Probably Stolen vending machine: Stock & Upgrade Guide

Learn how to unlock the Probably Stolen vending machine, choose profitable stock, improve sales chances, and upgrade without wasting energy.

The Probably Stolen vending machine can turn spare inventory into overnight Credits—but filling it with random junk is a slow way to earn. Your stock selection, power supply, and upgrades determine whether it becomes a useful side income or an expensive storage cabinet. This Probably Stolen vending machine guide explains how to unlock it, what to sell, and which improvements deserve your materials first.

The simplest starting strategy is to stock varied, inexpensive consumables, keep a charged Energy Cell installed, and improve Attractiveness before expanding beyond what you can reliably refill.

How to Get the Probably Stolen Vending Machine

You do not have to choose the vending machine during character creation. There are three acquisition routes, so skipping the starting perk does not lock you out.

Probably Stolen - Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim official screenshot

Official screenshot · Source: Steam store

Unlock method	Cost	Main advantage	Main drawback
Starting perk	2 perk points	Immediate access without spending Credits	Uses points that could support another build
Joe Wild’s Network	1,200 Credits base price	One-time purchase without a rent increase	Requires upfront savings
Landlord offer	Reported increase of 150 Credits in weekly rent	Avoids the initial purchase payment	Adds a recurring expense

The perk makes sense if overnight selling is central to your opening strategy. Otherwise, buying through Joe Wild’s Network preserves your perk points and avoids committing to higher rent.

Community reports differ on the landlord’s exact timing. Player experience in the Steam discussion about unlocking vending machines later places the offer around Day 40, while a community guide specifies eligible visits beginning on Day 43. Treat this as a later-run opportunity rather than an appointment guaranteed for one particular day.

Which unlock offers the best value?

At the reported prices, eight weekly rent increases of 150 Credits total 1,200 Credits—the machine’s base network purchase price.

That comparison does not account for income earned earlier or purchase modifiers, but it illustrates the landlord deal’s long-term cost. If you expect a lengthy run and already have savings, the network purchase is generally the cleaner financial choice.

If you take the perk, have a stock plan ready. Early access provides little benefit when the machine sits empty.

How to Operate the Machine and Collect Credits

The Probably Stolen vending machine sells stock overnight rather than through your normal counter interactions. It needs an installed Energy Cell, eligible inventory, and enough remaining charge to cover its consumption.

Step	What to do	What to check
1. Supply power	Insert a charged Energy Cell into the battery slot	Remaining energy covers the nightly requirement
2. Add inventory	Place eligible items into the storage grid	Stock includes desirable categories
3. Finish the day	Let the overnight selling process occur	Do not expect immediate daytime turnover
4. Inspect stock	Look for newly empty inventory spaces	Sold items leave gaps that need refilling
5. Claim earnings	Select Transfer All Credits	Revenue reaches your account
6. Prepare again	Refill stock and check the battery	Storage upgrades may have increased consumption

The base machine consumes 2 energy per night. Capacity upgrades raise that requirement, so a battery that previously covered several nights may run out sooner after expansion.

Sales revenue remains in the machine until you transfer it. If your account balance appears unchanged, inspect the machine’s stored Credits before assuming nothing sold.

Why some items cannot be stocked

Community documentation lists restrictions on contraband, machines, containers, and items you do not own. Liquid containers also have restrictions, with Wine reported as an exception.

An item being consumable does not automatically mean every object containing a drink is eligible. If the inventory rejects something, try another item rather than treating it as a power problem.

Build a short morning routine: collect, refill, check charge. That catches most operational issues before the next night.

Best Stock and How Overnight Sale Chances Work

Food, beverages, rations, processed food, and treats are the strongest starting categories because they receive a favorable sales multiplier. Cheap household goods can fill gaps; raw materials are much less reliable.

The following multipliers come from community documentation. They affect the reported sale-chance calculation, not the number of Credits paid.

Item category	Reported multiplier	Stocking recommendation
Food, beverages, water rations, processed food, treats	1.5×	Prioritize a varied selection
Ordinary goods below 100 Credits	1.0×	Useful secondary stock
Energy Cells and tools	0.5×	Usually lower priority
Ordinary goods worth 100–200 Credits	0.5×	Expect slower turnover
Materials, scrap, and ore	0.33×	Poor choices for frequent sales
Ordinary goods above 200 Credits	0.25×	Avoid tying up many slots
Luxury items	0.165×	Generally unsuitable for dependable turnover
Modules, nodes, gun modifications, chemical supplies	0.15×	Among the weakest reported categories

Category matters alongside price. A cheap material can still sell substantially less often than a more expensive snack.

The reported sale-chance formula

The community video explaining vending machine mechanics describes this calculation:

Sale chance (%) = (Attractiveness × 200 × Category multiplier) ÷ (200 + Item price)

The machine begins at 15 Attractiveness. Using the reported formula produces these examples:

Example stock	Price	Multiplier	Attractiveness	Calculated sale chance
Chocolate bar	15 Credits	1.5×	15	20.93%
Food item	80 Credits	1.5×	15	16.07%
Ordinary household item	25 Credits	1.0×	15	13.33%
Material item	12 Credits	0.33×	15	4.67%
Chocolate bar after upgrades	15 Credits	1.5×	25	34.88%

These are formula outputs, not a promise that a particular percentage of your entire inventory will disappear nightly. Rounding, duplicate handling, and additional selling rules can affect results.

