A Steam trade offer is the standard way items move between two Steam accounts. One person builds the offer by picking items from their own inventory and from the other person's inventory, then sends it. The other person sees the exact items on both sides and can accept, decline or counter. Nothing moves until it is accepted and confirmed.
Trade offers can be sent to friends, or to anyone whose trade URL you have. Marketplaces and trading bots use trade offers too. When you sell on a peer-to-peer site, the buyer or a bot sends you an offer for the item and you accept it in Steam.
How do I check a trade offer is safe?
Read the offer inside Steam itself, not in a screenshot or a chat message. Check every item on your side and make sure you are not giving more than you agreed. Then check the items you receive. Open each one and confirm the exact name, wear, float and stickers, because a scammer can swap a clean skin for a scratched copy with the same name.
Look at who sent the offer. A bot from a marketplace should match the account name and Steam level the site shows you. If you sent an offer and it was cancelled, and a second identical offer appeared from a different account, stop. That pattern is the sign of an API key scam.
Confirm the offer on your phone through the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator. The confirmation screen shows the items again, so read it one more time before you tap.
Why was my trade offer put on hold or cancelled?
An offer is held for up to 15 days if either account has not had the Mobile Authenticator active for 7 days. An offer fails if an item is Trade Protected, if it is still inside the 7-day window from a previous trade, or if either account has a trade ban or a recent reversal lock. Steam also cancels offers that stay unaccepted for a set period.
After an offer completes, the items you received become Trade Protected for 7 days, and the person who sent them can reverse the trade during that time. Read the trade protection and reversals guide before you pay for anything by direct trade.