Selling or trading a CS2 skin can be blocked by a hold or a restriction you never asked for. Steam keeps the list of reasons on one support page, and most of them are clock based: they clear after 3, 5, 7, 15 or 30 days once a condition is met. A sale also carries two separate fees, one collected by Steam and one collected by Valve, and they hit different sides of the transaction. This post covers what blocks a trade, what clears it, and what a sale actually costs.
The two kinds of block
Steam separates the problems into two groups. A hold delays an item that is already moving. A restriction stops you from trading or listing at all. The support pages describe them as "trade or market holds" and "trading and market restrictions", and the reason is usually shown on screen when you try to initiate the trade or make the listing.
Trade holds
A trade hold is the period after a trade is accepted by both parties where the items are held by Steam before they are delivered. Trade holds last up to 15 days. They exist so that if someone else gets into your account, you have time to notice the pending transaction and cancel it before the items are gone.
You get a trade hold when your account has not been protected by a Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator for at least the last 7 days. The hold applies to items leaving your account. If you cancel a trade that is being held, Steam treats that as a possible hijack interception and puts a 7 day trading cooldown on the account. That cooldown is described as being for your protection and cannot be removed by Steam Support.
Market holds
A market hold is the period after a sell listing is created where the items are held by Steam before they are available on the Community Market. It is the same protection applied to a listing instead of a trade.
Restrictions that look like a hold but are not
These stop the action outright, and each one has its own timer:
- Newly authorized device. Logging in from a device Steam Guard has not seen before blocks trading and the market for 7 days on that device. Clearing browser cookies, using a new browser, reinstalling Steam or reformatting the PC all make a device look new. If you have had a Mobile Authenticator for at least 7 days, this restriction does not apply.
- Steam Guard not enabled. You need Steam Guard enabled for 15 days to trade or use the market. Accounts with Steam Guard off cannot do either.
- Steam Guard only recently enabled. Enabling Steam Guard by email blocks the Community Market for 15 days after it was enabled. Removing it, or disabling and re-enabling it, triggers the same restriction.
- Recent password reset. Resetting a forgotten password restricts trading and the market for 5 days. If the account has had no activity for more than two months, the restriction lasts 30 days. Changing your password in the Steam client settings does not count as a reset.
- Mobile authenticator added. Adding the authenticator starts a 7 day wait before it removes holds. Removing it blocks trading and the market for 15 days.
- Newly added payment method. Items bought with unverified payment methods carry a cooldown before they can be traded or sold. The period varies and is game dependent. Unverified payment methods add a 3 day wait before purchases can be made on the market.
- No purchase older than 7 days. The account must have a successful purchase older than 7 days and not older than a year to access the market. Wallet funds, games, DLC and software count. Retail CD key activation and gift purchases do not. A chargeback resets this restriction.
- Trade or community ban. A ban from Steam Support can be temporary or permanent.
- VAC ban. A VAC ban, cooldown or overwatch ban removes access to the CS2 store, blocks trades for CS2 items, and stops item drops. Steam Support cannot remove a VAC ban.
- Trade cooldown. A trade cooldown, including one applied by the Trade Protection system, limits what you can do on the market while it runs.
Two fees apply to a Community Market sale in CS2.
- Steam Transaction Fee. Collected by Steam, currently 5 percent with a minimum of $0.01. The buyer pays it. It is calculated from the item cost and shown on the confirmation page before the purchase is confirmed.
- Counter-Strike 2 Fee. A game specific fee, determined and collected by the game publisher, currently set at 10 percent. The section is headed "Counter-Strike 2 Fee" while its own body text still reads "CS:GO Fee". Both describe the same publisher fee.
Items that cannot move yet
Items purchased in game or on the Community Market are not tradable or marketable until the date shown on the item in your Steam inventory. Selecting the item and reading its description tells you when that date is. When you open the sell dialog, only items that are eligible to be sold are shown, and Steam Support cannot modify an item to make it sellable.
Before you accept a trade offer
- Check the item description for a marketable or tradable date before you agree to anything.
- Confirm your own Mobile Authenticator has been active for more than 7 days. That is the single setting that removes most holds.
- Do not accept an offer from an account you do not know, and do not trade to get around a hold you do not understand. A cancelled hold costs you 7 days of trading.
- If a hold appears on a trade you did not make, change your password and cancel the pending transaction.
Why is my item on a 15 day hold? Because the account has not had a Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator active for at least the last 7 days. Items leaving the account are held for up to 15 days.
Can I remove a hold faster? No. The support page says the way to remove the need for a hold is to protect the account with a Mobile Authenticator, and items stop being held after the authenticator has been enabled for 7 days.
I cancelled a held trade and now I cannot trade for a week. Why? Steam assumes a hijacker was intercepted and applies a 7 day trading cooldown. It cannot be removed by Steam Support.
Does a VAC ban stop me selling skins? Yes. A VAC ban, cooldown or overwatch ban removes access to the CS2 store, blocks trades for CS2 items, and stops item drops.
Who pays the fees on a market sale? The buyer pays the Steam Transaction Fee. The Counter-Strike 2 Fee is determined and collected by the game publisher.
Why can I not see all of my items when I list something for sale? Only items eligible to be sold appear in the sell dialog, and the date an item becomes marketable is shown in the item description in your inventory.
Sources
Steam Support: Steam Trade and Market Holds
Steam Support: Trading and Market Restrictions
Steam Support: Community Market FAQ