How do you use the Underground Exchange?
Put the items a trade asks for in your store's trash can and pay for the Janitorial Service that night. The reward is in the trash can the next morning.
Probably Stolen Underground Exchange Guide
The Probably Stolen Underground Exchange is a barter service run by the janitorial staff. Sawyer introduces it around day 25 and leaves you the trade sheet. To trade, drop the items a trade asks for into your store's trash can, pay for the Janitorial Service that night, and your reward is in the trash can the next morning. Security doesn't track it.
How the Underground Exchange works in Probably Stolen
For what the game is and every guide we publish, start at the Probably Stolen guide hub.
- Seven permanent trades are always on the sheet.
- Three weekly trades change every Monday.
- Each trade works once per night.
Underground Exchange at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | The station's janitorial staff; Sawyer introduces it. Source: In-game text. |
| When it opens | Around day 25, or from the start with Sawyer's Crew or the Fence. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
| How to trade | Put the items in your trash can and pay for the Janitorial Service that night. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
| Reward | Waiting in your trash can the next morning. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
| Limit | Each trade once per night. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
| Trades on offer | Seven permanent ones, plus three weekly ones that reset on Monday. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
| Security | "You won't be tracked by Security." Source: In-game text. |
| Locked out if | Your Black Market reputation is so low that you are Blacklisted. Source: In-game text; the game code. |
How to unlock the Underground Exchange
In a normal start, Sawyer comes into your shop around day 25: "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The janitorial staff runs a little side business. We operate the Underground Exchange." Sawyer explains the trash can, hands over the list (the Underground Exchange Directive) and adds: "Best part about the Underground Exchange? You won't be tracked by Security." Don't shoot Sawyer. Since the update of November 6, 2026 he can be shot, and in the game's code that locks the Underground Exchange again, stops the Janitorial Service and costs you Black Market reputation.
-
Sawyer's Crew
Two starts skip the wait:
- Sawyer's Crew (starting perk): "The Underground Exchange is available from the start. Janitorial Service is always free, unless the Store is vandalized."
- The Fence (starting scenario): "Immediate access to the Janitor Underground Exchange". Sawyer still stops by to welcome you: "You are now part of the Exchange."
Unlike Georgio's storyline, the Exchange also comes in Endless Mode. Sawyer's other visits are on our story customers list, and every starting perk is in our Probably Stolen perks list.
How to use the Underground Exchange
- Check the Directive. Each trade lists what to put in and what you get back.
- Drop exactly those items into your store's trash can. For trades that ask for a type (any module, any poison, any ammunition, any seeds), any item of that type counts.
- Pay for the Janitorial Service that night. The trade is only checked when the janitors come. In the morning the reward is in the trash can.
Each trade can only happen once a night, but different trades can go through on the same night if the trash can holds the items for all of them. Anything in the can that no trade used is thrown out with the rest of the trash, so don't leave items there you want to keep.
Permanent trades on the Directive
-
Water Filter -
Vial of "Dream Dust" -
Disposable Keycard (Command) -
Energy Cell -
Smuggler's Bay (Modified)
These seven are listed under "Permanent Exchanges" and are there every week:
| You put in | You get |
|---|---|
| 3 Water Filter | A new Water Filter |
| 2 modules (any) | A random module, sometimes a Neural Core Module (Capped) |
| 2 Vial of "Dream Dust" | Random legal goods |
| 1 Disposable Keycard (Command) | 2 random keycards: Security, Engineering or Medical |
| 2 poisons (any) | An Energy Cell |
| 2 ammunition (any) | Food |
| 1 Smuggler's Bay and 8 Oxymore Injector | Smuggler's Bay (Modified) |
The last trade is how you get a Smuggler's Bay (Modified); how the bays hide goods is on our storage bays section.
Weekly trades and when they change
-
Security Department Supply Crate -
Medical Bay Supply Crate -
Engineering Foundry Supply Crate -
Scavenger's Token -
Immunivax Injector
The sheet's second list is "Promotional Exchanges (Reset On Monday)". Every Monday three trades are picked from this pool, and your night report says "New promotional offers are available from the Underground Exchange":
| You put in | You get |
|---|---|
| 4 Vial of "Dream Dust" | Better random rewards than the permanent Dream Dust trade |
| 3 Disposable Keycard (Security) | Security Department Supply Crate |
| 4 Disposable Keycard (Medical) | Medical Bay Supply Crate |
| 4 Disposable Keycard (Engineering) | Engineering Foundry Supply Crate |
| 5 seeds (any) | An Energy Cell |
| 1 Scavenger's Token | Black Market reputation |
| 2 Oxymore Injector | A genuine Immunivax Injector |
The crate trades turn spare keycards into a locked supply crate of that department; what is inside and how to open it is in our locked supply crates section. The Scavenger's Token is also a display item, covered in our special display items section.
Why your Underground Exchange trade didn't work
Go through these in order:
- No Janitorial Service that night. Trades are only handled when you pay for it.
- Wrong items. Each line needs the exact item, or an item of the type it asks for, in the right number. A Disposable Keycard (Command) won't count for a Security trade.
- Blacklisted. If your Black Market reputation falls far enough, the Blacklisted perk says "You are barred from the Underground Exchange." It also doubles the Janitorial Service cost.
- Already done tonight. Each trade goes through once a night ("Once Per Night"). Leave the extra items for the next night.
- Full trash can. Rewards are placed in the trash can, and anything that doesn't fit is lost, so leave room for them.
Extra items don't make a trade fail; they just get thrown away. If the items in the can fit two trades at once, the game handles the Smuggler's Bay trade first, so it gets your Oxymore Injectors before the Immunivax trade does.
Version notes and limits
This page doesn't list what the random rewards can contain or how much Black Market reputation a trade earns; we haven't read those from the game yet. It also doesn't say whether traded items count as stolen. Before October 30, 2026, a Smuggler's Bay (Modified) from the Exchange could be thrown out with the trash; the developers fixed that. We will check this page again when the public build changes.
Probably Stolen Underground Exchange FAQ
How do you unlock the Underground Exchange?
Wait for Sawyer, who comes around day 25. With the Sawyer's Crew perk or the Fence start, it is open from day one. Shooting Sawyer locks it again.
When do the weekly trades change?
Every Monday. Three new promotional trades appear and your night report announces them.
Why didn't my Underground Exchange trade go through?
Usually the Janitorial Service wasn't paid, an item was wrong or short, or the trade already happened that night. Being Blacklisted also locks you out, and so does shooting Sawyer.
Can you make more than one trade a night?
Yes, as long as they are different trades. Each one only goes through once per night.
Does Security track Underground Exchange trades?
No. Sawyer says you won't be tracked by Security.
Sources and version history for this guide: Probably Stolen sources and versions.
Spot an error or a post-patch change? See how we label evidence and handle corrections in the Editorial Policy.