If you are a user of Steam, then you probably know that it is one of the biggest online video game market places out there. However, you might not realize that there's actually a way to put money into your Steam wallet funds without spending anything.
Keep reading to find out how to make money play games on Steam.
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How to Earn Money on Steam Marketplace
Before getting started, it is important to note that there is no way to take the money you get on Steam out of your wallet fund. So, if you were planning on making a career out of the Steam market place, you might be out of luck.
However, there are other uses for the money you get. While you can't take the money out of your wallet, you can still use it to buy video games or other things on the market place like trading cards or cosmetics. This is a good way to make your video game habit a lot more affordable with little effort.
By the way, if you also play games on Twitch, read this to learn how to make money streaming on Twitch.
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Here's how you can make money on Steam.
1. Trade Your Cards
Most games on Steam have trading cards you can receive for playing them. You get one to three cards the first time you play a game after playing for two hours.
Most cards you get end up only being worth a few cents. However, you might get lucky and receive a foiled card that's worth a couple of dollars. If you want to earn more cards, try using a site like Steam Idle Master.
Additionally, about every week you have a random chance of receiving a trading card Booster pack of three cards. You can either sell the pack as is, which is usually only worth about thirty cents or open the pack for the chance of getting foiled cards.
When you try to sell a card, you'll notice a graph will appear that shows you how much the card was worth in the past.
Here are a few tips that apply generally to all cards:
- The newer the game is, the more the card will be worth
- Sell cards from new games as soon as possible
- When a card reaches a certain selling price, Steam will begin to take a small percentage
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2. Sell Your Cosmetic Crates
Some games give away cosmetic crates that can be purchased with in-game currency or real money. If you get one of these crates, you should see if you can sell them for some decent cash.
Some games that let you do this are:
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
- Payday 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Warframe
But, the two main games that people use to make money are Counter Strike and PUBG.
With Counter Strike, you can earn crates by:
- Playing the game every week
- Operations (seasonal DLC)
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds will let you get crates with battle points, which are earned whenever you kill other players and last long into the game. You can then sell the crates for twenty cents to a few dollars each.
3. Hold onto Pre-release Items
When a game is available for pre-order, you will sometimes be given an early-access cosmetic item. Hold onto that item instead of redeeming it and you might make a ton of money.
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For instance, PUBG released a cosmetic set for everyone who pre-ordered PUBG. Right now, it sells for over $200.
This isn't the only game that this happens too. A general rule is that if you think a game is going to be really popular, chances are their pre-order crates will also be just as popular.
4. Don't Buy & Open Crates
You might consider trying to buy as many crates as possible and then opening for the small chance of getting a nice item. Ultimately, this is not worth the risk.
Most rare items have as low as 0.01% chance of appearing in a crate. So, you might have to spend thousands of dollars on thousands of crates just to get the item. It's better to save up your money and just buy the rare item outright on the market place rather than spending all that money on what is basically gambling.
5. Sell a Video Game
There's only one way to make real money on Steam which can be redeemed. Making a video game is a long process that requires a lot of skill in coding, writing, and art, but it can be worth the effort.
To put a game on the Steam store, you need to invest $100 for the Steam Direct Product Submission Fee. After that, you can start selling games you've made on Steam. Steam takes a 30% cut of all sales that you make. If you sell $1,000 worth of games, you'll be refunded the $100 you paid originally.
It's important to remember, however, that your game will need to be a decent quality to get good reviews and actually make sales. It also takes a lot longer to develop a game than to sell some trading cards.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, after reading this guide, you have a better picture of what it is like to earn money on Steam. It isn't as easy as you think but it can help you save a few bucks on the next video game you buy.
Do you think it's viable to sell Steam cards and cosmetic crates? Have you scored any major sale through the Steam platform? Let us and our readers know about your experiences below, as well as any tips you think can help others who may be trying to learn how to make money on the Steam platform.
There are times when many of us find ourselves in a bind and we need money today, even if it's just a couple of bucks. Fortunately, there are some websites you can use to earn fast cash online.
I'm not going to lie to you, many of them are just extra cash online and will never replace your income. Regardless, they can save you in a pinch when you need it most if you use them regularly and allow the money to build up.
Below is a list of sites that just about anyone can use that will pay daily or at least once per week:
Swagbucks Pays In Ten Days Or Less
I almost didn't list Swagbucks here because, while it's a great rewards site, they list in their terms that you can't expect for up to 10 days after you cash out. However, it's still an option to earn fast cash because some people report getting paid much faster than this.
You can redeem you SB (Swagbucks) for Amazon codes, Paypal cash, and gift cards to popular merchandisers among other things.
These points build up quickly thanks the the large number of things you can do on the site to earn. I've used this site and been paid many times.
