Beginner's guide: seven things to know before you open shop

The daily loop

A day in Probably Stolen follows a fixed rhythm: open the shop, call the next customer, inspect the goods, quote a price, sell, close up, head out at night, sleepOfficial.

You spend the day at the counter, inspecting goods, quoting prices and closing deals. After closing you can head out, then sleep to start the next day. Rent hangs over the whole loop.

Rent and buying the shop

Rent settles once a week and only goes up.Official

That means rent keeps squeezing your cash flow. The final goal of version 1.0 is to buy the shop itselfOfficial — the ending of the management arc.

Inspection and appraisal

The developer's published checks fall into three groups:

Goods	Check	Purpose
Cigarettes	Visual inspection	Spot counterfeits
Water	Testing and filtering	Confirm the water is safe
Rare goods	Appraisal	Avoid overpaying

Cigarettes need a visual check, water needs testing and filtering, and rare goods should be appraised so you do not overpay.Official

You can also pass off inferior goods as the real thing, but doing so carries a riskOfficial. The developer has not detailed what that risk is.

For a closer look, read inspection and appraisal: cigarettes, water and rare goods.

Customers are not always customers

The person at your counter may not be an ordinary customer. Confirmed identities include:

• Undercover security running a sting
• Rebels
• Down-on-their-luck elites

For every deal you can agree, refuse, report it, or look the other way.Official

That is the central trade-off: reporting can anger one faction, while letting a deal go can leave a risk behind. The developer has not published the exact consequences of each choice.

Spotting an Aug

An Aug is a host controlled by a runaway AI implantOfficial. The official visual tells are:

1. A visible aug chip
2. Unusual pupils
3. An uncanny expression

All three are things you can check at the counter. See how to spot an Aug for the full breakdown.

Faction reputation

Faction reputation buys contacts and exclusive stock — and makes you a target.Official

Reputation is not a simple positive stat: it opens doors and puts more factions on your back. How to raise it, and what each faction offers, has not been published.

Starting professions and difficulty

Version 1.0 offers 9 starting professionsOfficial, including:

• Hydroponic farmer
• Gunsmith
• Chemist
• Aquaculturist

There are also 4 difficulty levelsOfficial. The developer has not published the numerical differences between professions or an official recommendation, so this guide does not rank them.

What to read next

• Release time, price and the full 1.0 contents: release date, price and the 1.0 update
• How to inspect goods: inspection and appraisal
• How to identify an Aug: how to spot an Aug