"Divisions" of Trading/Skins

Bulk Traders

Case Hardened Traders

Katowice 2014 Skins

Other/High Tier

Dopplers have different Phases ranging from 1-4, these standard phases all have the same rarity, but are drawn from four different paints. It is recommended that you completely familiarise yourself with the phases before trading doppler skins. Doppler patterns also come in extremely rare gem patterns: Sapphire (Full Blue), Ruby (Full Red), and Black Pearl (Black/Dark Purple).







Slaughter skins have various symbols on the blade, which some find extremely confusing and hard to deal with, especially because there are combinations of patterns. There are several comprehensive guides which show these patterns according to their rarity.



WARNING: This item is difficult, fade percentages must be extremely precise.



Fade skins (not to be confused with marble fade) have their prices determined on the fade percentage. Not all Fade skins have the pattern covering the entire weapon, this leaves a portion of the weapon discoloured, usually near the handle of some knives such as the bayonet. Sites such as CSGOZone or CSGOexchange offer users the ability to check float value and fade percentages. However, these sites can screw up sometimes so it's best to use your own judgement, or get it pricechecked.



WARNING: This item is difficult, refer to a guide before determining Marble Fade pattern.



Marble Fade skins revolve around 3 colours: Red, Blue and Yellow. The rarest pattern, dubbed "(True) Fire and Ice", describes the pattern with the least amount of yellow possible. As seen on Karambits or Flip Knives, the "Fire and Ice" pattern leaves little to no yellow at all on the blade of the knife. Some traders sell "Fake Fire and Ice" knives, these are distinguishable by the small, but noticeable amount of yellow present on the blade, they are quite easily mistaken for true Fire and Ice knives, which cost significantly more than a regular Tricolour (blade with 3 colours, like a flag).



Trading is really all about finding a niche, looking for something you are good at and repeating it.Some traders find a catch with regular skins with no special patterns which add to its value. These people purchase a skin at a price cheaper than the regular selling price, then resell the entire stock for profit.Seen by many as a pain in the ass, one method of trading for profit is through Case Hardened skins. The price of these skins vary depending on the pattern. The price for the skin will rise according to the amount of blue visible on the body. Skins with a good amount of solid, unbroken blue on the body (a blue gem) can be worth a lot of keys more than a regular Case Hardened.Here's a guide which explains Case Hardened patterns in greater detail: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=380042859 These stickers are the most popular of all, due to their age as well as their design, these stickers were made available during the Katowice 2014 ESL tournament and have since been discontinued. The price depends on the position of the sticker, the type of skin the sticker has been applied to, as well as the quality of the sticker itself (Holo/Foil).Keep in mind that there is no set percentage of sticker price, while 10% of the sticker price is used if the sticker has been applied in the best position and 5% in the second best, prices can always vary according to the condition, float and demand of the skin in question.Remember that not all guns have the same "best" sticker position, while the picture I have shown you is of the sticker in the best position on the M4A4; on the AK-47, the best position is on the wooden grip. Learning these positions can prevent you from being sharked out of trades with badly positioned stickers.A friend of mine has written a more in-depth guide on how to price these skins and I have linked it with his permission: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=618574422 Patterns such as Fade/Doppler/Marble Fade/Slaughter are all used for trading.An illustrated guide to top tier knives is available here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=247406953