Gaming is nowadays one of the largest industries in the world. While many online games feature a selection of collectible items, which the players can self for real money, none come quite close in value to CSGO skins. In fact, some of the extremely rare in-game cosmetics in CSGO can be worth thousands of dollars, easily. Collectors are willing to pay big money to get their hands on rare skins for knives or the most popular CSGO guns.

Because they can get so expensive, skins play an important role in the game’s continued existence. Many players play the game only so that they can participate in skin trading. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, if you can avoid CSGO trading mistakes, you can easily make money on Counter Strike: Global Offensive by selling CSGO skins at the Steam marketplace or any other third-party trading website.

But you might be asking yourself, why are CSGO skins so expensive? Well, look no further! Here’s all you need to know about CSGO skins’ value!

What Decides The Price Of CSGO Skins?

Generalyl speaking, the prices of most skins are decided by a number of factors, sucostly reflecting the current state of the skins market. Like many other commodities in real world, CSGO skins and their prices are driven by a demand and a supply. Obviously, the rarest skins also come in the lowest supply, which means that they’ll have the highest price at the Steam community market.

Besides the usual supply and demand, every skin also comes with a large number of different features, which further affects its price. These features are:

Float Value

Most of the skins come in five different CSGO wear levels, representing how used the weapon looks. At the lowest wear level, Factory New, the skin will look perfect, with no signs of being used anywhere. The highest-wear skins, on the other hand, will come with many scratches and blemishes. This is one of the main stats, which affect the skin’s price, and in some cases, specific wear-rating versions of the skin can greatly differ in price. The total number of wear levels and their float values include:

  • Factory New (FN): Float Value 0.00 – 0.07
  • Minimal Wear: Float Value 0.07 – 0.15
  • Field-Tested: Float Value 0.15 – 0.38
  • Well-Worn: Float Value 0.38 – 0.45 
  • Battle-Scarred: 0.45 – 1.00
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Bear in mind, that not all the CSGO skins in the game come in all available wear ratings. Some of them are only available in three or two different wear rating levels, such as Factory New and Minimal Wear.

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Skin Rarity Grades

Besides the float value, each skin also has a rarity grade assigned to it. Obviously, the higher rarity a skin is, the more expensive it will generally be. While you can obtain common items by simply playing CSGO, to get other skins you will generally need to either purchase them from the Steam market or a CSGO trading site. The game currently has the following rarity grades:

  • Gray – Common (consumer/standard grade)
  • Blue – Uncommon (industrial grade)
  • Dark blue – Rare (Mil-spec)
  • Purple – Mythical (restricted)
  • Pink – Legendary (classified)
  • Red – Ancient (covert)
  • Yellow – Immortal (contraband items)

What Makes A Skin Extremely Rare?

While float value and rarity grade are the two most important factors, which make CSGO skins so expensive, there are many different features of CSGO skins, that make them stand out, and in turn increase their price.

Discontinued skins are among the most expensive CSGO skins in the game. These skins come in the yellow rarity grade, however, currently, the grade contains only a single item: the mythical M4A4 Howl. This specific skin can no longer be obtained in the game by case openings and can only be purchased from other players. This means that there is a highly limited number of the M4A4 Howl weapon skins, and there won’t be anymore added to the game ever, this makes it an exceptionally rare item with a limited availability, which collectors are willing to spend money on in absurd amounts.

Another factor, which can affect the final price of a CSGO skin is whether these skins were used by professional players. As a matter of fact, skins that were used in a CS:GO match have a chance to drop in the souvenir quality, making them even more valuable. For example, the legendary and extremely rare AWP Dragon Lore is one of the most expensive skins in the game, and this extraordinary factory new skin can easily be worth thousands of dollars. In fact, many professional CSGO collectors measure their CSGO inventory value by the number of Dragon Lores they hold. This skin plays a significant role in the game economy.

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Finally, some skins are just very visually appealing, and also happen to be rare. The Case Hardened Karambit CSGO skin is one of the most valuable items available. So valuable, that in fact, it’s difficult to calculate its’s average prices. Deals on this most expensive skin for a CSGO knife are done very rarely, with individual collectors demanding insane amounts of money for their Karambit skin.

To Sum Up

We hope you understand now, why CSGO skins are so expensive. Some skins with high demand can even be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is why CSGO trading is such a serious business. If you ever want to buy CSGO skins for the best prices, be sure to check out Skinsmonkey for more CSGO items, guides and even free CSGO skins!