These Probably Stolen tips and tricks are a beginner guide for the Steam release of the cyberpunk shopkeeper sim, which reached full 1.0 on October 28, 2026. It covers how to play your first week and how to win: pick a forgiving start, appraise before you pay, keep up with rent and read Security's warning signs. Everything here comes from the developer's posts, the Steam store text and named player reports.
Probably Stolen tips and tricks for your first week
Each day customers queue at your counter. You buy, sell, appraise, barter or refuse, close up and sleep to see the nightly report. Your job is to earn more than the landlord takes, and the way to win is to buy the shop in Probably Stolen before rent sinks you.
One more of the Probably Stolen tips and tricks: do not carry over a demo save out of habit. Demo saves load, but the developer strongly recommends a fresh start to avoid bugs and see the new storylines. The Probably Stolen demo is retired now anyway.
Pick a starting scenario
The best Probably Stolen tips and tricks start before day one, with the scenario screen.
1.0 has nine starts, and the official pick for beginners is the Apprentice scenario. It is the generalist start: you upgrade as you go and learn at your own pace. The catch, noted in a press preview, is that the first weeks run lean until helpers and display tactics start paying off.
If you want a specialist, the Water Merchant scenario hands you water tools but makes liability yours, and the Rock Bottom scenario is the hardest start, with nothing at all. Browse all of them in the Probably Stolen starting scenarios hub.
After the scenario you pick one of four difficulty levels, from beginner-friendly up to a very hard mode. The developer has not published their names or exact effects. The developers also warn against taking the Sentinel Collapse Disorder option on your first run.
Appraise before you pay
This is the habit every Probably Stolen tips and tricks list should lead with.
Suppliers may overstate what an item is worth, and contraband often hides problems you only see after the deal. You absorb the loss if you misjudge. Rare items especially need a proper appraisal, so you do not overpay.
Appraisal customers pay you a commission to check wear, seals and lettering. Getting your declared value to match the true value ten times earns the An Eye for Value achievement. A player in the Steam forum also reports that appraisal is an early income source on the hardest starts.
The labeler can change the label on any item. Doing it once unlocks Lower Levels Special, the most common of the Probably Stolen achievements at 69.5% of players on launch day.
Pricing and customers
You can mark buyers up or haggle sellers down. Each bargain has a reputation cost or gain, shown per trade direction since September, and customer budgets scale with tier. A press preview mentions a 15% retail markup. Containers are priced consistently with their contents, so an empty water bottle counts as a household good, not water.
Market events reprice goods for several days. The Probably Stolen water guide shows how a shortage swings water prices.
Rent and the goal of buying the shop
A landlord visits weekly and the rent keeps rising. Falling behind lowers store appeal, traffic and revenue, which pushes you into riskier deals. The rent schedule and the buyout price are not published, so build a cash cushion early rather than waiting for a number. Players say you can keep playing without rent once you own the store.
Stay out of Security's sights
The store text sums up the risk by product line: weapons bring inspections, chemicals bring addiction, water brings liability and contraband brings raids. Selling illegal goods builds a file of evidence, and an investigation ends with an officer at your door the next morning. Read Probably Stolen contraband for the full breakdown.
If you want weapons, the Gunsmith start is built around them, but plan for inspections. Settings also let you dismiss a customer instantly or call Security on them.
Probably Stolen Tips and Tricks FAQ
How do you win Probably Stolen?
You win by buying the store from the landlord, which triggers an ending with a stats screen. Owning the deed unlocks the Keys to the Kingdom achievement, and owning it before day 50 unlocks Prodigious.
Which start is easiest?
The developer names Apprentice as the beginner pick. Rock Bottom is the hardest start, and players report that Rock Bottom on the top difficulty often ends in game over within the first week.
Can you lose the shop?
Yes. Falling behind on rent hurts your store, and a losing run gets its own stats screen. Hard difficulty also has an augmented-customer loss condition, according to the developer's notes.
Do demo saves carry over?
They do, but the developer recommends starting a new game instead. Demo-era mods will probably not work either; see the Probably Stolen mods page.