It's also interesting to note that Steam Market makes no distinction between duped hats and clean ones. Valve themselves apparently don't seem to think there's any stigma attached to a duped hat.

Australium Gibus with Orbiting Gaben Heads

I have sold many Strange Shotguns, usually for a key and a half (or thereabouts.)
Reason? I despise the mentality that everyone has to follow Bp.tf like it's the bible; the result of doing so is plain to see - lots of items all selling for the same predetermined price and sitting there unsold week after week. Sorry, but I'd rather undercut all the sheep and take a little less just to get rid of it. Free market economy, people.
If people are asking too much for their stuff, it won't sell. If they are offering too little for someone else's stuff, they're not going to get it.
The best way to improve trading here would be to set time limits on all trades. That will encourage people will be much more focused when they price their items.

I agree. This is a trading site - if you have a trade that is inactive for a month, it should be closed. Likewise trades that are a six months to a year old that list lots of 'C/Os' - sorry, but that is not a trade, it is merely someone showing off their swag.
As for the argument that 'some people just don't reply in their own trades', I would suggest that anyone who doesn't reply/acknowledge/barter/haggle any offers they get simply doesn't have sufficient grasp of the concept of 'trading' to be using a trading site in the first place.

Valve can't even be bothered to shore up their own VAC system against LMAOBOX cheaters, so asking them to tackle endemic phishing is just p***ing in the wind...

Same. It's instant too - the exact second that the trade bumps, there's the friend add.

Originally posted by Lava MCT:

You just publicly admitted you're new, which makes you a prime target to be taken advantage of. Unless you know the person beforehand, you could easily end up getting sharked by someone claiming to help you with prices. I'd recommend quietly looking for someone trustworthy and friendly to newbies, and politely asking them for help privately.

Also, I don't know if I can be especially helpful - I still don't have a decent grasp on prices myself - but here are a few pointers:

• Unusual trading is a lot slower than regular trading, and requires patience. If you're impatient, you'll lose money with every trade you make. If someone tries to rush you, they're probably ripping you off.
  
• You mentioned cash trading. Avoid that until you're comfortable with unusual trading. Not only do you have to worry about prices, but you have to be especially careful not to get scammed. If someone offers you cash, tell them to buy keys with it.
  
• There are no set prices or unified spreadsheets for unusuals. Anyone using backpack.tf or an equivalent to price them is either a newbie or trying to take advantage of you.
  
• Only do unusual trading if you can afford it. Unusuals are expensive, and each one you get is a significant portion of your backpack value that will be hard to liquidate for a long time. Plus, it could end up being a dud, and if you invest everything in one hat you could lose a lot.
  
• High-tier hats with low-tier effects, or low-tier hats with high-tier effects are usually the easiest to sell, as well as themed hats. Avoid Nuts & Bolts, no matter what hat. Low tier hat/effects are usually only popular with other resellers or people looking for their first unusual (who will inevitably end up stuck with it for a long time then asking for unusual advice) but Nuts & Bolts is always hard to sell. Gifted is hard to sell too.
  
• If a hat isn't a high/low tier as described above, try and find a theme; invest in a name/description tag. There may not be a theme, but if there is it may not be obvious, so be creative.
  
• Gifted unusuals are always worth less. Some will refuse to buy them, others will devalue them. Duped unusuals are usually worth a little less, but that depends on the buyer. From what I hear, it's mostly just people who will use it as leverage to lowball you, but you reallyy can use being non-duped as a selling point. There are also some sellers (myself included) who do not buy dupes.
  
• This is one a LOT of people miss. Be polite, friendly approachable, and non-threatening; both in Steam chat and any trades/ads you post. If someone looks like they abandoned their outpost trades, has a bunch of multi-colored CAPS LOCK WARNINGS, talks about other traders (truthfully or not) in an insulting/condenscending way, or otherwise acts impatient or rude, I will skip over their trade or ignore their server chat comments entirely. Even if it's something I'm looking for and they have the only one on the market. If they're rude in chat, I block them and if I ever go to add them at a future date, I see they're blocked and remember to skip over them. A lot of other traders do the same, since it's really the only way to keep your sanity.
  
• Don't be another idiot with a "buying quicksells" trade. You'll only get one if you're lucky, and you'll probably get a bunch of people adding for things that aren't really quicksells anyway. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll get ripped off there anyway. Relevant link. Plus, most people will lump you in with the rude traders mentioned above if you spam "buying quicksells" anywhere. If you want quicksells, get a grasp on the market and look for good deals proactively. Keep a stock of keys/earbuds for just that purpose.

This needs pinning up somewhere as Unusual trading advice for new traders. Very informative and thorough!

I think Outpost is far superior. That credit system over at the other place is ridiculous.
The only suggestion I have to make Outpost better is time limits on the trades (relist after, say, 6 weeks?) There's a lot of 'traders' on here just collecting offers (for a year or more in some cases!) who clearly have no intention of selling or have set ludicrously optimistic prices to begin with. Sorry, but if you list a dozen previous offers, you ain't parting with it, you're just showing off your swag.
Apart from that, Outpost is the biz! It works well and the Mods are quick and fair. Cheers for all your hard work, guys!

Is this guy for real? I honestly don't know how the Mod (and everyone else for that matter) could possibly make it any clearer...

Originally posted by HusKy:

Yes, keys in Korea are cheaper, but they can break while opening a crate and you get nothing.

You, sir, have won teh internet : )