Which is the best? Selling organs or selling prisoners? [guide]

[JaJe]

Which is the best, selling prisoners or selling organs?

A base value of a pawn is 1750$ if the character quality is at 100%. Selling a prisoner to slavery you will gain only 60% of its value + your pawn negociating ability bonus. Up to 1050$ without negociating ability bonus.

The following organs prices are:
1 x 250$ kidney
1 x 500$ heart
1 x 400$ lung
1 x 500$ liver

If you decide to harvest everything from a prisoner, one kidney + one lung + one heart or liver you gain 1150$ * 0.6 = 690$ without bonus.

However, if you harvest organs from prisoners you get these debuffs:

Someone organ was harvested x1 -5 debuff for 8 days
Someone organ was harvested x2 -9 debuff for 8 days
Someone organ was harvested x3 -12 debuff for 8 days
Someone was organ-murdered -6 debuff for 6 days.

This means that if you harvest everything from a single pawn, you have to take care of your pawn mood for 8 days with a total of -18 debuff.

Now, if you sell a healty prisoner to slavery you get only this debuff:
A prisoner was sold -3 debuff for 4 days. If you have multiple prisoners that you wish to sell at same time, here's the debuffs:

2x prisoners sold = -5 debuff for 4 days
3x prisoners sold = -7 debuff for 4 days

and so on...

We know that selling all organs we earn 690$ without bonus. Now to make it profitable selling prisoners instead. The market value of a prisoner must be greater than 1150$ otherwise is less profitable than selling organs.

Market value: 1150$ x 0.6 = 690$ same price for 3 organs and less mood debuffs.

NOTE:
1. Once you capture a prisoner, heal the injuries before selling. Any injuries decreases its value.
2. Cloths worn do not affect the price of the pawn, sell it naked.
3. Food poison or anesthesia decreases the price of the prisoner.
4. Feeding the prisoner with nutrient paste food do not affect the price or any other mod debuff the prisoner have. It's recommended feeding with nutrient paste to not waste your food resource since it's the most efficient food in the game (160% efficient compared to normal food).
5. Anesthesize your prisoners once healed and bring it to the Cryptosleep casket. The anesthesia effect duration is 6hrs in game. Doing so, before putting the prisoner inside the Cryptosleep casket, wait 4-5 hours, this way when you decide to remove the prisoner from the casket, you have to wait just 1-2 hours before waking up. This is why is best having a Cryptosleep casket near prison to quick put inside, outside when you have a pirate trader. There's also a chance that once you remove the prisoner to suffer for a short time of Cryptosleep sickness which decreases the price of the prisoner. Wait to disappear the effect before selling.

No matter the social skill of your pawn have, either level 1 or level 20, all prices are calculated the same:

Formula:

M = Market Value
Fp = Final Price
Bonus = Your pawn skill you use for trade in %

Fp = (M * 0.6) * [1 + (Bonus / 100)]

Example: Your pawn have a skill of 15% bonus and the item you sell is worth 400$ in the market;

Fp = (400 * 0.6) * [1 + (15 / 100)] = 276$ silver

NOTE 2:
If you decide to form a caravan and go to a nearby settlement to sell the prisoner or any other items, you get another buff of 2% of the price.

[Nafensoriel]

Good work.
Also, this topic could only exist on this forum.
Thank you rimworld for being what you are.

[Canute]

Or you could edit the wiki for this ! :-)

[BugPowderDust]

Great article- just one question- why anesthesize them before putting them in the Cryptosleep casket?

[SpaceCows]

Great article- just one question- why anesthesize them before putting them in the Cryptosleep casket?

I don't think you can carry healthy prisoners to a cryptosleep casket, but you can if you anesthetize them.

[BugPowderDust]

Great article- just one question- why anesthesize them before putting them in the Cryptosleep casket?

I don't think you can carry healthy prisoners to a cryptosleep casket, but you can if you anesthetize them.

Ahh, gotcha! Many thanks

[asanbr]

If you starve them to 87% they get knocked down and you can then carry them to the cryptosleep without anesthesia. Doesn't anesthesia require medecine?

I don't know if/how this affects price. Once you take them out and feed them, it will be some time before they recover, but I think you can sell them immediately if you want.

[Livingston I Presume]

Neither unless you use mods.  The mood debuff isn't really worth it.  Sell drugs, art, devil strand clothes and wooden weapons.
Most of these are renewable, sell for a reasonable amount and keep colonists happy and busy.  If you survive till late game you'll have 20k+ silver and it just keeps growing.  And that is with buying bionics and such. 

Prisoner and organ trade is over rated

[JaJe]

If you starve them to 87% they get knocked down and you can then carry them to the cryptosleep without anesthesia. Doesn't anesthesia require medecine?

I don't know if/how this affects price. Once you take them out and feed them, it will be some time before they recover, but I think you can sell them immediately if you want.

starving affects the price, even when they are sick or under anesthesia. That's why you wait to recover completely before selling the slave.

Neither unless you use mods.  The mood debuff isn't really worth it.  Sell drugs, art, devil strand clothes and wooden weapons.
Most of these are renewable, sell for a reasonable amount and keep colonists happy and busy.  If you survive till late game you'll have 20k+ silver and it just keeps growing.  And that is with buying bionics and such. 

Prisoner and organ trade is over rated

Late game you get bigger raids and lots of prisoners to capture and sell it for a good profit. All you have to do is to heal them, giving some food and put to sleep until a pirate comes to buy.

