Steam Market or marketplace: where should you sell your skin?
When you want to sell a CS2 skin, the reflex is often to open the Steam Community Market: it is built in, safe, and shows you a price right away. But that price is misleading if your goal is to get money into your bank account. Here is how the Steam Market works, what it really costs you, and when you are better off using a marketplace.
How the Steam Market works
The Steam Community Market is Valve's official marketplace. You list your skin at a price you choose, another player buys it with their Steam wallet, and the money lands in your Steam wallet.
Three features change everything:
- The money cannot be withdrawn. The proceeds of your sales stay in your Steam wallet. You can use them to buy games, items or gifts on Steam, but not transfer them to your bank account.
- Fees are about 15%. Steam takes a 5% transaction fee and Counter-Strike 2 a 10% game fee. In practice, the seller receives about 87% of the price paid by the buyer.
- The price is capped. An item cannot exceed about $1,800 (or the equivalent in your currency) on the Steam Market. More expensive items have to be sold elsewhere.
Marketplaces: real money, with lower fees
Independent marketplaces (CSFloat, Skinport, DMarket, CS.Money, SkinBaron…) work with real money: you sell, then withdraw to your bank account, your card or a crypto wallet depending on the site. Their commissions range from 2 to 15%, and many are well below Steam's 15%. Our guide Where to sell your CS2 skins compares them one by one.
The numbers: selling a skin for €100
| Where you sell | What you receive | In what form |
|---|---|---|
| CSFloat | €95.55 | Withdrawable money (after withdrawal fees) |
| CS.Money | €95.00 | Money withdrawable to a Visa card |
| Skinport | €92.00 | Money withdrawable by bank transfer |
| Steam Market | ≈ €86.96 | Steam credit, not withdrawable |
But there is a subtlety: prices are not the same everywhere. On the Steam Market, skins often sell for more than on marketplaces, precisely because Steam money cannot be withdrawn and buyers spend it more freely. A skin sold for €100 on a marketplace can sometimes be listed higher on Steam. It makes no real difference: €100 of Steam credit is not worth €100 in your bank account if you don't buy games.
When the Steam Market is a good choice
- You plan to spend the money on Steam. For buying a game, items or gifts, Steam credit is perfect and the process is very simple.
- You are selling very low-priced items. For a few cents, marketplaces are not always worth the trouble, and Steam credit builds up for a future purchase.
- You want zero hassle. No account to create, no identity verification, no withdrawal to manage.
When a marketplace is better
- You want money in your bank account. It is the only way to turn a skin into cash.
- Your skin is worth more than a few tens of euros. The fee gap becomes significant: 15% on Steam versus 2 to 8% on the cheapest sites.
- Your item exceeds Steam's cap. Above about $1,800, you have no choice.
Delays, on each side
On the Steam Market, the money lands in your wallet as soon as the item sells, but an item bought on the market cannot be resold or traded right away. On marketplaces, the 7-day trade protection Steam introduced in July 2025 delays payment by about 8 days. If you need Steam credit immediately, Steam wins; if you want cash, you have to be patient. See our guide to trade protection.
And the other way round: buying on Steam?
If you already have Steam credit (gift cards, past sales), buying your skins on the Steam Market makes sense: you are using money that cannot leave. If you are paying with your bank card, compare with the marketplaces first: the same skin is often cheaper there. The skin pages on our comparison site show the total price on several marketplaces, with a link to the Steam Market page for comparison.
The "Steam credit buyback" trap
Since Steam wallet money cannot be withdrawn, some people offer to "buy it back": you buy items with your Steam credit and they take them off you for real money, or they ask for your credit in exchange for a promised transfer. Be careful: outside a recognised marketplace, these trades are prime scam territory, especially now that item trades can be reversed for 7 days. If you want to turn Steam credit into money, the only reasonable method is to buy a very liquid skin on Steam, wait until it becomes tradable again, then sell it on a serious marketplace, accepting that you lose the fees on both sides along the way.
A practical case
You have a skin that sells for about €40 on marketplaces. Two options:
- Sell it on the Steam Market: it may be listed at around €44, and you receive about 87% of the price paid, so roughly €38 in Steam credit, available right away to buy a game.
- Sell it on CSFloat for €40: after the 2% commission and up to 2.5% in withdrawal fees, you get about €38.22 in your bank account, after about 8 days.
If you were going to buy a Steam game anyway, the Steam option is the simplest. If you want money for something else, the marketplace is the only real option.
How to decide
- Ask yourself what you want to do with the money: Steam games or cash in your account?
- If it is cash, run your skin through the sell calculator: it ranks marketplaces by net amount received.
- If it is Steam credit, simply sell on the Steam Market.
FAQ
Can you withdraw money from the Steam wallet?
No. Steam wallet credit cannot be transferred to a bank account or to any other payment service. It can only be used for buying on Steam.
How much does Steam take on a CS2 skin sale?
About 15% in total: a 5% Steam fee and a 10% game fee for CS2. The seller receives roughly 87% of the price paid by the buyer.
Why are skins more expensive on Steam?
Because Steam money cannot leave Steam: players who have it are happier to spend it, which pushes prices up.
Is there a maximum price on the Steam Market?
Yes, about $1,800 per item, or the equivalent in your currency. More expensive items are sold on independent marketplaces.