What is a Steam trade lock?

The Steam trade lock is a feature implemented by Valve on March 29th, 2018. This feature serves as a protective measure by preventing items from being traded for a period of 8 days after they have been initially traded.

The primary purpose of introducing the trade lock was to diminish instances of fraud and scams on the Steam platform. By imposing this waiting period, users are provided with an extended window of time to review and confirm the legitimacy of their trades, thereby reducing the risk of fraudulent activities.

During the 8-day trade lock period, items involved in a trade cannot be traded again. Additionally, Steam has introduced a further cooldown period after items are traded. This means that, for a short time, the items may not be visible to other Steam users—including our bots. Even if an item appears as tradable in your Steam inventory, it may still remain hidden temporarily, preventing you from trading it immediately.

Updated on: 20/08/2025