You can read my review of Swagbucks here or sign up here.
Swagbucks Redemptions
Check out this list of some of my redemptions below. I usually opt for Amazon over Paypal.
Online Surveys For $3 a Pop With Pinecone Research
Pinecone is one of the best survey panels out there for earning fast cash, and they pay quickly — usually by the next day — for the surveys you complete. The surveys don't come every week, but it's a nice little bonus when they do because of how fast they pay.
Right now Pinecone is open, but there is no guarantee you'll get in just depending on what demographic they need right now.
Go here to sign up or learn more about how to join Pinecone Research.
Pinecone Payment Proof:
Earn Fast Cash Online With Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that pays you back for things you buy at the grocery store. The reason I'm listing it here is because when you cash out, the money goes instantly (or almost instantly) to Paypal.
I've never had to wait longer than five minutes to get my money from Ibotta! You can also earn from referrals there, too. However, you must have at least $20 in your account to cash out. Still, cashing out every week isn't unrealistic with consistent use.
You can sign up for Ibotta here or read my Ibotta review here.
Most cards you get end up only being worth a few cents. However, you might get lucky and receive a foiled card that's worth a couple of dollars. If you want to earn more cards, try using a site like Steam Idle Master.
Additionally, about every week you have a random chance of receiving a trading card Booster pack of three cards. You can either sell the pack as is, which is usually only worth about thirty cents or open the pack for the chance of getting foiled cards.
When you try to sell a card, you'll notice a graph will appear that shows you how much the card was worth in the past.
Here are a few tips that apply generally to all cards:
- The newer the game is, the more the card will be worth
- Sell cards from new games as soon as possible
- When a card reaches a certain selling price, Steam will begin to take a small percentage
Real Ways To Earn Money Online From Home
2. Sell Your Cosmetic Crates
Some games give away cosmetic crates that can be purchased with in-game currency or real money. If you get one of these crates, you should see if you can sell them for some decent cash.
Some games that let you do this are:
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
- Payday 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Warframe
But, the two main games that people use to make money are Counter Strike and PUBG.
With Counter Strike, you can earn crates by:
- Playing the game every week
- Operations (seasonal DLC)
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds will let you get crates with battle points, which are earned whenever you kill other players and last long into the game. You can then sell the crates for twenty cents to a few dollars each.
3. Hold onto Pre-release Items
When a game is available for pre-order, you will sometimes be given an early-access cosmetic item. Hold onto that item instead of redeeming it and you might make a ton of money.
Real Ways To Earn Money Online Sylvan Learning
For instance, PUBG released a cosmetic set for everyone who pre-ordered PUBG. Right now, it sells for over $200.
This isn't the only game that this happens too. A general rule is that if you think a game is going to be really popular, chances are their pre-order crates will also be just as popular.
4. Don't Buy & Open Crates
You might consider trying to buy as many crates as possible and then opening for the small chance of getting a nice item. Ultimately, this is not worth the risk.
Most rare items have as low as 0.01% chance of appearing in a crate. So, you might have to spend thousands of dollars on thousands of crates just to get the item. It's better to save up your money and just buy the rare item outright on the market place rather than spending all that money on what is basically gambling.
5. Sell a Video Game
There's only one way to make real money on Steam which can be redeemed. Making a video game is a long process that requires a lot of skill in coding, writing, and art, but it can be worth the effort.
To put a game on the Steam store, you need to invest $100 for the Steam Direct Product Submission Fee. After that, you can start selling games you've made on Steam. Steam takes a 30% cut of all sales that you make. If you sell $1,000 worth of games, you'll be refunded the $100 you paid originally.
It's important to remember, however, that your game will need to be a decent quality to get good reviews and actually make sales. It also takes a lot longer to develop a game than to sell some trading cards.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, after reading this guide, you have a better picture of what it is like to earn money on Steam. It isn't as easy as you think but it can help you save a few bucks on the next video game you buy.
Do you think it's viable to sell Steam cards and cosmetic crates? Have you scored any major sale through the Steam platform? Let us and our readers know about your experiences below, as well as any tips you think can help others who may be trying to learn how to make money on the Steam platform.
There are times when many of us find ourselves in a bind and we need money today, even if it's just a couple of bucks. Fortunately, there are some websites you can use to earn fast cash online.
I'm not going to lie to you, many of them are just extra cash online and will never replace your income. Regardless, they can save you in a pinch when you need it most if you use them regularly and allow the money to build up.
Below is a list of sites that just about anyone can use that will pay daily or at least once per week:
Swagbucks Pays In Ten Days Or Less
I almost didn't list Swagbucks here because, while it's a great rewards site, they list in their terms that you can't expect for up to 10 days after you cash out. However, it's still an option to earn fast cash because some people report getting paid much faster than this.
