Team Fortress 2 Item Trading Guidelines

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Please note that Valve have relased their "Team Fortress 2 Item Trading Guidelines"

The post about the release is here and the full guidlines are here.

Basic Trading Guidelines

• Know who you are trading with: Do not trade with random people you meet on servers as this can often lead to trade scams. Clicking on the avatar image of the user you are trading with will take you to their profile. Make sure it isn't someone who change their name and avatar to imitate someone else.
• Always receive something in a trade: Do not perform a trade in which you are only sending items and not receiving any items in return.
• Utilize the trade limit: Do not agree to trade more than 8 items to another user. This avoids any possibility of ever having to send items to a user and not receive anything in return (see #2)
• Keep your trade within Team Fortress 2: Keep your entire trade within a single trade window - Do not agree to trade things that can't be dragged into the trade window. (Example: Do not trade an Unusual Hat for a gift of Left 4 Dead 2)
• Verify the items: Make sure the items are the real thing by placing your mouse over them and read the description. Make sure they're not items designed to look like a more valuable item through the use of Name Tags or Description Tags -- the description will have red warning text in these cases. The trade dialog will warn you whenever the trade has been changed. Re-check the items whenever changes occur.
• Think a trade is unfair? Don't do it!: Trades that you consider to be unfair after agreeing and accepting a trade are valid trades and will not be undone by Steam Support so ensure you are comfortable with the trade before completing it.

Trade Scams

There is only one case where we will revert a trade within Team Fortress 2:
Not Receiving Items: If you agree to a trade within Team Fortress 2 and do not receive any Team Fortress 2 items in return we will be able to reverse this trade and restore the items to your account. If you receive the incorrect item because it was switched out we will not reverse these trades as it is your responsibility to check the trade prior to accepting it. This does not include trades where you agreed to receiving money/other products outside of Team Fortress 2. If you did this you will not receive your items either.

Warning

Trades agreed upon outside the scope of the Team Fortress 2 trading system will not be considered scams and you will not receive any unfairly traded items back. Trading outside of Team Fortress 2's system is an at-your-own-risk choice. It is highly recommended that you do not do any trades outside of Team Fortress 2 to avoid this from occurring.

As Valve have made it clear they "highly recommend" you don't perform trades outside the TF2 items system/Steam Official trading (I.E for games, money or other 'Real Life' items), we will not permit trading posts in this forum about such trades. The potential for problems or scams with this sort of trade is much higher and as UKCS does not accept any responsibility for trades organised via these forums, we feel is better to set out a straight ban rather than have people getting into lengthy discussions about the merits or reliability of posts.

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If you are using this forum to advertise items you would like to trade, we would ask that you help others to follow these official Guidelines.

To allow people to easily and effectively complete the 1st and 5th point on Valve's list - "Know who you are trading with" and "Verify the items", we would ask that you ensure that the Steam ID in your profile is correct and that you provide a link to your backpack so that the items you are offering can be examined and verified.

UKCS has a feature you can enable for your profile that automatically provides a link to your backpack under your name like this - please see this post for more information on how to turn this on.

This transparency, that you will see from the vast majority of users here, will allow people to verify your offers and hopefully lead to more interest and speedier trades. If you fail to do this or otherwise make it difficult for people to follow the Valve Guidelines, then we may need to remove your access to trade here on the UKCS forums to ensure a better experience for other members.

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Valve's Guidelines have changed several times over the last 18 months since we opened this forum and made this thread, most notably to take into account the fact that you can trade cross-game items on steam now. Most of the original points still hold true, but the latest policies from Valve are:

What is Steam's policy on returning scammed items/gifts?

Steam will not return any items or gifts that you feel have been traded unfairly. There are no exceptions to this policy. All trades are final. If you were scammed, you may report this scam to Steam Support so that action may be taken against the scammer. This does not include fraudulently purchased games that you receive. Please see this question for more information on what we do to handle fraudulent purchases.

What is Steam's policy on returning items that were taken while my account was hijacked?

We will investigate your account to confirm the hijacking took place and restore any items lost during the hijacking. If we cannot confirm your account was hijacked we will let you know and not restore any items.

Note:Steam Support only restores Team Fortress 2 items one time if your account gets hijacked. We will be unable to restore Team Fortress 2 items if you get repeatedly hijacked as your account safety and security is your responsibility. For account security recommendations please visit this link.

Why will Steam not return items that were scammed?

During the trade process, Steam asks you to confirm your trade multiple times. It is your responsibility to review the items that you are trading. You first confirm the trade by checking the box that states, "Check this box when ready to trade". Once checked, you cannot add any items to the trade. If you remove an item you will have to re-check the box to confirm that you are ready. Once both users in the trade have checked this box, the final confirmation button will turn green. Both users must click this button to complete the trade. A log of the trade is also kept in a separate chat box within the trade window.

What if I redeemed a game from a trade that is fraudulently purchased?

If this happens, the account where the fraud took place will be suspended. Your account will not be suspended, however the game you redeemed/unpacked to your account will be removed. We will restore the items/gifts that were associated with the trade that you performed to receive the game. If you did not trade any items/gifts for the game directly then we are not able to restore anything to your account (i.e. if the game was a gift). Please contact Steam Support if a game that you traded for is missing from your inventory or account.

What do I do if I was scammed?

If you are scammed, please contact Steam Support and create a ticket within the Steam Trading Category. You will not receive any items or gifts lost in the trade, however reporting the scammer will allow us to take appropriate action. Please include as much information about the trade as possible. Some helpful questions to answer in your report are:

How were you scammed?
What items/gifts were involved in the trade?
What is the user's Steam Community profile URL or SteamID that you traded with?
What were the terms of the trade agreed upon?
What is the approximate date and time of the trade?

What should I not trade for?

Do not trade for anything that cannot be added into the trade window within Steam. The most common examples of these scenarios are the following:

Trading items/gifts for money. You cannot add wallet credit or any form of money into the trade window. A common example of this is trading for items/gifts in return for money via PayPal.
Trading items/gifts for CD Keys. You cannot add a CD Key into the trade window. CD Keys that are offered can be for a different game, fake, used or region restricted. A common example of this trade is trading items/gifts in return for a promotional CD Key that is never given to you.
Trading items/gifts for nothing in return in the first trade and expecting to get an item or gift in a later trade. There is no reason to not trade everything in one trade. You may add unlimited items/gifts to a single trade. A common example of this is adding your items/gifts in one trade. Then the other user states that they will trade you their share or the rest of the items/gifts in another trade, but never do.

What are the best ways to verify a trade to avoid getting scammed?

Do not rush the trade. A common tactic by scammers is to force you to trade quickly so they can change items/gifts in the trade without you noticing. Take your time during the trade to avoid getting scammed.
Mouse over every item to ensure that the item/gift's properties are correct. Information about the item/gift will be stated here including the quality, name, description and any effects.
Pay attention to the trade log while making the trade. All changes, additions, removals and actions will be recorded in this box. You may also use it to communicate with the trader.
Do not trade items outside the trade window. If another user requests that you do, they will likely scam you. Always insist to trade within the trade window in Steam.
Ensure that you are trading with the correct user. Scammers may try to impersonate your friends and other trusted traders. It is your responsibility to know who you are trading with.

They also have a more general guide/FAQ to trading here.

As stated previously, we will not permit trading posts in this forum about trades that fall outside of the scope of the Valve trading system or contravene one of their rules/guidelines above.