Most “I got scammed” threads start the same way: a tab, a hurry, and a price that was only cheap in one window. This is the boring pass before you click Buy. It sits next to the price-check guide and the float guide. Read those if you have not.
1. Stay on a real shop
Steam Market, CSFloat, Skinport, Buff, the book you can already withdraw from. Not a Google ad that almost spells the name. Not a Discord “middleman” you met today. If the URL is new and the logo is familiar, close it.
2. Never finish the deal in DMs
Offers that arrive as a Steam message, WhatsApp or a “friend” request are not quotes. They are a different item, a phishing page, or both. If they cannot list it on a market with an inspect link, there is no deal.
3. Inspect the exact row
Name + wear + float + stickers + trade lock. If any of that is missing, you are buying a picture. Two Field-Tested rifles are not the same SKU. That is the float page.
4. Pay the shop, not a wallet in the bio
Crypto to a personal address, “gift card to verify,” “send first skin then we send” — walk. Official checkout or official trade window. Nothing else.
5. Trade lock is part of the price
A locked skin you cannot move for a week is not the same as a liquid one. If you need the exit this afternoon, do not buy a lock.
6. One tab is how you overpay
Steam versus one cash book, same hash name, same wear. The seven-step price check is the other article on this site. Do that pass even on a €15 rifle. Especially on a €15 rifle — that is where sloppy shops live.
What this page will not do
No shop ranking. No “undervalued” list. No guarantee. If a listing feels urgent, it is supposed to. That feeling is the product.
Not financial advice. Method: AFMetrics. Pair with the float guide and the price-check guide.
