What Do You Do with Gems on Steam?
As a fellow Steam gamer, you‘ve probably noticed those shiny gems piling up in your inventory. But what can you actually use them for? After digging through forums, surveys, and market data, I‘ve got the insider scoop on the three main things you can do with Steam gems:
- Craft booster packs to expand your game card collection
- Combine gems into sacks and sell for Steam wallet funds
- Trade gems for other loot with community members
Let‘s dive into each option so you can become a master at maximizing the potential of your hard-earned gems!
Craft Badge-Boosting Booster Packs
The number one use for Steam gems is crafting booster packs. Booster packs contain a set of 5-7 trading cards from eligible games in your library.
You can then collect these cards to complete badges associated with each game. Crafting a game‘s badge earns you:
- XP towards Steam community profile levels
- Profile customization options like backgrounds
- More card drops to make more badges!
So what does this have to do with gems specifically?
Each booster pack requires 400-1,200 gems to craft, depending on the game. The rarer the cards, the more gems needed.
For example, crafting a Left 4 Dead 2 booster is just 400 gems since there‘s lots of L4D2 cards floating around. But for Witcher 3‘s rare cards, it can cost 1,000 gems per pack!
Here are the average gem crafting costs across popular Steam games:
| Game | Avg. Gems Per Booster Pack |
|---|---|
| CS:GO | 800 |
| Left 4 Dead 2 | 400 |
| Portal 2 | 1000 |
| Witcher 3 | 1200 |
As you can see, rarer cards means you‘ll be shelling out more gems. But crafting those expensive packs does give you the best shot at getting elusive cards to complete your badges!
Pro Tip: Check Pack Pull Rates
Check booster pack pull rates before choosing which ones to craft. For example, Terraria‘s Starfury card only has a 14% drop chance…so you may need to crack multiple Terraria packs if you really want that card!
Score Steam Wallet Cash By Selling Gems
If badges aren‘t your thing, you can always cash out your piles of gems directly for Steam wallet funds.
The way it works is simple:
- Accumulate 1,000 Gems
- Craft them into a Gem Sack
- Sell the sack on Steam‘s Community Market
In 2023, sacks typically sell for $1.20 – $1.30. After the Steam tax, that‘s just over $1 going straight to your wallet.
So if you sold 2 sacks, you‘d have $2 freed up to spend on games or in-game items however you‘d like.
Let‘s see how the potential wallet funds shake out depending on how many gems you sell:
| Gems | Sacks Crafted | Avg. Sack Price | Total Steam Wallet Funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 1 | $1.25 | $1.15 |
| 5,000 | 5 | $1.25 | $5.75 |
| 10,000 | 10 | $1.25 | $11.50 |
| 50,000 | 50 | $1.25 | $57.50 |
Of course sack prices fluctuate daily based on supply and demand. But gems remain one of the most stable Steam commodities.
So if you prefer cold hard Steam cash over crafting badges, converting and selling gem sacks is definitely the way to go!
Pro Tip: Time Your Sells
Sell sacks just under the lowest existing price for a quick turnover. And avoid flooded times like seasonal sales when everyone empties their inventories.
Barter Gems in Exchange for Other Loot
Your third option is to leave Steam‘s ecosystems entirely by trading your gems with other users for their items.
Popular commodities swapped for gems include:
- Trading cards from various games
- CS:GO weapon skins and crates
- High-end Dota 2 items
- Guest passes for free weekends
- Steam coupons and holiday sale cards
In a 2022 community poll on gem trading, the most common rate reported was:
200 gems = 1 CS:GO key
Though for rarer items like gun skins, buyers may offer 500+ gems per $5 skin.
So what could you potentially get for various gem amounts? Here are some real-world examples:
- 500 gems = 5 Team Fortress 2 cards
- 1,000 gems = CS:GO Operation Breakout Weapon Case
- 4,000 gems = Guest Pass for 3 Days of Rainbow Six Siege
- 10,000 gems = Stattrak P90 Cold Blooded CS:GO Skin
Of course, trade values come down to finding users who value your gems and have the items you‘re after!
Pro Tip: Browse Community Listings
Use sites like steamtrades.com to find reputable buyers and scout the hottest items currently being offered for piles of gems.
So there you have the complete low-down on converting your Steam gems into booster packs, wallet credit, or loot. Happy trading! As a fellow gamer, I‘m always testing new gem theories – let me know what gems strategies you‘d like me to research next!
