Skins aren’t just your eye candy — they can also be a smart investment. Over the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the prices of some items have significantly increased. Some of them now cost 10 times more than at the time of their release. Today, the CS.MONEY Blog is going to tell you how to invest in skins and why the prices of certain items are always increasing
AK-47 Hydroponic Factory New
AK-47 Hydroponic dropped on May 26, 2015, as part of The Rising Sun Collection. The most expensive specimens currently cost over two thousand dollars, which is way more expensive compared to the original price after the release.
Over the past year, the price of AK-47 Hydroponic Factory New has increased by about 160%, which amounts to $1,200. Interestingly, all other copies of AK-47 Hydroponic grew more expensive too. The price of this skin will likely continue to rise in the future.
AWP Oni Taiji Field-Tested
The AWP with a samurai and a demon was released in May 2017. You can get one from the Operation Hydra Case, and it’s also part of the Operation Hydra Collection. At release, Field-Tested copies of this skin were priced at about $30. Now, the same look costs almost $250! Over the past year, the price of AWP Oni Taiji Field-Tested has increased by 140%. That’s some impressive growth.
Butterfly Knife Fade Factory New
The butterfly knife has always been popular. This blade still has one of the most dynamic inspection animations. However, that’s not its greatest advantage. Fade FN copies have another great feature: perfect price growth dynamics. In one year, the price has increased by 120%!
The price tag is constantly getting bigger. In the last month, for example, the price growth of Butterfly Knife Fade Factory New copies amounted to $150. That’s the fastest-growing price among all knives.
How is the price formed?
The three skins above aren’t isolated cases of continuous price growth in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. What these items have in common is a limited number and a high demand.
AK-47 Hydroponic appeared along with The Rising Sun Collection. Since you can only get new skins from this collection by crafting, the number of AK-47 Hydroponics is extremely limited. And because the AK-47 itself is so popular among players, AK-47 Hydroponic is characterized by high demand and low supply.
Another important factor: Valve doesn’t re-release collections. This entails that the number of AK-47 Hydroponics on the market doesn’t increase tenfold simply because of a new case emerging. Rather, it’s the reverse: the number of items out there is steadily decreasing. Certain items are literally on the verge of extinction by now.
Why and how do I invest?
That’s simple. Investing in rare skins is one of the easiest ways to boost the value of your inventory. The best bargains show an 80–100% price growth in a year. That’s a lot. Suffice it to say, Tesla stock went up 30% in one year — and even that counts as a rapid increase!
To simplify your first steps in trading skins, we have a special section on the wiki called “Investments”. There, you can find the fastest-growing items of all. And don’t forget about stickers from the Major. The price of those is always going up, albeit not as fast as that of weapon finishes.
If you don’t want to keep skins on the shelves of your inventory for a year or more, you can try short-term investments. For instance, skin prices always decrease at the beginning of a Steam sale and go back to normal and its end. The difference in price can total up to a third of the price tag, so it’s definitely a great way to make money.
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