FIELD REFERENCE / Getting started
Probably Stolen Guide: Your First Shop
A working routine for the counter, the stockroom and the end-of-day decisions that keep a new business alive.
Start with Apprentice, play the introduction, and keep rent money separate from your buying budget. Inspect goods before agreeing to a deal, build one repeatable source of income, and check services and machine inputs before ending each day.
Choose a manageable first run
The developer recommends Apprentice for beginners. Its generalist opening lets you learn ordinary trading before committing to fish tanks, controlled goods or chemistry. Rock Bottom starts without resources; it is a challenge route, not an efficient tutorial.
Our recommendation is to finish a simple run before optimizing a specialist opening. A strong starting kit cannot help if you do not yet know which customers buy your output or how much cash the next bill requires.
Evidence: Developer: release and scenario overview
Use the same checks for every deal
This is an editorial checklist, not an additional game mechanic. Use it until inspection becomes a habit; speed comes from avoiding repeated mistakes.
- Read the customer's request and budget before moving merchandise. Choose the items that satisfy the request rather than putting your entire stock on the counter.
- Inspect the item's condition, identity and labels. For liquids, test the contents; a confident seller and a printed grade are not proof of quality.
- Compare your purchase price with a realistic sale value. Leave room for consumables, power and bargaining instead of counting the entire resale price as profit.
- Confirm what is included in a container before trading it. Keep working equipment and stock you need tomorrow out of the offer.
- After the sale, put reusable tools back in their usual place. A consistent layout makes it easier to spot a missing filter, scanner or ingredient before it interrupts the next job.
Evidence: Steam: Water Trading Made Easy · Developer announcements and fixes
Reserve cash before buying upgrades
Use the calendar and payment dialogue in your save to read upcoming obligations. Your cash balance and the estimated value of your stock are different: an expensive machine does not pay a bill until you can turn it into spendable credits.
A useful planning rule is: buying budget = cash − next unavoidable payments − operating reserve. Pick a reserve large enough to buy tomorrow's normal stock and consumables. This is a budgeting method, not a formula used by the game.
| Decision | A useful check |
|---|---|
| Buy more stock | Do I know a likely buyer, and can I afford to wait? |
| Buy a machine | Can I also afford its inputs, energy and output containers? |
| Add a second production line | Has the first one paid for itself without using rent money? |
| Save for ownership | Is this cash genuinely surplus after bills and replenishment? |
Evidence: Wikily: rent and buying the store
Give the first week a clear purpose
Treat the opening days as a sequence of jobs rather than a race to buy every upgrade. First learn the counter; then learn one production cycle; finally check whether that cycle leaves more usable money after expenses.
Water trading is a useful example because its result can be measured: test the input, use the appropriate treatment, test the output and match the label. Do not expand into the dirtiest water until your equipment can handle it.
- Opening days: learn inspection and finish deals without accidentally selling tools.
- Middle of the week: record one complete buy–process–sell cycle, including consumables.
- Before rent: stop optional purchases if the reserved payment is at risk.
- After rent: reinvest a portion of the remaining profit, rather than the whole balance.
Evidence: Steam: Water Trading Made Easy
Run a closing checklist
- Read the night-services screen. Keep the services your plan requires and understand the consequence before switching one off.
- Inspect active machines: correct inputs, usable power and space for the output. A full storage area can interrupt a profitable-looking production plan.
- Check the trash before using the janitors. Exchange ingredients belong there only when you intend to trade them; ordinary items left there may be discarded.
- Decide whether an after-hours trip has a specific purpose. Bring the equipment for that trip and leave room to carry the result back.
- On the next morning, read the report before calling customers. Resolve failed jobs or urgent warnings before starting another batch.
Evidence: AllThingsHow: Underground Exchange walkthrough · Furnace release recipe reference
Fix the bottleneck you actually have
| Problem | Next action |
|---|---|
| Stock is valuable but rent cash is short | Sell through existing inventory before adding another machine. |
| Water refuses to improve | Identify the remaining contaminant; do not keep spending filters on microbes. |
| Too many unfinished production jobs | Reduce the number of simultaneous batches and finish a complete sale cycle. |
| Suspicious customer | Read the Aug guide and use evidence; wanted status and Aug identity are separate. |
| Bills keep surprising you | Read the calendar and payment screen before spending the day's income. |
COUNTER QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What is the best beginner specialization?
Apprentice is the developer's beginner recommendation. Choose it if your priority is understanding the counter and cash flow before managing a specialized production chain.
Should I buy every machine I can afford?
No. Our advice is to budget for the machine plus its working inputs, energy and stock space. Finish a few profitable cycles before adding another line.
Does owning valuable stock mean I can buy the shop?
Not by itself. Direct purchase requires the credits requested in the purchase dialogue. Inventory value is useful for planning, but it is not the same as cash.
Sources & evidence
Source notes identify the basis for this guide. Your current in-game tooltips and dialogue take precedence when a patch or mod changes a mechanic.
- Developer: release and scenario overview ↗
Official announcement. Establishes the nine release scenarios, store buyout goal and aquaculture basics.
- Steam: Water Trading Made Easy ↗
Owlie's player guide. Used for the testing, tablet, filter and relabeling workflow; older advice is not assumed to survive balance changes.
- Wikily: rent and buying the store ↗
Community reference for rent, direct purchase and mortgage behavior. Use the quote in your own save for payment amounts.
- AllThingsHow: Underground Exchange walkthrough ↗
Player walkthrough with directive and Sawyer screenshots, opening conditions and nightly service steps.
- Furnace release recipe reference ↗
Community reference for normal batches, energy, output space and module tradeoffs. Conflicting Blast purity tables are omitted.
- Developer announcements and fixes ↗
Official patch notes. Used for changed behavior, including filter removal, evaporator residue and mod compatibility.
Found a discrepancy? Send the page link and supporting evidence.