Just starting out and have some questions

[Merc at Arms]

Hello,

I am just starting to get into trading, and I had a few questions.

 

For starts, I'm interested in a Bubbling Salty Dog, and the price suggestion from a few months ago is $64, but it's $205.

Is that just someone price gouging on the Community Market, or has the price spiked that much? My Steaming was like $45 or $50, but I know different effects have different prices.

 

Next, I have some taunts that I'd like to trade, would it be more effective to trade each individually for ref, or would that probably be better as a "X keys, plus this taunt" kinda thing?

 

Finally, I apologize if this is in the wrong spot.

I didn't see a specific spot for questions from new traders, haha.

Thanks for any help

[Scott Bakula]

The price has not gone up that much. You'll find the SCM littered with items priced for well over their value. If you look at marketplace.tf instead, you'll find that 2 sold recently for closer to $40.

 

As for the taunts, it depends on the buyer. Some would rather scrape together the ref, others would rather pay a key and get the taunt and change. And others still will offer other items instead.

[Norah]

It's just price gouging. Keep in mind that the Community Market Price listed on backpack.tf is an average for all Unusual Salty Dogs sold on that platform, regardless of effect. Take a poke at these more expensive ones, and it's the same.

 

https://backpack.tf/stats/Unusual/Salty Dog/Tradable/Craftable/43

https://backpack.tf/stats/Unusual/Salty Dog/Tradable/Craftable/107

 

I'd advise getting backpack.tf Premium to properly check value. Compare sales, maybe make a couple suggestions to get in the swing of it. if you don't wanna pay for that, Marketplace.TF lists the sales history for every sale that's happened on-site, though of course it's only Marketplace sales and you can't see the individual item history.

 

Also it's generally better to just stick to liquid currency for selling things like taunts, if you do get offered items, just make sure it's worth your while to take it. A 1.7 key skin is worth more than a Conga on paper, but you'd probably be worse off taking that for one, to give an example.

[Merc at Arms]

Thank you both for your help!

I'll look into Premium and keep the rest of what y'all said in mind.