Turn spice (and scrap) into Solari with a practical playbook for what sells, how vendor resets really work, and how to avoid the Exchange’s most expensive mistakes.
Why flip at all?
On Arrakis, time is water—and Solari. Flipping on the CHOAM Exchange can compress hours of grinding into minutes of market work if you understand demand cycles, vendor restocks, and the real cost of each listing. This guide distills the system into repeatable steps: where to sell, what to list, when to list it, and the traps that drain profit.
The Exchange in one page
What and where. The Exchange (CHOAM) is the game’s market board found at the social hubs—Arrakeen and Harko Village. These hubs pool players from multiple servers in the same “World,” so you can trade with a much bigger population than your single Hagga Basin shard. Practically, this is why listings move at the hubs and often stagnate elsewhere.
Getting there. If you don’t have an Ornithopter, plan on paying for air travel from a Trading Post to a hub. Community coverage consistently pegs this flight at 2,500 Solari (some threads debate one‑way vs. round‑trip), which is meaningful overhead early on—another reason smart flipping focuses on high‑margin items or batches. You’ll also need to physically bring the items you want to list.
Bank first, then list. The Exchange pulls fees from your banked Solari (not your on‑hand cash). Deposit at a Guild Bank terminal in Arrakeen or Harko Village before listing; the game even surfaces Exchange fees under the duration selector.
Durations & fees. You choose a listing duration—1 to 14 real‑world days is reported by multiple guides—and the fee scales with both duration and price. Expect an up‑front “listing” fee (non‑refundable if you cancel or the item expires) plus a sale cut when it sells. Community reports vary by patch (e.g., 5% listing + 10% sale vs. higher listing %), so treat the in‑game UI as the source of truth each time you post.
Quality‑of‑life note. A recent update allows you to list from—and claim to—your Ornithopter’s vehicle inventory at Exchange terminals, reducing inventory shuffling.
What actually sells (and why)
Server economies differ, but certain categories repeatedly move across Worlds and patches:
- Vehicle components & power tools (fast movers). Players routinely report strong liquidity for cutterays (handheld + buggy), wings, treads, engines, PSUs, plus power packs and compactors. These are convenience goods with constant attrition and multi‑role utility—perfect for flips in small to mid‑size stacks.
- Rare schematics & unique/blueprint items (high margin, slower). These are the “headline” Exchange items: unique base blueprints, specialized crafting recipes, and rarer vehicle parts. They attract fewer buyers but at much higher price points; list for longer durations and don’t over‑undercut.
- Refined resources & late‑tier mats (situational, rhythm‑driven). Melange (spice) and high‑tier mats fluctuate with weeklies and patch changes; they sell well in “need spikes” but can collapse when supply floods. Price check before you commit a large listing fee.
- Mid‑game craftables that save time. Items like stillsuits (by tier) or consumable loops (e.g., lubricants) can out‑earn vendor sales if your Exchange has traffic; they’re excellent for vendor‑to‑Exchange arbitrage after restocks.
Why these categories?
They map to attrition (tools), aspiration (uniques), and rhythm (resources)—the three demand drivers that repeat every server cycle. If an item saves time, replaces a worn part, unlocks a new build, or fits the weekly meta, it tends to move.
Vendor reset rhythms: the backbone of low‑risk flipping
If you only memorize one timing rule, make it this one:
- Many NPC vendors at Trading Posts/settlements (including Arrakeen and Harko Village) restock roughly every 24 hours. That daily clock is your basic arbitrage window: buy low at restock, relist at the Exchange, and let the wider hub population bid up convenience.
How to work the daily:
- Route first, list second. Hit your favorite Trading Posts just after reset, then fly the best deals to a hub. Don’t reverse it; Exchange prices lag vendor restocks by hours, so early items get better fill rates.
- Batch by category. Ten power tools at a sane price will sell faster than one at a perfect price, because buyers want “done in one trip.”
