Thoughts on Buds not Being Currency?

[Python.]

If you're on this subforum, you likely know about the unstable prices that current buds have had in the recent months

 

Brad Pitt, the owner of the backpack.tf site, has now declared buds as currency no longer. Nothing will be priced in buds from this day forward. What are your thoughts on this? Was Brad justified/smart in no longer accepting buds as currency? How will this effect the unusual hat market?

 

Full announcement seen here:

 

 

http://forums.backpack.tf/index.php?/statuses/user/6819-jordan/?status_id=184865

[AwesomeMcCoolName]

brb gonna go dig up a two year old post where I predicted this and the likely effects it would have. 

 

/Buds have been 'dying' for a while, it's about time they get phased out. As for the unusual market, I wouldn't expect it to be affected all that much (at least after a bit of time has passed -- at first it will be a bit chaotic as unusual prices will be all over the place and will need to settle).

[Jordan]

So many flaws with just converting the price of buds to keys - As in a suggestion you might have a sale 2 months old priced in buds but bp only convert the price of the bud at the time of the suggestion is passed and not at the time of the sale.

 

And i think they should cap this off with sales only in the last three months because we will need to do a lot more suggesting for items older than 3 months and now there will be tonnes of people saying there item is a lot more than what it should be 

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/551b43ebb88d88c12f8b4588- e.g. my item is telling me it is ~75 keys when i know it is no where near that 

[ǍгᴋᴀɴД ₭ɪлʛ]

I think it's nice, not having to worry about unusual's prices when buds shift in price causing all these unusual suggestions to refresh prices when really now they there to update prices (provided of course their prices of keys wasn't before this bud->key conversion)...Buds were important when trade windows couldn't contain certain amount of items and to save inventory space but a lot of updates have came to fix those problems.

 

But it makes me wonder what to do with earbuds now?

[Scrublordington the III]

idk about this. 

 

Lets say everyone was selling their 2 bud unusual for 16 keys and now, its worth 32 keys. Just because it is 32 now doesn't mean people will buy it since they could've gotten them for half off yesterday. 

 

I would suggest turn everything priced in buds into keys but before the major dip in bud price (i.e 9.5/10), not when they were suggested

[Mexican Citrus]

It seems unusuals are going to need to be repriced, but I think this was the right thing to do.

 

I'm going to enjoy seeing people have to actually check prices as opposed to following whatever bp.tf says 24/7. Although I'm sure even more people will just accept that their hats magically shot up in value, and such will try to offer 2 bud hats as if they were worth 4.

 

 

Lets say everyone was selling their 2 bud unusual for 16 keys and now, its worth 32 keys. Just because it is 32 now doesn't mean people will buy it since they could've gotten them for half off yesterday. 

 

 

Good question. I'd like to try, but my 2 bud hat has other sellers on the market, and my other hat for sale is unpriced.

[Python.]

But it makes me wonder what to do with earbuds now?

Buds are now simply a misc, like the Bill's

 

I don't think items that weren't intended to be used as currency should be used as currency. It never goes well. TF2 already gave us metal and keys.

[xG:CL Scootaloo]

This is excellent. Everything has been reverted to keys from the most recent suggestions, all of which were taken at the time of the suggestion. For rare hats that have very few sales, this will be MUCH more precise. 

My 50 Bud unusual, which was 600 keys at the time of the sale, was being valued at 400 keys before the conversion. Everything is now right with the world.

Thank you based mods!

[MVP Again]

Just wanted to chime in here and give props to the coder / site admins here.   Pricing everything in buds at the time of pricing, was a brilliant move.  Kudos to you guys, smart move!

[Jordan]

And i think they should cap this off with sales only in the last three months because we will need to do a lot more suggesting for items older than 3 months and now there will be tonnes of people saying there item is a lot more than what it should be 

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/551b43ebb88d88c12f8b4588- e.g. my item is telling me it is ~75 keys when i know it is no where near that 

 

To add to my point here about capping the conversing to the last three months just have a look at this - http://backpack.tf/vote/id/543f6992b98d8833228b46a8 

if the last tc suggestion didnt pass the old one would have been valued at 1.1 thousand buds and ~$20 thousand dollars even though he paid $6.5 k for it.

 

Something needs to be done and asap

 

Just realised you capped it at items price this year - http://backpack.tf/stats/Unusual/Waxy%20Wayfinder/Tradable/Craftable/34As this doesnt show its price in keys.. That is to long ago 

[Black Dynamite]

I Guess Valve Wanted This To Happen Now More People Will Be Buying Keys From The Mann Co. Store

[michael-]

inb4 april fools joke

[A Ninja]

GG just converted all too keys....  R.I.P BP , luckily most of it was cs go so mabye cs go time???

