More morally questionable players in Starfield are looking for ways to sell contraband. Authorities frown upon stolen items and won’t hesitate to confiscate them upon landing on major settlements, making them difficult to sell. This guide shows you how to smuggle and sell contraband in Starfield.
What is Contraband in Starfield?
Starfield Contraband are stolen goods you’ve unlawfully acquired. They’re marked with a yellow icon on your storage, which is different from regular stolen goods, which are marked with a red icon.
Authorities only detect contraband, but they will confiscate both that and stolen items if they find any. You can choose to fight them off, but they’ll be tougher than regular enemies. You’ll want to learn how to smuggle contraband in Starfield since a few of them could sell for quite a few credits.
How to Smuggle Contraband in Starfield?
Contraband can be smuggled by upgrading your ship to have shielded cargo holds so that scanners don’t detect them. Another option is to upgrade your Deception skill to Rank 4 in order to fool scanners and make them generally less effective.
At the start of the game, your ship won’t have any shielded cargo hold on you starter ship. You can visit a Rare Parts Dealer in order to upgrade it with one. Ship upgrades cost credits, but they can help you smuggle. Or you can fulfill requests that reward you with shielded cargo upon completion. Since Starfield lets you steal other ships, you can commandeer any ship that has one installed and take it for yourself.
If you get caught with contraband on your ship, you’ll be contacted by the authorities who will want to board your ship. You can let them or attack them to get away with your stolen goods. There’s actually an interesting occurrence if you get caught with contraband by Commander Ikande who will recruit you to go undercover to a pirate gang after you let them board your ship.
How to Sell Contraband in Starfield?
Contraband can be sold at any Trade Vendor located on most settlement planets in Starfield. However, you have to first smuggle them past security by installing a shielded cargo hold on your ship or upgrading the Deception skill to Rank 4 to fool scanners.
Planets controlled by the Freestar Collective and the United Colonies will scan your ship upon landing. If the authorities find any contraband on your ship, you’ll either have to give it up or fight them for it. While most major locations will scan your ship when you board, The Key is one of the locations that doesn’t allow you to sell your contraband easily. However, it’s run by the Crimson Fleet, so be sure to build a good relationship with them.
Vendors like Zoe Kaminski on Jameson and Marcel Duris in The Den are pretty easy to find and will be more than happy to purchase contraband from you. Of course, you’ll have to first smuggle them in from the authorities.