Alpha 0.8.21
When a non-hostile ship enters the sector you are in, you may initiate trade. Click on the rectangular icon containing the faction symbol and status icons in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This will take you to tactical view and open a dialogue in the lower left. Click on the trade icon to open the highlights window, which lists what they're willing to part with and what they will pay a premium for. Click on the "New Trade" button to initiate a trade. A new window will open with their offers on the left and your inventory on the right. Select an item and add to or subtract from the trade pane. Any difference in value will automatically be compensated for by credits on hand. If not enough credits are available, the discrepancy will be noted at the bottom of the window. Things to consider:
- A maximum of 10 items can fit on a shuttle, so each trade can only consist of up to ten items bought and ten items sold. Credits do not count toward this limit.
- Once trade is initiated, your crew will load the items in your ship's docking port. Your shuttle will automatically launch, load, and transport the goods to the other ship. Likewise the goods you bought will be delivered via unmanned shuttle.
- The AI drives a hard bargain. Buy prices are usually 5x to 6x sell prices, and items on the AI's wish list generally on add 50% or so to the offering price. This makes simply hauling goods likely to be unprofitable.
- The law of supply and demand is applied instantaneously. As you add more items for sale in the trade window, the price for the next unit adjusts downward, and likewise items being bought increases the cost of the next unit of that item. This can make a huge difference in overall profit margin per item.
- Trades improve the relationship with factions.
- Just like in real life, it is inadvisable to trade away raw materials. Trading manufactured goods for raw materials, on the other hand, can be very lucrative, but don't assume so. Check prices and do the math against the formulas on the relevant manufacturing machines.
- Energy is life, and your ship will always be consuming energy, especially if you're manufacturing items. Don't assume trading, for example, one Hyperfuel for two Hyperium at nearly break-even is a good deal. Even though you will still end up with the same amount of Hyperfuel in the end, you may have been better off spending the time/energy making something else that has a higher profit margin.