Yes, mod debuff is very small if you sell just 1 and you have already a happy colony, it's matter of preference of how to gain money. Aswell you could simply have just 1 pawn crafting lots of sculpture using silver or gold for huge amount of money, sometimes sculptures are so valuable that you cannot sell it to anyone without using a mod that gives traders more silver. Try selling a 30k worth silver sculpture.

[TheMeInTeam]

IMO on higher difficulties neither is an attractive option.  Major mood debuffs are pretty rough to deal with, and the $ value is neither large nor contributes much to base security.  If you want dosh pretty fast making a big farm gets you there, as can other options that are mood-neutral or positive.  Also has small prison break risk + feeding time/etc, so it's not like you're purely saving labor by selling people.

Organ harvesting makes more sense if you need an organ though.

One thing prisoners are excellent for is medical training, however.  Stack of herbal medicine and peg leg installation practice can get you a few good doctors for those hard plague times.

[Livingston I Presume]

If you starve them to 87% they get knocked down and you can then carry them to the cryptosleep without anesthesia. Doesn't anesthesia require medecine?

I don't know if/how this affects price. Once you take them out and feed them, it will be some time before they recover, but I think you can sell them immediately if you want.

starving affects the price, even when they are sick or under anesthesia. That's why you wait to recover completely before selling the slave.

Neither unless you use mods.  The mood debuff isn't really worth it.  Sell drugs, art, devil strand clothes and wooden weapons.
Most of these are renewable, sell for a reasonable amount and keep colonists happy and busy.  If you survive till late game you'll have 20k+ silver and it just keeps growing.  And that is with buying bionics and such. 

Prisoner and organ trade is over rated

Late game you get bigger raids and lots of prisoners to capture and sell it for a good profit. All you have to do is to heal them, giving some food and put to sleep until a pirate comes to buy.

Yes, mod debuff is very small if you sell just 1 and you have already a happy colony, it's matter of preference of how to gain money. Aswell you could simply have just 1 pawn crafting lots of sculpture using silver or gold for huge amount of money, sometimes sculptures are so valuable that you cannot sell it to anyone without using a mod that gives traders more silver. Try selling a 30k worth silver sculpture.

If you're only selling 1 then it's not a really an industry or trade then, and again not worth the mood debuffs.  Unless the colonist really sucks and identifies as limestone then i'd sell them, otherwise I would rather just recruit them, a bullet sponge with an assault rifle that can grow and haul is far more useful than and extra 700 silver at late game.  I think it's worth it for getting rid of bad prisoners who won't make good recruits, but just doesn't work without either mods or playing on the lower settings as an industry.

Also then don't make silver sculptures that you can't sell?  just make them out of marble n stuff.

[B@R5uk]

One thing prisoners are excellent for is medical training, however.  Stack of herbal medicine and peg leg installation practice can get you a few good doctors for those hard plague times.

I prefer to train EVERY colonist to level 10 in medical skill (stating with gifted ones, obviously). It takes a long time but worth it as every one can get a shot, and when every one is shot in different body parts every unshot pair of hands counts. This is especially true with small groups on outer sorties.

Oh yeah!!! You tottaly forgot about social skill training! Social level 19-20 pawn can do wonders with traiders on the spur without waiting for trade inspiration... I hope you got my next idea.

And yes, selling prisoners is a good trade. If your colony is in good shape debuff doesn't make a difference. And if it makes the difference just compensate it with psychite tea.

[SpaceCows]

If you're only selling 1 then it's not a really an industry or trade then, and again not worth the mood debuffs.  Unless the colonist really sucks and identifies as limestone then i'd sell them, otherwise I would rather just recruit them, a bullet sponge with an assault rifle that can grow and haul is far more useful than and extra 700 silver at late game.  I think it's worth it for getting rid of bad prisoners who won't make good recruits, but just doesn't work without either mods or playing on the lower settings as an industry.

Speaking of mood debuffs...
-3 Colonist Died
-5 Witnessed Ally's Death
-10 My Friend Susan Died

Colonists contribute significantly to colony wealth, and on Cassandra also contribute toward recruitment difficult. I try to be very choosy with my pawns and only pick pawns that I think are valuable.

Prisoners I don't like I use as medical practice, then release. Even pirates! Released pawns frequently return to your base, so if you swap their legs for peg legs, that's one less raider to worry about.

[JaJe]

If you're only selling 1 then it's not a really an industry or trade then, and again not worth the mood debuffs.  Unless the colonist really sucks and identifies as limestone then i'd sell them, otherwise I would rather just recruit them, a bullet sponge with an assault rifle that can grow and haul is far more useful than and extra 700 silver at late game.  I think it's worth it for getting rid of bad prisoners who won't make good recruits, but just doesn't work without either mods or playing on the lower settings as an industry.

Speaking of mood debuffs...
-3 Colonist Died
-5 Witnessed Ally's Death
-10 My Friend Susan Died

Colonists contribute significantly to colony wealth, and on Cassandra also contribute toward recruitment difficult. I try to be very choosy with my pawns and only pick pawns that I think are valuable.

Prisoners I don't like I use as medical practice, then release. Even pirates! Released pawns frequently return to your base, so if you swap their legs for peg legs, that's one less raider to worry about.

If you want to release pirates, I'd chop their arms so on the next raid they will really suck at fighting.