How buy orders work on the Steam Market
A purchase order is a way to tell the market: “I will buy this item, but not more than such and such a price.” Steam will reserve money and wait for someone to put up an item at your price or lower. The method is good, but it has a feature due to which it cannot be used for expensive purchases.
How to place an order, what happens to the money, why a random copy arrives, and when a buy order is more profitable than an instant purchase.
Placing a buy order
Open the page for the desired item on the Marketplace. Below the chart there is a block with two columns - buy orders and sell lots. There is also a button to create a buy order.
Specify the maximum price and quantity. Steam will immediately show how much money will be reserved and what place in the queue your buy order will be.
The money is debited from the wallet to the reserve immediately and becomes unavailable for other purchases. You can cancel your request at any time until it is completed - the reserve will be returned to your wallet.
How the queue works
Orders are sorted by price: the higher yours, the sooner it will be executed. If the price is equal, the one delivered earlier has priority.
When the seller offers a lot cheaper or exactly at the price of the highest bid, the transaction goes through automatically. In this case, the seller receives his price, not yours - if you offered more, you do not overpay the difference.
If your order is significantly lower than the market, it can hang for weeks. This is a normal strategy for those who are patient: you bet below the current minimum and wait until someone urgently needs money.
The main limitation
You don't choose a specific instance. The request will be fulfilled by the first suitable lot, and a random float, a random pattern and random stickers will arrive - more precisely, the copy that the seller offered the cheapest.
A buy order is therefore unsuitable when individual attributes matter: knives, rare patterns, sticker crafts and low-float skins. Inspect each listing individually in those cases.
But for typical liquid items, this is an ideal tool. cases, cheap popular skins, stickers - everything where the copies are interchangeable.
- Do not set a price higher than the one at which you are ready to buy right now - the meaning is lost.
- Keep an eye on the reserve: several orders can tie up the entire balance.
- Make sure you have chosen the correct condition of the item: each has its own page and its own buy orders.
Frequently asked questions
Are funds reserved as soon as I place a buy order?
The amount is reserved in the wallet immediately and becomes unavailable for other purchases. If the buy order is cancelled, it will be returned.
Can I cancel a buy order?
Yes, at any time before execution. The reserve will be returned to your wallet.
Can a buy order specify a float value?
No. You receive the item from the matching listing; you cannot use the order to select a particular float or other individual attributes.
Why has my buy order not been filled?
The price is lower than the current market or you are facing higher bids. Look at order book: you can see how many buy orders are higher than yours.
Will I pay the maximum price I specified?
No. The transaction goes through at the seller's lot price, if it is not higher than your maximum.
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