Looking to turn your space loot into credits in Starfield? Whether you’re docked at the bustling Trade Authority kiosks scattered across major spaceports or exploring the neon-lit markets of New Atlantis and beyond, knowing where to sell your gear can make all the difference. From general goods to contraband, the Settled Systems offer a variety of vendors ready to buy your wares-if you know where to find them and how to get the best prices.
With encumbrance acting as an ever-looming threat, it’s important to keep a mentality of “junk in, junk out” in Starfield. And that leads us to a massive question and problem: how the hell do I get rid of all this stuff?
In this Starfield guide, we’ll walk you through selling your items, finding people that actually want to buy your stuff, and refreshing vendor credits.
The best places to sell items in Starfield
The best places to sell items in Starfield include several key locations where you can maximize your profits and efficiently offload your loot. Trade Authority kiosks, found at nearly every major spaceport and landing site, are highly convenient for selling a wide range of goods, including contraband, making them a go-to option for quick sales. New Atlantis, especially its Commercial District and stores like Jemison Mercantile, offers a variety of vendors for different item types. Neon City’s Core area is another excellent spot, known for its dense concentration of shops and high vendor cash reserves. For players dealing with stolen or contraband goods, The Key space station in the Kryx System and the Crimson Fleet Base provide safe markets without ship scans. Additionally, specialty vendors like Sinclair’s Books in Akila City are ideal for selling rare items such as books. Utilizing these locations alongside upgrading the Commerce skill will help you get the best prices and keep your inventory manageable throughout your Starfield adventure.
There are a lot of shops in Starfield, especially on one of the main social hub planets like Neon or New Atlantis. But, unfortunately for you, not every single shop wants to buy all of your space junk. The local clothier does not have any interest in the bazooka you pulled off of a space pirate 10 hours ago.
Now, you absolutely can go and sell your items in specialty shops, like gun stores, suit suppliers, etc. You can fly around space looking for the perfect shop to buy all the items you’ve picked up during your adventures. But there’s already a lot to do in Starfield without spending three hours traveling between boutiques every time you fill up your inventory and cargo hull.
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That’s why the general stores are your best options for selling things in Starfield. Local general stores like Jemison Mercantile in New Atlantis are great for selling a variety of different things, but what you really want is the local Trade Authority.
Most major planets have a Trade Authority shop where you can sell your various goods and even pick up a few tools here and there. And, conveniently, most major spaceports also have a Trade Authority kiosk, which you can use to sell a handful of items without ever having to go into the city itself.
The Trade Authority is everywhere in Starfield, and it’s always worth taking a detour to your local shop to offload all your junk whenever you’re in town.
What to do when vendors run out of credits
When vendors run out of credits in Starfield, the simplest solution is to wait for their credits to refresh, which typically happens after about 24 hours of local in-game time. You can do this by finding a chair or bed near the vendor and using the wait function to pass the time. After waiting, vendors will restock both their items and credits, allowing you to continue selling your goods without needing to visit multiple vendors. If you need to sell a large amount of items quickly, consider visiting vendors with larger credit pools, such as Trade Authority NPCs, or use the waiting method multiple times to offload everything efficiently. Additionally, buying zero-weight items like ammo or med packs can temporarily free up vendor credits to facilitate more sales before the reset occurs.
Finding a place that actually wants the garbage you’ve picked up on your adventures is one thing, but what happens when your favorite buyer runs out of credits?
Every vendor has a roughly daily credit limit in Starfield, and you can bump into that limit very quickly if you’re selling high-value items like spacesuits. If you’ve invested in the Commerce skill, you can get even more bang for your buck in these interactions. However, that also means you’ll drain your store’s piggy bank even faster – which actually hinders your ability to offload junk, even if it increases your profit margin.
So what do you do when you still have stuff to sell but you’ve bled your vendor dry? You sleep, of course.
Every 24 hours, all shops refresh their stores, including their credit reserves. This means that you can just go back to your ship, go to sleep for 24 hours, and then head back to the shop to dump more of your items.
The fastest location to do this is probably The Den, a space station in the Wolf system. The walk from your ship to the local Trade Authority (both the kiosk and the store) is very short, plus you don’t get scanned when boarding, which makes it a great spot to offload some stolen or contraband items. Simply dock with The Den, walk in, sell your stuff, walk back to your ship, sleep, and repeat. This is especially good if you’re encumbered and therefore unable to fast travel.
If you are able to fast travel – for example if you’re primarily selling stuff from your ship’s cargo hold – it might actually be worth it to fast travel from Trade Authority to Trade Authority, as sleeping in this game actually takes a very long time to play out.
Want to discover the top spots to sell your loot in Starfield quickly
For the quickest way to sell your loot in Starfield, head straight to The Den, a space station in the Wolf system where the Trade Authority kiosk and store are just steps from your ship, and you won’t get scanned-perfect for offloading stolen or contraband items fast. Another top spot is The Key, known as the best place to sell loot overall, with Neon Core also a solid alternative if you can’t reach The Key. For a reliable selling loop, you can hit multiple vendors in cities like New Atlantis and Neon, where shops and Trade Authority kiosks offer between 4,500 to 12,500 credits each, letting you quickly net nearly 60,000 credits before waiting for vendor stock to refresh.
What is the fastest way to offload loot in Starfield without getting scanned
The fastest way to offload loot, especially contraband, in Starfield without getting scanned is to sell it at The Den space station in the Wolf system. This location is unique because it has no ships surrounding it, allowing you to fast travel and dock without triggering a scan. Once docked, you can quickly reach the Trade Authority kiosk to sell your contraband safely.
To further reduce the risk of detection during scans, you can equip your ship with a Shielded Cargo Hold and a Scan Jammer, and invest in the ’Deception’ skill, which increases your chances of evading scans if you must sell elsewhere.
Additionally, some players use a method of storing contraband at outposts outside major city jurisdictions and then retrieving it later to avoid scans when entering populated areas. But for the quickest and most reliable offload without scans, The Den remains the best spot.
