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Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:57 pm
by SchruteFarms
Hi everyone. I think its time that I go for my first unusual. I have several/many items for trade, and would definitely overpay in items. I hope I could get one for Medic, Demo, Heavy, or Engi (or an all class).

Items I have include but are not limited to:

SF Sapper
SF Eyelander
SF Force-o-Nature
Strange Shotgun
Strange Dead Ringer
Strange Splendid Screen
Robro 3000 - Painted Team Spirit and Renamed
Flapjack
Strange Reserve Shooter
Haunted Magical Mercenary with a Halloween Paint
El Jefe
6 Keys Pure
and lots more...

If anyone has a cheap unusual for trade let me know!

Thanks,

-SF

Editing as I make trades.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:08 am
by Perfect Villain
cheapest i've seen is like 12 keys and thats a tree

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:38 am
by The Domer
I'm not really into the trade scene, but from what I understand, it's going to be hard to get an unusual with a bunch of items that are not keys/buds/bills. You may want to consider cruising the steam market and using real money.

That said you have some pretty awesome items.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:23 am
by Larry
Yeah, the steam market is pretty nifty but you have to make sure the thing you are buying isn't overpriced. A lot of them you can get cheaper through paypal, but the market is safer. I guess you could add the person who is selling the one you like and see if they will lower the price. Other than that you could probably find a nice deal on there.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:30 am
by Supreveio
The cheapest Unusuals tend to be the hats nobody likes paired with a barely-visible effect. Like a Pyro Birdcage with Massed Flies effect.


A quick look at a trading site gives me an estimate for that particular Unusual Birdcage as being around eight-tenths of an Earbud.

Earbuds are worth roughly twenty Mann Co. Supply Crate Keys.

$2.50 x 20 x 0.8 = $40.


I'm not a trader, so I'm not sure how accurate this is, but selling all those stranges and hats you listed might get you three-fourths of the way to the cheapest Unusuals in the game.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:45 am
by Boss Llama
Super is correct about the mechanics that affect price, though there is a third factor of being for a class that isn't used in 6s that makes some things cheaper.

The cheapest effect by a mile is presently Nuts and Bolts, with Planets and Blizzardy Storm probably next in line. Soldier, scout, medic, and demo are most expensive classes, along with some but not all hats for heavies because of their pub popularity. Pyros, snipers, engineers, and spies can find good deals on some items.

The most expensive effects currently are Burning Flames, Cloudy Moon, and some of the fancier ones from the newer released sets. The newer ones will stabilize (and very likely fall) in price with time, I don't recommend trying to get a new-style effect at this point unless there's one you just can't live without. All-class hats tend to cost a lot more than single class hats of equivalent desirability, because people basically charge you as if it were multiple hats.

Never pay premium for "themed" anything. That is an utter scam that nearly every trader on servers try to claim for every unusual they have. The same goes for paint, name tags, and description tags. If you want those, you can do them yourself. Never pay for another person's add-ons.

Dirty hats - those with gift text on them - are worth far less than clean ones. Be aware of this (and the fact that such text can't be removed) when you shop.

I've seen dirty versions of unpopular hats for non-6 classes, with undesirable effects, as low as $25 on the market (gifted planets Coupe, anybody?). You'll never be able to resell them, but if you just want that hat, they're available. Clean hats tend to start around $30 though $40 is a more likely entry point to get something you have any desire to wear. Scan through lots of listings and check all the available effects - sometimes an extra buck or two can jump you from something like N&B to a nice old-school effect like the Plasmas from sellers who are trying to unload. As was suggested above, you'll be hard-pressed to swap a pile of items directly for any unusual, but if you convert them all to keys you ought to be able to find a trade, or simply sell the keys for Steam Wallet funds and use that to buy the hat you want.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:14 am
by Daryldime
Al nailed it. I got 2 bubbling unusuals on less than desirable hats.

Gold painted ketche and the geisha boy.

Both for 25 bucks and 18 respectively

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:22 am
by Boss Llama
Was that $18 on the market, Daryl? Good find - haven't seen any that cheap myself yet!

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:46 am
by The Domer
I shudder to think how much it would cost me to get a sunbeams Kabuto.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:46 am
by Plinko
I would venture that you won't easily find great deals on the steam marketplace unless you get lucky or maybe directly contact sellers through steam with offers.

You're going to need to hang out in trade servers or the outpost and look for someone selling something that really is motivated to move an item that isn't all that desirable.

Keep in mind that the cash value of keys is still a little lower than the Mann Co. price. I think it's over $2.25 now, but I haven't looked for a few weeks. Paying $2.50xkey market price is probably going to lead you to overpay.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:41 pm
by Daryldime
Nah both from trade servers

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:06 pm
by Larry
Yeah, i just glanced at the market and they want $50~ for some hats you could get for half that.

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:21 pm
by SchruteFarms
Hey Everyone, thanks for all of the replies!

I achieved my first unusual yesterday. I now am the proud owner of a Steaming Birdcage! I traded about 17 keys worth to get it - 6 keys pure and a bunch of the items I listed (but not all of them!).

I'll be looking to try and trade up to find something cool for Medic (or demo/heavy/engi). I am happy with what I have, but it is definitely not an end product for me. I have been active in trading in the past, but mostly for items at 1 key or less. It is no different at the unusual stage, its just that mistakes will cost you more, and wins will be all that more profitable. I think my backpack used to be worth a lot more, and I made a - mistake - during the robo crate release last summer.

Thanks to everyone for the tips. I plan on getting on Outpost and TF2WareHouse soon.

-SF

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:47 am
by prang
Grats on the unusual!

Re: Looking for a Cheap Unusual

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 10:33 pm
by Robert2Cothinho
Supreveio wrote:
Wed Feb 05, 2014 10:30 am
The cheapest Unusuals tend to be the hats nobody likes paired with a barely-visible effect. Like a Pyro Birdcage with Massed Flies effect.


A quick look at a trading site gives me an estimate for that particular Unusual Birdcage as being around eight-tenths of a bass earbud list.

Earbuds are worth roughly twenty Mann Co. Supply Crate Keys.

$2.50 x 20 x 0.8 = $40.


I'm not a trader, so I'm not sure how accurate this is, but selling all those stranges and hats you listed might get you three-fourths of the way to the cheapest Unusuals in the game.
Please suggest me the top one under $50???