Black Market

Overview

The Black Market is an underground economy in Crimson Desert that operates parallel to the legitimate trading system. It allows players to sell stolen goods, unpackaged trade goods, poached livestock, and stolen wagons through a network of shady vendors scattered across the continent of Pywel. Unlike regular merchants, Black Market vendors do not care how you acquired your goods. They deal in personal currency (copper and silver) rather than camp funds, making them an important source of income for players who engage with the crime system.

The Black Market is not a single location but a collective term for several types of underground vendors. These include Back Alley Shops that sell criminal tools and buy stolen items, Trade Goods Black Market vendors at Goldleaf Trading Posts that purchase unpackaged trade goods, Livestock Fences that accept poached animals, and Wagon Fences that buy stolen carts and wagons. Each vendor type fills a different role in the criminal underworld, and understanding where to find them is key to turning a profit from your illicit activities.

How to Unlock the Black Market

Access to the Black Market is gated behind story progression. The ability to sell unpackaged trade goods at Goldleaf Trading Posts opens up at the transition between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. After you defeat the boss Kailok the Hornsplitter at the end of Chapter 2, a cutscene plays that introduces you to the first Goldleaf Trading Post and the Goldleaf Guildhouse.

However, the Back Alley Shop operated by Grimrak near Hernand is accessible earlier in the game. You can visit Grimrak as soon as you have free roam of the Hernand region to purchase a Mask and keys. These are prerequisites for engaging in theft, pickpocketing, livestock poaching, and wagon stealing, so acquiring them early is recommended if you plan to pursue criminal activities.

Types of Black Market Vendors

The underground economy in Crimson Desert is divided among four distinct vendor types. Each specializes in buying or selling different categories of goods.

Back Alley Shops

Back Alley Shops are the most versatile Black Market vendors. They serve as both suppliers of criminal tools and buyers of stolen goods, making them a one-stop shop for anyone engaged in Crimson Desert's crime system. These shops are run by goblin vendors who operate on the outskirts of major towns, away from the eyes of guards and law-abiding citizens.

Grimrak's Back Alley Shop

The first and most well-known Back Alley Shop is run by Grimrak, a goblin vendor located southeast of Hernand. To find him, head east out of Hernand, past the large model castle on the left side of the road, then turn left and follow the track down toward the river. Grimrak's stall sits at the end of the road on the west side of the Nas River, near the Livestock Black Market. His shop is close to the mill southeast of the Church of Hernand.

Grimrak stocks a diverse range of items useful for criminal activities. He doubles as a buyer for stolen goods, so you can purchase tools and sell your haul in the same visit.

Items for Sale at Back Alley Shops

Back Alley Shops can be found on the outskirts of each major town in the game. As you progress through the main story and unlock new regions, additional Back Alley Shops become available.

Trade Goods Black Market

Trade Goods Black Market vendors are found at Goldleaf Trading Posts throughout Pywel. These vendors are small green gremlin NPCs who specialize in purchasing unpackaged trade goods directly from your inventory. On the minimap, their locations are marked with small red tent icons, making them relatively easy to spot when you are in the area.

Unpackaged vs. Packaged Trade Goods

Crimson Desert distinguishes between two categories of trade goods. Understanding the difference is important because each type is sold through different channels.

Selling unpackaged goods directly to the Black Market is the faster and simpler method, especially in the early game. You do not need a wagon, a horse, or any packaging step. Simply walk up to a gremlin trader, open the Sell menu, and choose what to unload from your inventory. Payment is immediate in copper or silver.

An important detail: selling in larger quantities at once tends to yield better prices than selling items one at a time. Batch your goods together for maximum profit whenever possible.

Known Black Market Locations

Black Market vendors of all types are spread across the regions of Pywel. As you progress through the story and unlock new areas, more trading posts and fences become available. Below are the confirmed locations for each vendor type.