For the Probably Stolen vending machine, the important relationship is straightforward: higher Attractiveness improves the calculated chance, while a higher item price reduces it within the same category.

Cheap stock is not always the most profitable

A 15-Credit snack can sell more frequently than an 80-Credit food item, but the expensive item brings in more revenue when purchased.

Compare three things before restocking:

Acquisition cost: What did you pay for the item?
Likely turnover: How long might it occupy a slot?
Profit margin: What remains after stock and power costs?

Use inexpensive consumables to establish turnover, then test higher-value food without replacing your entire selection.

Duplicate items and minimum sales

The community guide covering stock and upgrade mechanics reports additional rules beyond the basic formula:

Duplicate participation decreases: the second copy reportedly has a 50% chance to enter the nightly calculation, the third 25%, and later copies continue that pattern.
Minimum sales reportedly rise from one below 25 Attractiveness, to two at 25–49, and three at 50 or higher.
Those minimums require power and qualifying stock; the guide describes consumable priority and qualifying non-luxury goods worth no more than 50 Credits.

These details are community-reported, not an unconditional guarantee for any inventory. The practical takeaway is to stock variety instead of filling every slot with one product.

Vending Machine Upgrades: Attractiveness or Capacity?

The Probably Stolen vending machine has two upgrade paths. Both use materials applied directly to its Core, rather than installed Modules.

Upgrade	Required material	Benefit per upgrade	Extra nightly energy
Attractiveness	Electronic Parts	+5 Attractiveness	None reported
Capacity	Metal ingot	One additional row of 8 slots	+1 energy

Drag the appropriate material onto the Core to apply the upgrade. Check the resulting stat or inventory expansion before spending another material.

Prioritize Attractiveness when stock is limited

Attractiveness improves the selling prospects of inventory already inside the machine without increasing energy consumption.

Two upgrades raise the starting value from 15 to 25. For the 15-Credit chocolate example, that increases the calculated chance from 20.93% to 34.88%—roughly a 67% relative improvement.

Three upgrades bring Attractiveness to 30, doubling the formula’s result compared with the starting value, before any other mechanics or limits apply.

The video reports a maximum of 80 Attractiveness. From a starting value of 15, reaching 80 in five-point increments requires 13 upgrades; the transcript’s spoken upgrade count is inconsistent with that arithmetic.

Expand when you can use the space

Capacity is valuable when you regularly have more suitable stock than available slots. It is less useful when half the machine is already empty.

One capacity upgrade raises consumption from 2 to 3 energy nightly. Two raise it to 4—double the original requirement.

A practical upgrade order is:

Improve Attractiveness while building a dependable stock supply.
Add capacity when available space becomes the bottleneck.
Keep improving Attractiveness as Electronic Parts become available.
Expand further only when inventory and battery supply support it.

Community advice also recommends displaying a Material Neon Sign to attract material sellers. This can help source Electronic Parts and items you can smelt into ingots. The sign helps with procurement; it does not replace an Attractiveness upgrade.

Troubleshooting Poor Sales and Checking Profitability

If your Probably Stolen vending machine underperforms, diagnose the setup before buying more storage.

Symptom	Likely explanation	Recommended action
Stock remains completely unchanged	Missing or insufficient power	Check the installed cell and current energy requirement
Only occasional items disappear	Low Attractiveness or weak categories	Favor varied consumables and improve Attractiveness
Many identical products remain	Reported duplicate participation penalties	Replace some copies with different products
Account balance has not increased	Revenue may still be stored	Use Transfer All Credits
Extra slots remain unused	Capacity exceeds your supply	Pause expansion and improve sourcing
Sales happen, but finances barely improve	Thin margins or recurring costs	Track stock spending, energy, and added rent

Uncollected Credits do not necessarily mean sales stopped. Likewise, slow turnover is not automatically a bug: materials and expensive non-consumables have low reported chances.

Track several nights rather than judging one result. Record revenue collected, replacement-stock spending, and power costs. If you accepted the landlord’s offer, include the additional weekly rent.

The machine is most worthwhile when it sells inventory at a healthy margin without consuming resources needed elsewhere. Buying expensive stock just to keep every slot full can undermine that benefit.

FAQ: Probably Stolen Vending Machine

Can you get the vending machine after starting a run?

Yes. You can purchase it through Joe Wild’s Network for a base price of 1,200 Credits or accept a later landlord offer involving increased rent. The two-point starting perk is optional.

What should you sell in the Probably Stolen vending machine?

Start with varied, inexpensive food, beverages, rations, and treats. These categories receive a reported 1.5× multiplier. Cheap ordinary household goods can supplement your selection when suitable consumables are scarce.

Why is my vending machine not selling anything?

Check power first, especially after capacity upgrades. Then confirm eligible stock is present and that overnight processing has occurred. If items disappeared but your account balance did not change, collect the stored Credits manually.

Should you upgrade Attractiveness or Capacity first?

Attractiveness is usually the safer first investment because it improves calculated sale chances without raising power consumption. Choose Capacity when you consistently have more desirable inventory than the machine can hold and enough energy to support the expansion.