Can you trade games on Steam?
You can trade certain Steam items, such as in-game items and extra copies of games, referred to as Steam Gifts, but you cannot directly sell or trade games from your library, as digital distribution is more like “renting for life”. The tradable items can be found in your Inventory, where the “Tags” section will indicate if an item is tradable or not, allowing you to engage in Steam trading with other players.
Understanding Steam Trading
To engage in Steam trading, you need to access your Inventory, select Trade Offers, and then choose the items you want to trade. You can add or remove items from either your Inventory or the other player’s Inventory, and then confirm the trade contents and send a counter offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I trade on Steam?
To trade on Steam, you need to go to your Inventory, select Trade Offers, and then follow the prompts to send a trade offer or respond to an offer.
2. Is there a way to sell Steam games?
No, you cannot sell games from your library, as digital distribution is more like “renting for life”, but you can trade certain Steam items.
3. Why can’t you trade on Steam?
If you have not had Steam Guard enabled for 15 days, you will be unable to trade or use the Community Market, and accounts with Steam Guard disabled will also be unable to trade.
4. Do I have a trade ban on Steam?
To check if your Steam account can trade, log in and go to the Community Market, where any applicable trading restrictions will be displayed.
5. What is the 7-day trade wait on Steam?
The 7-day trade wait occurs when you cancel a trade that is being held by Steam, resulting in a trading cooldown to prevent unauthorized attempts to trade away items.
6. What is the 15-day market ban on Steam?
The 15-day market ban occurs when items leaving your account are held by Steam for up to 15 days if you haven’t had your account protected by a Mobile Authenticator for at least 7 days.
7. Why can’t I sell my Steam games?
You cannot sell games from your library, as digital distribution is more like “renting for life”, but you can trade certain Steam items.
8. Does Steam Trading mean I can sell my used games?
No, only games that have been granted as an extra copy and have never been played can be traded.
9. Is Steam banned for fake trade?
Steam disregards false reports, so if someone falsely reported your account, you don’t need to worry about being banned.
10. Can I refund a game on Steam?
Valve will issue a refund for any title requested within 14 days of purchase and played for less than 2 hours.
11. Can I give a Steam game I own to a friend?
You can gift a Steam game to a friend, but you may only gift new purchases, not games you already own.
12. Is it legal to sell stuff on Steam?
Selling games from Steam is against the rules and can get your account banned, but selling items and skins is technically not against the rules.
13. Is it legal to sell Steam keys?
Selling Steam keys without permission is not necessarily illegal, but it may violate Steam’s piracy policy.
14. How do I trade and sell games on Steam?
To trade on Steam, go to your Inventory, select Trade Offers, and follow the prompts to send a trade offer or respond to an offer.
15. What is Steam trading?
Steam trading is a community feature that allows you to make deals with other players for various Steam and in-game items, but be cautious of players who may attempt to deceive or cheat you out of items.