Best items to sell to traders in Escape from Tarkov. What to sell to traders to level up

TL;DR

  • Buy and sell trader items to efficiently meet spending requirements with minimal losses
  • Focus on items with highest return percentages like smoke grenades and specific firearms
  • Always refresh trader windows after purchases to enable resale functionality
  • Prioritize level 1-2 traders first as higher levels come naturally through gameplay
  • Post-flea market unlocks advanced arbitrage opportunities with barter items

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Each Escape from Tarkov wipe presents players with the identical economic challenge: advancing trader relationships requires meeting three distinct criteria simultaneously. You must achieve sufficient reputation standing, reach the necessary character level threshold, and crucially, meet specific monetary spending benchmarks with each vendor. Most players naturally accomplish the reputation and level prerequisites well before satisfying the financial commitment, leaving them grappling with how to optimize their ruble expenditure while minimizing fiscal losses. Understanding this economic puzzle is essential for efficient progression.

Before diving into optimization strategies, it’s vital to recognize each trader’s specialized purchasing preferences. Remember that most vendors will only accept equipment maintaining above 50-60% durability, making condition assessment a critical first step. The comprehensive breakdown of trader acquisition specialties:

  • Prapor: firearms and weapon components, explosive grenades [best price], ammunition supplies, medical items, protective armor, barter commodities, identification tags, and access keys
  • Therapist: trade goods [best price], medical supplies [best price], consumable food items, dogtags [best price], keys [best price]
  • Skier: weapons and firearm attachments, select barter commodities, armor protection, tactical rigs and additional equipment
  • Peacekeeper: guns and gun parts, ammunition rounds, certain barter items [acquires specific items unavailable elsewhere], body armor, rig systems and supplementary gear
  • Mechanic: firearms and components [best price excluding weapons purchased by Jaeger], ammo [best price], select barter commodities
  • Ragman: protective armor, tactical rigs and additional equipment [best price]
  • Jaeger: specific firearms [best price for those models], medical supplies, food provisions, certain barter goods, melee weapons [best price]

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Traders typically repurchase most merchandise they originally distribute. This creates the most straightforward and rapid method for boosting expenditure metrics, since both acquisition and divestment transactions contribute to the cumulative counter. The typical reimbursement percentage following this cyclical process averages approximately 45%, though certain commodities can preserve or devalue capital more significantly. This variability creates uncertainty regarding optimal item selection, though several proven approaches exist. Our analysis concentrates primarily on levels 1 and 2, as subsequent tiers generally resolve themselves through normal gameplay activities when purchasing necessary equipment.

The critical procedural requirement involves — you must repeatedly close and reopen the trader interface multiple times following item procurement. Failure to perform this refresh action will prevent the vendor from accepting the merchandise for resale.

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Prapor

Level 1 Strategy: Smoke grenades deliver optimal performance, recovering 57% of invested capital, though availability restricts purchases to merely 4 units per inventory refresh. If impatient waiting isn’t feasible, settling for 45% reimbursement becomes your alternative selection. This return percentage matches what you’ll obtain with the Simonov SKS 7.62×39 carbine platform or PP-91 “Kedr” submachine gun alternative.

Level 2 Approach: The PP-9 “Klin” 9x18PMM submachine gun emerges as your financial rescuer with an atypical for Prapor 55% capital recovery.

Skier

This particular vendor proves notoriously difficult to advance during early gameplay phases, as he provides the poorest reimbursement rates, though certain products function adequately. The optimal approach involves maximizing utilization of equipment he commercially distributes whenever possible.

Level 1 Methodology: Procure maximum quantities of Saiga-9 9×19 carbines as inventory permits. 56% capital recovery surpasses all competing alternatives, including restricted availability options. Identical strategy applies for Level 2 advancement.

Peacekeeper


Level 1 Tactics: The premium selection remains the HK MP5K, though procurement limitations cap acquisitions at 5 per restock cycle. This approach will refund 53% of your expended funds. Remaining requirements can be satisfied through Beretta M9A3 sidearms, which reimburse 45% investment. Alternatively, you can simply purchase United States currency from him, since you’ll need to transfer $6,000 to Skier to unlock Peacekeeper mission chains.

Level 2 Approach: The superior commodity is the HK UMP .45, delivering 57% capital preservation. However, inventory restrictions limit procurement to 7 units per refresh, and you might prefer utilizing them operationally. Consequently, your secondary optimal selection becomes the HK MP5, refunding 55% without restock limitations.

Jaeger

Another challenging merchant to advance. I’d suggest redirecting to him those commodities you typically vend to Therapist, following her advancement. He compensates slightly less, though substantially superior compared to purchasing and reselling his merchandise directly.

Level 1 Selection: MP-43-1C 12ga double-barrel shotgun delivering 39% capital recovery represents your optimal choice.

Ragman

This vendor serves as the primary equipment and armor source during initial gameplay stages, making it improbable you’ll require additional expenditure. However, should necessity arise, favorable circumstances await, since he provides respectable reimbursement percentages.

Level 1 Options: 6B2 torso armor (Flora pattern) stands as the premium selection, though availability remains constrained. CSA chest harness system, Kolpak-1S riot protection helmet, provides 56% capital return.

Mechanic

Given that he offers optimal pricing for firearms and components while distributing numerous quality products, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to engage in purchase-resale activities with him. However, under genuine necessity: SureFire XC1 tactical illumination device or Glock GTL 21 tactical flashlight incorporating laser aiming will conserve 50% of your investment.

Therapist

Similar to Mechanic, you shouldn’t find yourself requiring deliberate actions to satisfy financial prerequisites, since she markets medical supplies and provides premium compensation for barter commodities. However, under absolute requirement, you can procure and vend her Lucky Scav Junk container or Dogtag storage case.

Post-flea market


Following your attainment of flea market accessibility at Level 15, advanced strategic possibilities emerge. For instance, you can exchange for a key organizational tool from Therapist requiring 10 chlorine packages (30k valuation), 10 saline solution containers (20k valuation), and 10 hydrogen peroxide bottles (10k valuation). These valuations reflect current market conditions during composition, and acquisition possible for as minimal as 500k. Subsequently vendable to Therapist (471k compensation), Ragman (464k reimbursement), or Jaeger (449k payment).

Peacekeeper enthusiastically acquires technological commodities such as SAS storage drives, SSD units, protected magnetic tape cassettes, or written journals. These frequently trade on flea platforms at equivalent prices obtainable from the vendor directly.

Jaeger proves effective for advancement through melee armaments traded on flea markets, like Antique axes, or through pharmaceutical injectors. However, pricing structures can demonstrate extreme volatility, preventing concrete recommendation provision, necessitating independent analytical decision-making. Best fortunes in your economic endeavors.

Action Checklist

  • Identify which traders need spending requirements met and prioritize based on your current progression needs
  • Purchase recommended items in bulk during trader restocks, focusing on highest return percentages
  • Always close and reopen trader interface multiple times after purchases to enable resale functionality
  • Monitor item durability thresholds (50-60% minimum) before attempting to sell gear back to traders
  • After reaching level 15, explore advanced flea market arbitrage opportunities with barter items

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