How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (2024)

Steam Trading Cards are virtual trading cards that you can earn free by playing certain games through the Steam platform. Each card features unique artwork that's provided by the developer of the associated game. You can sell these cards on the Steam Community Market, trade them with your friends, and craft them into badges that you can then display on your Steam Community profile.

Search the Steam store for games that include the Steam Trading Cards tag to find games that can give you Steam Cards. Some free-to-play games provide them, but only if you've spent money on in-game purchases.

What Is the Point of Steam Trading Cards?

Steam Trading Cards have two main purposes. You can sell them for Steam Wallet cash, which you can then use to buy various in-game items on the Steam Community Marketplace and games on the regular Steam Store. If you obtain a full set of cards for any given game, you can receive additional rewards.

How to Get Steam Trading Cards

There are a few ways to get Steam Cards, but the only way to obtain them for free is by playing games on Steam. When a game includes Steam Card support, you earn them just by playing the game. Each game has a preset number of cards in its full set, and playing the game allows you to gain about half of those cards.

You can also obtain Steam Cards by trading with friends and strangers, buying them on the Steam Community Marketplace, and opening booster packs.

Here's how to get Steam Cards for free:

  1. Open Steam and select your username at the top of the screen.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (1)

  2. Select Badges in the drop-down menu.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (2)

  3. Locate a game that can still drop cards and click PLAY.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (3)

    Games that include Steam Trading Cards can each provide a set number of cards. If a game can no longer do so, it will say that there are zero cards left.

  4. Play the game.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (4)

    You don't have to play a game to earn cards. If you launch the game and leave it running, it will amass cards as long as it remains open. You can even minimize the game and do something else, and the game will continue to earn cards until there are none left.

  5. When you earn a card, the envelope icon in the top of the Steam window turns green. Click the green envelope icon to see what you earned.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (5)

  6. Click the card to see more information about it.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (6)

  7. Now that you have the card, you can click Turn into gems, click Sell, or save it for later.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (7)

  8. A lot of Steam games have the Steam Trading Cards feature, so keep playing your games to earn even more cards.

How to Sell Steam Trading Cards

After you have some Steam Trading Cards in your inventory, it's time to decide what to do with them. You can sell them, trade them, or hold on to them for later. The only use for Steam Cards outside of selling them is to craft them into badges, so if you aren't interested in doing that for any given game, then the best thing to do is sell them.

Selling Steam Cards earns you money that goes into your Steam Wallet, and you can use those funds to buy new Steam Cards to complete a badge or save up for more expensive purchases like in-game items or full games at the Steam store.

Here's how to sell Steam Cards:

  1. Open your Steam inventory by clicking your username > Inventory.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (8)

  2. Click a Steam Trading Card that you want to sell.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (9)

  3. Click Sell.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (10)

  4. Enter the amount of money you want for the card, select the box to indicate you agree to the Steam Subscriber Agreement, and then click Okay, put it up for sale.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (11)

  5. Click OK.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (12)

  6. Confirm by clicking OK again.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (13)

  7. If you use email for Steam Guard, open your email, look for an email from Steam, and click the provided link.

    If you use the Steam Guard app, tap the (three vertical lines) icon and then tap Confirmations. Select the box next to the card you put up for sale and choose Confirm Selected.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (14)

Your card appear on the Steam Market. When it sells, you receive an email.

What Are Steam Gems?

If you've ever sold a Steam Trading Card or even looked at one in your inventory, you probably noticed the option that allows you to turn Steam Cards into gems.

Steam gems are a relic of the Steam holiday sale that took place in 2014, but they're still relevant. The methods for earning them that were available during that sale are no longer around, but you can turn cards and other Steam inventory items into gems.

Gems have two purposes. If you collect 1,000 gems, you can pack them into a sack and then sell it on the Steam Marketplace. You can also use them to create booster packs.

Since gems can be sold or turned into booster packs, and some Steam inventory items are worth so little, turning your worthless inventory items into gems is a valid way to get some extra cash or Steam Card booster packs eventually.

Here's how to turn a Steam Card, or anything else in your Steam inventory, into gems:

  1. Open your Steam inventory, click a card or item and then select turn into gems.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (15)

  2. Click OK.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (16)

    This process is not reversible. Once you've converted an item into gems, you can't switch it back.

  3. Tap OK in the confirmation screen.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (17)

  4. Return to your inventory, and turn additional items into gems. It's a good idea to convert items worth very little on the Steam Community Market especially if you have a lot of them.

What Are Steam Trading Card Booster Packs?

Steam Trading Card booster packs are similar to those you might have seen for physical trading card games. Each one contains three cards from a specific game, and you can't tell which cards until you get them.

When you collect all the available cards from a game, you're eligible to earn booster packs from that game. To maintain eligibility, you must log into Steam at least once each week.

