When it comes to the topic of investing, many think of the idea of learning business, analyzing charts, and making economic decisions on the stock market. This is an approach to investing that has existed for centuries, leading all the way back to joint-stock companies used to fund transatlantic expeditions in the 1600s.
But any kind of investment that has ever existed, whether it is stocks, gold, or anything in between, became valuable only because of perceived value by the customer and merchant. The idea that a purchased item has a value that can later change and be perceived as valuable by others is the root cause of investing culture.
Similarly to the stock market, the Counter-Strike market shares the similarity that stocks, or in this case, items, rise or decline in value. But unlike the stock market, there are various factors that tie into the price. The main factor is that Counter-Strike is a video game, and the items can be played in-game, and depending on how nice they look the price could change.
Another factor that can affect pricing is the rarity and supply. Because the items are virtual, people would think that an unlimited supply of them can be produced, but that is not the case, because if it was, skins would be worthless. Just like precious metals, rarity also plays a role in pricing.
It appears to a new user that this all seems quite risky because it can be in certain situations, but another reason to consider investing is that success comes only with risk. All successful investments, whether cryptocurrency, stocks, or real estate, all come with the chance that they lose value over time and the investor thereby loses money. But if it were easy, anyone would do it.
Many new investors also fail to believe in the demand for such items. Another reason they do not invest is because they see Counter-Strike as a silly video game. Why should they invest in something so fragile? It is because Counter-Strike and the skin market share a mutual dependency on one another. If one ceases to exist, then the other will also perish. Because of this, investing in skins is a safe choice.
Remember, any successful investment is only successful because of the risk factor that many are not willing to take, otherwise, there would be no reward for it. Similarly to investing in Bitcoin in 2011, investing in skins now could seem like a no-brainer in a decade.