CS2: When skins are traded above the market price

What factors play a role in the price of the skin?

The condition, actually the Floatthe Pattern Index and the Stickers on the skin can significantly influence the price.

It is important to note that not all factors apply to every skin, so there are skins where the pattern index does not matter, while there are other skins that do not have any stickers attached. Nevertheless, it is possible that even just one of these three factors can cause the skin price to rise sharply.

For this reason, we will discuss each factor individually in the following three sections and explain what you should pay attention to for each factor.

How does a good float value influence the skin price?

Each state has a certain float range, if a skin is particularly high up in this float range, then the skin can probably be sold slightly above the market price.

The exact float ranges of the respective states can be found here.

Let's assume that there is a skin that costs €50 in brand new condition and €40 in minimal wear condition. The float range of minimal traces of use is between 0.07 and 0.15, if the skin would be below 0.07, it would be brand new.

Now we have exactly this skin with minimal signs of use, but the float is 0.071. So the skin is almost brand new and you probably wouldn't be able to see any difference compared to a brand new skin.

This skin could be sold above the average market price of 40€, you could probably ask around 45€ for this skin as the float is so good for the condition with minimal signs of use.

How expensive are skins with the best float?

If we are talking about a particularly good float in the factory-new range, the whole thing is a little different again. Since there is no range above brand new, there is no price to go by if the float is particularly good.

If the float of a skin is really very small, i.e. extremely close to 0, then the skin prices can really explode. From a value of 0.000X, the floats often start to be among the best floats ever drawn for this skin.

If you have one of these skins, you should definitely go to the CSFloat database to see where your skin is located. 

For skins in the top 100 of the best floats, the prices continue to rise exponentially because these skins are of course highly sought-after and usually unique. With the best float of a skin, it can sometimes happen that it is available for the 10 times the market price is traded.

How does the Pattern Index influence the skin price?

The pattern is the most complicated of the three factors, as there are so many different patterns and there is no clear ranking of the pattern indices. There are many skins where the pattern has a decisive influence on the skin price, including the following patterns:

• Case Hardened
• Doppler
• Gamma Doppler
• Crimson Web
• Slaughter
• Fade
• Marble Fade

Each of these different patterns has different things to look out for. With a Case Hardened pattern, for example, you have to pay attention to how much blue is visible on the skin, whereas with a Crimson Web skin, the positioning of the nets is important.

We have therefore written individual guides for all the important patterns so that you can find out about all the patterns in detail. You can easily find these guides by searching on our website. Alternatively, you can simply click on the relevant pattern in the list above this section and we will take you directly to the right guide.

Even if the pattern is the most complicated, it can have a very large influence on the skin price. We can't say how exactly the pattern affects the price, as it depends too much on the individual pattern. However, we can say that anything from a price increase of only 10% to 100 times the market price is realistic.

The M9 Bayonet Doppler in the last picture, for example, has a special pattern, it is a so-called SapphireThis puts the price at a good 11,000 dollars, around 11 times the average market price of an M9 Bayonet Doppler.

How do stickers on the skin affect the price?

Most stickers hardly change the value of skins at all; stickers lose almost all of their value when they are affixed to the weapon. This can be slightly different with particularly rare and very expensive stickers, which can increase the value of the skin considerably.

However, we are talking about stickers with a market value of €1000 and more. Cheaper stickers only affect the value to a very small extent, but can also drive the value up a little, especially if it is a good sticker combo on the weapon.

However, stickers will never increase the value of the weapon by the price they are worth in their inappropriate condition.

In the vast majority of cases maximum 10% of the sticker price as a surcharge on the market price of the skin. Normally you can add about 3.5% of the sticker price to the market price of the weapon.

As the sticker prices are not quite so simple and there are special features for some stickers, you can also check out our Sticker Guide if you would like to find out more about stickers.

When to overpay when buying skins (pay more than market price)

You can pay more than the market price for a skin if the skin's float is particularly good, the pattern is special or the skin has expensive stickers attached.

You should evaluate the three factors mentioned above and then consider whether it is worth paying more than the market price or whether you would rather go for a different skin.

But be careful when overpaying, many beginners make the mistake of paying more than the market price for case hardened skins, for example, because they think the skin has an excessive amount of blue, but the blue content is only average. So when overpaying, you should really be sure that the skin is really worth more than the market average.

When you can sell your skin above market price

If you are not sure whether your skin is worth more than the average market price, you should answer the following questions:

1. Does the skin have a particularly good float value?
2. Is the pattern important for this skin? If so, does the skin have a good pattern index?
3. Does the skin have stickers attached? If so, which ones and how much do they cost together?

1. the float value

With the Float Value you should enter the value of your skin with the value range of the state of your skin. If the skin is brand new, you should check whether the float is very close to 0 and, if necessary, look in the CSFloat database to see exactly how good your float is.

If the float is particularly close to the next best condition, you can ask a price between the two conditions. If the float is very good in brand new condition, you can ask exponentially more for the skin depending on which position it is in.

2. the pattern

If the pattern has an influence on the appearance of your skin, you should check whether your pattern index is particularly good. To do this, you can compare your pattern index with lists of particularly good pattern indices. You can find such lists in the respective guides on our website, for example.

If you have a special pattern, the skin price can increase by up to 1000 times.

3. the stickers

Finally, you should find out the value of the stickers attached. You can then add 10% of the total value of all attached stickers to the market price. If your skin is not sold for a long time, you can then slowly reduce the price further. You will probably have to go down to about 3.5% of the sticker price to find interested parties.

Summary: Tips for selling skins above market price

Overall, however, it also depends on experience exactly how expensive a skin can be sold. It is best to set the price higher at first and if the skin is not sold for a long time, you can always lower the price.

If you are unsure whether you can sell your skin above the market price, you can also ask in Counter Strike skin communities. There are always helpful people there who can give you an assessment of your skin.

When is a skin traded below market price?

It is very rare for a skin to be traded below the average market price. There are actually only three reasons why a skin is sold below market price:

1. The skin should be sold very quickly
2. The person selling the skin is ignorant
3. The price was set incorrectly by mistake

You should therefore never sell one of your skins for less than its actual value. The only reason for this would be if you really want to sell the skin very quickly and want to forego part of the price.