As you level up your Steam profile, your chances for earning booster packs also goes up, which is an incentive to obtain more cards, to craft more badges, and to level up your profile.

You can sell booster packs with or without opening them. In addition to regular cards, opening a booster pack has a tiny chance to reveal a rare foil card. Foil cards can be used to create foil badges, which feature unique artwork.

If you're looking to complete a badge, then opening a booster pack for that game is a good idea. Otherwise, selling it unopened is usually a better idea.

Here's how to use a Steam Card booster pack:

  1. Open your inventory, click a booster pack and select Unpack.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (18)

    This process is not reversible. When you unpack a booster pack, you receive trading cards, and the booster pack item disappears. If the value of the booster pack is likely to be higher than the cards, and you aren't interested in crafting the associated badge, consider selling the booster pack instead of unpacking it.

  2. An animation plays, and you see the individual cards that were in the booster pack.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (19)

  3. You can open additional booster packs by returning to your inventory, or use the View badge progress button to go straight to the associated badge in your profile.

What Are Steam Badges?

Steam Badges are a cosmetic item that you can display on your Steam profile. By default, your profile shows the four most recently completed badges, but you can also prominently feature any of them.

You obtain most badges by crafting together full sets of Steam Trading Cards, but you can also get badges from participating in Steam sale events and hitting milestones such as owning a specific number of games on Steam.

The primary purpose of Steam Badges is that every time you earn one, you earn experience points. These experience points are used to level up your Steam profile. As your profile level grows, you gain the ability to have more Steam friends, add additional content blocks to your profile, and more.

Here's how to obtain a Steam Badge through crafting:

  1. Open your Steam profile by clicking your username and then click Badges.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (20)

  2. Locate a badge you want to complete and click it.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (21)

  3. This next page provides several ways to obtain the cards you're missing.

    The fastest way to complete a badge is to click Buy remaining cards on the Market.

    You can also click the trade button (arrows icon) underneath a friend's name to send a trade request, or click Visit Trade Forum to trade with a stranger.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (22)

  4. Make your selections and select Place Order.

    How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (23)

    Steam automatically sets optimal purchase prices for each card to make sure that you can purchase them right away. If you want to pay less and wait for the purchases to go through, you can adjust the purchase price of each card individually.

  5. Return to the badges section of your profile and click Ready.

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  6. Click Craft Badge.

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    This process is not reversible. When you craft the badge, the cards disappear. You will be able to view the card art at any time by visiting your badge page, but you will no longer be able to sell the individual cards.

  7. An animation plays, and then Steam shows you the results of the craft. You typically receive experience points to level up your profile, and an assortment of profile wallpapers and Steam Chat emoticons.

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  8. You can craft additional badges to level up your profile even further and unlock rewards such as a bigger friends list and more modules on your profile page.

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How to Buy, Sell, and Use Steam Trading Cards (2024)

FAQs

How do I buy and sell Trading Cards on Steam? ›

Open your Steam inventory by clicking your username > Inventory. Click a Steam Trading Card that you want to sell. Click Sell. Enter the amount of money you want for the card, select the box to indicate you agree to the Steam Subscriber Agreement, and then click Okay, put it up for sale.

How does selling Trading Cards on Steam work? ›

Steam Trading Cards

Collect cards - Users can play a participating game to get trading cards. Half the card set is received during gameplay (based on playtime in the game), the other half is earned through collecting (trading with or buying from other users through Steam and the Steam Community Market).

How do I redeem steam trading cards? ›

Once you've collected the entire set of cards you can craft them into a special badge for the Steam Sale to show off on your profile. From your Badges page, select a ready-to-craft badge to view its details and click on the blue "Craft Badge" button. Visit your badge page for details and progress.

Can you sell steam cards for real money? ›

Log onto the Quchange app and list your Steam gift card. It's absolutely free to use the app and sell on the platform. Once we've validated your card and it's sold, you can choose to withdraw your money into your bank account.

Is buying and selling Trading Cards profitable? ›

Sports card trading is still big business. A 2021 eBay report found U.S. trading card transactions on the company's platform surged 142% in 2020 over the previous year.

Why can't I sell my steam cards? ›

Why Can't I Sell Steam Trading Cards? "To help protect users of the Community Market from fraudulent buyers and sellers, we require that users have made any purchases on Steam in the last year, the first of which must've occured more than 30 days ago. Your account does not meet these criteria."

Why would you buy steam trading cards? ›

Steam Trading Cards are virtual cards, earned by buying and playing games on Steam, that can be crafted into badges that grant rewards. Collect a set of cards to earn items that help you customize your profile and show off your gameplay.

