How to make money in Probably Stolen
You earn credits by buying goods from customers and selling them for more. Your edge is the retail markup (0% to 20% depending on difficulty), higher-grade water and ingots, machines that raise item value, and keeping fixed costs under control. Your long-term goal is the buyout, which is also the only win.
What does the difficulty change about income?
These values come straight from the game’s difficulty rules. The first one decides how much extra you get when you sell.
| Difficulty | Retail markup | Rent increase per payment | Vendor permit fee | Power cost | Insurance cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge (Cozy) | 20% | 2.5% | 500 | x1 | x1 |
| Mark Up (Normal) | 15% | 5% | 1 500 | x1 | x1 |
| Thin Margins (Hard) | 0% | 10% | 2 000 | x2 | x2 |
| Red Ink (Challenge) | 0% | 10% | 3 000 | x2 | x3 |
On Thin Margins and Red Ink there is no retail markup, so your profit comes only from the gap between what you pay and what the customer pays. See Difficulty for every rule.
How do I make money?
- Run the shop every day. Place goods in the Display Case to attract buyers before you open the shutter, then call customers, buy low and sell high.
- Use the Bargain Interface. You can demand more or offer better prices; this changes the customer’s budget and the reputation you gain from the trade.
- Pick a specialization that fits. You start with 600 credits, and specializations trade some of that for equipment or stock. See Specializations.
- Add value with machines. The Vending Machine sells items at +10% value plus the retail markup. The Fridge chills drinks overnight so they sell for more (wine and unsealed water are excluded). The AgeWell ages wine and cheese by an extra day each night. The Mirage Projector improves your street attractiveness the next day. See Machines and Store attractiveness.
- Sell better grades. Water’s price scales with its grade, from -90% (Gutterflow) to +100% (Pure Water). See Water.
- Smelt ingots. A Metal Ingot is worth 50 credits at Fair Purity, plus 25% at High, 50% at Very High and 200% at Perfect purity. See Furnace.
- Sell Materials to Dr. Jackson. He buys any item of the Material type (ingots, Electronic Parts, wires, fabric and so on) plus corrupted and ruined system modules, so you do not have to wait for a materials buyer. His shop is closed on Mondays (unless you bought Monday’s Special Stock) and sells 10% cheaper on Sundays. See Dr. Jackson.
- Order more ore. Once you have spent 350 credits with the GP Mining Coop, its phone menu adds a second order: 12 Metal Ore delivered in 2 days instead of 6 the next day. Smelt the ore and sell the ingots.
Player-reported, unverified: Contraband has four levels that add roughly +35%, +70%, +100% and +200% to profit, and stolen goods carry “heat” that inspections can confiscate. Figures come from a Russian-language demo playthrough. See Contraband.
What costs me money?
- Rent every 7 days, starting at 200 credits and growing with every payment. See Buy the store.
- Nightly services, which you can toggle on or off every night, including power. The power cost doubles on Thin Margins and Red Ink.
- Insurance, which costs x2 on Thin Margins and x3 on Red Ink.
- Vendor permit. Without one, each refusal to the Trade Board Official is recorded as a crime (Operating Without a License). The “No Permit” ending exists in the files but is not triggered by anything in 0.46D (see Trade license).
- Machines’ power. Every machine draws Energy per night. Recharge Energy Cells with a Recharger or PowerBloc.
What do I save up for?
The buyout is the goal. It costs 12 000 to 36 000 credits at base price depending on difficulty, and the price rises after day 50. Cash buyout is cheaper than the mortgage. Full numbers are in Buy the store.
What is the endgame? Is there a day 100 ending?
The game’s only win is the Buyout ending, and after it you can choose to keep playing. We found no ending tied to a day count in the game code, and day 100 has no special ending. The other 13 endings are ways to lose; see Endings.
When you start a new game you can switch on Endless Mode. The game describes it as: “Certain scripted events and customers will not spawn.”
FAQ
How do I make money fast in Probably Stolen? There is no single trick. The reliable levers are specialization choice, the retail markup on easier difficulties, and not letting costs grow.
What is the best way to make money? The game does not publish an income ranking, so pick the route that matches your starting equipment: higher-grade water, ingots, chemistry or a specialization’s own orders.
Does the game end at day 100? No. The code has no day-100 ending.
What does Endless Mode change? Some scripted events and customers do not spawn.