Before you automatically downvote this, please take a moment to read what I have to say about the rise in keys.

I started playing TF2 April last year, and I know for a fact that most of you have been playing longer than that. I saw Mann Co. Crates and Keys for the first time, I unboxed a few 42s, and learned how to trade with the items I had. I almost NEVER used metal or keys, and I got what I wanted by swapping items with other players, just as during the very dawn of trading. Keys used to be just for unboxing crates; their original purpose. They were easy to obtain, and going big on unboxing was fun, and sometimes rewarding. But now, a very high amount of keys are just boosters for backpack value.

This is the typical reaction of backpack.tf participants that see a price suggestion for keys to raise a tad: "Keys may get voted upwards again, lemme go ahead and upvote this so that a few items in my backpack can inflate a scrap." It's greed. Pure greed, and nothing else, and it's screwing with mechanics in the game.

1. New Players cannot obtain items that they wish to own: Because keys are so expensive, the prices of items in metals are raising as well. Buyers that buy low ticket items, mainly the new players, cannot buy YOUR low ticket items. And obviously, there are more inexpensive items than keys in the game, so why do most insist on raising keys nearly every week? Also, this deters the new players which slows the growth of the TF2 Community.

2. Trading USED to be swapping: Like I said before, the main purpose of the key is to unbox crates (and buy larger ticket items, like unusuals). The introduction of major currency in TF2 completely blasted the old process of trading. People used to just trade items. That's it. And to be quite honest, It made trades a lot easier to carry out: faster, more reliable, and more fun. Keys raising for greed is NOT fun, except for the percentage of TF2 players that suggest prices on this site.

3. Screwing with bud prices: Keys raising=lower bud prices. This increases the amount of buds required to get Unusuals, thus making it more difficult to barter for unusuals because people are CONSTANTLY wanting the exact price.

Final Reason, it's killing the economy: As with the U.S.'s economy, inflation is NOT GOOD. Keys have doubled in only 1 year. If things keep going like this, NO ONE except for the few that are exceptionally rich will be able to buy keys, and it will screw everyone else over. It needs to stop now before we no longer can enjoy the process of trading.

The people that use this site should not be able to dictate the Key's worth, because they are not the main population of TF2 and it's community. No one has elected them, and people that wish to raise their backpacks by making it hard for others to obtain that item is not fair. The Key needs to be constant. It was constant for a long while, and it made it tons easier to trade, and if that's what most people that use this site want is more value in their backpacks, by all means, upvote this so the larger portion of the TF2 traders can have more efficient trading to.

Lastly, do not come to me saying "If you support the lowering of keys, can I buy yours for 3 ref?", because I don't sell keys. I actually unbox.