Guide 07 of 20
Freshness and Spoilage
Perishable goods are only profitable while they survive long enough to reach a buyer. Freshness therefore turns time, travel and overbuying into real costs.
Freshness days
A perishable stack shows how many fresh days remain. The day on which you buy a good does not immediately consume one of those days.
If a good reaches its final usable day during a market, it spoils that evening after the market closes. The loss appears in that evening's report.
Goods that do not spoil have no freshness countdown.
How barrels stack goods
Origin does not determine whether goods can share a barrel.
- Non-perishable units of the same good can stack even when bought from different sources.
- Perishable units of the same good can stack when their freshness is identical.
- Units with different freshness values remain in separate barrels.
For example, Eggs with one day remaining do not mix with newly purchased Eggs. This prevents fresh stock from disguising older cargo.
What makes freshness dangerous
- Long routes consume more time.
- Waiting for a better town gives stock more time to age.
- Buying too much can leave unsold units behind.
- Expensive permits can pressure you to hold stock for another day.
- Road closures may force a slower route.
Route previews warn when current cargo may spoil before arrival.
Fresh and near-expiry purchases
Producers may offer more than one freshness option. The confirmation window shows the freshness you will actually receive. When aged and near-expiry stock would have the same remaining days, the interface combines them rather than presenting duplicate choices.
Cheaper old stock can still be useful when you can sell it immediately. It is a poor bargain when it must survive another journey.
Spoilage in the market report
Spoiled stock is recorded as a loss. The profit breakdown values spoiled units using the current town's fair market price, showing the value of inventory that became unusable.
This is separate from the cost of goods sold, which tracks the acquisition cost attached to units that were actually sold.
Practical advice
- Give the oldest barrel priority when setting attractive prices.
- Avoid combining a long journey with already-aged stock.
- Compare the expected margin against the chance of losing the entire remaining value.
- Do not mistake a full cart for a healthy business.