A trader is an NPC, and technically a small faction, with whom the player can interact for buying and selling items. While almost all friendly and neutral characters can be traded with, a trader is defined as a character who has items independent of his own inventory. More precisely, a trader has a stock of different items while a non-trader only has the items he uses. Traders also tend to reside in safe areas and sometimes have unlimited money with which to buy items from the player. A full trader will usually buy and sell a large selection of goods, a small trader usually has a limited selection of goods on offer. A trader's inventory of items changes periodically. In Clear Sky players had to be wise who they sold their items to as now traders have different offers for all items, this feature returns in Call of Pripyat.
List of traders in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games
Shadow of Chernobyl
- Barkeep Location: Bar
- Skinflint Location: Army Warehouses
- Colonel Petrenko Location: Bar
- Sidorovich Location: Cordon
- Professor Sakharov Location: Lake Yantar
Breakdown of trader buying prices in Shadow of Chernobyl
| Item class | Sidorovich | Barkeep | Colonel Petrenko | Professor Sakharov | Skinflint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| weapon | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| weapon mod | 45% | 45% | 45% | 20% | 45% |
| armour | 65% | 65% | 65% | 65% | 65% |
| ammunition | 49% | 49% | 49% | 20% | 49% |
| artifact | 65% | 65% | 65% | 100% | 65% |
| medical | 75% | 75% | 75% | 75% | 75% |
| food | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| mutant parts | 0% | 0% | 0% | 125% | 75% |
Clear Sky
- Ashot (Freedom Trader) Location: Dark Valley
- Docent Suslov (Clear Sky Trader) Location: Swamps
- Shilov (Loner Trader) Location: Cordon
- Mitay (Duty Trader) Location: Agroprom Research Institute
- Tooth (Bandit Trader) Location: Garbage
- Thrush (Agroprom Loner Trader) Location: Agroprom
- Sidorovich (Cordon Trader) Location: Cordon
- Professor Sakharov (Ammo, Medical Supplies, Detectors, Suits) Location: Lake Yantar
- Hermit (Loner Trader) Location: Agroprom
- Mine Trader (Duty Trader) Location: Red Forest in the Old mine
- Flea Market Trader (Loner Trader) Location: Garbage
Call of Pripyat
- Beard (Food, Drinks and Artifacts)
- Owl (General Trader)
- Hawaiian (General Trader)
- Bonesetter (Medkits, Bandages & Drugs)
- Tremor (Medkits, Bandages & Drugs)
- Hermann (Detectors, Drugs)
Trivia
- A very helpful but annoying way to stock up on supplies with traders is to buy your equipment, quicksave, then quickload.