Trading
Until recently trading was just about the only way to make money. Although there are now other options, trading cargo widgets is still the most profitable means of acquiring your own personal fortune. The basics of trading is a simple concept. You buy cargo at a low price and sell it someplace else for a higher price. Easier said than done. Discovering a good route can be a long process, but the rewards are well worth it. One simple way is to load your ship up with as many single cargo widgets as you can fit. Ships like the Centaur can hold up to 48 different types of cargo allowing you to carry many types of cargo. Don't give up if you don't find a good route right away.
So You Have A Route
Now that you have a route its time to exploit it and get as much money as you can from it. If you already have a decent amount of money (100,000cr at least) do NOT sell your cargo. Instead hit "Unload All" to leave all your cargo in the station without selling it. This is called stockpiling and is the best way to get the most from your route. If possible, try to find a profitable widget from station B to bring back to station A to gain more money. After amassing a large amount of cargo in the stations, sell them. Or, if you have money to spare, let it sit and wait for the price to rise. Be warned, other people can and most likely will find your route and sell before you do, so only wait if you are willing to go without the income for a bit.
Tips
Mining and trading can go along very well together. For instance if you mine a rare type of ore and stockpile it in a close by station, you can transport it to another station a few systems away to make an even bigger profit. Few if anybody does this, and the result is that stations nearby the rare ore often does not sell very well.
The news can often help you find a good route. By giving you a list of what that particular station needs you can plan ahead, keep a mental list or one on paper is better, and keep an eye out for the cargo a station needs.
Ships To Carry Your Cargo In.
| Ship | Wraith | Atlas | Centaur | Marauder | Behemoth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo | 22 | 32 | 48 | 48 | 120 |
| Turbo | 180 | 180 | 200 | 200 | 190 |
| Weapons | 2s 1l | 1s 1l | 1s 2l | 3s | 2l |
| Level | Trade 1 | Trade 2 | 1/-/3/4/- | Trade 8 | -/-/-/8/4 |
(s)= Small Port (l)= Large Port
Ships listed are the basic versions. See the ships list for full information.
- The Wraith is the perfect entry level trading ship. Enough weapons ports to keep you safe from Hive ships, and enough cargo room to get you through the basic trade missions.
- The Atlas is a decent trading ship, but once you have a Centaur you can pretty much ignore this one. It is fast and has plenty of cargo room. But often is easy prey for pirates.
- The Centaur slow and hard to move this ship has often been ignored by traders with access to the Marauder, but it does its job very well, and that job is to move large amounts of cargo in one go. The Centaur has the ability to carry two sets of mines, enough to send any pirate to their grave.
- The Marauder is the fastest cargo transport ship in the game. Its TPG variant can carry up to 48 cargo widgets, and the Tunguska 60. Although all but the Tunguska version lack L port weapons it can still fend for its self or simply speed by any pirate blockade.
- The Behemoth is yet another win for the TPG corporation. When you need to move large amounts of cargo(120cu), the Behemoth is your ship.
Misc
Someone has made a handy dandy site that lets you match up two stations and shows you their differences in trade goods. You can find it right around here.
List of Trade Goods
This is a (hopefully complete) list of the various trade goods that can be found within the game. There is another table which sorts the trade goods by the "type of good", which contains pictures for all of the trade goods. It can be found here.
| Trade Good | Description | Class of Goods |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Targeting Systems | Advanced weapon targeting computers | Weapon Component |
| Apicene Ore | A rare asteroid composition formed only at very high temperatures | Ore |
| Aquean Ore | Dirty ice, mostly H2O with trace chemicals | Ore |
| Basic Targeting Systems | Simple and efficient weapon targeting systems | Weapon Component |
| Carbonic Ore | Ore which is heavy in carbon compounds | Ore |
| Civilian Textiles | Clothing for every-day wear | Creature Comfort |
| Consumer Electronics | Electronic audio/visual/neural entertainment products | Creature Comfort |
| Consumer Robotics | Personal robotic assistant devices | Creature Comfort |
| Cooling Systems | Weapon cooling systems | Weapon Component |
| Corrosive Chemicals | Industrial chemicals with corrosive properties | Industrial Goods |
| Denic Ore | Rare ore found often in young solar systems | Ore |
| Dyes | Common dyes and pigments | Production Goods |
| ERS Tracking Systems | Standard missile tracking computer | Weapon Component |
| Ferric Ore | Ore composed mostly of iron | Ore |
| Food | Mass-produced nutritional food | Creature Comfort |
| Heliocene Ore | Rare ore formed under intense heat and tidal forces | Ore |
| Inert Chemicals | Industrial chemicals with no dangerous properties. | Industrial Goods |
| Ion Core | Primary component of most ion weapons | Weapon Component |
| Ishik Ore | A common asteroid composition containing lighter elements and chemical compounds | Ore |
| Lanthanic Ore | Ore containing heavy and radioactive metals | Ore |
| Luxury Goods | Jewelry, artwork, rare spices, etc. | Creature Comfort |
| Manufacturing Tools | Common tools used in heavy manufacturing | Production Goods |
| Medical Supplies | First-aid supplies | Creature Comfort |
| MicroTech Replicator | Conostructs many prefab products using nanotechnology | Production Goods |
| NanoFeed | Mostly carbon, a powder used for nanite replication | Production Goods |
| NanoPigments | Dyes and pigments which can be instructed to change their color | Production Goods |
| Organic Solvents | Super-corrosive organically-produced solvents | Industrial Goods |
| Oxygen Recycling System | Compact air purifier and oxygen recycling system | Ship Component |
| Pentric Ore | A rare asteroid composition of complex chemical material | Ore |
| Personal Defense Systems | Small arms and other personal defense devices | Creature Comforts |
| Phase Array | Modulates the phase of energy weapon projectiles | Weapon Component |
| Plasma Core | Primary component of most plasma weapons | Weapon Component |
| Plasteel | Light plastic compound with the strength of steel | Industrial Goods |
| Power Regulators | Power flow regulators, used in most energy weapons | Weapon Component |
| Precious Metals | Extracted in small quantities from other ores | Ore |
| Purified Water | Purified water, safe for drinking | Creature Comfort |
| Pyronic Ore | Rare ore found in the residue of a star’s collapse | Ore |
| Silicate Ore | Unrefined silicate material | Ore |
| Silksteel | Incredibly strong steel alloy | Industrial Goods |
| Simple Plastics | Common manufacturing materials | Production Goods |
| Stabilizing Systems | Weapon stabilizers, increase precision by reducing recoil | Weapon Component |
| Steel | A durable but heavy building material | Production Goods |
| SynthWood | Synthetic wood, common construction material | Production Goods |
| Synthetic Hydrocarbons | Common building blocks for many industrial applications | Production Goods |
| VanAzek Ore | A common asteroid composition containing heavy and radioactive metals | Ore |
| Vismetal | As strong as steel, but clear as glass | Production Goods |
| Volatile Chemicals | Industrial chemicals with volatile properties | Industrial Goods |
| XiRite Alloy | Extremely durable alloy made primarily from iron and xithricite | Production Goods |
| Xithricite Ore | Ore containing the precious mineral Xithricite | Ore |