Network Ten star Melanie Bracewell made a heart-stopping discovery about her partner Shaun McCullough’s finances which led to the pair losing out on thousands.
The New Zealand comedian, 28, took to TikTok recently to reveal her boyfriend had some bad luck re-selling valuable virtual ‘stickers’ for the online multiplayer game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
Shaun discovered an in-game item he previously bought and sold for US$12 (AU$18) was now worth US$42,832 (AU$64,668) on the online marketplace.
If Shaun had held onto the downloadable content, he and Melanie would have been sitting on a sizeable chunk of a house or apartment deposit.
Melanie, who co-hosts the comedy show The Cheap Seats, explained: ‘My boyfriend is going through his CS:GO collection of things that he’s sold and stickers he’s customised his gun with and seeing how much they’re worth now.’
Barely able to contain her laughter, she turned the camera to her boyfriend, who was at his computer looking at his CS:GO profile, and asked him to explain what had happened.
Shaun went on to tell viewers that ‘back in the day’ he bought a ‘nice little’ AK-47 skin for his in-game gun, as well as a USD$12 virtual sticker to put on it to improve its aesthetic and value.
Network Ten star Melanie Bracewell, 28, (right) made a heart-stopping discovery about her partner Shaun McCullough’s finances which led to the pair losing out on thousands
The sticker, which Shaun had long ago sold off for an unknown amount, was the Ninjas in Pyjamas holographic from the EMS One Katowice 2014 e-sports league championship held in Poland.
Melanie then panned the camera over to Shaun’s second computer monitor to reveal the sticker was being sold on an online marketplace for US$42,832 (AU$64,668).
Filled with disbelief that her boyfriend had missed out on such a lucrative trade deal, Melanie could do nothing but let out a frustrated scream.
She captioned her video: ‘WE COULD HAVE A HOUSE DEPOSIT.’
The New Zealand-born comedian took to TikTok recently to reveal her boyfriend had some bad luck when re-selling valuable virtual stickers from the online multiplayer video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
CS:GO, now known as Counter-Strike 2, has developed a very complex market and trading economy over the years, with players participating in the trade of virtual cosmetics and weapons for real-world cash through third party sites like Skinport, BitSkins or CS.Money.
Over time, with the rise in popularity of the Electronic Sports League, some stickers have become incredibly valuable and sell for thousands if they are linked to a winning competitive gaming team.
Holographic stickers are rare and also considered very valuable, with the most expensive market value recently seen being over US$60,000 (AU$90,602) for a Titan squad sticker from the EMS Katowice 2014 Legends capsule.
Shaun discovered an in-game item he previously bought and sold for $12 American is now worth AUD$64,668 (USD$42,832), meaning he and Melanie missed their chance to cash in on tens of thousands of dollars
There are largely considered to be five levels of rarity among CS:GO stickers, ranging from High Grade up to Contraband, though there are some exceptions to the rule.
The lowest rarities are Blue (High Grade), Purple (Remarkable/Holo/Glitter) and Pink (Exotic/Foil).
Meanwhile, Red (Souvenir/Gold) and Gold (Contraband) are considered to be at the higher end of the rarity scale with only one sticker, Howling Dawn, currently sitting at Contraband status.
While paying real money for cosmetic features that don’t provide any gameplay functionality or advantage may sound odd, these aesthetic enhancements are popular among hardcore gamers – and a real money-spinner for developers of online games.
