Why is everybody trading TF or something keys?

because of scam chance. With keys you can trade on the same time.

Metal Gear was never $10, lol. It was $15 at it's lowest price on Steam plus it's region locked, which means 8 keys for it when it's not on sale is a reasonable price since traders have to profit as well.

It's a convenient form of currency. The prices don't change very often and can be bought by anyone, no region lock, even people who don't play the game.
And I'm not in USA but MGR must have been more than $10, maybe $15?
But yeah, they want more keys but they're trying to make a profit out of this. There's not really any point of them trading if they're not going to make any money from it.

When the market does not provide a suitable currency for people to use, people will find an alternative currency. Why they chose TF2 keys out of what options they had, I don't know. But, as to why the price, TF2 keys have a value in Steambucks, and they have a value in real world money. Their value in real world money is lower than their Steambucks value, and their real world value currently amounts to $1.25 to $1.50.

I can tell you that during steam summer sale I was able to get Skyrim Legendary Edition for 4 tf2 keys. Skyrim LE price has never been that low - trading tf2 keys for games is an amazing way to get a tremendous value. Make sure you deal with reputable traders and you can get great deals in the trade market.

TF2 keys are a store of value.

Been wondering about this a bit myself. The keys don't drop in game, you have to actually buy them right? So why spend money on keys to trade for a game instead of just buying the game, do people trade games that are worth that much more than the keys cost or am I missing something?

keys can be a deal but it all depends on the offer

but i will not support someone trying to get more key value out of a game i can purchase at retail

trading is not always about making profit just to reply to the one who said trading is all about profit

trading is meant to trade something you do not have to get what you want that does not mean it has to be profit,it could be an even trade which is how most trades are meant to be

it is just greed is why people want to make a profit on everything,this damn world is worried about how much money they can make but asking say 10-12 keys that average about 2.50 or so U.S for like a 29.99 game is not really a deal if it is closer to the 12 mark it still a bit cheap then retail but i consider it a deal with it is around 30-50% or more cheaper other wise i might well wait for a sale on the game as there are several sites that have sales all the time

that is about as bad as walmart clearance i seen one time they said clearance it was a 20.00 item and it was marked down 2 dollar that is a sale not a clearance

anyhow imo keys should hold very little value as it does no good for the market but Valve will never do that as they get a cut of the sales along with those damn trading cards i bet they made a ton of money with that stupid steam summer sale as everyone scrambled to buy them just to complete a set

but in any case that that is just how i see how i am sure plenty of people like it use it and enjoy and as long as they are making money they will leave it in place

easier and safer than trading paypal

'cause Currency.

If you don't play Team fortress 2 don't trade with the currency, youll only confuse yourself.

whenever i go into a shop, those bastards insist on only taking this thing called money... i don't have any, why wont they take apples and lemons from the tree's in my back yard??

This is why people want keys: It's convenient.

If I have a list of games and you have a list of games and one of us wants 1 from the other, but the other can't find something to trade for it, you can take a TF2 key (or keys) for it. This allows both parties to get what they want. Say I got a key from you in trade, I can take that key and sell it on the marketplace (and they sell within seconds) or use it to trade for a game that I want from someone else. It simplifies trading this way.

You also chose a terrible example game and have wrong info to boot. Metal Gear's lowest price on Steam was $14.99 over summer sale, and most importantly to this discussion, it's region locked. Region locked games almost always have a higher price because there's a limited amount of people who can actually get it. The market is limited for these games. The US/EU and UK stores almost always have the higher prices b/c of our national currencies. Sometimes, it's not cheaper to get from a trader. Region locked games tend to be those. If the game is region free (and more are than not) you can find it from a trader in another country and get it VERY cheap. Case in point: last weekend Dynasty Warriors 8 was a weekend deal for $24.99. It's region free. I got it from a Russian trader for 6.5 keys. That's $16 out of my Steam wallet if I bought keys and a TOD ticket (the .5) to get that game. The savings add up very quickly.

You don't completely understand how TF2 keys work and thats alright. We are all noobs at one point. Case in point: 8 keys at 2.50 each. Yes, this is true, right now keys are in the upper 2.45-2.50 range, but they aren't worth that to anyone trading for them and they aren't always this price. If I sell a key on Steam for 2.50, I only get $2.19 for it b/c Valve have to get their fees. For a trader who only wants keys trades, they might value it even less b/c they may sell them in bulk at even lower rates for Paypal money. You can easily find reputable key sellers who will have keys available for $1.75 - $1.90, which can get you games even cheaper than my example above. They're never worth what you pay for them directly off the market.

This currency system is wonderful for saving money. It makes trading a breeze. You don't have to hunt for that one perfect fit where there's a perfect match. Learn about it, espc if you buy and play a lot of games regularly. It's worth it.

The simple answer is that while we all call it trading, what you're describing is just reselling games for a virtual currency. Like others mentioned, the seller makes a profit by exploiting regional price differences. I'm not criticizing that, just giving the baby a name.