Star Citizen guide #16: trading, buy low and sell high

Open the tool in Beacon OPS

Trading is the “self-employed” version of hauling: you buy the goods yourself and sell them for more elsewhere. Riskier, but far more profitable once you know what you’re doing.

The basics

• Goods are bought and sold at commodity kiosks in stations, cities and outposts.
• Each location has its own prices and limited stock: if everyone sells at the same place, the price drops.
• Your margin is the difference between the buy and sell price, times the quantity, minus fuel.

Finding good routes

• Community sites (such as UEX) list prices reported by players and suggest profitable routes.
• Always check the price on site before buying: website data can be a few hours old.
• Start small: a half-full hold on a short route, to learn without risking everything.

Legal and illegal goods

• Some goods are illegal in some jurisdictions. A security scan can earn you a CrimeStat and the seizure of your cargo.
• Illegal goods pay more… but they sell in shady places (Grim HEX, Pyro stations).

Managing risk

• Never put all your money into a single cargo run.
• Avoid Pyro with a full hold if you’re traveling alone.
• Keep enough to buy another load if you lose the first one: that’s what a real trader does.

💡 Beacon tip: combine trading and hauling contracts: deliver a contract to a station, then leave with cargo bought there. Your ship never flies empty.

Read next: Freight hauling · Bases and stations · Piracy and counter-piracy

Written for Star Citizen Alpha 4.10.2 (October 2026). The game changes with every patch: if something has moved, tell us in a reply and we’ll update the guide.