Steam has never shied away from offering plenty of complex new features or hidden deals that players can take advantage of, but some of the most lucrative opportunities are often overlooked by the average player. While this Steam feature will be familiar to anyone who has played games like Valve’s own CS:GO or Team Fortress 2, you could have a surprising amount of free Steam credit lying right under your nose.
As noted by raisedbytides on Reddit, Steam Trading Cards are an excellent way to get a little extra cash for the platform without any prior investment, offering some “extra ammo for the next Steam sale for doing minimal work!” Even if a majority of Steam Cards can only be sold for a couple of cents at a time, you’d be surprised by just how much all the unused cards in your inventory could be worth.
Steam Gamers Are Sitting On Free Cash
With how many absurdly cheap classics Steam offers through its frequent sales, Steam Cards are far from the worst way to put savings towards your next batch of games, especially when you don’t have to tediously sell them one by one. As noted by other Reddit users, several methods, from SteamDB extensions to simply selling in bulk from the “badge inventory” section, can both save you plenty of time from selling them individually.
Valve takes a roughly 15% cut from all Steam market transactions with a 1-cent minimum, meaning you won’t get the full value of any inventory item through direct sales.
If you’re wondering what Steam Trading Cards are for or why anyone else would want to buy them from you in the first place, they’re most commonly used for crafting Badges for your Steam Profile to add cosmetic flair and show off your favorite games. Badges are also the easiest way to earn Steam XP, which can be used to add additional sections or showcases to your Steam Profile.
Thankfully, if you don’t care about these aspects of using Steam and want to sell off all your cards for some extra money, all you have to do is go to the Badge or Inventory section and start selling them off. Cards range from a measly couple of cents to several dollars, depending on the game or card rarity, ultimately netting you a “significant haul” to assist with any upcoming Steam Sale.
This Won’t Apply To All Steam Users
The only downside to making money from Steam’s Trading Card system is that it entirely depends on how many games you’ve played, as you can only earn a handful of Steam Cards the first few times you launch any game that offers cards for playing.
Reddit user fpophoto also recommends waiting “about 3–4 weeks” before a major Steam sale for trading to pick up, netting you even more than during a normal period if you want to get the most bang for your virtual buck.
Steam Cards aren’t the only valuable item you could be sitting on, either, as wallpapers, booster packs, or sellable in-game cosmetics can be worth much more in comparison. While checking your inventory every once in a while is well worth your time, it’s even better if you’re playing a new game on release, as that’s when prices tend to be the highest.
Iron Lung’s Steam trading cards peaked at $5 when the film was released, offering a significant payoff compared to original purchase prices of around $0.17.
If you have a smaller library or one filled with less popular games that don’t have high demand for their cards, it might not be worth the effort just to get an extra dollar or two. Thankfully, Steam has no shortage of free games to play, even without spending a single dime on the Steam store.
