Raw trader
Elements only. Sits in Refinery and Extraction economies. Seven trade lines, one per element group.
Guides // Materials
Material Trading
Every material category has its own trader. Learn what can be exchanged, what you can get back, and what can't be traded.
A Material Trader (Material Trader: A station contact that swaps materials within one inventory — down a grade cheaply, up expensively.) swaps materials inside one inventory. Each trader handles a single type — raw, manufactured, or encoded — and every trade stays within that type, so a raw element will never become a component no matter how much you have of it.
Finding A Trader
Search for Material Traders on Inara > Data > Nearest. Set your current or preferred system as the reference system so nearby traders are sorted by distance.
Manufactured trader
Components only. Extraction and Industrial economies. Ten trade lines, one per chain.
Encoded trader
Data only. High-Tech and Military economies. Six trade lines, one per category.
Guardian / Thargoid
There are no Material Traders (Material Trader: A station contact that swaps materials within one inventory — down a grade cheaply, up expensively.) for these categories. Obtain them directly from Guardian sites or Thargoid activities instead.
Two moves cost very differently, which is the whole reason to gather the top of a chain rather than the bottom.
| Move | Rate | Worth doing? |
|---|---|---|
| Down one grade | 1 → 3 | Yes. This is how the lower rows of a chain get filled. |
| Sideways, same grade | 6 → 1 | Sometimes. The only way into a chain you never gather. |
| Up one grade | 6 → 1 | Rarely. Six of a grade for one of the next is a bad trade unless you need a handful. |
So gather high and trade down. The Material Converter costs a specific swap out before you fly.
You cannot manage a hundred-plus materials from the in-game panel alone. Two tools cover most of it: one on the desk while you fly, one in the browser when you are planning.
EDOMH
Odyssey Materials Helper. Reads your journal for exact raw, manufactured, encoded, and on-foot stock. Build a wishlist from engineer blueprints, see what you are short, and find the nearest trader. Best on a second screen or a tablet while you fly. edomh.nl
Inara
You can check your inventory on your Inara profile as long as you synced your data through EDMC.