[michael-]

GG just converted all too keys....  R.I.P BP , luckily most of it was cs go so mabye cs go time???

 

I can only understand half of what you're saying as your grammar is so fuckin' half assed. Though, if anything, this will stabilize the Unusual market as buds are, well, unstable (to say the least). 

[AwesomeMcCoolName]

So many flaws with just converting the price of buds to keys - As in a suggestion you might have a sale 2 months old priced in buds but bp only convert the price of the bud at the time of the suggestion is passed and not at the time of the sale.

 

And i think they should cap this off with sales only in the last three months because we will need to do a lot more suggesting for items older than 3 months and now there will be tonnes of people saying there item is a lot more than what it should be 

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/551b43ebb88d88c12f8b4588- e.g. my item is telling me it is ~75 keys when i know it is no where near that 

I can't help but agree with you. As far as I'm concerned the only accurate solution would be to wipe all prices of unusuals, aussies, and SFs (anything priced in buds) and let the market settle for a few weeks....however that's never going to happen and it's not really an ideal solution either (for obvious reasons). So...ultimately, I don't really think there is any really good alternative and the one chosen is probably the best all-around solution. 

[oap]

the end of an era today

 

trading will never be the same!

[xG:CL Scootaloo]

Too many people forget that backpack.tf does not report accurate prices of hats. They report SUGGESTED prices of hats. And by the suggestions, people dictate prices.

I've always felt that people should NOT use backpack.tf as a static pricing point, but too many people are too lazy to go do research and find out what hats have previously sold for. backpack.tf is both a gift and a curse in this way.

Prior to this, I've been disregarding Earbuds for quite a while due to their track record. Whenever I wanted to get an idea of a hat's price, I never simply checked what backpack.tf said the hat should be priced at, but instead I did my research, dug a bit, found older recent sales, and figured a price for the hats in keys by comparing their sales dates to the price of earbuds at the time of the sale. That gave me a more accurate key value than guesstimating in earbuds. And that's precisely what backpack.tf has done now: They went back and retrodated each hat by their most recent accepted suggestion, and converted the price of the hat into keys based on the earbud's key value at the time of the sale.

Sure, it isn't going to be 100% accurate, but backpack.tf never claimed to be 100% accurate. There's going to have to be a lot of price resuggestions, but that's fine, because backpack.tf is NOT a set-in-stone price point.

More and more people need to realize this.

[«Gғм» KNTRL!]

I hope now you can all STOP saying that BP.TF is a guidline and it doesn't affect the price because it was/is/will be false.

 

blabla Market decide the prices blabla bp.tf just collect the info.

[Supore]

My backpack went up 200 ref, so I ain't complaining ;3

[Crabislav]

â•”â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â• ೋღ☃ღೋ â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•—
  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Repost this if ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ you are a beautiful strong black woman ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ who's gonna keep her buds ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
â•šâ•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â• ೋღ☃ღೋ â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•â•

[Gren]

This had to happen.  I thought it would be implemented gradually, but I guess doing it in one fell swoop works too.   

 

Short-term repercussions:  Market will be a bit chaotic.  Traders will have to be extra vigilant in doing their own price checks as hats with outdated prices are now inflated compared to hats with recent price updates.  It'll take some time for the dust to settle, but it will.   Regarding buds, this morning I had more trade offers for my BO (in buds hehe) than on any other day yet.  People are trying to dump their buds, but from what I can tell, most people aren't having it.  This will drive buds further down. 

 

Long-term repercussion:  Hopefully stability.   I think one of the reasons unusual trading has been off for the last six months or so, is that buds have been fluctuating so much which in turn turned people away from TF2 trading, because it just seemed too volatile (that's not the only reason though...unfortunately). Now that we're dealing with a currency that's been stable for years (in regard to SCM and paypal pricing), this should bring some stability and confidence back into the market.   

 

Outstanding questions:  What will happen to the price of keys?  Will they skyrocket now that they've officially emerged as the primary TF2 currency without any contenders?  What will happen to Max's heads?  HOUWARs?  Will they go the same way as buds or will they find their own place (and purpose) in the market?  Will unusual pricing deteriorate further or will people be willing to pay more for hats than they did in the previous 8 weeks?  

[xG:CL Scootaloo]

This had to happen.  I thought it would be implemented gradually, but I guess doing it in one fell swoop works too.   

 

Short-term repercussions:  Market will be a bit chaotic.  Traders will have to be extra vigilant in doing their own price checks as hats with outdated prices are now inflated compared to hats with recent price updates.  It'll take some time for the dust to settle, but it will.   Regarding buds, this morning I had more trade offers for my BO (in buds hehe) than on any other day yet.  People are trying to dump their buds, but from what I can tell, most people aren't having it.  This will drive buds further down. 

