Virtual Items and Economy Policy

1. Scope and Definitions

This Policy applies to all users of the Service and governs every aspect of the in-game economy. Where this Policy conflicts with a specific term in the Terms of Service, the Terms of Service prevail unless the conflicting term concerns virtual items or the virtual economy, in which case this Policy prevails.

• "Virtual Balance" means the simulated, in-game numeric balance shown in your account, expressed only as an in-game figure and having no real-world monetary value.
• "Virtual Item" means any simulated skin, knife, glove, case, capsule, crate, sticker, container, cosmetic, lifestyle collectible, or other digital object that exists only within the Service.
• "Virtual Economy" means the collection of simulated prices, drop rates, rewards, markets, and mechanics that govern how Virtual Balance and Virtual Items behave inside the Service.
• "Account" means your registered user profile on the Service.
• "Real Steam Item" means an actual in-game item that exists within Valve Corporation's Steam or Counter-Strike platforms; no Real Steam Item is ever provided, transferred, or redeemable through the Service.

2. Nature of the Virtual Economy

The Service is a virtual trading simulator intended for entertainment. The entire economy is simulated and self-contained. All prices, values, drop rates, and outcomes are generated internally by the Service and do not reflect, track, or represent the real-world market price of any real item.

No purchase of Virtual Balance or Virtual Items with real money is required to use the core Service, and Virtual Balance and Virtual Items can never be withdrawn, cashed out, redeemed for real money, or exchanged for real items. Where any optional real-money purchase mechanism exists, it is processed only through [PAYMENT PROVIDERS] and is described separately in the Terms of Service; any such purchase grants only additional Virtual Balance, virtual content, or an in-game benefit, and never confers real-world ownership, tradeable value, or a right to cash out.

The only real-money transactions on the Service are payments for paid products processed by Stripe: the VIP membership, which is a recurring monthly auto-renewing subscription, and the XP Boost, which is a one-time purchase. These paid products are purchases of an in-game entitlement or benefit only. A VIP membership grants time-based VIP status (for example, an ad-free experience, a VIP badge, and access to certain VIP-only reward claims). An XP Boost grants a time-limited experience-point multiplier that scales in-game progression while active. Neither product is a purchase of Virtual Balance, Virtual Items, or any tradeable, transferable, or cashable value; buying either grants no Virtual Item, no Real Steam Item, no ownership, and no right to withdraw or cash out anything.

Any Virtual Balance granted by in-game promotional mechanics is fictional in-game balance only. In particular, cashback rewards (a rank-based percentage of your fictional in-game spend credited back to your account) and promo-code redemptions credit only Virtual Balance for use inside the Service. They are not a refund of real money, are not payable in cash, and carry no real-world monetary value.

• The Virtual Economy is a closed system. Value created inside it stays inside it.
• Simulated prices are illustrative only and are not investment, appraisal, or market data.
• Nothing in the Virtual Economy can be converted into legal tender, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or any other real-world instrument of value.
• Real-money paid products (the VIP subscription and the XP Boost) buy an in-game benefit or multiplier only; they do not buy Virtual Balance, Virtual Items, or any tradeable or cashable value.
• Cashback and promo-code grants add fictional Virtual Balance only and are never a cash refund or a payout of real-world value.

3. How Virtual Balance Works

Your Virtual Balance is a simulated in-game figure used to interact with features such as buying listings, opening cases, entering battles, or acquiring cosmetics. It is not money, is not held on deposit, is not a stored-value instrument, and cannot be withdrawn.

New accounts and certain in-game events may grant Virtual Balance automatically. The amount, timing, and rules of any such grant are set by us and may change at any time.

• Virtual Balance has NO real-world monetary value and is not redeemable for cash.
• Virtual Balance cannot be transferred out of the Service, sold, or exchanged for real money or real items.
• Virtual Balance may be earned, spent, adjusted, granted, or reset entirely within the Service according to its rules.
• We do not pay interest on Virtual Balance and we owe you no real-world sum in respect of it.

4. Virtual Items

Virtual Items are simulated digital objects that exist only as data within the Service. Their names, images, and descriptions may reference real-world franchises for descriptive purposes, but each Virtual Item is an internal simulation created and priced by the Service and is not a Real Steam Item.

Acquiring a Virtual Item, whether by opening a case, winning a battle, completing a trade-up, receiving a reward, or otherwise, grants you only the limited right described in Section 5. It does not grant you title, ownership, or any real-world property interest.

