How To Trade with Ships in Starfield

As you visit various planets, you may encounter many NPC merchants or entire marketplaces in Starfield. Vendors and shopping areas are excellent sources of supplies and new information. But what if you’re out in outer space and don’t want to fly long distances to visit vendors? Fortunately, the game has a great interaction mechanic between ships, thanks to which you can communicate, trade, or even rob other people’s ships. Of course, we advise you to refrain from piracy, as it is fraught with dire consequences. But if you don’t know how to trade with ships in Starfield, we are here to help.

Ship Trading Guide in Starfield

How To Trade with Ships in Starfield — Image Source: Bethesda via The Nerd Stash

To trade with ships in Starfield, you must find suitable space vehicles and Hail them. If the ship responds to your message, you can choose from several interaction options, including the Let’s Trade option. Thanks to this mechanic, you can buy supplies and sell items. But before you get started, here are some basic trading rules with ships in Starfield you should know:

You can get a different product range depending on the ship you are trading with. For example, if you trade with a Settler ship, you can buy many clothes, weapons, and other supplies. At the same time, the assortment of GalBank ships is relatively poor, and they would prefer a long conversation instead of trading.
If you want to buy some supplies and sell unnecessary items, we advise you to buy everything you need first. The budget of many ships is limited, and they will only be able to pay more for your items after you purchase something from them. In addition, you can get a discount from ships, and you will have a better chance of a successful dialogue if you increase their budget due to a previous deal.
If you meet UC warships, they will not refuse to exchange a couple of messages but will not trade with you.

It is also worth noting that almost any ship you meet will not mind trading with you. But ships will avoid interacting with you if you are a pirate or one of the factions is offering a bounty on your head. This will cause you to become the target of constant attacks by bounty hunters. But, if you want to be a pirate, we recommend hunting in the sparsely populated space areas.