Steam Summer Sale Season and Your Dota 2 Budget

Steam runs its large summer sale around late June and early July each year. Game prices drop, and many players move money into their Steam Wallet or sell items on the Community Market to fund purchases.

If you also buy Dota 2 cosmetics, that period asks you to decide where your money goes.

Money in your Steam Wallet cannot go back to your bank. When you sell an item on the Community Market, the proceeds land in that same wallet, minus the fee Valve takes on each sale. That money can buy games or other Market items, and nothing else.

If you sell cosmetics to pay for sale games, count the Market fee and the price you would pay to buy the item back later. A skin you sell in June for wallet money may cost more to replace than the discount you gained on a game.

Plenty of players list items to raise wallet funds at the same time, so supply on some items rises for a while. That can push prices down on items many players own. Rare items tend to hold their price, since few owners part with them for a game discount.

1. 1
   Decide how much you want to spend on games
2. 2
   Set a second, separate figure for cosmetics
3. 3
   Check recent sale prices before you buy, since short-term dips do not last
4. 4
   Leave items you want to keep off the Market, even when a sale tempts you

Two separate budgets stop a good game discount from costing you an item you liked without you noticing.