How To Buy CSGO/CS2 Cases

If you’re clicking on this article, there’s a high chance that you are new to the game. Here is a brief explanation of what Counter-Strike cases are all about.

What Are Counter-Strike Cases?

Counter-Strike weapon cases are virtual loot boxes that have weapon skins inside them with various rarities. Opening a weapon case requires a player to have the case itself, and a matching case key which is used to unbox it.

After unboxing a weapon case, the player will receive a random item from it. The chances of pulling a skin of high rarity is very rare, and you are most likely receiving a skin worth less than what you paid for. However, in the rare chance that you pull a knife, you will receive up to 100x for your investment!

What Types of Cases Are There?

There are several types of cases in Counter-Strike, which include, but are not limited to the following.

• Weapon Cases
• Sticker Capsules
• Souvenir Packages

Though there are three types of cases, someone is likely referring to weapon cases when they bring up the word “cases”. The other two types do not require a case key to unbox.

Now that we’ve understood what Counter-Strike cases are, let’s cut to the chase and discuss how you can start buying CSGO cases. There are two primary ways to purchase a Counter-Strike weapon case. You will either use the Steam Community Market like most players do, or transact through a third-party website to save some money.

Using the Steam Community Market

The most common and beginner friendly way to buy a Counter-Strike weapon case is through the Steam Community Market. The Steam Market is the official marketplace of the Steam platform which is owned and run by Valve Corporation, the developers of Counter-Strike.

The fact that Valve adheres to all activities on the Steam Market ensures that there is no way for you to get scammed when buying cases. If you are seriously new to the game, we highly recommend the Steam Market as the safest option.

Buying Cases on the Steam Community Market

Let’s go over a step by step guide on how you can buy a Counter-Strike case on the Steam Market.

1. The first thing to remember is that the Steam Market uses Steam Wallet funds, so ensure you have some to buy cases.
2. Next, open the Steam desktop client or website and log in to your Steam account.
3. After logging in, hover your cursor over the “Community” tab on the top of your screen.
4. Once a drop-down menu appears, click on “Market”.
5. This sequence will take you to the Steam Community Market, where you should see thousands of skins being listed.
6. Use the search bar on the right and type in the Counter-Strike case you are looking for. 
7. After finding the correct case, click on it to visit its product page.
8. You should see the “Buy” and “Sell” options. Obviously, we’re going to click “Buy”.
9. After setting your price and buy order, you will automatically purchase a case if the price matches what sellers are putting them up for.

You can also purchase multiple cases at a time. Just ensure you have enough funds to complete the transaction.

Pros and Cons of the Steam Community Market

Pros:

• The Steam Community Market is completely safe, as it is protected by the Steam platform.
• Delivery times are instant. After buying a case, it will be delivered to your inventory in seconds.
• Transactions are completed using Steam Wallet funds, which can also be used for other transactions on the Steam platform.

Cons:

• Steam has very high transaction fees on the Community Market, which is around 15%. This forces sellers to mark up their prices, making cases more expensive.
• You cannot withdraw Steam Wallet funds, so the money is essentially stuck in your Steam account for good.

Using Third-party Websites

The second way to purchase Counter-Strike cases is by using third-party marketplace websites, which means you are transacting out of the Steam platform. Though there are risks of potential scams, most experienced players tend to use third-party websites instead of the Steam Market because they won’t be using Steam Wallet funds.

If you’re planning to use third-party websites, you must carefully select them and only trade on reputable websites. Some reputable and trusted third-party platforms include Bitskins, Skinport, BUFF1623, CS.Money, and CSFloat.

Buying Cases on Third-party Websites

The process of buying weapon cases might be a little bit different between different providers, but should generally follow the same idea.

1. Select a reputable marketplace website. Make sure the site has thousands of users and good reviews.
2. After choosing a website, sign in to your Steam account. As long as you’re on a safe website, your account will be completely safe.
3. To make purchases, you must first deposit funds. These websites offer real-world payment methods such as Credit Cards, Crypto, and more.
4. There’s one more thing you need to do before you can start buying. You must provide your Steam Trade Offer link to the website.
5. After performing these steps, you can now purchase cases. Using the search bar, look for your desired weapon case.
6. Once you are on the correct product page, you can immediately make a transaction. Look for the cheapest listing and make a purchase.
7. After the purchase is complete, wait a few minutes for the seller to deliver the items. You will receive them in the form of a Steam Trade Offer.
8. Accepting the offer will immediately transfer the cases into your inventory.

You will probably notice that the prices of all items are cheaper than what is offered on the Steam Market. This is because third-party websites only take a 2 to 8% cut from sales, allowing sellers to reduce prices.

Pros and Cons of Third-party Websites

Pros:

• Flexible payment methods and allow players to withdraw their funds using cash methods.
• Cheaper prices as the sales fees are significantly less than what the Steam Market charges.

Cons:

• Inexperienced traders are at risk of getting scammed or taken advantage of.
• Delivery times might be slower since buyers must wait for the sellers to send the item.

Which Platform is Better For Buying Cases?

If you are new to Counter-Strike and trading, purchase cases from the Steam Community Market for a simpler procedure. Additionally, if you are only buying one or two cases, the higher prices shouldn’t affect you too much.

However, if you are looking to make a bulk purchase of cases, you should definitely use third-party websites. You can save a significant amount of money for large purchases.

If you want to get weapon cases but are not ready to spend real money obtaining them, there are two other methods that allow you to receive cases.

Receiving Cases as In-game Drops

The first and most popular method of obtaining cases is through the game’s item drop system. Players can receive free item drops directly from Counter-Strike by simply playing the game. Cases can be received in the form of Weekly Care Packages.

Trading With Other Community Members

You can also trade the skins you received from in-game drops for weapon cases. To do this, you must find a trading partner and initiate a Trade Offer on the Steam platform. If your trading partner agrees, you can get cases in exchange for your skins.