Merchants Guide

Shopping plays a part in Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. Knowing both shopping locations and who operates them will assist you in completing the game by either selling or buying weapons, armor, and upgrades necessary to complete your missions, or clear up your inventory. Each game is different in what shops and merchants do, and what products are offered.

Mass Effect
In Mass Effect, there are various merchants that buy and sell various weapons, armor, upgrades, and licenses that give your squad more firepower and allow you to survive better in combat. Since you can only carry up to 150 items in your inventory at a time, you need to make sure that you are selling it off to these people at regular intervals. Also check in with them often to see what new equipment they have, you never know what they'll have in stock.

Save-Reload Glitch for Merchants
Essentially this glitch is used to make the inventories of different merchants reset. This gives the player the chance to acquire different items from merchants by simply reloading, instead of traveling to a different planet and returning. The glitch should work on all merchants, although variations of the glitch may be required for the Normandy Requisitions Officer. It is particularly useful if you're searching for the more elusive or higher level items - particularly armor - such as those manufactured by the Geth Armory or Kassa Fabrication.

Standard
To perform the glitch you simply need to travel to whichever merchant you wish to purchase from: Morlan, for example. Before talking to him - or any other merchants - save your game. After saving continue to view the items as usual. If the item you're looking for is there, then buy it, equip it to whoever needs it and carry on; you'll need to leave the planet and return to start the glitch again. However, if you wish the inventory to reset so that different items are on sale, just reload and check their inventory again.

Normandy Requisitions Officer
Because the inventory reset works differently for the NRO, the standard of saving before speaking may not work. If this is the case there are different parameters that will make sure it does reset.
 * The inventory will reset automatically after you complete each mission world for the first time.
 * If you're doing assignments or there are no mission worlds you wish to complete, go back to either Feros or Noveria (if you've completed them), or the Citadel. Spend time on the planet conversing and traveling. Next, go to any of the assignment worlds (even one you've completed an assignment on) and, after landing and returning to the Normandy, go to the cargo bay and save before talking to the NRO. The glitch will then work as standard.

Mass Effect 2
In Mass Effect 2, merchants and shops change from Mass Effect. One can no longer sell components and the merchandise changes. Instead of offering new weapons and armor, merchants now offer armor components for Shepard's N7 Armor, and upgrades for the squad's weapons. These can be purchased by using credits which are earned by completing Missions and Assignments. In addition, now that purchasing is completely automated, using terminals at each shop, talking to the merchants that operate the shops can get you a discount.

Discounts
All of the shops in Mass Effect 2 offer a way to get a discount, but getting it can involve anything from completing a quick dialogue option, to completing a mission. Each shop is different and each has a different method of getting a discount.
 * Shops on the Citadel or Omega require just a quick conversation and choosing a Charm or Intimidate option to get a discount at the store.
 * On Omega, a discount at two stores can also be obtained by completing a small assignment.
 * The shops on Illium require either a dialogue option, completing a small assignment, or even a conversation.
 * Baria Frontiers and Zakera Cafe don’t have discount options, but you will spend only 2,000 credits and 510 credits respectively for all of their merchandise.
 * The shops on Tuchanka require completing a mission or completing a small mini-game.

The discount is worth taking advantage of as you will save a significant amount of credits over the course of the game. The discounts aren’t that hard to get, and they are worth doing.

Obtaining Credits
Getting credits in Mass Effect 2 is a bit different than in Mass Effect. Credits in Mass Effect were earned by selling merchandise, killing enemies, or picking them out of crates. Credits in Mass Effect 2 can only be picked up on Assignments and Missions through hacking and bypassing, and they are earned by completing Assignments and Missions. Credits are more difficult to obtain, so you do need to watch what you buy as you may have to wait a bit to get that upgrade, or that armor component. You just need to watch your credits more carefully in Mass Effect 2 than in Mass Effect.

Mining
In addition to using credits to purchase items from stores, credits are also used for mining by purchasing fuel and probes. Fuel and probes are small expenditures compared to some items in stores, but over time, they do add up. Mining is also essential in Mass Effect 2 because you can also pickup research items on missions, and from squadmates while talking to them aboard the Normandy SR-2. You do need resources to get every upgrade and you need to mine to get all of the resources you need to research everything. So you also need to watch how many credits you are spending on mining as well, as it may prevent you from buying all of the items from the stores.

Mass Effect 3
In Mass Effect 3, shops operate only through terminals &mdash; merchants no longer play a part in transactions. Weapon Mods, armor, fish, and model ships can be purchased in stores. Weapons and Galaxy at War mission items that were missed during missions can also be purchased. Credits are earned by completing missions, finding datapads while on missions, and searching the galaxy. Discounts can be obtained through intel found by exploring the galaxy.