The internet is rife with snake-oil salesmen and pyramid scheme peddlers that will either convince you that they need your bank account number (…and it bears repeating, don’t ever do that) or that this evil series of tubes is a den of thieves and liars and all of the easy money has already been made. Even still, if you are a fan of Steam, you’ve probably participated in a Steam Sale or two, and you’ve probably heard about Hats, Trading Cards, and various other items that can be sold on their open market between ordinary folks like you and me. If you’re an enterprising individual, you’ve probably pondered whether you might earn a little coin for yourself off this “marketplace” … earnings that I’m sure you could find a way to spend. Well wonder no more! Below I’ll debunk some of the myths and explain some of the tricks to make just a little money, if you’ve got the time and the patience. You can’t quit your job
Let me start by saying that this article doesn’t constitute financial advice, but rather my own experience when buying, selling, and attempting to profit with the Steam Marketplace. Consult your Financial Advisor as applicable, and don’t use Mommy and Daddy’s credit card without permission :). I also want to clarify that everything I describe in this article is completely “above board” from my perspective – no gray market trading, no “conning of noobs”. If that’s your thing I suppose you’ll have to find your tips elsewhere.
With that out of the way, I must unfortunately share a little more bad news. At least with the ground rules I used, I don’t see a feasible way you could quit your day job and solely earn your living from Steam market sales. Profit opportunities are in small volume, the risk profile for trading is often very high, and the time opportunity cost of seeking out profits typically amounts to sub-minimum wage rates. Despite those downers, free money is free money, and over time even small profits can net you the occasional awesome five dollar game.
BUY! BUY! SELL! SELL!
It so happens that there is not any real physical market for Steam where traders in cool jackets yell offers for DOTA Compendium points or scribble notes about Pyro Trading Card futures while they chug Red Bulls… although plenty of money is changing hands. Steam does however provide some nifty tools that give you something of the same effect when you are dealing with items that have been classified as commodities. On Steam (as in real life), commodities are any item that is sufficiently common that large quantities of them are traded and purchasers are primarily motivated by price (since the items are identical).
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AUGUST 28, 2014, UPDATED AUGUST 28, 2014, PERMALINK
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