Starfield Commerce: Value & Sell Price Explained

Making money in Starfield can take a bit of time, but gathering up every item and handy resource you find is a good idea. Before you grab an item, you’ll always see it’s worth in a handy information readout on your HUD. However, this money doesn’t transfer over to the vendors you meet while playing the game.

Unfortunately, the vendors typically offer a fraction of what an item is worth for you to sell it to them, and this can feel confusing when you initially start playing. Thankfully, there are a handful of ways you can improve this, and it all comes down to a handful of Perks. Here’s what you need to know about the basics of Commerce, and how value and sell price work in Starfield.

Everything To Know About Starfield’s Commerce: Value & Sell Price

Unfortunately, you’re almost never going to get the full value for an item from vendors. The value you see in the menu, or before you pick it up, is the total worth of an item in Starfield. However, a vendor takes several factors into it that dictate different outcomes. When arriving at New Atlantis when you start the game, there are several vendors you can visit, but they won’t accept the items at full price. However, if you return to them after having your character align themselves with the UC, and they become a full citizen, they’ll get a better price when selling items and a discount when purchasing them.

This is one of the best ways you can increase the amount of money you earn in Starfield: Factions. There are numerous factions that your character can join throughout this campaign, and if they increase their standing with a notable faction, they’ll receive better prices at all associated vendors. You may want to hang on to specific items or not worry too much about how much money you’re getting back early in your campaign.

Another good way to increase the amount of money you earn from vendors is by leveling up the Commerce Perk. The Commerce Perk in Starfield acts as a passive bonus for every vendor in the game, regardless of their known faction. There are four ranks of Commerce you can unlock on your character, and at maximum Commerce, your character can receive 25% more credits for each item they sell, and they pay 20% less at every vendor. It’s an exceptionally handy Perk to unlock.

How Long Does It Take For Vendors to Reset in Starfield?

It is good to note that the vendors do reset after 48 hours. What I mean by resetting is that each vendor has a specific amount of credits they have until you can’t sell to them anymore. However, in Starfield, like other Bethesda games, you can have your character sit down somewhere and Wait. When this happens, in-game time passes. If you’ve taken all of a vendor’s credits from them, you can simply have your character sit down somewhere nearby, wait for 48 in-game hours, and then their credits will restock.

This is a great way to sell Contraband to sources outside of major vendors, such as the Trade Authority at The Den.