Is there risk associated with the black market trading option? It seems a little odd to click a button saying "I want to trade illegally". Are there security forces waiting to slap a fine on people choosing this option, and to actually trade on the black market you have to do a special ship handshake during docking?
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Newcomer / Intro black market trading
- Thread starter mistohise
- Start date
Nope, but if you get scanned with illegal cargo outside the station, you'll get a hefty fine.
There are security forces ready to spoil your day yes. They're the police ships outside the station, scanning people who enter.
...or scanned by any authority vessel, anywhere. If they scan stolen goods on you, you will be fined. Don't pay the fine they you will get a bounty and become wanted.
I trade my goods to a nice external platform which tend to have no authority presence and don't scan you when you land.
Note that there is no way through the maps to find out which stations have a black market (they hardly advertise). Just check each station you land at and take a note yourself.
I've become attached to my little platform and run missions for them daily, which in turn over time provides me with better ones... funny how you get attached.
I trade my goods to a nice external platform which tend to have no authority presence and don't scan you when you land.
Note that there is no way through the maps to find out which stations have a black market (they hardly advertise). Just check each station you land at and take a note yourself.
I've become attached to my little platform and run missions for them daily, which in turn over time provides me with better ones... funny how you get attached.
free cargo
I happened upon some unidentified signals which turned out to be machine parts so I scoop them up and brought them to a station. It was an independent station so I thought I would be ok but I was scanned and fined 57,000 credits. The cargo was listed as stolen. Son of a ... eventually I found a platform that had a black market and sold them for 22000 credits. That was a tough lesson to learn.
I happened upon some unidentified signals which turned out to be machine parts so I scoop them up and brought them to a station. It was an independent station so I thought I would be ok but I was scanned and fined 57,000 credits. The cargo was listed as stolen. Son of a ... eventually I found a platform that had a black market and sold them for 22000 credits. That was a tough lesson to learn.
Here's some useful information on Black Market trading etc. Video, tips, lists, locations, updates etc.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=82931&highlight=
There's no reason to smuggle illegal goods. The profit margins aren't any better as if they were legal and there's always the risk of a fine for smuggling illegal goods. I don't know how it is on illegal goods as I've never been scanned with them, but stolen goods the fine is massive, even worse than murder. Last time I tried selling Tobacco in a system it was illegal in and I only made 300cr/ton profit. The animal meat that was legal to sell there gave me 500cr/ton profit. There's no bonus for illegal like there was in FE2, and that's basically required to make black market trading worth it.
Heck, selling a ton of stolen, illegal narcotics gave Omar Little $400,000, and here I got 33 credits.
Stolen goods are worth selling, as you didn't pay anything for them and they sell for half their station price. So 1 ton of stolen gold is 5000 credits, and 5000cr/t in trader lingua.
You'll quickly pick up what to pick up. Don't loot stuff worth just a few hundred cr, don't loot limpets unless you need them.
For example I just looted everything I found except biowaste and other really cheap stuff while hunting an ANARCHY <- really important! nav point in my 32t Cobra and it gave me 30,991cr profit. Almost 1k per ton. On top of the KWS bounties.
Heck, selling a ton of stolen, illegal narcotics gave Omar Little $400,000, and here I got 33 credits.
Stolen goods are worth selling, as you didn't pay anything for them and they sell for half their station price. So 1 ton of stolen gold is 5000 credits, and 5000cr/t in trader lingua.
You'll quickly pick up what to pick up. Don't loot stuff worth just a few hundred cr, don't loot limpets unless you need them.
For example I just looted everything I found except biowaste and other really cheap stuff while hunting an ANARCHY <- really important! nav point in my 32t Cobra and it gave me 30,991cr profit. Almost 1k per ton. On top of the KWS bounties.