-Do you want start trading but you don't know how?
-Do you want to get good skins but you don't know how?
-How can I make my inventory better?!
-Did your trading offers get declined but you don't know why?



Well... This guide is for you !

-During CrimeFest 2015 a new safes feature that randomly awarded players with a safe when the corresponding card was picked during a payday was added. Certain safes would also require a drill to be opened which players could get through special events or they could drop until update #100 when safes drop were removed. When opened, the safe would yield a random weapon or armor skin which could sometimes provide additional bonuses to gameplay (Stat-Boosted skins), this system was removed in update #199 but the previous system still influences how the new drop system and it's market works.

-Since update #199 you can get a skin every 24 hours during a payday:


-If you bought a skin from the market, you get 7 days sell/trade hold


-The most expensive skins are:

• Sydney Safe legendary *Anarcho
  
• COP legendarys *The gimp( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
  
• Jimmy Safe legendary *Astatoz

-When selling $0.03 skins you pay $0.02 to Overkill/Steam, thats a much higher percentage than with expensive skins so try to trade multiple commons for a more expensive skin if you want to market them.

-Every day you can get a skin from a post-heist card drop, skins vary in four aspects:
Mint-Condition = Factory new (The best condition)

Lightly-Marked = Minimal wear

Broken-In = Field tested

Well-Used = Moderate wear

Battle-Worn = Battle-scarred (the Worst condition)

Common (the cheapest)

Uncommon ($)

Rare ($$)

Epic ($$$)

Legendary (the most expensive)

Skin drops work similarly to the previous system of safe drops, certain safes would drop more rarely and in the new system the skins from these safes now still drop more rarely too, meaning these skins can be more valuable due to the rarity of their collection (which can be seen in the description of the item).
there is 2 types of skins
-Normal skin
-Stat-boosted skin (a little bit more expensive)

PSA: you can apply a boost in-game on all weapons

-Wait.... how about armor skins ?
Well, armor skins don't have conditions so all armor skins are basically Mint-Condition
But they have rarity: (you can get them via market / or you can get some unsellable skins from Crime Spree)
-Uncommon (Crime Spree)

-Uncommon

-Epic

-Rare

What does affect the price of the skin ?
-Rarity (of course)
-Condition (MC > LM > BI > WU > BW)
-What safe ? ( like COP safes > Community safe)
-Personal preferences
---------------------------------The skin ----------------------------
Let's take a look at the : Car-4 Nitro

Why is this skin a little bit expensive ?
Because:
- The Car-4 is a base game gun, and you can mod it for loud, stealth and dodge
-It has better stats
-It is rare
-The colors are good and the pattern is too

What about the Contractor Sniper - Frenzy ?

Why the Nitro > Frenzy ?
They have the same colors, same rarity and they are from the same safe?!
Oh wait

-It's a Sniper
-Contractor is a DLC weapon (UE / John Wick heists DLC)
-You can use it for loud, but not in stealth
-It doesn't have a lot of attachments
....


PSA: balance updates can change the value of the skin like :
Before they buffed the LMG : KSP Party Crasher MC was 0.12$
After they buffed the LMG : KSP Party Crasher MC was 0.40$+ (now down to $0,03 now all skins drop and without safes)

Currency and region differences:
On Steam, items will automatically be sold and bought in the currency that you use, the calculation between certain currencies can give some differences in trading low-value items.
Here's why: cheap skins of €0.03 are also $0.03, because the value is so low there is no difference, however when trading cheap skins for expensive ones the price of expensive items will be different in dollars, so to illustrate:
I want to trade 33 €0.03 skins for one of €0,99 cents as the trader said the value should be the same, however for some with dollars that skin is around $1,20 and your common skins are still worth $0,99.
Another difference is that some less developed regions have lower prices for items, this scaling is however not always the same across items, gems for example are scaled less than skins.

STOP BEING STUPID
-Don't go first with your item(s) unless it is a reputable trader
-If the offer in cash is above 75-80% its most likely a scam
-Don't send it to a friend to hold
-Don't let anyone borrow your skins
-Don't download anything
-Don't use any suspicious sites or software in the trade


There is no such thing as trading wallet funds.
Friends and family are a good option for money trades as they CAN be charged back
There is no protection for virtual goods for either the buyer or seller, therefore be very careful when trading things outside trade offers.

I got scammed,what should I do ?
DO NOT CLOSE A CHAT IF YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED, MAKE A SCREENSHOT SO YOU CAN PROOF IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Was the scam something that violated Steam ToS? Then you can report the user. (Screenshot non-applicable)
If the trader was from a trading group you should report the scam to a moderator/admin of the group.
In certain cases you can also go to any of the PAYDAY 2 community moderators.
If you acted stupid then don't expect any of these to be able to help you.

-First, check the trade offer :P
-Second look at the value of his/her items and yours
-Check the market (buy/sell price,interest, condition and rareness, and Why? Here is why:
Let's take a look at this expensive* skin

His price : 488$ -Offers : 2.5$ ?!
Seems a really expensive skin but wait, there is more!

The max price was 20$?!
What should I do?
*Avoid stat boosted skins
*Always check the market prices and the history
*Check how many were sold in the past 24 hours!
*Don't buy if the skin has been introduced recently, the value of the skins will go down very fast until after a few days the values will have dropped up to 95%
-Third: You can ask a well-known trader if the trade is fair and why

-Try to get rid of 0.03$ skins (common and certain uncommon ones)
-Put some of your items on the market and wait..... (not 0.03$ skins)
-Subscribe to the General Forums (Giveaways) and Trading Forums (Trading, Fo' Sho')
-Join this group :
https://steamoss.com/groups/pd2tco
This group is intended for PAYDAY 2 items, masks and DLC enthusiasts (medium-tier/high-end-tier).
PSA: This group requires an application in order to join!