Interstellaria/Trading strategies

As a Trade Co. captain, you have four ways to make money. In the simplest method, you harvest resources from planets and sell them to the nearest shop. To get more money in exchange for extra time, you can use the Trade Port table below and sell the resources to the places that pay extra for them. The most exciting method is to fight other fleets and sell the loot you collect from the debris. (Just make sure not to sell anything at a Trade Port that offers it for sale.) The last (and most lucrative) method is to buy resources in bulk and transport them to the Trade Ports that want them. The downside of trading is that you need a nest egg (say, 10,000 Dy) before it is worth the extra time required.

Resources
All resources can be harvested except Pixcoins and Puddles. As of version 1.07, nobody wants Pixcoin. Even the humans on Kere won't buy it back. Puddles are produced when you orbit with Snow. The base sell value is also the unit profit if you buy the resource and sell it where it is wanted. Since planets take 20 minutes to respawn, you'll need to keep moving from planet to planet. Early on, the best places to farm are Sakari, Xiwang, and Cylus. If you keep moving between them, you should be able to always have a fresh drop site when you want it. The quickest place to sell the resources is Yunqi, but you can get more money from Anoa, Cyala, and Trade Co HQ. If you progress the story far enough, you can fly between Aibit, Tsaaraa, and Gadaad. This path has the advantage that you don't need to go out of your way to sell the resources. If you want the extra money, sell your goods at Ongmon, Eshk, and Delna.
 * Ancient Artifacts: Found on Cylus. Base sell value: 75
 * Data: Found on Sakari and Gadaad. Base sell value: 40
 * DNA: Found on Xiwang, Cylus, and Ott. Base sell value: 35
 * Firestone: Found on Brand. Base sell value: 120
 * Flowers and Herbs: Found on Sakari, Xiwang, Zephyr, and Stadam. Base sell value: 17
 * Fruits and Vegetables: Found on Oloke. Base sell value: 15
 * Gas: Found on Ulu. Base sell value: 70
 * Precious Gems: Found on Sakari, Xiwang, Cylus, Brand, Stadam, and Tsaaraa. Base sell value: 75
 * Raw Dynium: Found on Aibit, Brand, Tsaaraa, Eshou, Ayudar and New Terra. Base sell value: 85
 * Snow: Found on Herafor. Base sell value: 10000
 * The Ooze: Found on Ghfi, Ayudar, and Tharkad. Base sell value: 1
 * Valuable Scrap: Found on Sakari, Gadaad, Tharkad, and Ott. Base sell value: 50
 * Vines and Roots: Found on Aibit, Cylus, and Xiwang. Base sell value: 45
 * War Relics: Found on Sakari (after tutorial) and Ott. Base sell value: 60
 * Water: Found on Ayudar and Gadaad. Base sell value: 50

Trade Routes
If you only want a one way route, check the table above for the Trade Ports nearest your location and destination. To get started with reciprocal routes, take Flowers and Herbs from Paren to Wiegre, then bring back Fruits and Vegetables. Once you have 70,000 Dy, you're ready for bigger value hauls. Start shipping DNA from Yunqi to Ongmon and bringing back Gas. If you unlock Kibou, you can take the Gas there and ship Kibou's Raw Dynium to Yunqi, creating a triangular trade route. If you aren't looking for Kursha ship loot, you can make more money faster by just shipping Raw Dynium from Kibou to Trade Co. HQ or Tharkad.