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The Steam Trading Cards Beta currently states:

What about free to play games like Team Fortress 2 or Dota 2?

Free to play games drop game cards based on your in-game purchasing. For every $9 USD spent (approximate) since the start of the Steam Trading Card Beta, you will earn one card drop. This card will drop at some point as you play. If you have made in-game purchases in Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 prior to the Steam Trading Card Beta, or if you owned Team Fortress 2 prior to the Free to Play update, you will have 4 or 5 additional card drops available.

While it only mentions in-game purchases, will buying items from the Mann Co. Online Store count as an "in-game" purchase? I more often use the the Mann Co. Online Store when buying things; I can easily switch tabs to the Wiki and see each item's detail, and that helps me when buying any item.

Essentially, if I purchased $9.00 USD of items from the Mann Co. Online Store, will I get a trading card, or must all purchases be completed via the in-game store?

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  • And if you insist I should test this out, if I buy $9.00 USD from the Online Store, and I don't get a Trading Card, I consider it a waste of money, because if I had bought the same items through the in-game store, I would be guaranteed a card.
    – childe
    Jun 5, 2013 at 1:36
  • It really depends. Is $9 worth a trading card to you?
    – user47129
    Jun 5, 2013 at 1:45
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    I have to ask the obvious, but if you consider spending $9 on items from the TF2 store and getting a trading card an acceptable price, why don't you just buy the trading cards from the Steam Market for what is probably cheaper than this? That being said, I suspect that the purchases must be in game, as that is what the FAQ states.
    – kalina
    Jun 5, 2013 at 1:58
  • It's the fact that I still buy some things on the Mann Co. Store, namely stuff on sale (aka BP Expanders). Sometimes, there'll be a paint sale or something that'll make buying stuff in the store rather than the market actually worth it (otherwise, not really).
    – childe
    Jun 5, 2013 at 2:00
  • Well, I still suspect that the FAQ is being specific for a reason, but by all means test it and let us know what you find :P
    – kalina
    Jun 5, 2013 at 2:03

1 Answer 1

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Yes,I bought an item for Dota 2 online rather than in-game shop and my progress towards the card increased,don't see why it would be different for TF2.

When you buy items online the system asks you to log-in with your steam account to finish purchase;in-game store is essentially just a simple game web browser to display the original online store(Why?It is easier to maintain one store than 2).So in the end whether you buy something online or in-game it goes thru the same account and the same system.

Also the system is retroactive,meaning all things you bought before trading cards will be counted as you bought them now.So the system will checks your receits and they are the same for both stores.

If you want to check for yourself you don't have to spent 9$,you can purchase the cheapest item you find and then check if you "progress towards next card" has increased.

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