How to snipe.

1What you're sniping

An unusual is a TF2 cosmetic with a particle effect (Burning Flames, Sunbeams, ...). The effect decides most of the price: the same hat can be worth 20 keys with one effect and 500 with another.

The Steam Community Market lists every effect of a hat under one single item, and its search can't filter by effect. So a seller who doesn't know (or doesn't care) what their effect is worth can list it at an ordinary price, and it sits among dozens of cheaper ones. SteamSnipe reads every listing's effect and compares the price with what that exact hat and effect is worth on backpack.tf, the trading community's price guide.

2Read a deal

Each deal shows the Steam price (what the Buy button charges, already including Steam's fee), the backpack.tf value and the difference. +25% means the value is a quarter more than the price. Under it you'll see the gain in money and keys.

Where the value comes from:

• SUGGESTED backpack.tf's community price for that hat and effect. The default.
• ⚠ STALE that suggested price is more than a year old. Unusuals that rarely trade get old prices; the real value may be quite different today.
• BUY ORDER someone on backpack.tf is offering to pay this right now. Used when it pays more than the suggested price. Buy orders are often lowballs, so a deal against one is usually a strong deal.
• MEDIAN (in the Value menu) halfway between the best buy order and the cheapest seller on backpack.tf: roughly where the hat trades today.

Two more hints on every deal:

• Confidence (● High to ● Low). Hover or tap it to see why. It's higher when a buy order covers the price, the suggested price is recent and the hat changes hands often; lower when the price is years old, nobody is buying and nothing similar has left the market lately.
• "N like this left the Steam market in 30 days": how many of the same hat and effect were bought or taken down in the last month, and their typical price. Many = easy to resell. None = you may wait a long time for a buyer.

3Check it before you buy

• Press bp.tf on the deal: it opens backpack.tf's classifieds for that exact hat and effect. Look at the buy orders (what people will pay) and the sellers (what you'd compete with when you sell).
• Open the item's stats page on backpack.tf and look at its price history and recent sales, especially when the price is marked stale.
• Check the details: Strange, non-craftable, paint, spells and the effect all change the value. A spelled hat can be worth far more, or a buyer may not care about the spell at all.
• Premium: press ↻ Live to re-check backpack.tf's buy orders on the spot.

4Buy on Steam

• Press Steam on the deal. It opens the real Steam Market page; find the listing with that effect and price (the effect is shown in the item's description) and buy it there. We never handle your money or items.
• You pay with your Steam Wallet. Top it up beforehand: good deals are often gone within minutes.
• Steam Market purchases need Steam Guard on your account (and Steam may hold the market for new accounts or a new device).
• The listing can disappear before you click: someone else bought it or the seller pulled it. That's normal.

5The trade hold

Items bought on the Steam Market usually can't be traded for 7 days. During that week the value can move, and you can't sell on backpack.tf yet. Plan for it: a deal that's only a few percent under value may not be worth the wait.

6Sell or keep

• Sell for keys on backpack.tf: list it in the classifieds, or sell straight to a buy order (fast, but buy orders are usually below the suggested price).
• Sell on the Steam Market: easy, but Steam takes about 15% from the price, and the money stays in your Steam Wallet.
• Keep it: plenty of snipers just want a rare effect cheaper than anyone else would sell it.

Pricing tip: list a little under the cheapest seller with the same effect if you want it gone quickly; match the suggested price if you can wait.

7Let deals come to you

• Gain at least (above the deals) hides deals that wouldn't earn you a set amount, in your own currency. A 2% deal on an expensive hat can be worth more than 30% on a cheap one; sort by Biggest gain (money) to see them.
• 🔔 My alerts (Standard and Premium): tell us what you want, like "Burning Flames, any hat, at least $30 gain", and only matching deals ping you. Press ☆ on any deal to start an alert for that hat and effect.
• Standard alerts beep while the page is open; Premium can send them to your phone (📲), even when SteamSnipe is closed.

8Risks, honestly

Questions? See the FAQ or contact us.