Probably Stolen Money Guide: Build a Reliable Margin

What makes a sale profitable?

Your margin starts when you buy, not when you negotiate the sale. A supplier can overstate an item’s value; a rare object can be expensive to appraise; a product line can need machinery, power or permits before its first sale. Read the goods and the customer before committing.

Use a simple planning calculation:

Batch profit = credits received − input purchases − power − consumables − other direct costs

For an expansion, keep the machine purchase separate and compare it with the profit from repeated completed batches. That prevents a good-looking selling price from hiding a weak business. Base values in the recipes table help compare items, but your accepted offer is the revenue that counts.

Which business should you build first?

Start with the tools and knowledge already available in your run. The nine starting scenarios support different lines: water, weapons, chemistry, farming, fish and general trading. Each requires different inventory and attention.

A water merchant tests, treats and labels batches. A farmer manages growing space. A gunsmith has inspections and permits to consider. Chemistry depends on recipes and processing. None of those is simply free money; choose the work you can reliably finish while serving the counter.

After the water hotfix, the official Moisture Farm price is 350, and the Water Filter is 25. Use those current equipment figures when planning a water expansion. Do not budget the older 650 and 50 prices from launch-day comparisons.

Why should you preserve cash instead of buying more stock?

The landlord’s rent keeps rising. Cash tied up in an unsold item cannot pay a bill. Keep a reserve for rent, regular supplies and the next production cycle before purchasing an attractive machine.

Buy a small batch first and complete the full loop. If the finished goods sell slowly, doubling the machines also doubles the stock waiting for customers. Improve the bottleneck before expanding everything else.

How do reputation and risk affect profit?

Factions can open access and protection, but the same reputation can create enemies. Illegal stock can be confiscated, wiping out both the expected sale and the original purchase. Consider the whole run rather than a single generous offer.

For a straightforward business, use accurate labels, inspect purchases and avoid deals you cannot explain. The factions guide covers the station’s competing interests. The shop routine helps keep purchases, output and rent visible as the inventory grows.

Sources

• Steam store — trading and business risks
• Official water balance prices
• Official scenario overview