THE QUICK ANSWER
Treat a counteroffer as its own proposal. Valve documents a two-week offer lifetime; the exact expiry is shown at the bottom of a pending offer.
01
A counteroffer starts a new proposal
When you change an incoming offer, Steam sends a new trade offer back to the other user. That user still has to decide whether to accept it. “I sent a counteroffer” and “the exchange completed” describe different events.
Make a short comparison before continuing: what did the first offer request, what did the counteroffer change, and who is now being asked to respond? This is especially useful if a website supplied a fixed item list. A counteroffer might no longer match that website’s request.
Follow the proposal that needs a response
Incoming offer A
The other user proposes the exchange.
You counter with B
Steam sends a new proposal back.
Other user reviews B
B still needs a separate acceptance decision.
Original explanation of offer direction; letters are fictional references.
Original explanation · not an account screenshot02
Use the incoming offer’s response controls
Valve documents the route Inventory → Trade Offers → Incoming Offers → Respond to Offer → Change Offer. You can then adjust the items, review the resulting contents and send the counteroffer if that is the exchange you intend.
Keep the original and new references together. Review every item on both sides, including quantities and attributes; a price promise in the message is not an item in the exchange. The existing offer-review guide covers the final recipient and confirmation check.
| Original incoming offer | A proposal from the other user. |
|---|---|
| Change Offer / counteroffer | Your new proposal, with the resulting item lists. |
| Acceptance | A later decision on the actual offer being accepted. |
03
Check the displayed expiration
Steam’s public FAQ says offers automatically expire after two weeks and shows the expiration date at the bottom of a pending offer. Read that date on the actual offer. A third-party service may impose a shorter response deadline for its own order, so preserve that deadline separately.
An expired offer cannot be treated as a completed delivery. Find its history entry and compare any later replacement rather than repeatedly confirming an old notification. An inactive offer can also result from an item becoming unavailable, so expiration is not the only reason an offer ends.
Keep two deadlines in two fields
Steam offer expiry
Read the date on the pending Steam offer.
Website order deadline
Read the operator’s own request terms.
Replacement reference
Link the new proposal to the ended one.
A record-keeping comparison; it does not claim any operator’s deadline.
Original explanation · not an account screenshot04
If a replacement is needed, reconnect the records
Write down the old state before discussing a replacement: “Offer A expired; replacement B is now pending.” Check which reference the website or trading partner expects. This prevents a new offer from being mistaken for the original one.
Cancelling a pending offer you sent, cancelling an accepted held trade, and reversing protected CS2 trades are separate actions. Use the related guides for those states. Do not assume the counteroffer control can undo an already completed exchange.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE
Quick checklist
- Record the original and counteroffer separately.
- Compare both full item lists.
- Read the pending offer’s own expiry.
- Keep a website deadline separate from Steam’s offer lifetime.
Official sources
Public Valve documentation reviewed on 26 October 2026 (America/Toronto).
- Steam Support — Steam Trade Offers · reviewed
- Steam Support — Recommended Trading Practices · reviewed
The public FAQ was read from the complete embedded data-faqstore article in Steam Support HTML. Procedures are documented guidance; no account sign-in, client operation, security change or transaction was performed. Examples and decision aids are original editorial explanations.
