P2P trading, short for peer-to-peer, means the item never passes through the marketplace's own inventory. When a buyer purchases your listing, the site tells you to send a trade offer to the buyer, or the buyer sends one to you. You accept it in Steam. The site holds the buyer's money in escrow and releases it to you once Steam confirms the trade went through.
This is different from bot trading, where you deposit the skin into a site-owned bot account first and the site sells it from there. P2P sites let you keep using and inspecting your skins until the moment they sell.
How does P2P trading work on a marketplace?
You list the item with a price and paste your trade URL into your account settings. A buyer pays the site. The site notifies you, often with a short time limit, and gives you the buyer's trade details. You send or accept the trade offer, confirm it on your phone, and the site pays you after the trade completes.
Because a real person has to act, P2P sales can fail if the seller does not respond in time. Most sites cancel the sale and refund the buyer in that case, and some penalize sellers who miss too many trades. Check each site's rules before you list.
What does CS2 trade protection mean for P2P trading?
Every item received in a P2P trade is Trade Protected for 7 days, and the seller can reverse the trade in that window. Sites that use P2P trades usually hold the seller's payout until the 7 days pass, so a reversal returns the money to the buyer. That makes payouts slower than before 2025 but keeps the buyer safe.
The risk is P2P trading without a marketplace at all, such as paying a stranger by bank transfer or crypto and receiving a trade offer. The seller can reverse for a week after you paid. If you trade this way, you are relying on trust alone. Compare fee models and payout timing at /marketplaces/fees/ and read the selling guide before choosing a method.