Almost all CSGO players who enjoy the game are aware of how much skins can contribute to both the gaming experience and your pocket as well. Selling and buying CSGO skins has become massively popular and is contributing a lot to the global gaming industry. Ever since the Arms Deal update in 2013, Counter-Strike Global Offensive saw a huge increase in users, mainly because of this feature.
However, how are skin prices determined, and which factors affect how much a skin will be worth? These questions, and more, will be answered in this article. You will gain insight into how skin price is calculated and learn how to make higher profits from trading CS:GO items.
A couple of factors play major roles in determining how much each skin will be worth in Counter-Strike Global Offensive. These factors are unique for each skin and are what give each one its value. Among all the rest, the first and main one that is considered is skin rareness: the rarer the skin the more money it's worth on any market.
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CS:GO Skin Rarity
As we mentioned, the number of units for most types of items is very important for the Steam and Valve economy. This will decide a huge part of the skin's value and price. This is why the rarest items with the fewest listings on the Steam market are worth thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. People are willing to pay extraordinary amounts of money for extremely rare CSGO skins.
There is a Grade system with 7 Rarity Grades that categorize every skin in Counter-Strike Global Offensive. The list includes the following:
- Common
- Industrial
- Mil-Spec
- Restricted
- Classified
- Covert
- Exceedingly Rare
They are ranked from most common to rarest. The rarer the grade is the more expensive the skin will be. This is why it's important to know what type of grade your skin is categorized with before creating any listings trying to sell it.
Wear Level & Float Factor
The next most important feature when determining the price of a CS:GO skin is the wear level. This showcases how much history each one has, how old it is, and how much it has been used in battle. The worse the wear level is, the less expensive it will be. Ranked best to worst, here is the full list of wear level conditions in CSGO.
- Factory New
- Minimal Wear
- Field-Tester
- Well-Worn
- Battle-Scarred
Factory New
Skins that have this float factor are usually the most expensive out of the other qualities. This is because they are the newest and most unused ones. A weapon that is of Factory New quality will have a float factor between 0.00 and 0.07.
Minimal Wear
Minimal Wear is the second-best quality for skins you can get. These items will be slightly lower-priced than Factory New ones and will come with float values ranging between 0.07 and 0.15. A Minimal Wear item can still be great in value combined with a rare weapon-grade. They have almost no tear or slightly noticeable searches that are hard to see from far.
Field-Tested
The third best quality for CSGO items and skins is Filed-Tested. This is where you can find middle-priced items that are best for most budgets and still look decent enough to provide great experience during the game for quite a while. Field-Tested is where you can start noticing decaying patterns on the finish of the weapon but it's not bad enough to ruin the entire look. Usually, a Field-Tested one with a rare enough rarity grade can still go for quite a lot of money.
Well-Worn
The Well-Worn category is where the wear and tear of the skins really start getting noticeable and where the price starts dropping significantly. In most cases, a well-worn item will have significant scratching, paint decay, and rust. On the other hand, at least you can get these types of items for very low prices, including StatTrak ones as well.
Additionally, features like StatTrak technology and Souvenir can contribute to skins being much more expensive. Be sure to look out for that too, as it it is always specified on any website and the Steam Community Market as well. For example, if a Factory New version of an item is $100, you can get a Well-Worn example for more than half the price.
Battle-Scarred
Lastly, Battle-Scarred is the bottom of the quality scale. These items are always going to look significantly more terrible than a new model. They include massive tear, rust, lack of paint, and they can even look nothing like the original version of the item. As a result, they are the least expensive ones, as their prices are very low in most cases. Battle-Scarred skins are also common, making them available for skin trading everywhere.
Most Expensive Skins in CS:GO?
If you look around the Steam Community Market, you will find various skins at various prices. Not everyone you see will be the same, as float factor, rarity grades, and a few other features can make them different in price, as we discussed above. Even though they include similar prices across all markets, there are some items that stand out significantly. Those are known as some of the world's most expensive CSGO skins.
Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore
Souvenir skins are known to be much pricier than any other type. This is because they are the most unique, as they provide7 pre-attached and exclusive stickers, autographs from professional CSGO players, and similar qualities. Things like these stickers and autographs are why you will rarely see anyone who wants to trade their souvenir items. However, there are cases like the Dragon Lore AWP, which was once sold for $65.000.
StatTrak M9 Bayonet | Crimson Web
Unlike the AWP item above, the M9 Bayonet Crimson Web is a common choice but still rarer than many others out there. It's available in all wear levels and can be found on the market for a high price of $15.000. It's among the most popular items in CSGO, striking excitement in a serious buyer or collector who loves rare items like it. Don't wait to add it to cart as they aren't as available as they may seem.
StatTrak AK-47 | Fire Serpent
Lastly, among the best skins for the most popular weapon in the game, the AK-47 assault rifle. The Fire Serpent is also among the rarest items on the market, often featuring high pricing and a low amount of skins to trade or purchase. Still, it's a popular name among many that is easily worth around $7.500. The AK-47 is a Covert grade assault rifle that is known for its uniqueness and design pattern. It's available in the Operation Bravo case. You can often find a few trades involving it on Steam if you're lucky enough.
