people to send you messages and hope that you read them. Eventually, when you get back, you will read them, and message them back.

By appearing online all day, people are also more likely to come to you when they need something. For example, I am always online, and I always seem to get messages from people. Some from people I talk to every day, and some from people who I don’t even know. However, I’ve been messaged randomly by people I don’t know who want to buy hats from me. They do this because they know I always sell hats. Thus, if they need a hat, they think to come to me, because I’m always available.

In some situations, data and stats can help you on your way to getting rid of that unneeded item. For example, say you want to get rid of a cancerous Unusual. At the time you have this Unusual, keys are rapidly rising. You know that keys will eventually crash, and they will become much cheaper. Tell the person you are trading that it is a safer investment to have the Unusual than to keep the keys. The following paragraph is an example of what you can say to the trader.

As you know, keys are currently rising rapidly. Eventually, they will crash and become worthless. It is a safer bet to invest in Unusuals currently than to keep your keys. With an Unusual, the general value will always remain the same. Once keys crash, you can sell the Unusual for many keys, and once again keep the keys as they rise. This way, you’ll be able to have a safe profit, and I’ll be able to sell you my Unusual.

That sales pitch may make the trader more interested in buying your Unusual, because they feel it is a safer investment. I am aware that the general value may not remain exactly the same for the Unusual. However, if it rises, then great for him, and if it drops, it won’t drop as drastically as the keys will. I find this is a straightforward negotiation tactic that actually works when trading.

Another use of data is by identifying trends in the TF2 economy by using charts on TF2 Finance and backpack.tf. After identifying the trends, you can use them in negotiation to your advantage, by saying that the data shows that the price of your item will most likely increase. An alternative method is to find the trends of their item, and tell them that it’s going to drop in price. Only say this if the data actually does show that your item will rise in price, or their item will drop in price.

Presenting all products, even material ones, as a service is a working business method in the TF2 world. What this means is that you are never selling an item to someone because it’s that item. You’re selling it to them because it could be the basis of their business. When they resell that item and get profit, they can buy more items, and expand their TF2 business until they are one of the richest people in the TF2 world.

For example, if the item you are trying to get rid of is a hat. Tell the person you’re trading with that if they buy your hat, they are not just buying the hat, but they are becoming a business. Tell them to sell your hat for slightly more than they bought it for, and then to try buying craftable hats for less than they are worth. Thus, with your hat, they build an empire.

This method only works if you are trading a trader who wants to get richer, or if they want to have a lot of items. If they are trading you only because they want your specific item and plan to keep it forever, then this is not the method to use on them. Most likely, they will be unaffected by your words, because they don’t plan on selling it in the first place.

However, if they are buying it to start a business, use your word power to convince them that your item is the first of many they will get by buying your item. Convince them that without your item that they are buying right now for your price, they will not be able to get rich. If they truly want to get rich, they will buy your item, because they will be convinced that it is the only way.

If all else fails, and even after trying everything, you still can’t sell that unwanted item, likeability comes into factor. If you are able to present yourself as a nice person and a good friend, people might buy your item. By you telling everyone that you need to get rid of this item, combined with the fact that you aren’t being annoying about it, a fellow trader may buy your item to help you out.

This generally works best if you are an admin, as there are more people that will know who you are, and you are probably already likeable if you were able to get to the status of admin on a server. Go to everyone on the server, and ask them for help. Don’t beg. If people begin thinking you are a free-to-play, your begging has gone too far.

There aren’t many tips on how to be likeable, so this section will be shorter than the rest. You’re most likely going to be instantly liked, or people will find you annoying. There’s no real in between once you start asking people for help. Don’t use this method unless you are okay with having the entire server start randomly yelling at you.

By using these fifteen ways to sell an item, you should be able to get rid of anything without lowering the price. Once again, they are reputation, knowledge, sets, differentiation, reliability, time, relationships, longevity, events, market, sustainability, availability, stats, service, and likeability.

If you master these fifteen ways, you will never find yourself stuck with another unwanted and unneeded item for the rest of your TF2 career. I suggest you read over this guide once again, a bit more closely this time. Write down the ways that you feel apply most to you. Then, enter the TF2 world and sell that unwanted item!