 

Long-term repercussion:  Hopefully stability.   I think one of the reasons unusual trading has been off for the last six months or so, is that buds have been fluctuating so much which in turn turned people away from TF2 trading, because it just seemed too volatile (that's not the only reason though...unfortunately). Now that we're dealing with a currency that's been stable for years (in regard to SCM and paypal pricing), this should bring some stability and confidence back into the market.   

 

Outstanding questions:  What will happen to the price of keys?  Will they skyrocket now that they've officially emerged as the primary TF2 currency without any contenders?  What will happen to Max's heads?  HOUWARs?  Will they go the same way as buds or will they find their own place (and purpose) in the market?  Will unusual pricing deteriorate further or will people be willing to pay more for hats than they did in the previous 8 weeks?  

 

I think people had to be extra-vigilant when it came to outdated prices anyways, even before Earbuds took a hit. I mean, I never traded for unusuals without conducting my own research first. Most traders are the same way. Only the bad traders blindly took bp.tf prices for absolute fact, especially if they were months and months old.

 

I honestly feel that this will rejuvenate and stabilize our economy. We're going to handle a lot more like CSGO does now in the way of trades. Earbuds will dip, hit a low, then bounce back after all the panic sellers get rid of them.

 

Key prices will continue to rise as they always have, as more and more players convert weapon drops to metal. I don't think that Earbuds being discontinued as a currency will increase that rise or make it happen any faster than it already is. But keys are rising due to the health of the market, not because of other factors such as Earbuds.

 

Certain promo items, such as HOUWARs and Max's will take slow hits, but I don't think they will die as predominantly as Earbuds did, because while they are used as expensive placeholders, they weren't regarded as a mainstay currency like Earbuds were. This is mostly killing Buds because they have been considered the next step up for a LONG time. If anything, these promos will adopt key amounts and continue their roles as placeholders for many, many keys in trades.

[F CHARLIE]

I can't help but agree with you. As far as I'm concerned the only accurate solution would be to wipe all prices of unusuals, aussies, and SFs (anything priced in buds) and let the market settle for a few weeks....however that's never going to happen and it's not really an ideal solution either (for obvious reasons). So...ultimately, I don't really think there is any really good alternative and the one chosen is probably the best all-around solution.

 

I raise the point that bp.tf may have outlived it's usefulness without a price wipe. At least as a price guide. Search, stats, premium search. That's all good but price. Idk. People don't believe the prices and that is smart. There have been plenty of occasions where even common stuff went without updates until someone noticed it was grossly incorrect. Idk man, I barely trade but that's what I noticed last time I did.

[AwesomeMcCoolName]

I raise the point that bp.tf may have outlived it's usefulness without a price wipe. At least as a price guide. Search, stats, premium search. That's all good but price. Idk. People don't believe the prices and that is smart. There have been plenty of occasions where even common stuff went without updates until someone noticed it was grossly incorrect. Idk man, I barely trade but that's what I noticed last time I did.

I mean, because of the way bptf works it really could never maintain accurate unusual prices. Think about it...Unusual A sells for 30 keys. Unusual B sells for unusual A and is priced at 30 keys (or whatever after overpay). A few weeks later unusual C sells for B, and then a few weeks after that Unusual D sells for C. So you end up having unusuals priced off unusuals priced off other unusuals, which may or may not have been priced months ago. Compound that with the fact that unusuals don't trade in a particularly high volume (especially for pure) and the issue of inaccuracies becomes that much worse. 

 

To make things worse, not all unusuals fluctuate the same way, so simply converting all prices to keys based on the bud price at the time doesn't really work since some unusuals will follow bud prices while others won't. I've said this time and time again, I honestly don't believe an unusual price guide can ever be truly viable due to a lack of volume in unusual trades -- which is where bptf gets it's accuracy from; and the current situation only makes things worse. Unfortunately, the only true solution to solve the recent inaccuracies would be to wipe all prices, let the market settle, and then start over again. Which from Brad's point of view isn't a feasible alternative as it would seriously affect Backpack.tf's role in TF2 trading and the unusual side of it might never regain traction (which would be bad from a business point of view). 

 

 

@Gren 

I don't expect Max's/Houwars to suffer the same fate as buds as they haven't been treated as a currency for a LONG time, and as such maintain their value due to demand whereas buds maintained it due to their status as a currency. 

[Python.]

I think Brad jumped the gun. They all went down due to undercutters, now they're rising back up due to the lack of sellers at 5-8 keys

 

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/551f5781b88d8829358b4703

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/5520484ab98d888d4b8b463a

- rose 3 keys and the day isn't even over yet