New to unusual trading and have some questions.

[Kulenov]

Heya!

 

New to unusual trading here, and i have a few questions about the worth and rarity of an item iv'e come to own. 

 

First of all, when you look at an item on backpack.tf and see an effect's number of appearances, is that the official number of that effect on that item in existence?

Second, can the amount of said hat on the market effect it's price?

 

So say i were to come into possession of a hat with 2 appearances and no others on the market, would that increase the price of the hat? Or is that solely based on the hat and effect? Or is all of this entirely based around the demand, with the supply not meaning anything?

 

Sorry for these stupid questions, and thanks a ton for the help! 

[Scott Bakula]

20 minutes ago, Kulenov said:

First of all, when you look at an item on backpack.tf and see an effect's number of appearances, is that the official number of that effect on that item in existence?

 

It's close, but not 100% accurate. Anything in a private inventory or put on the SCM won't show up. So, taking your Conquistador as an example, we know there are at least 6 of them, with 3 of them on the SCM, 1 in a public backpack, and 2 unaccounted for, most likely in a private inventory.

 

21 minutes ago, Kulenov said:

So say i were to come into possession of a hat with 2 appearances and no others on the market, would that increase the price of the hat? Or is that solely based on the hat and effect? Or is all of this entirely based around the demand, with the supply not meaning anything?

 

It's a bit of both. Being the only one on the market can help you get a sale for a higher price, as people do not have the option of shopping around, but if the item is an unpopular hat and/or effect, it can still be a hard sell despite the rarity. Fortunately, there are collectors of everything; The core challenge is getting your item into their sights.

[The Waffler]

Supply and demand always play a role. If a hat is 1:1 or 1:2 then it can Ben advertised as such and since there’s not really any other competition with a rare hat, you can keep the price high.

[RED265]

3 hours ago, Kulenov said:

Heya!

 

New to unusual trading here, and i have a few questions about the worth and rarity of an item iv'e come to own. 

 

First of all, when you look at an item on backpack.tf and see an effect's number of appearances, is that the official number of that effect on that item in existence?

Second, can the amount of said hat on the market effect it's price?

 

So say i were to come into possession of a hat with 2 appearances and no others on the market, would that increase the price of the hat? Or is that solely based on the hat and effect? Or is all of this entirely based around the demand, with the supply not meaning anything?

 

Sorry for these stupid questions, and thanks a ton for the help! 

if you'd like, I do help coach profitable trading for a small amount of keys when you hit certain targets

[Gent♥]

Hat and effect are significantly more important than rarity in this vast majority of cases - and this and demand are the same thing. Supply is a MUCH less important factor.

Nicer hats with nicer effects are in higher demand, so regardless of the amount of them in existence they will fetch a higher price. Equally, because a worse hat is in lower demand, rarity won't save it from having a lower price.
See for example the thirst blood. Nuts and Bolts is a less common effect than Burning on this hats, but the prices speak for themselves:
https://backpack.tf/unusual/Thirst Blood

[Vagisil]

Don't buy taunts. Best advice out there.

[NobleCrescent32]

On 1/9/2018 at 7:21 AM, Vagisil said:

Don't buy taunts. Best advice out there.

This