Trading Guide
Trading is the foundation of everything in Planets TEOS. Credits fund ship upgrades, military equipment, and planet conquests. Understanding the economy is the fastest path to power.
How Trading Works
Each of the 26 planets has a Trade Shop where you can buy and sell goods. There are 19 item types in the game, and each planet prices them differently — items cheap on one planet can be worth a fortune on another.
The core loop is simple: buy low on one planet, fly to another, sell high.
Your profit is constrained by:
- Cargo capacity — how much your ship can carry (expandable with Big Cargo Spaces)
- Fuel — how many planets you can visit per day
- Flight path — on-path movement costs 1 fuel, off-path warps cost 2
Understanding Prices
Every item has a base price. Each planet applies a percentage multiplier to that base price, creating unique buy/sell prices per planet.
For example, Ground Weapons have a base price of $350:
- WeaponWorld sells them at 3% = $11 (cheap!)
- Tribonia sells them at 1953% = $6,836 (extremely expensive)
This means buying Ground Weapons on WeaponWorld and selling on Tribonia yields $6,825 profit per unit.
Top Trade Routes
These are the most profitable item routes by profit per unit:
| Item | Buy Planet | Buy Price | Sell Planet | Sell Price | Profit/Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AntiCloak Scanners | Metallica | $87,000 | Loony | $107,000 | $20,000 |
| Reactor Units | Dune | $85,000 | Earth | $100,000 | $15,000 |
| Medical Units | Medoca | $115 | HomeWorld | $8,915 | $8,800 |
| Heating Units | Volcana | $270 | Hothor | $9,000 | $8,730 |
| Tree Growth Kits | Eden | $88 | Zoolie | $7,840 | $7,752 |
| Ground Weapons | WeaponWorld | $11 | Tribonia | $6,836 | $6,825 |
| Plastic Trinkets | Tribonia | $6 | Baboria | $6,810 | $6,804 |
| Device of Cloakings | Loony | $2,750 | Volcana | $9,350 | $6,600 |
| Ice Units | Hothor | $24 | HomeWorld | $6,446 | $6,422 |
| Clothes Bundles | Dogafetch | $104 | HugeLind Mar | $5,940 | $5,836 |
| Novelty Packs | Nirvana | $44 | Tribonia | $5,736 | $5,692 |
Pro tip: High profit-per-unit items like AntiCloak Scanners and Reactor Units are great for small cargo holds. High-volume cheap items (Ground Weapons, Plastic Trinkets) are better for large cargo ships.
Cargo Management
Your ship starts with a base cargo capacity that can be expanded by purchasing Big Cargo Spaces ($8,450 each). Each Big Cargo Space adds one cargo slot, up to your ship’s maximum.
| Ship | Base Cargo | Max Cargo | Expansion Slots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garbage Scow | 7 | 40 | 33 |
| ThrustMaster | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| MaxiPort | 35 | 125 | 90 |
| Ardent Supplier | 20 | 400 | 380 |
| ACCOLADE / APOCALYPSE | 100 | 300 | 200 |
The Ardent Supplier (Alliance, $3.5M) has the largest cargo capacity in the game at 400 — it’s the ultimate trade vessel.
Banking
Six planets have banks where you can deposit and withdraw credits:
| Planet | Notable |
|---|---|
| Earth | Alliance HQ, Ship Dealer |
| Metallica | Robot world |
| Richiana | Elite planet |
| Norhaven | Maraken HQ, Ship Dealer |
| StockWorld | Major trade hub |
| HomeWorld | Retirement planet |
Bank rules:
- Maximum balance: $500,000
- Bank balance is safe — unaffected by ship destruction
- Credits on-hand are at risk — you only keep 50% if your ship is destroyed
Deposit Strategy
Bank early and often. Once you hit the $500K cap, invest excess credits in:
- Ship upgrades (Big Cargo Spaces, Reactor Units)
- Military equipment (fighters, shields, torpedoes)
- Special items (Zone Atomic Bombs for conquest)
Emergency Loans
If you’re completely broke (zero credits, zero cargo), the bank will extend a $1,000 emergency loan. You must repay it before accessing other banking features.
Economy Tips
- Match routes to your flight path. Check your daily path and plan trades along it to minimize fuel waste.
- Fill your cargo hold. Empty cargo slots are wasted profit. Even low-margin items are better than nothing.
- Upgrade cargo early. Big Cargo Spaces pay for themselves quickly — more cargo = more profit per trip.
- Bank before combat. If you’re about to fight, deposit everything first.
- Nirvana sells at cost. Items on Nirvana are priced at or near base price — useful as a reliable supply point.
- Uniland has no trade. Don’t waste fuel warping there for commerce.