Now that Starfield is out, there’s a lot of things that players find out in the game and we’re not just talking about the bugs. There’s plenty of ways to get money in Starfield and one of them is finding Contraband to sell. These items are quite different though and have their own mechanics to worry about when carrying them. That’s why you should know what contraband are and where to sell or store it.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to hide and sell Contraband in the game. We’ll also show you a couple of ways to store it if you’re saving up contraband for later. Now, let’s see what all this fuss about Contraband is.
How to Hide & Sell Contraband
Want to roleplay as a smuggler in Starfield? Want to get all those expensive goods to sell, so you’ll be swimming in cash? Then you’ll want to get some Contraband items to sell! Here’s how that works and how you can lug them around.
What Is Contraband?
Contraband is a type of item that you can find throughout the game that’s a bit different to handle. You know an item is contraband when there’s a yellow icon next to it like the ones shown below. This is different to stolen items that have a red icon on them.
When you have contraband on your person or on your ship and you go to a planet with a city on it, then the security forces will scan your ship. This happens when you’re on orbit or when you try to land on a city.
Once you get caught, you’ll have to pay a fine and get the items confiscated. You can also fight them, but I highly suggest you don’t unless you know what you’re doing.
This is different from stolen items again since if you go to a city with stolen items, the police won’t scan you. This only happens with contraband items.
Selling Contraband
So, where do you even sell this contraband? Well, the easiest way to sell contraband is to go to the Den in the Wolf System. This system is found to the top right of Alpha Centauri. From there, you’ll want to go dock on The Den space station.
Once you’re inside, you’ll want to go forward then left. And you’ll find this small trader area shown below. This trader will buy all of your Contraband items.
If they run out of credits, then don’t worry. You can just go sit on a chair and wait for 24 hours. Once that’s done, go back to the trader and their stock should refresh, repeat until you’ve sold all of your contraband!
Hiding/Storing Your Contraband
There are ways for you to hide your Contraband from authority though and one of them is buying the right type of Cargo Hold.
Later on in the game, you’ll find some Shielded Cargo Holds or Scan Jammers to help you slip away from authorities. Having more Shielded Cargo space than the amount of Contraband Cargo you have helps increasing the odds of not being found.
Sometimes, you don’t want to sell your contraband right away. Maybe you’re waiting for the right skills to get or have temporary buffs at the ready then where do you store them?
The best way to do this is to make an outpost on a planet that doesn’t have a city. From there, you’ll want to setup an outpost and place some storage crates.
Some players have reported that you can just drop the items near the beacon and that is possible. I personally don’t recommend it though because it might bug out and you’ll lose them. It is a Bethesda game after all, we should already know this might happen!
That’s how to hide and sell Contraband in Starfield. Now go out there, find some Contraband and sell them! Make sure to go check out our guide on Search for Clues Surgical Strike if you haven’t already!
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