THE KEY POINT
Wear describes one part of a skin’s appearance. Check the finish, the actual item and the quote separately; a float value alone does not establish a market price.
01
Wear and pattern answer different questions
A listing may put the item name, a condition label and a numeric wear value close together. Start by separating those fields: identify the weapon and finish, then read its condition and inspect the individual item.
Valve’s finish guide describes a configured wear range for each finish. Higher wear can reveal scratches and grime. It also describes random offsets, rotations and scratch placement, so the numeric wear value does not identify the complete visual pattern.
02
Read the condition range in context
Valve lists these wear bands in its technical finish guide. The endpoint notation below reproduces that document’s ranges; use the label supplied for the actual item at a boundary rather than guessing from a rounded number.
- Factory New: 0.00–0.07.
- Minimal Wear: 0.07–0.15.
- Field-Tested: 0.15–0.37.
- Well-Worn: 0.37–0.44.
- Battle-Scarred: 0.44–1.00.
- Some finishes use a narrower range, so every finish is not available across every band.
03
Check the item rather than a generic finish image
A thumbnail is useful for recognizing a finish but can hide the part of the item you care about. Inspect the actual item offered for the transaction and compare its identifying details with the listing.
Write down the finish, condition, exact displayed wear value and any other attributes relevant to that listing. If the seller provides a pattern identifier, keep it separate from wear. Do not substitute a similarly named item when checking a trade offer.
04
Appearance is not a cashout quote
A wear number and a pattern description do not tell you what a buyer will pay. Compare quotes for the same item and the same unit, then account for the sale and withdrawal deductions. Treat an estimated inventory value as an estimate, not money already received.
This guide does not assign a pattern premium or fetch live prices. If two quotes differ, check both the exact item attributes and the payout terms before attributing the difference to float.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE
Quick checklist
- Identify the exact weapon and finish.
- Use the actual item’s condition label and wear value.
- Inspect the visual placement instead of relying on a thumbnail.
- Match the item to the trade offer and compare net quotes in the same unit.
Official sources
Read the official documents below for the service’s rules and account instructions.
Valve’s public technical guide is linked below. No account-side item inspection, price collection or trade was performed.