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 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 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 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
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 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