Ever since CS:GO received its first tradeable skins, the craze about collecting, trading, buying, and selling these virtual goods (basically just visual makeovers for in-game weapons) has not calmed down one bit. Some players are stocked with so many valuable and rare skins that their inventory’s values are mind-boggling. Some people (cannot call them players, you will see why) have made CS:GO skin trading their full-time job. They “buy low and sell high” and log in to CS:GO just to inspect some skins, basically. With Counter-Strike 2 being announced, and us being assured that skins will be even prettier in Source 2 engine, we are sure that the craze will be re-ignited, with millions of former players coming to CS.
Now, if you want to trade skins, you can, of course, resort to the official Steam Community Market and purchase the skin from there, legitimately, through Steam’s system. You can also sell your own skins on that same market, however, those funds will end up on your Steam Wallet and there’s no possibility to cash out. Due to this, dozens and hundreds of CS:GO Skin Trading sites have sprouted over the past (over) half a decade. Which ones are trustworthy? Which ones are sus? Let’s find out.
How to Know if a CS:GO Skin Trading Site is Secure or Not? Best Security Practices
First of all – Disclaimer time!
Related: CS:GO Float Value Ranges Guide: All Skin Float Values
- Make sure to check the Steam EULA before engaging in activities such as buying or selling CS:GO skins for real money. That type of transaction, as far as we know, is not permitted by Steam (Valve). Even though not a lot of people get banned from trading (or from Steam altogether) you must be aware of that being a possibility.
- Check the reputation of every site you stumble upon: Look for sites that have a good reputation within the CS:GO community. You can do this by checking online reviews (whether it’s a YouTube channel, website, forum, or a social media group or page). In the end, some sites that are good at one point may become corrupt in the future.
- Check the security protocol of the website you are visiting: Make sure the site uses secure protocols, such as HTTPS (which you will be easily able to see upon viewing the full URL of the site you are visiting and the symbol in your browser next to the URL), because you want to protect your personal information and financial transactions at all times.
- Verify the ownership of the website by checking the WHOIS information online. A legitimate and trustworthy website will have transparent and accurate ownership information.
- Check their customer support quality: Look for CS:GO Skin Trading websites that have responsive customer support channels, such as email, chat, or phone support. Trustpilot may give a lot of hints, but take it with a grain of salt.
- Use certified and trusted payment platforms, such as PayPal, which has its own support, in the case that things go south.
- Ultimately, it’s up to you to do your due diligence (responsibility) and research ONLY before using any third-party CS:GO skin trading site. Be careful when accepting trades, because we’ve heard of situations where thieves try to emulate the name of the trading bot and send a trade offer that is the same as the one you want to do with a legitimate trade bot (also known as API hack). If you want to feel safer, try trading in something cheap first to see what happens. And make sure to read the rules of each website, because different sites have different rules, commissions, etc…
Separate disclaimer: Prima Games is not affiliated with any of these websites, we do not have any referral links that are attached to anything you’ll potentially click on below, and we are not sponsored or otherwise compensated to show them in this article. We just did the journalism work for the subject matter CS:GO players are looking for. Strange in this day and age, right?
Related: What is the Most Expensive Knife Skin in CS:GO? – Answered
In no particular order, feel free to check out these websites:
- Tradeit.GG (4.9 at TrustPilot, 12166 reviews)
- CS.Money (4.9 at TrustPilot, 3581 reviews)
- DMarket (4.6 at TrustPilot, 18809 reviews)
- BitSkins (4.7 at TrustPilot, 1289 reviews)
- Skins Monkey (4.8 at TrustPilot, 406 reviews)
That’s it for this article, everyone. We hope you’ll have nice trades, and that you won’t have any stressful experiences.
