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I also got really curious about why different skins have different prices, where those prices come from, who decides that one skin is normal and another is super rare. From everything I have been able to find and read, there are platforms and markets like the Steam Market for cs go or specialized Rust sites like https://rustskins.com/sell, where people set their own prices and others buy them. The economy is almost entirely player-driven, but developers also have influence: they decide which skins to release, how often, whether to make limited series, loot boxes with drop chances, etc. This creates artificial scarcity and drives high prices for rare items.