Do you have to pay taxes on selling Trading Cards? ›

Collectibles are considered alternative investments by the IRS and include things like art, stamps & coins, cards & comics, rare items, antiques, and so on. If collectibles are sold at a gain, you will be subject to a long-term capital gains tax rate of up to 28%, if disposed of after more than one year of ownership.

Do steam trading cards expire? ›

These cards only drop while the sale is going on and expire after the sale has concluded. Like with cards attached to games, these sale cards can be crafted into special sale badges.

How do I convert Steam points to money? ›

100 points for every $1.00 you spend. Buy any game, DLC, hardware, application, soundtrack, or in-game item, and get points. The Points Shop is where you'll find a variety of items to personalize your Steam presence.

Do steam trading cards have value? ›

If you're not interested in badges or Steam levels or any of that, you can sell your Trading Cards on the Steam Community Market. Cards have no set value.

How much does $100 steam card cost? ›

However, a $100 USA Steam Physical is N81,000 in Nigeria, but you can also check the rates of other types of Steam Gift Cards and other gift card brands.

What trading cards make most money? ›

1. Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps SGC 9.5 ($12,600,000) Pictured above is the first trading card to sell for eight figures. Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps rookie card has cemented itself as a pivotal piece of Americana.

What trading card sells the most money? ›

This is a list of the highest known prices paid for sports cards. The current record price is the US$12.6 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records.

What trading cards are most profitable? ›

Quick Look: Best Cards to Collect for Profit
  • Best Overall: Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Rookie Card.
  • Best Rookie Card: Luka Doncic.
  • Best NFL Card: Tom Brady Optic Base.
  • Best Classic Movie Cards: Star Wars.
  • Best Comic Cards: Pokemon.
Jul 20, 2022

Can Steam gift cards be refunded? ›

No. You cannot get a refund on Steam card once it's been activated. The card is activated when it's scanned for purchase. Sorry, there was a problem.

What should you do with steam cards? ›

Steam Gift Cards and Wallet Codes work just like gift certificates, which can be redeemed on Steam for the purchase of games, software, and any other item you can purchase on Steam. You can find Steam Gift Cards and Wallet Codes at retail stores across the world in a variety of denominations.

Are trading cards good investment? ›

Sports cards are a good way to diversify your investment portfolio. Sports cards sales surged by 142% in 2020 as card investors had more time to spend tracking the market - thanks to the pandemic.

Does selling cards count as income? ›

There are new 1099-K tax reporting laws coming into effect for 2022. If you sell sports cards, you must report your income to the IRS.

How much can you sell without paying taxes? ›

If you owned and lived in the place for two of the five years before the sale, then up to $250,000 of profit is tax-free. If you are married and file a joint return, the tax-free amount doubles to $500,000.

What happens if you don't pay trading taxes? ›

If the IRS discovers that mistakes or omissions on your tax return resulted in underpayment, you will be subject to the late payment penalty of 0.5 percent of the overdue amount for every month the payment is late. In addition, the IRS charges interest on overdue taxes that is compounded daily.

Can you use a steam card for gas? ›

No! Because it's mostly for electronic items .

Can you turn Steam points into games? ›

Even if Steam did let you turn points into money — it doesn't — you might have to spend a silly amount of money just to get one game. As is, it's best to think of Steam Points as a nice bonus, but don't let them sway you into spending more money than you normally would. So, no, you can't use Steam Points to buy games.

How do I transfer Steam wallet to PayPal? ›

Unfortunately, there is no direct way to transfer or take out money from your Steam Wallet to a PayPal or bank account.
...
Buy skins on Steam Marketplace, then sell them for money on Skinport.com
  1. Most skins you buy on the Steam Marketplace won't be tradeable for 7 days. ...
  2. Skinport does not support PayPal.

How many Steam points is 60 dollars? ›

You mostly get Steam points by buying stuff on Steam. The normal rate is 100 points for each dollar spent (basically a penny per point), so a $60 game will get you about 6000 points. You can also be given Steam points.

What can I do with a $20 steam card? ›

It can be used to buy games, software, hardware or any other item available from the Steam store.

How much can I resell steam deck for? ›

The limited supply for Valve's Steam Deck is creating an opportunity for scalpers to sell the PC gaming handheld for three times or more the normal price. On eBay, you can find the Steam Deck going for bids at around $1,300 to $1,600, along with “buy now” prices that can reach $2,500 or $2,999.

How can I sell my Trading Cards? ›

Where can I go to sell or trade cards? If you're looking to sell or trade cards, a good place to start is the internet. There are a variety of online communities where you can interact, buy, sell and trade with other collectors. Several links to these communities can be found at www.upperdeckblog.com.

How can I sell my card for cash? ›

Bottom line. You can easily turn gift cards into cash (or more desirable gift cards) through reputable sites like Raise and CardCash. The site you choose will depend on the ease of sale and the type of gift card you have. You won't get full value for it, but that's still better than letting a gift card go unused.

