Market

TRADE is where pilots sell items to each other. There are two ways: the market, with listings that stay up for sale even while you’re offline, and the direct trade, face to face, between two astronauts on foot. Open it with [U] by default (you can change it in SETTINGS › KEYS), from anywhere.

The player market is different from the stations’ MARKET tab, where the station itself buys ore and items at a fixed price; see Credits.

TRADE tabs

Tab	What it’s for
GLOBAL	The catalog with every pilot’s listings
CORPORATION	Listings only for your corporation and its allies
SELL	List an item from your backpack
MY SALES	Your active listings, to keep track of or take down
SWAP	Astronauts near you, to offer a direct trade

Catalog and filters

The catalog sorts listings by category: Ship equipment, Astronaut equipment, Tools, Blocks, Ores, Materials, Blueprints and Artifacts. Equipment has subcategories by the slot it goes in (cannon, engine, helmet, ring and so on).

You can also search by name, filter equipment by rarity and level, and sort by newest, cheapest or most expensive. The catalog shows 40 listings per page.

BUY takes the credits right away and puts the item in your backpack. If your backpack is full, the purchase doesn’t go through: free up a slot first.

Listing

In the SELL tab, pick an item from your backpack, the quantity (if it’s a stack), the price for the whole listing and where it shows up (GLOBAL or CORPORATION AND ALLIES). Then POST.

The item leaves your backpack right away and is held in the listing. Items in the hold have to go into the backpack first.
The listing stays up for sale even while you’re offline.
Listing fee: 1% of the price, at least 5 ¢, paid when you post. It’s not refunded, even if you cancel.
Sales tax: when the item sells, you get the price minus 5% tax.
Limit: 20 active listings per pilot; the Galactic Citizen gets double.

Example: you list a cannon for 2,000 ¢. When you post, you pay a 20 ¢ fee. When someone buys it, you get 1,900 ¢. In the end, the cannon earned you 1,880 ¢.

If the item sells while you’re offline, the credits wait: they’re paid when you log in, with a notice of what sold.

Taking a listing down

In MY SALES, a listing that hasn’t sold yet can be taken down. The item goes back to your backpack (you need a free slot), and the listing fee isn’t refunded.

Corporation market

A listing with CORPORATION AND ALLIES reach only shows up for members of your corporation and of the corporations it considers allies, in the CORPORATION tab. It’s handy for selling materials and equipment among teammates without competing with the whole market. To use it, you need to be in a corporation; see Corporations.

Direct trade

A direct trade is a face-to-face deal: each side puts in items and credits, both confirm, and everything changes hands at once.

Both of you need to be on foot, at the same site or in the same bar, within 8 meters of each other.
In the SWAP tab, offer a trade to someone nearby. The invite lasts 30 seconds.
Once the invite is accepted, the trade window opens: each side puts in up to 12 items and as many credits as they want.
Both confirm. Any change to the offer resets the confirmations and holds the next one for 2 seconds, so nobody can swap an item at the last moment.
With both confirmations, the game checks that everything is still there and fits, and swaps it all at once (or nothing).

Trade fee: whoever receives credits gets 3% less. Items don’t pay a fee. Example: if you sell an artifact for 1,000 ¢ in a trade, you get 970 ¢.

During a trade, your inventory is locked: you can’t equip, store in the hold, list or buy until the trade finishes or is canceled.

Market or trade?

	Market	Direct trade
Need to be together	No	Yes, on foot and within 8 m
Sells while you’re offline	Yes	No
Cost to the seller	Listing fee and tax	Fee only on the credits received
Items and credits on both sides	No (only credits for an item)	Yes

Completed direct trades also count toward one of the community missions.