Channel Ten star left devastated as she makes shocking discovery about her partner’s finances: ‘We could have had a house deposit’

Network Ten star Melanie Bracewell made a heartbreaking discovery about her partner Shaun McCullough’s finances, leaving the couple losing thousands of pounds.

The New Zealand comedian, 28, recently revealed on TikTok that her boyfriend had bad luck reselling valuable virtual “stickers” for the multiplayer online game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

Shaun discovered that 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 kept the downloadable content, he and Melanie would have been sitting on a significant portion of the deposit on a house or apartment..

Melanie, co-host of the comedy show The Cheap Seats, explained: “My friend is going through his CS:GO collection of things he sold and the stickers he used to customize his weapon and seeing how much they are worth now.”

Barely containing her laughter, she pointed the camera at her friend, who was sitting at his computer looking at his CS:GO profile, and asked him to explain what happened.

Shaun went on to tell viewers that he “back in the day” bought a “nice little” AK-47 skin for his in-game weapon, as well as a $12 virtual sticker to put on it to improve its aesthetics and value.

The sticker, which Shaun had long ago sold for an undisclosed amount, was the holographic Ninjas in Pajamas from the EMS One Katowice 2014 e-sports league championship in Poland.

Melanie then turned the camera to Shaun’s second computer monitor and revealed that the sticker was being sold on an online marketplace for $42,832 (AU$64,668).

Filled with disbelief that her friend had missed out on such a lucrative trade deal, Melanie could do nothing but let out a frustrated scream.

She captioned her video, “WE CAN HAVE A HOUSE DEPOSIT.”

The New Zealand-born comedian recently revealed on TikTok that her boyfriend had had bad luck reselling 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 trading of virtual cosmetics and weapons for real money through third-party sites such as Skinport, BitSkins or CS.Money.

Over time, with the increasing popularity of the Electronic Sports League, some stickers have become incredibly valuable, selling for thousands when linked to a winning competitive gaming team.

Holographic stickers are rare and also considered very valuable, with the most expensive market value recently exceeding 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 tens of thousands of dollars

It is largely believed that there are five rarity levels among CS:GO stickers, ranging from high-end to contraband, although 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 at the higher end of the rarity scale, with only one sticker, Howling Dawn, currently in Contraband status.

While it may sound strange to pay real money for cosmetic features that provide no gameplay functionality or benefit, these aesthetic enhancements are popular among hardcore gamers – and a real money spinner for online game developers.