The Best Skins to Invest in for CS2
Let’s say it from the very beginning, loudly and clearly — there is no such thing as a universal recipe for success in the game items trading business. You should have good experience within the industry to understand general trends. And you should be part of the community to feel moods and motivations. Trading success is built on this basis thanks to clever logical assumptions (like, “This investment will be profitable because of…”), and a good amount of luck could also be pretty helpful.
Still, however wild the skins market is, we certainly can talk about general trends in detail. We even can bring specific examples of the best CS2 skins to invest in. But the reasoning for each example is more important than just the item name.
In this article, we are sure to give this list. But it’s rather an excuse to explain how the market works and what item categories you should keep in mind. Let’s begin!
1. Desert Eagle | Light Rail
This skin represents a few aspects: an essential type of weapon, a popular gun model among gamers, and a cool-looking image for a rather affordable price.
Mastering pistol play is very important for Counter-Strike. You start a match with a pistol round, and winning it means getting a substantial early advantage, economy-wise. And also, players regularly switch to pistols for a quick shot at a close distance — for example, snipers. A logical sequence from this is that pistol skins will remain popular in CS2.
Desert Eagle is an amazing pistol model, massive and deadly. Playing it effectively requires extra practice, but players of all levels love it — and they would prefer having it with a skin instead of just the default look.
This type of investment will help you to find buyers quickly and make revenue on transactions. Sure, finding a good price is as important as having some demand for your offer, and DMarket is here to help.
If you choose cool-looking and affordable skins for the R8 Revolver or Dual Berettas, they could be good investment choices for similar reasons. CZ75-Auto is a full-auto pistol that is often chosen for eco rounds — if the weapon is popular, skins for it will be in demand on the market (don’t forget the aspects of affordability and cool appearance).
Buy Desert Eagle | Light Rail (Factory New)
2. USP-S | Cyrex
On the one hand, we have another pistol here, so almost everything said about Desert Eagle applies to USP-S too. But there certainly is the other hand — this pistol model is one of the spawn weapons for Counter-Terrorists, so the level of its active usage in the game is even higher.
Many people focus on other weapons as their primary ones and don’t really bother to purchase a non-spawn pistol model. But they still want to support their unique style and general status in the gaming community with beautiful skins. That’s why the popularity of skins for the P2000, Glock-18, and USP-S is pretty stable. Many players don’t buy an upgraded gun for their pistol rounds and still want to look cool.
USP-S is special in this list thanks to its silencer. And Cyrex perfectly follows the demands for an impressive look and the low-mid price range.
Don’t forget to pay attention to other features, such as skin float and StatTrak™ — they directly affect the price but also make USP-S | Cyrex more interesting for potential buyers.
3. M4A1-S | Basilisk
Let’s move to the heavy-hitters. Pistols are good and everything, but have you tried running around Counter-Strike maps with an assault rifle in your hands? The M4A1-S is a super common choice for the CT team. Many esports professionals use it, and it’s a good weapon for beginners. Just a little practice is needed to feel the power at your fingertips. The silencer brings an additional practical advantage in CS2 matches.
Basilisk is a solid choice thanks to its simplistic, metallic, and somewhat aggressive design. Counter-Strike players love colorful extravaganza, but many prefer more traditional shooting aesthetics.
M4A1-S | Basilisk with StatTrak™ is neither too expensive nor too cheap, so it can increase your profit.
4. AK-47 | Neon Revolution
Talking about colorful extravaganza — Neon Revolution is one of the brightest skins in the whole CS2 items collection. This skin is quite unique, as the pattern is only available for the AK-47. The price shoots high here, so this is a different category of investments, where you are ready to spend more, (potentially) wait for a customer longer, but also make more.
One great thing about AK-47 | Neon Revolution is that it’s again a super popular assault rifle. Dedicated players are ready to pay for having this skin in their collection, as they have lots of opportunities to buy the AK-47 for their Terrorist rounds and take the extravaganza to the action.
5. Souvenir Galil AR | Sage Spray
It is essential to understand that the rarity of items is the primary price-forming energy in the skins trading industry. Common items are rather cheap — but of course, more people can buy them, so the business works thanks to the number of transactions. Rare items are expensive, and if you are lucky to get a good offer, you can sell such CS2 skins with good revenue — if you are patient enough.