What is the highest steam gift card? ›

Select a Gift Card amount:
  • $5. Select $5 Gift Card.
  • $10. Select $10 Gift Card.
  • $25. Select $25 Gift Card.
  • $50. Select $50 Gift Card.
  • $100. Select $100 Gift Card.

How many steam points is $20? ›

For every dollar you spend, you get 100 Steam Points added to your account. You can't convert Steam Points to money, but if you want to think in terms of "Steam Points to dollars," you could think of a single Steam Point as one cent.

How many dollars is 1000 steam points? ›

10$ spent ~ 1000 points, so you think Valve should, for the sake of being a nice company, hand every one of their 47,000,000 daily active users half the money they pay as store credit?

What is the fastest way to sell trading cards on Steam? ›

To bulk sell all your cards from the same game just click on badges then scroll down to the game you have a lot of cards on and click on it. Then you will see a tab in the middle that says sell these cards on the market. Click on it and type in your desired amount for each card and then your done.

How do you buy and sell sports trading cards? ›

11 Ways to Buy & Sell Sports Cards in 2022
  1. Find local sports card stores. Head to a Sports Card Show. ...
  2. OfferUp. ...
  3. Facebook Marketplace. ...
  4. Find Local Sports Card Stores.

What is the easiest way to sell trading cards? ›

Where To Sell Sports Cards For Cash
  • Beckett. Beckett is one of the best places to sell sports cards because it has pricing guides and checklists that are helpful for anyone looking to sell and trade cards. ...
  • eBay. ...
  • Dave & Adam's. ...
  • StockX. ...
  • OfferUp. ...
  • Kruk Cards. ...
  • Otia. ...
  • TonyeTrade.
Nov 1, 2022

How do you buy and resell Pokemon cards? ›

What Is the Best Website for Selling Pokémon Cards?
  1. eBay.
  2. Troll and Toad.
  3. Cardmarket.
  4. Card Cavern.
  5. TCGplayer.
  6. CGC Castle.
  7. Facebook Marketplace.

What Trading Cards are most profitable? ›

Quick Look: Best Cards to Collect for Profit
  • Best Overall: Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Rookie Card.
  • Best Rookie Card: Luka Doncic.
  • Best NFL Card: Tom Brady Optic Base.
  • Best Classic Movie Cards: Star Wars.
  • Best Comic Cards: Pokemon.
Jul 20, 2022

What is the highest selling trading card? ›

This is a list of the highest known prices paid for sports cards. The current record price is the US$12.6 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records.

What Trading Cards sell the most? ›

Most Expensive Sports Trading Card Sales to Date
PlayerCardPrice
1. Mickey Mantle1952 Topps SGC 9.5$12.6 million
2. Honus WagnerT206 SGC 2$7.25 million
3. Honus WagnerT206 SGC 3$6.6 million
T4. Mickey Mantle1952 Topps PSA 9$5.2 million
6 more rows

Are trading cards worth collecting? ›

Collecting valuable trading cards is a popular hobby for many. While there are several cards in existence, only some of them are rare and worth a lot of money. Some of these unique cards were only made in very small batches, while others are rare for other reasons, such as their pristine condition.

How do I sell my trading cards? ›

Where can I go to sell or trade cards? If you're looking to sell or trade cards, a good place to start is the internet. There are a variety of online communities where you can interact, buy, sell and trade with other collectors. Several links to these communities can be found at www.upperdeckblog.com.

Do you have to pay taxes on selling sports cards? ›

There are new 1099-K tax reporting laws coming into effect for 2022. If you sell sports cards, you must report your income to the IRS.

What trading cards are worth investing in? ›

If you're after a quick buck, you might be looking at a smaller initial investment, but you'll be taking on more risk. The most valuable sports cards are Mickey Mantle cards, Honus Wagner cards, Luka Dončić rookie cards, Mike Trout cards & Ronald Acuna Jr. cards.

How to make money with trading cards? ›

  1. Method 1: Buying and Selling Cards. The most obvious way of how to make money from sports cards is to buy cards cheaply and sell them at higher prices. ...
  2. Method 2: Buying and Grading Cards. ...
  3. Selling Cards Wholesale. ...
  4. Breaking Cards. ...
  5. Sports Cards are a Speculative Business.

Are Pokémon cards worth reselling? ›

Selling Pokémon cards can be very lucrative, if you play your cards right. Pokémon is a quintessential staple of 1990s kids' nostalgia. Turns out, some Poké fans still gotta' catch 'em all and will pay up for the rare and valuable cards to complete their collection.

Are Pokémon cards worth investing in? ›

Most Pokémon cards aren't very valuable and don't make for great investments.

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