- Watch travel overhead. If a flight costs ~2,500 Solari and your listing fee is non‑refundable, make sure the margin × quantity absorbs both. With low‑ticket items, consolidate trips or fly your own ’thopter.
Weekly rhythms matter, too.
Once a week, a Coriolis Storm reconfigures Deep Desert points of interest and resource locations. The first 24–48 hours after that change tend to spike demand for specific mats and gear as groups re‑gear and scout, while mid‑week often sees price dips from supply catching up. Use early‑week demand to move high‑value pieces; buy mid‑week troughs to relist into the weekend.
Tip: If you’re on hosted servers with scheduled daily restarts, time your vendor runs to land just after those windows on your region. It’s not a guaranteed vendor refresh, but it’s a reliable moment when many players log back in and markets “wake up.”
The flipping playbook (step‑by‑step)
1) Scout prices and liquidity.
Check the Exchange first. Sort by recent sales if available, then by lowest current listings. Capture a quick note of (a) the lowest competitive ask and (b) how many are available at or near that price. If inventory is thin and the item is a daily attrition good, you have a flip candidate.
2) Farm/Buy the input.
- Vendor → Exchange: Grab restock specials (tools, parts, repair items) and fly them to a hub.
- Player → Player: Snag underpriced stacks (especially mid‑week) and relist with a tighter buyout.
3) Decide duration by category.
- Fast movers (tools, common mats): 24–72 hours.
- Mid/rare gear & blueprints: 3–7 days.
- Very rare / niche: 7–14 days; price ambitiously but be ready to cancel once if the market shifts (remember: cancelling burns the original listing fee). Guides note durations up to 14 days—use the shortest timeline that still fits your audience’s cadence.
4) Price for fill, not for screenshots.
Undercut meaningfully once (e.g., 3–7%) on thin books; match on thick books when your stack is cleaner (rounded amounts, full stacks). Buyers pay for convenience and certainty.
5) Mind the two‑fee reality.
Community testing indicates an up‑front listing fee plus a sale fee off proceeds. Your net is:
Net = Price × (1 – sale%) – listing_fee
The sale % and listing % have varied by patch and duration, so read the numbers at listing time and only post when the worst‑case net beats vendor cash‑out + travel + time.
6) Bank and batch.
Deposit Solari before you list so fees clear. Post multiple items in one hub session to amortize your travel time.
7) Deliver from your ’thopter.
After the July patch, you can list from—and claim sales to—your Ornithopter vehicle inventory, which makes shuttling batches far less painful.
High‑probability flips (by behavior)
- Attrition loop staples: Cutterays, power packs, compactors, buggy components (wings/treads/engines/PSUs)—buyers chew through these constantly. Post in clean stacks, 24–48h duration, and re‑post daily until you’ve mapped your server’s appetite.
- “Start‑of‑week” rares: Immediately after the Deep Desert weekly reshuffle, list the items teams suddenly need—vehicle parts, certain suit upgrades, and niche mats—at confident prices with 3–7 day durations.
- Blueprints & uniques: List with patience. Don’t race to the bottom; instead, differentiate (include a crisp listing note if UI allows, or package bundles—e.g., a blueprint + the mats to craft one). Third‑party guides and community posts consistently highlight rare schematics and unique items as Exchange breadwinners.
- Refined resources (spice, etc.): Treat as speculative; they can be excellent if your World’s supply is sporadic, but check live pricing before paying a large listing fee.
Timing your listings
- Just after vendor restock (daily): you capture buyers returning from runs and re‑tooling for the next session.
- Start of the weekly: when the Deep Desert changes, people re‑gear; list on day 1–2.
- Patch days & events: when notes introduce new sinks or buffs—watch patch pages for little QoL notes that change behavior (like the ’thopter inventory change for Exchange).
Listing pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
- Ignoring the bank. You can’t pay Exchange fees with pocket Solari. Deposit first or your listing won’t go live.