This skin clearly proves the difference. Galil AR | Sage Spray is not an expensive skin. It is rather common, And the militaristic look supports such a reputation. But Souvenir Galil AR | Sage Spray is a totally different thing. Souvenir skins can be obtained only from Souvenir Packages. Their quantity on the market is very limited, so the uniqueness and the price of Galil AR | Sage Spray grow substantially.
Keep a close eye on all rare listings — not only souvenirs. If you are a serious trader, you won’t want to miss this investment opportunity. The convenient filters on DMarket will be useful for this.
Buy Souvenir Galil AR | Sage Spray
6. MAC-10 | Ensnared
This is an example of a different type of investment. Don’t expect to get rich with it, but don’t be afraid to ruin your budget either. MAC-10 | Ensnared is rather cheap — thanks to this and the weapon type, you may make some sales with it and start gaining reputation and experience.
The MAC-10 is an SMG for eco-rounds. It’s not a primary weapon by any means, and still, serious players often find themselves in a situation when it’s better to save in-game cash and get a chance to earn big. This attitude reflects well on the skins many players buy for their SMGs — something fun and cool but not expensive. Ensnared is exactly one of them.
7. P250 | Asiimov
With this skin, we move from weapon-based recommendations to more skin-based ones. Asiimov is a great pattern that is available for guns such as the M4A4, AK-47, and AWP. But these skins are of the Covert rarity, so they are quite expensive (it’s simply a different type of recommendation). P250 | Asiimov has the same popular pattern, and it’s a Classified skin — much more affordable for the general gaming audience.
Yep, everything about pistols being in demand among CS2 players is true here as well.
8. AWP | Dragon Lore
No, we don’t hold back here. AWP is one of the elite weapon types in Counter-Strike 2. And Dragon Lore is just legendary in the community. There is no chance the hype around this skin is decreasing. It’s a very, very good investment!
The price is always high, though. And if you want a really unique skin, be ready to pay a lot. This is not an investment for mass trading. You buy AWP | Dragon Lore to earn big — and be ready to keep the skin in your inventory for quite a while.
Thanks to a gapless transition of skins from CS:GO to CS2, AWP | Dragon Lore keeps its status among other items. And thanks to enhanced visuals in Source 2, the skin looks even better than before.
9. M9 Bayonet | Doppler
Knives are very special in the Counter-Strike community. Eliminating an opponent with such a weapon is a sign of mastery — you have to get really close to the victim to deliver that finishing hit. And if you take out a knife skin instead of the default one, all teammates, opponents, and viewers on your stream will have no other choice but to scream “Wow”. (You don’t stream? If you have a CS2 knife, you probably should.)
Counter-Strike 2 knives are awfully rare, and therefore they are super expensive. But this investment in CS2 skins is as reliable as it could be. The interest in these items remains high throughout the years. And the price of knives allows the owners to overcome the downsides of the modern economy, such as inflation.
To be honest, the choice of an exact knife strongly depends on your personal preferences, on your budget, and on the available market offers. M9 Bayonet is one of the most impressive models — the knife is big and threatening. Doppler is quite a unique pattern. Not only does it look great, but also this type of CS2 knife has a few Doppler phases, which strongly affect the general look.
10. M4A4 | Royal Paladin + Sticker | dupreeh (Gold, Champion) | Paris 2023
Being a CS2 skins trader means having very good knowledge of the esports side of things and being very creative with all the facts you have from the Counter-Strike 2 tournaments. This is an example of how you could make a good investment with this.
Team Vitality won the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. dupreeh was in their active roster and contributed to that success. But in around a month, he was benched — with some probability that this Major victory will be special in his long (and successful) CS:GO career.
dupreeh is a rifler, who has to take an M4A4 at one point or another, and there is no need to delve too deep into exact matches and rounds (*what weapon did he have here or there?”). We take M4A4 | Royal Paladin as an expensive skin that combines really well with Sticker | dupreeh (Gold, Champion) | Paris 2023. Unite these two items, and the price will go to the stars. What about adding the whole team’s stickers?
The risks are as high as the potential rewards. The reputation and further career of the player and his team are unpredictable. But clever combinations that have a basis in esports (and look awesome) may significantly power up your game items business.
Investments in CS2 skins can be compared to art as many aspects here are based on feelings and intuition. But at the same time, this is a business, and it involves a lot of math. With the example of the best skins to invest in Counter-Strike 2, we tried to demonstrate rules that work across the industry. The list effectively shows the ropes if you are ready to learn and grow as a trader. Copy and paste these items into the marketplace search? Such an investment may also work, but having awareness of actions is a better key to success.
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