CS2 Skin Arbitrage
CS2 arbitrage overview
The most profitable CS2 arbitrage route is buying the AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New) on BUFF at $10,334 and selling it on Skinport at $15,886, which nets $4,599 after the 6% Skinport fee, a 45% return. It leads 10,874 routes that return between 50% and 50% of their purchase price after fees, and the median one returns 28%, as of .
- Largest net profit
- $4,599
- Best route
- BUFF to Skinport
- Median return
- 28%
- Routes
- 10,874
- Steam selling fee
- 13.03%on a $100 sale
Most profitable routes
| Item | Buy on | Sell on | Net | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New) | BUFF | Skinport | $4,599 | 45% |
| AWP | Gungnir (Factory New) | Youpin | Skinport | $2,314 | 22% |
| AK-47 | Wild Lotus (Field-Tested) | CSFloat | Skinport | $1,220 | 18% |
| AK-47 | Wild Lotus (Factory New) | Youpin | Skinport | $1,142 | 8.5% |
| ★ Moto Gloves | Spearmint (Minimal Wear) | Youpin | Skinport | $946 | 42% |
Selling fees by marketplace
The flat selling fees are 2% on CSFloat, 8% on Skinport below $1,000 and 6% at or above it, 1.5% on BUFF, 1% on Youpin and 1.5% on C5Game. Steam charges no flat rate: on a $100 sale it takes a game fee of $8.69, the price divided by 11.5, and a Valve fee of $4.34, the price divided by 23, each rounded down to the cent, so the seller receives $86.97 and Steam keeps 13.03%. Every marketplace's asks behind these routes are available from the BUFF163 price API, Youpin price API, CSFloat price API, Skinport price API, Steam Market price API and C5Game price API.
How these numbers are measured
Each route buys at the lowest ask on one marketplace and sells at the lowest ask on another, and its profit is the sale price minus the selling fee minus the purchase price, with no fee added on the buy side. A route is counted only when it sells into a marketplace where the item is actively traded, meaning it usually sells within three days. Both prices must be less than 30 minutes old when a route is built. The figures leave out transfer time, trade holds, withdrawal limits and the risk that either price moves before a sale.
What is CS2 skin arbitrage?
Buying a skin on one marketplace and selling it on another for more than it cost plus the seller's fee. Selling fees run from 1% on Youpin to about 13% on Steam, so the same price gap can be a profit on one pair of marketplaces and a loss on another.
What is the best CS2 arbitrage route?
The AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New) from BUFF to Skinport, which nets $4,599 after the selling fee. The next most profitable are the AWP | Gungnir (Factory New) from Youpin to Skinport at $2,314 and the AK-47 | Wild Lotus (Field-Tested) from CSFloat to Skinport at $1,220.
Which marketplace is cheapest to buy CS2 skins on?
It differs from skin to skin: of the five most profitable routes, three buy on Youpin, one on BUFF and one on CSFloat.