X3:Reunion Manual - Steam

to look for more and better profit margins, when buying or selling, as the Best Buyand Sell upgrade will allow you to then look each sector in turn to see a good deal,without having to be in that sector.• Bartering spare stocks is an effective way to sell goods you do not have animmediate market for, and with a good rep also pick up some good bargains to sell.• Buy the largest transporters you can afford, for example a basic Mercury with 4,000cargo space full of resources that you can sell at 20 Credits profit per unit makes80,000. But a cargo bay of 11,000 will make you 220,000 profits.• Make sure you upgrade the speed optimisations of your ship, so you can deliverfaster, time is money and delay is lost opportunity and sometimes you will have torace against a Free Trader to get your stock delivered first.• Make use of the Trading Extension upgrade and check before you dock to make adelivery in case a Free Trader has wiped out the margin by delivering to the factoryjust before you do, if they have, use the Best Sell option to sell elsewhere, in that oranother sector.• Factories can hold very large stocks, so the largest cargo bay and expansions youcan add to your ships will mean greater profits per trip. For instance Ore can bebought at low prices and sold for very high prices, especially in Boron sectors. Youwill however need a very large 4000+ cargo bay to buy all the stock in one go as Oretakes up a lot more space per unit than other wares.• Exploit smaller sectors for quick profits with your slower freighters, and send yourfaster ones to the bigger sectors.• Explore other sectors like the Boron’s and find additional trading routes for items likeBoFu, this applies to the other race sectors and their main food resources.Opportunities also exist for good deals as mentioned in the BBS as transportingDelexian Wheat from Argon sectors to Boron Sectors will also produces good profits.• Trading in food and bio offers good profits, trading in Minerals like Ore and Siliconprovide even better profit margins. High tech and some illegal wares can yield veryhigh profits, but you will need a high reputation.• Complexes create additional benefits of multiple products being sold by them and aone-stop shop for you to deliver large volumes of resources. Upgrading to a SuperFreighter with 11,000-cargo bay will provide a faster return for its purchase price.38Understanding the X Universe EconomyThe economy in the X Universe is unique in that it is dynamically priced. What this literallymeans is that the prices of goods are affected by supply and demand or by wars and theft. Asan example, if a Solar Power Plant is well stocked with Energy Cells then the selling price willbe low – this is the principle of supply. However, if a Weapon Component Factory is low onthe Energy Cells that it needs to continue producing Ammunition, then that factory will pay apremium price for any Energy Cells delivered to it, as the demand is high.If you spot two stations stocks that match this criteria, then congratulations – you have justdiscovered a very profitable trading opportunity. You may find that some sectors have whatcan be classed as ‘milk runs’, that is where there is (nearly) always a profit to be made. Traderoutes such as this will be very important to you as you strive to gain more Credits. Later, asyou gain more Credits, you will find methods and upgrades that will make trading even moreprofitable and easier. In addition to factories, you will also find Trading Stations scatteredaround the X universe which will buy and sell a limited amount of products at fixed prices.