Trade Goods Black Market Locations

Look for the small red tent icons on your minimap whenever you enter a new settlement or trading area. These icons indicate Goldleaf Trading Posts where Black Market vendors can be found.

Back Alley Shop Locations

Livestock Fence Locations

Wagon Fence Locations

What You Can Sell

Black Market vendors are the primary outlet for goods that regular merchants will refuse to buy. The items you can sell depend on the vendor type and how you obtained the goods.

Stolen Items (Back Alley Shops and Trade Goods Black Market)

Stolen items are obtained through stealing and theft: breaking into homes, pickpocketing NPCs, looting locked containers, and raiding bank vaults. Common high-value stolen items include the following.

A tip regarding coin pouches: in some cases, opening a coin pouch in your inventory yields more currency than selling it sealed to a fence. Experiment with both approaches to see which pays better for a given pouch.

Unpackaged Trade Goods (Trade Goods Black Market)

Unpackaged trade goods are items tagged with the trade goods label that go directly into your inventory without needing to be packed. You will find these while exploring, completing quests, or looting enemies and locations. Regular traders refuse to accept them, so your only option is to sell them at the Trade Goods Black Market. Examples include items like pottery and black pepper.

Stolen Livestock (Livestock Fence)

If you poach an animal by picking it up while wearing a Mask, you can carry it to a Livestock Fence to sell. You must be actively carrying the animal when you arrive at the fence to complete the sale. Livestock can also be slaughtered for meat and materials, but selling live animals to a fence is more profitable for certain species.

Stolen Wagons (Wagon Fence)

Any wagon or cart you steal while wearing a Mask can be driven to a Wagon Fence and sold. To steal a wagon, approach it while masked and interact with it. Then drive it to the nearest Wagon Fence location. Park the stolen wagon at the entrance, and a cutscene will play where the transaction is completed. Each stolen wagon earns roughly 15 silver on average. Specialized or decorated wagons do not sell for more than regular ones. Note that stolen wagons cannot be used for legitimate trade routes.

Bank Robbery and the Black Market

One of the most lucrative early-game activities tied to the Black Market is robbing the Hernand Bank. This is a common method for quickly building up silver in the early chapters.

1. Buy a Mask from Grimrak's Back Alley Shop for 10 Copper.

2. Buy a Key from the same vendor for 30 Copper.

3. Head to the Hernand Bank in the northwest district of Hernand, near the castle entrance.

4. Equip your Mask, enter the bank, and use the Key on the locked storage room opposite the bank teller.

5. Loot every strongbox, chest, and lockbox inside the vault.

6. Sell any stolen goods at Grimrak's shop or a Trade Goods Black Market vendor.

A full vault run typically yields 30 to 55 silver depending on how many containers you clear. The cost is a -5 Contribution penalty per stolen item, which lowers your Contribution rank with the Hernand faction. This penalty applies regardless of whether you are detected.

Consequences of Using the Black Market

While Black Market vendors themselves do not penalize you, the activities required to acquire goods for sale carry real consequences within the game's crime system.

Contribution Loss

Every act of theft results in a loss of Contribution points in the region where the crime is committed. This penalty is unavoidable, even if no NPC witnesses the crime. The typical deduction for theft is -5 Contribution per stolen item. Contribution affects your standing with local factions and determines what gear and rewards are available at Contribution shops, so frequent theft will lower your access to these rewards in that region.

Bounties

When you commit a crime, a red detection zone appears around you on the minimap. If an NPC spots you within this zone, your crime is reported and you receive a bounty. The severity of the bounty scales with the crime: theft generates a relatively small bounty (around 5 Copper), while assault and murder carry much larger fines. Bounties are region-specific; a bounty earned in Hernand does not affect you in Demeniss or Pailune.

