I've got questions as a beginner

[Coolburritoboi]

So I've got a few simple questions.

1) What items are to be picked as a beginner? (something within the 1-2 key range I'm guessing?)

2) How would you choose items that are 'profitable' (essentially something that is unlikely to take an extreme dip in value)

3) After you think you've found an item that would be somewhat decent to resell, what are the steps that should be taken? (I've seen people mention stuff like rep, how does that work?)

4) Is it worth trading as a human, or is the economy ruled by trade bots? (both at a low level and higher level trading)

5) I see people making threads to price check, why is that? (isn't price checking done by searching up the item's value on sites such as this one?), this question probably is a bit of a far one for now

 

 

Thank you for your time

[Scott Bakula]

1) For low-tier trading, things like tools, taunts, skins, and painted items tend to be what people focus on. Trying to do things like scrapbanking is a waste of time nowadays.

2) This is something that can only be answered by gaining experience in trading. A person needs to learn how to read the market with all its ebbs and flows, which is done by just trading. Losses are inevitable, but that's simply part of the education.

3) It's pretty much a matter of relisting the item and/or trying to use it as an offer for other items. As for rep, it's reputation. As a trader deals with trades that put risk on a party, like paypal payments, they build up positive rep to show other traders that they can be trusted. Conversely, negative rep is accrued when a person tries to scam or displays toxic or untrustworthy actions.

4) Trying to build up from nothing is not worth it anymore. A player can find a niche and build up, but by the time they get where they're making anything significant, they'll've spent several hundred hours getting to a place that they could've gotten to by just spending 20 bucks. As for lower level unusual trading, while there are quite a few bots, it's relatively easy for a person to still trade among them thanks to individual item's relative scarcities.

5) This site is not the end-all be-all when it comes to pricing; it is a guide, not a bible. It is also incomplete with many items not priced or out of date. Trying to strictly adhere to the prices on the site is just begging to lose money. Additionally, whenever new stuff comes out, the forums get inundated with price check topics because people don't seem to understand that prices don't just get conjured out of thin air. It's a brand new item and they've got the only one in existence, the price will be whatever they sell it for.

[Coolburritoboi]

Thanks a lot!