The “king” of high tier skins!
Ever wondered how some people have all these ultra-high-value inventories? How does one get all these skins? Where does all that money come from? We interviewed “Robert Baratheon”, a Serbian skin trader, to find answers to those questions.
Could you introduce yourself to our readers? How did you start trading skins? How long have you been trading for?
I’m Robert, a trader & collector from Serbia. My skin-trading journey started back in late 2013.
I was enamoured with skins from the very start after transitioning to CSGO.
At the time, I maintained a very modest collection consisting of in-game drops, just learning about the items and the scene, trying to figure out ways how to get started and primarily expand my collection.
Robert his first knife, A ST Flip Knife Blue Steel in battlescarred condition
Back when the Winter Offensive Case just came out I was lucky enough to receive one after a match as an in-game drop.
That was my turning point to decide to give trading a go. Using the combination of csgolounge and steam discussions forums, I managed to trade that 3$ case up to something worth 3.5$.
Then those 3,5$ to 4$, then 5$, 10$, all the way up to my first knife, my first Karambit|Fade, the first Dragon Lore, a high-tier craft and so forth.
“The Winter Offensive case was released on December 18th, 2013, alongside the “Winter Offensive” update.”
Over time, the trading scene, and the “meta” kept evolving. Platforms would slowly die off or be forgotten, only to be replaced by new, better-fitting ones.
The scene moved from Steam discussions, to csgolounge, to Reddit, and lastly discord & Twitter, while my inventory kept developing throughout the years. I have been trading ever since.
What's the average transaction value for your ultra-high tier skins? And how long do you usually keep them before selling them?
My primary focus is the ultra-high tier, rare collector's items. Although there isn’t a specific rule relating to how much exactly they should be before I buy them.
While the most expensive item (for sale) in my inventory currently sits at ~66000$, and the least expensive at ~19000$, any individual item, most usually above 10000$, falls within the category, as long as it meets the personal criteria I have.
The time I would keep an item for is on a case-to-case basis and is dependent on a multitude of factors such as the current market environment, the purchase price, the items’ desirability etc.
It can last from one or two weeks all the way to a few months or more. In this case, the item is a sort of passive investment or a part of the personal collection.
What is your most memorable trade? Or do you remember a unique interaction with a person or item?
Somebody later added the keshandr foil.
There have been many interesting trades and stories over the past decade ranging from actual physical items such as Genuine Pins, all the way to exceedingly rare collector items.
The one that takes the cake would have to be the 4x Titan (Holo) ST AK Vulcan FN that I bought last year.
It presents one of the most renowned crafts within our game and I was particularly happy to own it after having it on my wishlist for as long. Fun fact about the history of this skin:
The proceeds from the next owner's sale were donated entirely towards building the world's largest Buddha stupa.
Besides my items and trades, I also enjoy curating or just helping other collectors tailor and obtain their collections.
Each time it's a memorable process that produces a unique and beautiful outcome.
What is your favourite skin that you own or have owned? Is there something on your skin bucket list you have yet to cross off?
The favourite skin I’ve owned, and one I still think of from time to time, is ST AK Redline 0.16 which I crafted myself way back in 2014.
Each of the stickers was handpicked and bought by me on the Steam community market with aesthetics being the main focus rather than retained sticker percentage.
Even though many people dislike mixed crafts, I love the way the colours of this combo fit together and the craft being as old as my trading journey just adds more sentimental value to this specific skin.
The final Titan to finish off the craft cost me only 20 keys (about $40) back in 2014 which I bought through csgolounge.
A couple of years later I unfortunately had to sell the AK in favour of IRL commitments at the time.
Regarding my bucket list, I have been lucky enough to tick off most of the items on it so far.
However, I still have two remaining items that I would like to accomplish. These are getting a Souvenir Dragon Lore FN and obtaining another AK which I prefer not to reveal at this time.
If you need to make a craft with any budget, what would you craft?
It’s quite difficult to set my eyes on just one potential craft when there are endless amazing and unique possibilities.
I’ll try to propose 3 different ones I’d personally like to see the most.
Firstly the newest skin on the block, the AK-47 Inheritance. Due to its base colour, covert status and overall look.
I believe it ticks all the boxes for an item that's worth applying katos on.
I think that the Inheritance will remain a high-tier skin with a high desirability to craft expensive stickers on for years to come.
Considering most colours fit very well with its white base, I’d like to see both 4x and 5x crafts of every Kato 14 holo sticker applied, which we’ll hopefully see some of.
The second skin I would craft would be on one of my favourite AWPs, the Gungnir, and it would be a mixed craft. Something I'm personally a fan of for my collection.
I'm looking to make a 5x craft on a low-float Gungnir. My plan is to craft an IBP holo on the Scope, followed by a Titan holo on the second-best position, a Reason holo positioned next to it, and a Vox holo right after that. Finally, I would like to put a Dignitas holo on the back-scope position.
Lastly, I’d love to recreate or try to rebuy my beloved AK-47 Redline that we talked about earlier.
Conclusion
Thank you, Robert, for your time and effort in answering these questions!
We, at Team GamerPay, wish you the best of luck in finding those two grail skins in the future!
