How P2P Marketplaces Can Handle Steam’s New Trade Protected Items

Steam’s recent Trade Protection Update has created major challenges for all P2P skin marketplaces and deposit services. As we reported in our previous blog, the new system allows users to reverse trades from the last 7 days — a great move for security, but a serious risk for P2P platforms.

The Current Challenge

With Steam’s new feature, any Counter-Strike trade made in the past 7 days can be reversed. For P2P marketplaces, this raises multiple problems:

• Sellers could withdraw the money, then reverse the trade
• Buyers could lose items they legitimately purchased
• Marketplaces risk legal complications by holding funds without clear policies

The Solution: Hold Seller Funds for 7 Days

The most logical way to deal with this is to temporarily hold the seller’s funds for 7 days.

Why?

• If the trade is reversed during this period, the buyer gets a refund.
• If the trade remains valid after 7 days, the seller receives their payout.

This model protects both parties and helps marketplaces manage the risk.

How to Check If a Trade Was Reversed?

Steam does not provide trade reversal data directly via public APIs, so marketplaces need a workaround.

Use SteamAuth for Trade History Access

Our SteamAuth App allows you to securely request a user’s Trade History to check:

• Was the trade completed?
• Was the trade reversed?
• Are the items still in the buyer’s inventory?

Example Trade Reversal Data

{
  "participantusername": "Glitch",
  "participanturl": "https://steamcommunity.com/id/-Glitch3",
  "tradereturned": {
    "tradeReversed": true,
    "reversalReason": "returned to previous owners",
    "status": "info"
  },
  "items": {
    "received": [
      {
        "markethashname": "Tec-9 | Blue Blast (Field-Tested)"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Recommended Workflow for Marketplaces

1. Freeze the seller’s funds for 7 days after the P2P trade.
2. Add a "Request Payout" button to your dashboard.
   After 7 days, the seller clicks this button to request their payout.
3. When the button is clicked, trigger this SteamAuth Event:

const getTradeHistory = () => {
  document.dispatchEvent(
    new CustomEvent('steamauth-runtime', {
      detail: {
        event: 'tradehistory',
        webhook: 'https://your-webhook-url.com',
        ident: 'custom-ident-or-userid',
        host: 'your-host.com'
      }
    })
  )
}

1. SteamAuth will send the Trade History data securely to your server via webhook.
   This process is server-to-server and cannot be manipulated by the user.
2. Check if the trade was reversed:
   • If yes: Refund the buyer.
   • If no: Release the seller’s funds.

SteamAuth Setup & Documentation

Full SteamAuth documentation is available here:
 👉 https://www.steamauth.app/documentation

Important:

For SteamAuth setup, host configuration, and API access, you need to contact us directly.
We’ll help you integrate everything properly and securely.

This escrow-like model will likely become the new standard for all P2P skin marketplaces dealing with Counter-Strike items.

The Trade Protected Items update is a big shift, but with the right tools and workflows, marketplaces can adapt.

Need help?
Join our Discord or message our team—we’ll support you with the integration.