- Treating fees as an afterthought. The listing fee is burned whether or not the item sells; cancelling also burns it, and longer durations cost more up front. If your plan requires “try 4–5 times until it sells,” you’re building a bonfire out of fees.
- Misreading travel cost. If flights run ~2,500 Solari, that’s a stealth tax on every flip until you own a ’thopter. Fold it into your margin math.
- Cross‑server confusion. The Exchange is World‑wide (across multiple servers in your World), not necessarily global across all regions. Don’t price assuming a mega‑global market; supply and demand are still localized.
- Over‑duration on fast movers. Long listings lock your capital and hike fees. Tools and common mats churn fast—stick to 24–72 hours.
- Undercut wars. Two sellers race to zero while a third posts ten clean stacks at yesterday’s price and sells out. Set a price floor; if it’s breached, buy the dip and relist later instead of joining a spiral.
- Listing clutter. Scattered 1–2 item stacks spook buyers who want one purchase and done. Standardize stack sizes (e.g., 10/25/50) to be the easiest buy on the page.
- Ignoring weekly rhythm. The early‑week window after the Coriolis reshuffle is uniquely good for big tickets; don’t waste those hours on low‑margin flips.
- Forgetting manual pickup/claim behavior. Some guides note that after a sale, you collect Solari into your bank and may need to retrieve items via the “My Orders” tab; build a habit of clearing out Exchange orders when you visit the hub.
Vendor‑to‑Exchange arbitrage: a safe starter loop
- Park near a Trading Post with vendors whose wares line up with fast movers (tools/consumables).
- Run immediately after the 24‑hour restock, grab value items in batches, and fly to Arrakeen/Harko.
- List at a realistic fill price (not the top) for 24–48 hours.
- Reinvest profits into high‑margin rares for the early‑week window.
- Graduate to your own ’thopter to erase the 2,500 Solari flight tax and speed up cycles.
Advanced: Reading your World like a trader
- Watch hub foot traffic. When Arrakeen looks busy (post‑restart, early evening regional time), shorten durations and ask for stronger prices. When it’s quiet, lengthen duration or shift inventory to broader‑appeal categories.
- Stack the deck with bundles. If you’re listing a blueprint, bundle the mats for one build. If you’re listing vehicle treads, pair them with the PSU pack. Higher upfront price, better perceived value, faster fill.
- Arbitrage across days. Buy mid‑week dips when supply catches up (after the weekly reshuffle), then relist into weekend peaks.
- Track micro‑patches. Small QoL changes—like listing directly from vehicle inventory—can unlock new, profitable behaviors (bigger hauls, fewer trips). Read patch notes.
Quick FAQ
Is the Exchange worth it early?
Yes—if you focus on fast movers and batch listings, and you respect fees. If every flip can’t cover a flight and a listing fee, save up for a small stack that can.
How long should I list items?
Use the shortest duration that matches buyer behavior: 24–72h for consumables/tools, 3–7d for mid/rare, 7–14d for very rare. Remember that longer durations increase up‑front fees.
Do I need to bank Solari to pay fees?
Yes. Deposit at a Guild Bank in Arrakeen/Harko; fees draw from banked funds.
Where exactly are the Exchange terminals?
At Arrakeen and Harko Village social hubs. If you’re new, use a Trading Post pilot to fly there, or your own Ornithopter once you have one.
A closing checklist for every flip
- [ ] Price checked the lowest ask and recent fills
- [ ] Calculated net after both fees (sale + listing)
- [ ] Banked enough Solari to cover fees
- [ ] Batched stacks to standard sizes
- [ ] Chosen duration to match buyer behavior
- [ ] Considered flight cost (or used your ’thopter)
- [ ] Timed the post (daily vendor reset / start‑of‑week surge)
- [ ] Left “wiggle room” (one price adjustment without relisting)
Nail the checklist, respect the rhythms, and you’ll stop asking “Is the Exchange worth the trip?” and start asking “Which market opens next?”
