Trading

Best for

• cargo-ship owners chasing profit margins rather than fixed contracts
• org economy/logistics roles
• players comfortable tracking live price data

Minimum equipment

• Cargo-capable ship (Cutlass Black, Freelancer, C2/M2 Hercules, Hull C, or similar)
• Starting capital (aUEC) to buy commodity stock
• Access to UEX Corp or SC Trade Tools for live routes
• Cargo grid or boxes sized to your ship's SCU

Steps

1. Check a live tool — UEX Corp or SC Trade Tools — for current buy/sell prices and supply/demand before committing capital; prices and stock move on a tick, not continuously, so a route can go stale in minutes.
2. Look for a commodity that is overstocked (low price, high supply) to buy and one that is understocked (high price, low remaining demand) to sell — that pairing is the core of the method.
3. Buy your chosen commodity at a legal TDD kiosk or equivalent commodity terminal, generally near the Admin desk at a station, outpost, or city landing zone.
4. Load the cargo onto your ship's grid, sized to its SCU capacity.
5. Fly to the terminal offering the best sell price for that commodity and unload or sell there.
6. Re-check prices before each run — demand depletes per server shard, so repeating the same route collapses the price; keep two or three backup routes in mind.
7. If trading illegal goods, use the hidden/black-market consoles instead of TDD kiosks, expect smaller quantities and slower restock, and stay aware that Monitored Space around planets and stations enforces the law while Unmonitored Space does not.
8. Track your margin — sale value minus purchase cost minus fuel and time overhead — and rotate to a new route once your current one saturates.

Avoid

• Do not treat any specific route or profit-per-hour figure from a guide as current — pull live numbers from UEX or SC Trade Tools instead.
• Do not run illegal cargo through Monitored Space without expecting a scan-and-confiscate risk from security.

Terminal types

• Notes: Trade & Development Division-branded terminals near Admin desks at stations, outposts, and landing zones; the standard legal buy/sell interface.
  Type: TDD / legal commodity kiosk
• Notes: Separate, less visible consoles trading illegal goods in smaller quantities with slower restock; illegal cargo is flagged red in your inventory.
  Type: Hidden/black-market console

Trading ships

• Cutlass Black
  Notes: Small/entry trading hauler.
  Scu: 46
• Freelancer / Freelancer MAX
  Notes: Mid-tier, flexible haulers.
  Scu: 66 / 120
• M2 Hercules Starlifter
  Notes: Large military-grade hauler.
  Scu: 522
• C2 Hercules Starlifter
  Notes: Larger sibling of the M2; strong for planetside/surface delivery where ground-facility maneuverability matters.
  Scu: 696
• Hull C
  Notes: Largest general-purpose cargo hauler, optimized for station-to-station throughput.
  Scu: 4608

Whats new in 4 9

• Kiosk and terminal changes
  Confidence: medium
  Detail: Dumper's Depot (Lorville) converted from a bulk commodity kiosk to an item kiosk; the New Deal ship dealership expanded from two terminals to four; freight kiosks gained a simplified single "Show External" toggle and clearer disabled-button/partial-transfer messaging.

Sources

• expcarry - Star Citizen 4.9 Patch Notes (LIVE) recap (medium)
• ORONST - Star Citizen trading guide: best routes, ships, profit per hour (medium)
• SC Trade Tools (high)
• Star Citizen Wiki - Trade & Development Division (high)
• UEX Corp (medium)
• Star Citizen Wiki - Trading (high)