Clearing Bounties

To clear a bounty, visit any Confessional at a church in the region where you have the bounty. Speak to the church representative and purchase a Writ of Absolution for the amount of your bounty. This removes the wanted status from your head. If your bounty accumulates to a high enough level, guards will attempt to apprehend you. Getting arrested and spending time in jail will also clear your bounty upon release.

Essential Tools: Mask and Key

Two items purchased from Back Alley Shops are essential for engaging with the Black Market economy.

The Mask

The Mask is the single most important item for criminal activity. You must equip it before attempting any form of theft. While wearing the Mask, you can steal from chests, dressers, shelves, and strongboxes in homes and buildings. You can also pickpocket NPCs by sprinting into them while masked, at which point a button prompt appears to initiate the pickpocket. The Mask also enables livestock poaching and wagon stealing.

Masks cost 10 Copper from any Back Alley Shop. You can also obtain them for free by looting bandit enemies or as a reward for completing certain bounty quests, such as the Bounty Notice: Jeffrey quest.

Keys

Keys cost 30 Copper each at Back Alley Shops and are consumed on use. They open locked doors and containers throughout the world, giving you access to premium loot behind locked doors in homes, banks, and other buildings. Keys can also be found as random loot from bandit enemies and as bounty quest rewards. Stock up on keys before planning a heist or exploration run through areas with locked rooms.

Tips and Strategies

• Sell in bulk. The more of a single item you sell at once, the better the per-unit price. Batch your unpackaged trade goods and stolen items together rather than selling them one at a time.

• Visit Grimrak early. As soon as you have free roam in Hernand, head to Grimrak's Back Alley Shop to pick up a Mask and a couple of Keys. The 40 Copper total investment (10 for the Mask, 30 for a Key) pays for itself many times over from a single bank robbery.

• Steal from isolated locations. Guards do not actively patrol remote areas. Committing crimes far from town centers reduces the chance of being spotted within the red detection zone.

• Use the lantern to spot valuables. Holding L1 (or the equivalent button) activates a lantern that highlights interactable objects. This makes it easier to identify loot bags containing keys, books with crafting materials, and NPCs carrying coin pouches (which appear with a gold glow).

• Open coin pouches before selling. Some coin pouches yield more currency when opened directly in your inventory than when sold sealed to a Back Alley vendor. Check both options before committing.

• Manage your Contribution carefully. Every stolen item costs -5 Contribution in the local region, regardless of detection. If you rely on Contribution shops for gear upgrades, balance your theft activities against the reputation you need to maintain.

• Clear bounties promptly. Visit the nearest church and buy a Writ of Absolution before your bounty stacks up to the point where guards try to arrest you. Regional bounties do not follow you between regions, so you can always relocate temporarily if funds are tight.

• Steal wagons during exploration. Wagons are found along roads throughout Pywel. Stealing and selling one takes only a few minutes and earns roughly 15 silver, making it a solid passive income method during travel.

• Prioritize the Black Market for early income. Selling unpackaged goods at a Trade Goods Black Market vendor is the simplest early-game money-making method. No wagon, no packaging fees, no minimum stack size. Just walk up and sell.

• Check for Back Alley Shops in new regions. Each major town has a Back Alley Shop on its outskirts. When you unlock a new area, scout the perimeter to find the local vendor.

Related Articles

• Crime System - Full breakdown of criminal activities, detection, and penalties

• Stealing and Theft - Detailed guide on how to steal items, pickpocket NPCs, and avoid detection

• Selling Stolen Goods - Focused guide on where and how to offload stolen items

• Trading System - The legitimate trading system, including packaged goods and wagon routes

• Mask - Information on obtaining and using the Mask for criminal activities

• Contribution System - How Contribution works and why theft affects it

• Vendor Directory - Complete listing of all merchants and service NPCs across Pywel

• Best Ways to Farm Money - Overview of all money-making strategies, including Black Market methods

• How to Rob Hernand Bank - Step-by-step bank robbery walkthrough

• Wagon System - Everything about wagons, including stealing and selling them