In Star Citizen, progression is largely driven by the trade of goods, from highly valuable assets you can stow on your person, to volume-based trading using the largest haulers.
What are commodities?
Commodities are generally resources intended to be processed or traded rather than equipped for personal use. For the purchasing of clothing and equipment, visit our guide for spending your aUEC: Shopping in the 'Verse.
Where can I find commodities?
Commodities can be purchased from various mining outposts, hydroponic farms, and stations to be sold when or where the demand is higher, or sourced by players via exploration, mining, or other extraction like salvaging.
High value items can be found all over the 'verse, so be sure to scour above and below the surface of planets, moons and even asteroids, and make sure that you are well-equipped to collect them!
Hint: Many of the commodities you can collect on-foot are found in and around caves.
Where can I store commodities?
Ship and Vehicle Cargo Grids
Most of Star Citizen's vehicles contain SCU (Standard Cargo Unit) grids for the storage of commodities in shipping crates, although some are specialized for the role. For example, the MISC Prospector mining ship is outfitted with saddle bags specifically for holding ore.
For more information about the different roles and types of vehicles in Star Citizen, visit our Ships and Vehicles guide.
How do I handle commodities I find?
The best way to collect and transport commodities is with an appropriate ship and proper planning for your routes. For a nice overview of the process, check out our Cargo & Hauling Guide.
Refineries
Whilst gems collected by hand are ready to be traded, unrefined commodities such as mined ore cannot be sold to regular commodity terminals. Instead, it will need to be sold to a refinery for processing. These are less common, but can be found at major spaceports and stations.
Important Note: You must land legally in order to trade! Your ship will not appear in the terminal if this procedure is not followed.