• Virtual Items have NO real-world monetary value.
• Virtual Items are NOT Real Steam Items and can NEVER be exported, delivered, or redeemed as Real Steam Items.
• Any float, wear, pattern, StatTrak, souvenir, or rarity attribute of a Virtual Item is a simulated property with no real-world equivalent or value.

5. Limited Licence, Not Ownership

You do not own Virtual Balance or Virtual Items. Instead, subject to your continued compliance with our Terms of Service and this Policy, we grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable (except through in-game features we expressly provide), non-sublicensable licence to access and use Virtual Balance and Virtual Items solely within the Service and solely for personal, non-commercial entertainment.

All right, title, and interest in and to the Service, the Virtual Economy, Virtual Balance, and Virtual Items, including all underlying data and records, remain with us or our licensors at all times. Nothing in this Policy transfers to you any ownership, intellectual property, or other real-world property right.

• You receive a limited licensed right of USE, not ownership.
• The licence is revocable and may end when your account ends, when a feature is discontinued, or as otherwise permitted under this Policy or the Terms of Service.
• You may not use Virtual Balance or Virtual Items outside the Service or in any way we have not expressly authorised.

6. No Financial Ownership or Real-World Value

Virtual Balance and Virtual Items are not financial products, securities, e-money, deposits, or property, and they confer no financial rights. They are not an asset you own, and they carry no guaranteed, redeemable, or transferable real-world value at any time.

• There is NO real-world monetary value in any Virtual Balance or Virtual Item.
• There is NO cashout, withdrawal, or conversion to real money.
• There is NO payout of real items and NO payout of Real Steam Items, ever.
• You have no legal claim against us for any real-world sum based on the quantity, rarity, or simulated price of anything within the Service.

7. No Cash Refunds

Because Virtual Balance and Virtual Items have no real-world monetary value and are consumed or used inside a closed simulation, we do not provide cash refunds for their acquisition, use, loss, adjustment, or removal within the Service.

Where any optional real-money purchase feature exists, refunds for that purchase (if any) are governed solely by the Terms of Service, applicable consumer-protection law, and the rules of [PAYMENT PROVIDERS]; nothing in this Section creates a refund right that those documents and laws do not already provide.

• In-game acquisitions and spends are final within the Service and are not cash-refundable.
• Consuming, quick-selling, listing, trading, or gambling a Virtual Item within the Service is a simulated action and does not create any cash-refund entitlement.
• Statutory rights that cannot be excluded under [GOVERNING LAW] are not affected by this Section.

8. No Real Item or Steam Payouts

The Service will never deliver a real item, a physical good, or a Real Steam Item as a result of any activity within it. Winning, unboxing, upgrading, or otherwise obtaining a Virtual Item is a purely simulated outcome.

• No feature of the Service pays out, ships, or transfers any Real Steam Item to you or any third party.
• The Service does not connect to, deposit into, or withdraw from any Steam account or Steam inventory.
• Any resemblance between a Virtual Item and a Real Steam Item is descriptive only and does not entitle you to the real item.

9. No Guaranteed Value; Prices May Change

The simulated price or value of any Virtual Balance or Virtual Item is not guaranteed and may rise, fall, or reach zero at any time. Simulated prices are generated by internal mechanics, including a periodic market simulation, and are designed for entertainment rather than accuracy.

• We make NO representation or warranty that any Virtual Item will retain, increase, or reach any particular simulated value.
• Simulated market movements, drop rates, and reward pools may change without notice.
• You should not treat any Virtual Balance or Virtual Item as an investment or a store of value.

10. Administration of the Virtual Economy

To keep the simulation fair, functional, and enjoyable, we may manage and adjust the Virtual Economy at our discretion and at any time. The Service is backend-authoritative: all outcomes, odds, prices, drops, and rewards are decided on our servers, and the record kept on our servers is definitive.

• We may adjust simulated prices, drop rates, odds, reward pools, grant amounts, and other economy parameters.
• We may add, change, rebalance, suspend, or retire economy features, currencies, seasons, or item pools.
• We may correct our internal records where they are inconsistent, corrupted, or affected by error.
• We may credit, debit, adjust, or reset Virtual Balance and Virtual Items where reasonably necessary to operate the Service or enforce our terms.

