Notes from the market
Product updates, market analyses, and the occasional rant about trade-locked Karambits.
Your Steam trade URL: where to find it and when to reset it
What a Steam trade URL is, where to copy it, what it does and doesn't let other people do, and when to generate a new one so old copies stop working.
Buy orders vs listings: how CS2 order books and spreads work
Listings are asking prices and buy orders are standing bids. How the two sides of the order book meet on Steam, whose order gets filled first, and what the spread costs you.
Every Counter-Strike operation and the collections it introduced
From Payback in 2013 to Riptide in 2021, what each Counter-Strike operation added, which cases and collections came with it, and why CS2 has had none so far.
Doppler and Gamma Doppler phases explained
How CS2 tells Phase 1 to 4, Ruby, Sapphire, Black Pearl and Emerald apart, why the phase is not the pattern seed, and how to confirm it before you trade.
CS2 weapon charms: attaching, detaching and charm patterns
How CS2 weapon charms work: where they come from, how to attach and detach them, what the charm template number changes, plus sticker slabs and Major highlight charms.
The Steam API key scam: how trade redirection works and how to check
Why a Steam Web API key you never created is a red flag, how the trade redirection scam uses a hijacked account, and the steps to revoke the key and lock the account down.
CS2 skin liquidity: why some items sell in minutes and others sit
Liquidity decides how fast you can sell a skin and how much you give up to do it. What makes a CS2 item liquid, how to gauge it, and the Steam rules that slow trades down.
The AWP Dragon Lore: its history and why it became iconic
How the AWP Dragon Lore went from a 2014 map collection to one of the best-known skins in Counter-Strike, where every copy came from, and what changed for it in 2026.
Fade skins and fade percentage: what the number means
Fade percentage is a community score, not a game stat. How it is worked out from the paint seed, which skins have a Fade finish, and how to check a fade before paying extra.
CS2 agents and patches: where they came from and how they work
What CS2 agents are, the three operations that added them, their rarity grades, and how agent patches are applied, removed and collected.
Common CS2 trading scams and how to avoid them
The scams CS2 traders keep running into, from item switches and fake middlemen to cash deals that get reversed, and the checks that stop each one.
CS2 weekly drops explained: the care package and drop pools
How the Prime weekly care package works in 2026, what sits in the active drop pool, what happened to the rare drop pool, and how terminals differ from cases.