Steam has Portal for free, get it if you haven't played it yet.
Link
Friday, September 16, 2011
Trading patience is a virtue
Sometimes we get feedback regarding prices and how long it takes to unload an item. Sometimes players claim that since it takes a long time to sell something then our prices must be wrong. Wrong! We are very capable of making mistakes. However, in TF2 trading land there are a lot of choices and beyond the always hot Team Captains and Bills some items we don't want tend to sit a long time in our backpacks waiting for a home.
Take for example Genuine Volcano Fragment. This was a hot property when Rift first came out and all the controversy about it being tradeable before the game's release. Now, it takes a loooong time to sell one. Does that mean it's value has gone down? To some extent yes, but that's not the only answer. It can take several days to a week to sell one at "full" price (currently between 2 and 3 refined). The reason is simple: because there are more (genuine) items available spreading demand out. So if you have one you need to spread the word out that it's for sale. That means trading servers during peak times (Thurs-Sun), reddit tf2 forums, Steam TF2 trading forums, Source Op item trading forums, and tf2tp.com. Start a new thread, keep it simple and post a link to your profile so people can easily add you.
When you've exhausted all avenues to sell an item then lower your price.
Take for example Genuine Volcano Fragment. This was a hot property when Rift first came out and all the controversy about it being tradeable before the game's release. Now, it takes a loooong time to sell one. Does that mean it's value has gone down? To some extent yes, but that's not the only answer. It can take several days to a week to sell one at "full" price (currently between 2 and 3 refined). The reason is simple: because there are more (genuine) items available spreading demand out. So if you have one you need to spread the word out that it's for sale. That means trading servers during peak times (Thurs-Sun), reddit tf2 forums, Steam TF2 trading forums, Source Op item trading forums, and tf2tp.com. Start a new thread, keep it simple and post a link to your profile so people can easily add you.
When you've exhausted all avenues to sell an item then lower your price.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
New update....
277 Mb, so its big. El Jefe and Mask of the Shaman now craftable.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2122243
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2122243
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Unusually crafty
While we don't focus on unusuals here at TF2S since their values are all over the map, we do appreciate their glory and splendor. Here is a site that allows you to search individually for different effects and shows you who has them. Also searchable are crafted # hats. Who has Team Captain #1? Just look it up! Another cool feature is that they have a hat rating system, that many TF2ers have voted for their favorites. Think the Madame Dixie is the best hat ever? See if your fellow players agree with you.
Link here. You will have to login through Steam to search the database, but don't worry its safe.
Link here. You will have to login through Steam to search the database, but don't worry its safe.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Trading with Steam: the birth of a movement?
As many of you are aware, the new Steam trading feature is out of beta and now officially live. It allows you to trade TF2 items with other Steam games or other items within Steam games (for now Portal 2 and Spiral Knights). Valve plans to add more games and inventories to this list and make this an ongoing feature for new games. Steam trading FAQ here.
Seeing the success of TF2 customization and item trading, this is one of those moments where everything is new and the possibilities are limitless. It could end with a fizzle as many seemingly great ideas do. Or it could be one of those must-have pieces that developers incorporate into their upcoming games. Some games will allow themselves to item trading such as role-playing games, while others like sports games may spawn their own new content as their trading currency. Perhaps an NFL game will have throwback jerseys, or a Premier League (that's soccer to all you scratching your heads) team will have fan chants...the possibilities are limitless.
Seeing the success of TF2 customization and item trading, this is one of those moments where everything is new and the possibilities are limitless. It could end with a fizzle as many seemingly great ideas do. Or it could be one of those must-have pieces that developers incorporate into their upcoming games. Some games will allow themselves to item trading such as role-playing games, while others like sports games may spawn their own new content as their trading currency. Perhaps an NFL game will have throwback jerseys, or a Premier League (that's soccer to all you scratching your heads) team will have fan chants...the possibilities are limitless.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Steam Gameplay Statistics
In follow-up to the Steam Hardware and Software survey, this is a page we like to look at that shows gameplay and player statistics for Steam games (link here). There are currently around 66,000 players in-game playing Team Fortress 2 right now. Pretty remarkable for a "vintage" game like TF2. It speaks to the game's longevity and Valve's continuous-improvement ideals. You rock TF2.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Key pricing stabilizing
Over the past month to two months the price of keys has been moving towards equilibrium. There are a few reasons but perhaps the best answer as to why is the underground resale price being around $2 per key. If you can buy a key legitimately and risk-free for $2.49 and use it right away (although trading requires the 2 day waiting period) then buying one on the black market (more risk) should cost less, just as it does.
Although that does not explain the seemingly "settled" price of around $2 per key. Our best estimate is that keys are tied to refined metal in a 2:1 ratio in people's heads now (as are buds/bills). The price has to be near the official price but why not $2.25 or closer? The market has decided that for now the risk of buying a black market key is about $0.50 per key, that's it. If there was no waiting period, the value of an illicit key would be less as it was when there was no waiting period (remember those $1.65 key days on source op?).
More recently, the variance in the refined:key ratio has been getting narrower as well. The buy for 2 refined or sale for 2.33 refined are not unheard of but most often keys trade for 2.11 or 2.22 refined now. That is an efficient market and the sign the influx of the F2P players have made their mark. Some people complained about the new players, I say bring them on. They have reinvigorated the TF2 item market. With so many buyers and sellers keys trade at a more pinpointed price.
Additional thoughts welcome.
Although that does not explain the seemingly "settled" price of around $2 per key. Our best estimate is that keys are tied to refined metal in a 2:1 ratio in people's heads now (as are buds/bills). The price has to be near the official price but why not $2.25 or closer? The market has decided that for now the risk of buying a black market key is about $0.50 per key, that's it. If there was no waiting period, the value of an illicit key would be less as it was when there was no waiting period (remember those $1.65 key days on source op?).
More recently, the variance in the refined:key ratio has been getting narrower as well. The buy for 2 refined or sale for 2.33 refined are not unheard of but most often keys trade for 2.11 or 2.22 refined now. That is an efficient market and the sign the influx of the F2P players have made their mark. Some people complained about the new players, I say bring them on. They have reinvigorated the TF2 item market. With so many buyers and sellers keys trade at a more pinpointed price.
Additional thoughts welcome.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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