Trade Lock (Trade Hold)

A temporary cooldown that prevents a recently acquired skin from being traded or sold.

A trade lock (also called a trade hold or trade cooldown) is a temporary restriction that prevents a CS2 item from being traded or listed on the Steam Community Market for a set period after it is acquired.

When trade locks apply

• Case unboxing: Items unboxed from cases have a 7-day trade lock
• Market purchase: Items bought on the Steam Community Market have a 7-day trade lock
• Third-party marketplace purchase: Varies by platform
• Trade received: Items received in a trade have a 7-day trade lock

Impact on trading

Trade locks create friction in the trading ecosystem. They prevent rapid flipping and affect market dynamics — especially around major updates or new case releases, when newly unboxed items cannot reach the market for a week.

Checking trade lock status

You can see an item's trade lock status and expiry date in your Steam inventory. On Skinventory, items in your imported inventory show their trade-lock countdown when applicable.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the trade lock in CS2?

Most trade locks last 7 days. This applies to items from cases, market purchases, and trades.

Can I sell a trade-locked item?

No. While a trade lock is active, the item cannot be traded, sold on the Steam Market, or listed on third-party marketplaces.

Why do trade locks exist?

Trade locks are a security measure introduced by Valve to protect against unauthorized trades and to slow market manipulation.