Steam has no price. It has whoever holds the bigger inventory, and his word.
He calls his overpay fair, his own rules the market, and anyone who argues new.
So "fair trade" came to mean "take it". The words stayed. The meaning was taken.
This argument is older than any of us. The answer fits in a single mark.
Fair is not somebody's word for it. It is a range, and both sides can see it.
HERE IS THAT RANGE
The corridor is not a discount and not a markup. It is the bounds outside which the platform refuses the trade. It belongs to the listing's owner, and it widens with rank and plan.
FAIR
your corridor todaythe system's limit
HOW A TRADE WORKS HERE
And say what you want for it. There is no money in the deal — only things.
Every answer is measured against the corridor at once — you see whether it is fair before you press accept.
It is an ordinary trade offer. Nobody holds your items for you.
+REP
A closed deal writes reputation for both sides.
Reputation is the only ladder here, and only deals move you up it. It cannot be bought, gifted, or farmed.
WHAT A TRADE PAYS
It scores the geometric mean of the two sides, not their sum — so padding one side buys you nothing.
$1,090 for $1,135 → mean $1,112 → +120 REP each
- $0 – $10+8
- $10 – $50+16
- $50 – $200+40
- $200 – $1,000+80
- $1,000++120
A repeat with the same person inside 7 days pays half, then a quarter. Two alts cannot farm a rank.
RANK AND CORRIDOR
Rank grows from closed trades only, and the corridor widens with it — the bounds inside which the platform lets a trade through.
WHAT THAT IS IN TIME
A normal trader has 3–5 items over $50 and a few swaps a month. At four trades of $150 that is 160 REP a month — a pace you can keep without living in the feed.
- Merchant — 2 trades
- Broker — 7 trades
- Cartel — 16 trades
The top ranks take years and we will not pretend otherwise. A subscription opens the same corridor width at once.
A SEASON IS THREE MONTHS
Every quarter the season closes and the top ten by that quarter's score get Premium free: first place for three months, second through tenth for one.
- All it takes to reach the board is 280 lifetime REP — nothing else. Reviews play no part in the race: they sit next to your name so people can see who trades fast and fair.
- Season points start from zero every quarter — a newcomer with a good quarter beats someone who has been at the top for a year.
- A quarter, not a month: with three to five items you cannot close many trades in thirty days, and a monthly race would simply go to whoever owns more.
WHAT HOLDS IT UP
- Item for item. There is no money here.
- Value is the median of CSFloat and Buff163, not one storefront's asking price.
- Reputation cannot be bought — only settled deals write it.
PRESS START
Look at the feed first