11. Erroneous Transactions and Corrections

Errors can occur, including software bugs, pricing mistakes, duplicated records, mis-configured rewards, or display glitches. Where a transaction, grant, drop, or balance change results from such an error, we may reverse, cancel, or correct it.

• We may reverse or adjust any Virtual Balance change or Virtual Item that resulted from a bug, mispricing, or other error.
• We may reclaim Virtual Items or Virtual Balance that were granted in error, including onward transfers of those items where practicable.
• A simulated price or reward shown in error does not entitle you to receive that price or reward.
• We will act reasonably and, where feasible, aim to restore accounts to the position they would have occupied absent the error.

12. Exploits, Cheating, and Abuse

You must not exploit bugs, use automation, manipulate the economy, abuse promotions, collude, or otherwise obtain Virtual Balance or Virtual Items by means the Service does not intend. Doing so undermines the simulation for everyone.

• Virtual Balance or Virtual Items obtained through exploits, bugs, cheating, automation, or abuse may be removed or reversed without compensation.
• We may take further action for such conduct, including warnings, feature restrictions, balance resets, suspension, or termination of your account under the Terms of Service.
• Attempting to convert, sell, or trade Virtual Balance or Virtual Items for real-world value is prohibited (see Section 14).

13. Changes to Features and Item Availability

The Service evolves over time. Features may be added, changed, paused, deprecated, or removed. Virtual Items tied to a feature that becomes inactive, seasonal, or discontinued may be affected.

• Virtual Items associated with inactive, seasonal, limited-time, or discontinued features may be modified, converted, disabled, or removed.
• We may retire or replace item pools, seasons, crates, or reward tracks, and we may migrate affected Virtual Items to a comparable form or remove them.
• We are not obligated to keep any particular feature, item, season, or reward available indefinitely.
• Because Virtual Items have no real-world monetary value, no compensation is owed for such changes, subject to any non-excludable rights under [GOVERNING LAW].

14. No Real-World Trading; No Account Sales

The Virtual Economy is closed and is for in-game use only. You may not attempt to give Virtual Balance or Virtual Items real-world value by dealing in them outside the Service, and you may not commercialise your account.

• You may NOT sell, buy, rent, lease, or transfer your account for real money or any other real-world consideration.
• You may NOT sell, buy, or exchange Virtual Balance or Virtual Items for real money, cryptocurrency, real items, or Real Steam Items, whether on or off the Service.
• You may NOT use third-party marketplaces, brokers, or arrangements to assign real-world value to anything within the Service.
• In-game trading, gifting, and market features are permitted only within the Service and only as we provide them; any value exchanged is virtual only.
• Violation of this Section may result in reversal of transfers, removal of Virtual Items or Virtual Balance, and suspension or termination of the accounts involved.

15. Account Closure, Suspension, and Termination

If your account is closed, suspended, or terminated, whether by you or by us, your licence to access and use Virtual Balance and Virtual Items ends. Because these have no real-world monetary value, you are not entitled to any cash settlement or real-item payout on closure.

• On termination, Virtual Balance and Virtual Items may be forfeited and are not cash-redeemable.
• We may retain internal records of your economy activity for the period set out in our Privacy Policy, currently [DATA RETENTION PERIOD], for audit, fraud-prevention, and legal-compliance purposes.
• Non-excludable statutory rights under [GOVERNING LAW] are unaffected by this Section.

16. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

The Virtual Economy is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis for entertainment. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties regarding the availability, accuracy, or continuity of any simulated price, drop rate, reward, or Virtual Item.

To the fullest extent permitted by [GOVERNING LAW], we are not liable for any loss of Virtual Balance, Virtual Items, simulated value, or in-game progress, given that none of these carry real-world monetary value. Nothing in this Policy limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

17. Relationship to Valve, Steam, and Third Parties

The Service is an independent, fan-made project. It is NOT affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or connected to Valve Corporation, Steam, or the Counter-Strike franchise in any way.

• Counter-Strike, CS2, Steam, and all related names, logos, marks, and imagery belong to their respective owners.
• Catalog names and images referenced within the Service are used for non-commercial, descriptive, fan purposes only.
• The Service does not interact with, read from, or write to any Steam account or Steam inventory.

18. Changes to This Policy; Contact

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the version and effective date and, where required, provide notice through the Service. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

Questions about this Policy or the Virtual Economy can be sent to hello@skinfactory.gg.