So you’ve decided to be something of a space pirate in Starfield, but now you’re stuck with tons of illegal items and no idea of how to sell them. Have no fear.
Contraband gear takes many forms, from drugs to illegal ship mods, and it’s always marked with the yellow Contraband icon. Get caught with it, though, and you’ll be forced to surrender the goods and either pay a fee or serve jail time. So it’s in your best interest to offload it quickly for a nice profit.
What is Contraband in Starfield?
Contrabands are illegal goods in Starfield. It’s not the matter of acquisition: Contraband can be stolen, but it doesn’t have to be. Essentially, contraband is anything in your inventory with a yellow icon. It is usually sought after for the amount of credits that can be gained by selling it at specific locations.
Here are some examples of contraband in Starfield.
- Aurora
- Harvested Organs
- Mech Components
- Sentient AI Adapters
- Stolen Artwork
- Va’Ruun Heretic Writings
- Xenowarfare Tech
Where to sell Contraband in Starfield
The best places to sell contraband in Starfield are the Trade Authority vendors. Even though they have a hard cap on credits per day, most vendors in the Starfield universe are decent, hardworking folk, so it’s no surprise they’ll want nothing to do with you and your illegally acquired items, especially on United Colonies turf. That said, each game’s significant settlements have traders happy to deal with criminals like yourself.
The traders in question are with the Trade Authority. However, you will have to go to their actual shops, as Trade Authority kiosks will not accept contraband goods since computers don’t know how to do deals under the table.
There are five currently known Trade Authority shop locations:
- The Well in New Atlantis, on Jemison, in the Alpha Centauri system
- The Den on Chthonia, in the Wolf system
- Cydonia on Mars, in the Sol system
- Akila City on Akila, in the Cheyenne system
- Neon on Volii Alpha, in the Volii system
The locations in Jemison and Neon are easy to spot thanks to the yellow signs that advertise the business on the front of the buildings. The Trade Authority on Cydonia doesn’t stand out quite as much, but I found helpful signs that will direct you down a series of ramps in the central hub area.
As well as the locations on Mars, New Atlantis, and Volii Alpha, you may also run into a Trade Authority merchant ship while out and about on your space adventures. These random encounters can be handy as they allow you to offload your contraband before you are scanned when approaching a planet.
Best location for selling contraband in Starfield
Despite its size, The Trade Authority shop in The Den is the most valuable spot because you will not be scanned for contraband upon entering the Wolf system. This means you don’t need shielded cargo holds or the necessary skills to reduce your chances of detection.
If you find yourself overloaded with contraband when playing Starfield, visit one of these places to offload it and earn yourself some credits—as long as you can handle the moral implications of your actions. No judgment here.
Then again, you can also consider selling legally made items to vendors around Starfield’s universe for a slightly more ethical practice.