You can redeem you SB (Swagbucks) for Amazon codes, Paypal cash, and gift cards to popular merchandisers among other things.
These points build up quickly thanks the the large number of things you can do on the site to earn. I've used this site and been paid many times.
You can read my review of Swagbucks here or sign up here.
Swagbucks Redemptions
Check out this list of some of my redemptions below. I usually opt for Amazon over Paypal.
Online Surveys For $3 a Pop With Pinecone Research
Pinecone is one of the best survey panels out there for earning fast cash, and they pay quickly — usually by the next day — for the surveys you complete. The surveys don't come every week, but it's a nice little bonus when they do because of how fast they pay.
Right now Pinecone is open, but there is no guarantee you'll get in just depending on what demographic they need right now.
Go here to sign up or learn more about how to join Pinecone Research.
Pinecone Payment Proof:
Earn Fast Cash Online With Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that pays you back for things you buy at the grocery store. The reason I'm listing it here is because when you cash out, the money goes instantly (or almost instantly) to Paypal.
I've never had to wait longer than five minutes to get my money from Ibotta! You can also earn from referrals there, too. However, you must have at least $20 in your account to cash out. Still, cashing out every week isn't unrealistic with consistent use.
You can sign up for Ibotta here or read my Ibotta review here.
Ibotta Payment Proof:
Slice the Pie Pays Twice a Week
Slice the Pie is a site I've used frequently. All you do is listen to music and rate/review it. You'll get paid anywhere from six to seven cents up to sometimes seventeen cents per song you review just depending on if they have any promos going on.
It only takes a few minutes to review a song. They pay out on Tuesdays and Fridays and you must have a minimum of $10 to withdraw your earnings, but this is very possible to do twice per week.
You can sign up for Slice the Pie here or read my Slice the Pie review.
Slice the Pie Payment Proof
InstaGC Offers Fast Cash Instantly
InstaGC is a rewards site you can use to redeem instantly for Amazon gift codes (and all kinds of other gift codes). With this site, it's possible to earn money for doing all sorts of things which include short tasks, surveys, watching videos, listening to music, and more.
What I love most about this one is that when you do redeem, there is NO waiting. You just ask for your code and it's there waiting for you on the next screen.
It's also possible to request a check for a cash payment, but you will have to wait several days for that to show up in the mail.
I have not yet reviewed InstaGC, but Work at Home No Scams has a very detailed review of how it works here.
InstaGC Payment Proof
Qmee Pays Instantly
This is a browser extension you can install that will occasionally show you sponsored advertisements on your sidebar when you search. Each advertisement is worth a few cents or more.
If you visit the ad shown, you receive the dollar amount shown in your Qmee virtual 'piggy bank'. You can cash this out at anytime, there is no minimum.
Also, the money shows up in your Paypal account pretty much instantly after you ask for it. I put this site on this list because even though it's not a big earner, you can get paid quickly.
Go here to sign up for Qmee or read my Qmee review.
Update 9/27/19 – Qmee now offers paid surveys as another way to earn!
Qmee Payment Proof
Amazon MTurk Has $1 Minimum Cash Out
This is another task-based site that makes it possible to earn fast cash online. They have a variety of work to choose from in several different categories.
They pay with bank transfer and it can take about two days for money from there to hit your account, but you only need $1 to request a payout. The way to get money in your hands often from here is to request a payout every three days.
Then, within a few days, you'll start seeing a few weekly deposits from MTurk to your bank account. Is it easy to make $10 a day on Amazon MTurk? It actually is.
I don't use this site anymore, but you can see below that I was able to generate almost $500 in extra income using it off and on for a few years. And many people earn much more than that using it multiple times per week.
You can get signed up here.
Amazon mTurk Payment Proof
Transcribe Me Pays Weekly
This is a site where you can sign up to transcribe audio files. They pay new transcribers $20 an audio hour (remember this is quite a bit longer than a regular hour).
You can get in with no prior transcription experience, you just have to take a short test which I believe you can retake if you fail it the first time.
Ways To Earn Money Online For Students In India
You only need $1 to cash out, hitting the withdrawal button for payment weekly as long as you have $1 earned. It might be one of the best ways to make money fast today if you can pass the skills test.
I don't have any payment proof for this site because I've never done enough work here to get paid, but they are legit and do pay according to many of Real Ways to Earn's readers.
Real Ways To Earn Money Online
Read my review of Transcribe Me or sign up here.
Need More Than Extra Money?
I send out twice-weekly work at home job updates via my emailed newsletter. This is free to receive, and I'm told by subscribers it's pretty helpful. You can start getting it here.
Good luck to you if you decide to sign up and try any of these!
Post originally published April 30, 2012. Updated and republished on February 3, 2020.