Trading

The lost art of 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 (read: 100,000c 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 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. But 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
Cargo	22	32	48	48
Turbo	180	180	200	200
Weapons	2 Small 1 Large	1 Small 1 Large	1 Small 2 Large	3 Small
Level	Trade 1	Trade 2	Trade 3	Trade 8

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, 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 it lacks L port weapons it can still fend for its self or simply speed by any pirate blockade.

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.

	Description	Class of Goods
Advanced Targeting Systems	Advanced weapon targeting computers	Weapon Component
Apicene Ore		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
Cooling Systems	Weapon cooling systems	Weapon Component
Corrosive Chemicals	Industrial chemicals with corrosive properties	Industrial Goods
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
Inert Chemicals	Industrial chemicals with no dangerous properties.	Industrial Goods
Ishik Ore	A common asteroid composition containing lighter elements and chemical compounds	Ore
Luxury Goods	Jewelry, artwork, rare spices, etc.	Creature Comfort
Manufacturing Goods	Common tools used in heavy manufacturing	Production Goods
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
Personal Defense Systems	Small arms and other personal defense devices	Production Goods
Phase Array	Modulates the phase of energy weapon projectiles	Weapon Component
Plasma Core	Primary component of most plasma weapons	Weapon Component
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
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