Steam Community Market: The Ultimate Guide for Everyone

Steam has become the definitive face of digital stores for buying PC games, thanks to a multitude of reasons; better customer support, better gamepad compatibility, large collection, transparent game review system and much more.

However, one feature that sets Steam apart from its competitors is the Steam Community Market. If you know of this feature but have never used it, here’s all you need to know about the Community Market.

What is the Steam Community Market?

The Steam Community Market is a unique marketplace offered by Steam to its users, where players buy and sell in-game items or store collectibles for games they’ve been playing. The amount paid or received is in the form of Steam Wallet currency, which roughly equates to your real-world money. Using this money, you can buy other items on the Community Market, or even games.

The Community Market is supported by around 350 games, with the most popular games being Counter-Strike 2 (RIP CS:GO), Team Fortress 2, and DOTA 2. It is usually used to buy or sell skins, or other cosmetic in-game items, usually for a profit. These items are stored in your Steam Inventory and can be put up for sale at any time. However, not all items can be sold; these items have a Not Marketable tag on them.

⤷ Is the Community Market safe and legit?

The Community Market is a native feature of Steam itself, and not by some third-party group. Also, Steam has placed several safeguards to limit the access of suspicious accounts and scammers. Therefore, it is completely safe to use, and you can rest assured that no scams of any kind will take place. All deals are done under the moderation of Steam and every decision on there is up to you.

Read More: How to Use Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator

How Do I Access the Community Market?

The Steam Community Market can be viewed by anyone for free. However, trading on it is a whole other matter. Anyhow, here’s how to access the Community Market on your Windows device:

1. First off, open up Steam.
   

   

2. On Steam, you’ll have the Store page open by default. Bring your cursor over to the Community tab. Instantaneously, a drop-down menu should appear. Click on Market.
   

   

3. The Community Market can now be browsed freely.
   

   

How To Use the Community Market

Before using the Community Market, your Steam Account must meet some requirements.

⤷ Requirements for using Community Market

1. A minimum, or equivalent of $5.00 should be deposited to your Steam Wallet. You can add $5.00 to your Steam wallet by adding your credit/debit card info. Alternatively, you can purchase a game or DLC for a game you own, for $5.00. The purchase must be older than 7 days but not by a year.
2. You’ll need to download the Steam app on iOS or Android, depending on your mobile device, and enable Steam Guard. You’ll have to wait 15 days after activating Steam Guard to get access to the Community Market.

These guards allow the Community Market to operate with a minimal risk of scammers, as not every new account will be able to access the Community Market straightaway.

Things to know before buying and selling on the Community Market

Here are some essential tips you should know before you step into the Community Market.

1. Graphs

When you’re looking at an item on the Community Market, always make sure check out the graphs at the bottom. They help you figure out the best price to buy or sell. There are 2 types of graphs on the Community Market: the median graph and the buy-sell order graph.

• Median Graph: This shows how the item’s price has changed over time. By hovering your mouse over the green line, you can see past prices. You can look at prices for a week, a month, or the entire time (lifetime) the item has been sold. You can also zoom in on a part of the graph by left clicking and dragging the cursor to make a square at a specific point on the graph.
  

  

• Buy-Sell Order Graph: This one tells you about the demand from buyers and sellers. The up-and-down axis shows how many orders there are, and the left-to-right axis shows the price. Green areas on the right are for selling, and blue areas on the left are for buying. The middle part shows the current popular price range. If you’re selling or buying, this range is a good place to start.
  

  

2. Steam Commission Fees

Steam takes a commission fee on every sale made; 5% for itself and 10% goes to the developers of the game; meaning a total of 15%. The minimum fees are $0.01 or its equivalent. When, you’re selling an item, you’ll have to decide on a price which profits you most while maintaining a reasonable demand from the buyer.

BUYING an item on the Community Market

Once, you’ve satisfied the requirements stated above, it’s time to finally time to start trading. Follow the steps below to buy something on the Community Market:

1. Open up the Community Market.
   

   

2. Next, click on Show advanced options under the Search feature.
   

   

3. On the pop-up that appears, click on All Games to open a drop-down menu. Now, choose your desired game from the list. We’ll be choosing Counter-Strike 2.
   

   

4. Once you’ve selected your game, click on Search.
   

   

5. In a few seconds, a list of items belonging to the game you’ve chosen will be displayed. You can toggle between the pages by clicking on the page numbers on the bottom of the page. You can also sort the items by Price, Name, and Quantity by clicking on the headings.
   

   

6. Now, browse around and click on the item you’ve chosen.
   

   

7. Scroll down a bit and click on Buy.
   

   

8. A pop-up will appear and ask you the amount you’re willing to pay for the item. To make an instant purchase, leave the default amount unchanged.
   

   

9. Next, click on the checkbox to agree to the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
   

   

10. Finally, click on Place Order. In a few moments, your transaction will be complete.
    

    

11. Next, hover your cursor on your username, next to the Community tab. From the drop-down, click on Inventory.
    

    

12. Then, click on the game whose item you’ve bought. The game’s inventory will open and you can see your purchased item in your Inventory.
    

    

⤷ Buy Orders

If, when buying an item on the Community Market, you offer a price that is lower the default one or the one shown in this list, you’ll create a buy order. A buy order allows you to purchase an item when a seller offers that item at your desired price.

The purchase will take place automatically, provided you have enough funds in your Steam Wallet. You’ll receive an email notification if the purchase is successful.

SELLING an item on the Community Market

Now, that we’re done with buying, here’s how you can sell items on the Community Market:

1. In order to sell an item on the Community Market, open up your Steam Inventory. you can do this by hovering the cursor on your username next to the Community tab, and clicking on Inventory in the drop-down menu that appears.
   

   

2. Once the Inventory is open, select the game whose item you’re selling.
   

   

3. Next, scroll down and browse your inventory for an item you want to sell and click on it.
   

   

4. On the right-hand side of the screen, detailed information about the item will appear. Click on Sell. If there’s no such option, it either means that the item is Not Marketable; not sellable, or it’s either on a cooldown as you’ve only recently activated your Steam Guard.
   

   

5. Now, you’ll be asked to set the price of the item you’re selling. Enter the price in the Buyer pays textbox and automatically, the You receive textbox will be filled. The same applies vice-versa. The You receive textbox shows you the amount you’ll receive from the sale, while the Buyer pays textbox shows you the amount, which includes Steam’s commission fees, the customer pays for your item.
   

   

6. After making sure to set a reasonable price, click on the checkbox to agree to the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
   

   

7. Then, click on OK, put it up for sale.
   

   

8. A confirmation message will appear. Click on OK.
   

   

9. If you’ve been selling a lot of items recently, or if you’ve set the value of your item above $1.00, you’ll be required to confirm this listing on your Steam mobile app.
10. Once you’ve done this, open up the Community Market.
    

    

You should see all the items you’ve put up for sale near the top of the page.

The Best Microbusiness for Gamers

The Steam Community Market is, arguably, the best feature to exist in any kind of game store. No game store allows you to play games and earn an equivalent of real money which can be used to buy skins or whole games. It’s clear why Steam is the choice of nearly all PC gamers, and another reason why you should have a beefy password for your Steam account.

Overall, the $5 fee for using the Community Market is well worth it as it is bound to pay off later on. At any rate, make sure to read the graphs and set an appropriate and reasonable price for any items you sell. Who needs business school when you’ve got the Community Market?