Money from sales arrives on your hold balance. You can buy CS2 skins with it right away, and withdraw it after 8 days.
- You sold an item. The amount landed on the hold balance.
- You spend it here. When your main balance runs out, Hold pays the rest. It buys CS2 skins with instant delivery, and while you shop with it the catalogue shows only what it can pay for.
- After 8 days you withdraw. If neither side cancelled the trade, the money moves to your main balance; this time may differ by an hour or two depending on when the trade was accepted.
Why the wait at all
A sold skin stays under Steam's trade protection for several days, and during that time the deal can technically be reversed. If the money left right away, the buyer would be the one paying for it. The 8-day hold closes that window.
Money arrives here both from instant sales and from ordinary ones.
When the money has to go back to the buyer, the purchases made with it are cancelled too — the balance is restored.
It has no shelf life and no extra fee. The only differences from the main balance: you can't withdraw it straight away, and you spend it on CS2 skins.
You can see it in your wallet next to the main balance — the same place shows which part becomes available and when.
What to do if a trade was reversed after all is in the article on safety.
Selected sellers can withdraw hold funds early. More in the article on early cashout.