How to buy TF2 keys safely
TF2 keys are the money of Steam trading. Bots price levels, gems and cards in them, and on SteamTradeX you pay for featured spots and adverts with them. Here is where to buy them, how to get them onto your account without Steam holding them, and the scams to stay away from.
1. What a TF2 key is
A Mann Co. Supply Crate Key is an item from Team Fortress 2. In the game it opens a crate, but almost nobody buys one for that. Its price hardly moves, it can be traded between any two Steam accounts, and every trading bot accepts it, so the whole Steam trading world uses it as a currency.
That is why level up bots, gem bots and card bots on our bot list show their rates in keys: so many sets per key, so many gems per key. Keys never expire and you can trade them on whenever you like.
2. Get your Steam account ready
Do these two things before you pay anybody. They take five minutes.
- Turn on the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator in the Steam app on your phone, and leave it on. Without it Steam holds every traded item for up to fifteen days, so keys you paid for today would not reach you for two weeks. A seller may decline the trade altogether.
- Copy your trade link. In Steam, open Inventory, then Trade Offers, then Who can send me Trade Offers? The link under Third-Party Sites lets a shop send you an offer without being on your friends list. It is safe to share.
Also set your Steam inventory to Public (Edit Profile, then Privacy Settings). Some shops check it before they send the offer.
3. Buy the keys
SteamTradeX does not sell keys itself. We send people to Gameza Level Up, where you can buy TF2 keys, the Steam level and TF2 key shop run by the same people as SteamTradeX.
- Open the TF2 keys page and choose how many keys you want. The price per key is shown there.
- Paste your trade link from step 2.
- Pay in USDT or USDC, or from your balance on that site if you already hold one.
- Once the payment confirms on the network, the shop sends you a trade offer with your keys. Open it in Steam, check that it only gives you keys and asks for nothing, and accept it with your Mobile Authenticator.
Most of the wait is the payment confirming, which depends on the network you pay on, not on the shop.
4. Use them on SteamTradeX
Your keys can go straight to a bot, or into your SteamTradeX key bank.
- To level up, or to buy gems or cards: find a bot on the bot list, compare its rate with the others, and trade it your keys. The list shows when each bot last proved its rate.
- To feature a bot or run an advert: open Key Bank, press Open Trade Link, offer your keys, and paste the message the page shows (it starts with
B:) as the trade message. They appear in your bank within a couple of minutes. See Feature your bot and Advertise on the bot list.
5. Scams to avoid
- Never type your Steam password on a site you reached from a link. A real shop only needs your trade link. A fake “Sign in through Steam” page that asks for your password is the most common way accounts are stolen.
- Never give anybody a Steam Web API key. With one, a scammer can cancel a real trade offer and send you a copy from a bot dressed up as the shop. If a site asks you to make one, it is a scam. If you have one you did not make, revoke it in Steam.
- Read every trade offer before you accept it. When you are buying, the offer gives you keys and asks for nothing. If it asks for items, decline it.
- Check who is sending. Copies of real bots use the same name and picture. Compare the Steam ID with the one on the bot’s SteamTradeX page.
- Too cheap is a warning. Keys sell at much the same price everywhere. Far below it is somebody selling stolen keys, or none at all.
Questions
Can I buy keys on SteamTradeX?
No. SteamTradeX is a list of Steam bots and a key bank for paying for listings. To buy keys, use Gameza Level Up.
Can I sell keys I do not need?
Yes, Gameza Level Up buys them too: sell your TF2 keys for crypto.
Why did my keys not arrive straight away?
Usually because the payment has not confirmed yet, or because the Mobile Authenticator is off, in which case Steam holds the trade. Check Incoming offers in Steam, and turn the authenticator on before buying again.
Do I need to play TF2?
No. You do not need to own or install the game to hold, trade or spend keys.