How do I start appraising in Probably Stolen?
Wait for the Appraiser Board member's visit and join the board, then put the Appraisal Board Junior Certificate in your display case. Customers with [Appraisal Item] goods will start coming in.
Probably Stolen Appraisal Guide
Probably Stolen appraisal starts when a member of the Appraiser Board visits your store and invites you to join. Once you join and put the Appraisal Board Junior Certificate in your display case, customers bring items for you to value, and you price them with the matching appraisal guide. Spotting fakes is a separate job: you use a Magnifying Glass on a Food Stamp, an Immunivax Injector or a pack of Hemingway Cigarettes and compare it with that item's handbook.
Probably Stolen appraisal in short
For what the game is and every guide we publish, start at the Probably Stolen guide hub.
- Appraisal: value Ribwiches, Plasma Cartridges and Cybernetic Hands with their guides; you are paid a base fee plus a bonus for accuracy.
- Counterfeits: one clear problem is enough to confront a seller, but a wrong accusation costs you Reputation.
- Labels: you can relabel goods to sell them higher, but most Lower Levels customers and Security Officers know the common frauds.
Probably Stolen appraisal at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Getting started | Join the Appraiser Board when its member visits, then display the Appraisal Board Junior Certificate. Source: In-game dialogue and item description. |
| Appraisal pay | A base service fee plus a bonus based on how precise your estimate is. Source: The mentor's note and the appraisal slip. |
| Appraisal guides | Ribwich, Plasma Cartridge and Cybernetic Hand. Source: The in-game guides. |
| Authenticity handbooks | Food Stamps, Immunivax Injectors and Hemingway Cigarettes. Source: The in-game handbooks. |
| Checking an item | Use a Magnifying Glass on an inspectable item to open the Inspection Tray. Source: The mentor's note. |
| Confronting a seller | One issue is enough if the item is fake; a wrong accusation loses Reputation. Source: The mentor's note and in-game help text. |
| Labels | The Labeler edits an item's label; the Blue Labeler renames an item. Source: Item descriptions. |
| Who spots fakes | Most workers, Security Officers and Lower Levels citizens; tourists and Upper Levels citizens much less. Source: The mentor's note. |
How appraisal works in Probably Stolen
The invitation. Early on, a member of the Appraiser Board comes to your store. They explain that some items have a complex pricing structure and that the Board helps customers find the exact value, then ask if you want to join as an Appraiser. You can join for an entry fee, decline, or ask them to come back later; if you ask, they return a few days later and ask again. When you join, they hand over the training material and start sending customers your way.
Getting customers. The Appraisal Board Junior Certificate brings in customers who need appraisal when you place it in your display case. Items they bring are marked [Appraisal Item]. Players report that appraisal customers are rare and that the certificate competes with your other display signs for the day's walk-in customers, so a display case full of signs means fewer appraisals.
How you are paid. The mentor's note says you get a base service fee plus a bonus based on the precision of your appraisal. After each job you get an Appraisal Slip that shows the fee you received, its percentage and the base fee, and grades the job Perfect, Excellent, Good, Mediocre or Awful. Players report that the percentage is taken from the estimate you send, not from the true value, and that it is higher the closer you are. That does not mean you can name any price: if your estimate is far off, the customer tells you it is "way too high" or "way too low", and if you keep missing they lose patience ("I'm out."). The official FAQ adds that slips only tell you how well you did and can be thrown away.
Promotion. In the demo you stay a Junior appraiser. The mentor's note says you "will be able to pass appraisal examinations and receive a certification that will improve your base service fee and unlock new item types", and the developer's September 4, 2026 update lists progression for the appraisal guild as planned work after the demo.
The Steam page sums up why it matters: rare items need proper appraisal to avoid overpaying.
How to appraise a Ribwich sandwich
The Ribwich (Packaged Rib Sandwich) is a discontinued limited-edition sandwich from Davre with a cult following. The Ribwich Appraisal Guide works as a list of checks: if a check below fails, the Ribwich is counterfeit. A Ribwich also has a minimum value it never drops below, and if its plastic packaging is missing, torn open or counterfeit, it is worth exactly that minimum, whatever else is true of it.
The guide starts every Ribwich at 150 Credits; none can be worth less than 40 Credits, and one with missing, torn-open or counterfeit packaging is worth exactly 40 Credits.
- Packaging: it must be there, intact and genuine.
- Production date: every Ribwich shows one, and there were only two production runs: January 425 to December 429, and January 432 to December 438. A missing, invalid or out-of-range date means counterfeit.
- Packing facility: there were 35 facilities. A missing or invalid facility number means counterfeit. Facilities 01, 02, 05, 08, 21 and 34 had high quality control; 07, 15, 18, 26 and 31 had low quality control.
- Deluxe Edition: a Deluxe Ribwich must have both the sesame bun and extra pickles. Only one of the two means counterfeit.
- Davre logo: every Ribwich has it. Missing or wrong means counterfeit.
- Ribwich sticker: every second-run Ribwich has one; first-run Ribwiches never do. Missing or wrong on a second-run sandwich means counterfeit.
What raises or lowers the value. First-run Ribwiches were made with better material and are worth more. Ribwiches from the very first month (01/425) and the very last month (12/438) are worth more for historical reasons. A high-quality facility adds value and a low-quality one takes it away. A valid Deluxe Edition is worth more again, and a valid double-patty Ribwich, made when Davre's packing machine malfunctioned and usually destroyed by quality control, is the rarest find of all. The guide gives the exact Credits for each of these.
The Ribwich guide's figures:
- First production run: +80 Credits.
- First month (01/425) or last month (12/438): +50 Credits.
- High-quality packing facility: +50 Credits.
- Low-quality packing facility: -50 Credits.
- Valid Deluxe Edition: +300 Credits.
- Valid double-patty Ribwich: +800 Credits.
How to value Plasma Cartridges and Cybernetic Hands
Plasma Cartridges are the standard fuel of the Pulse Plasma Drive. Their value comes from three things, and a cartridge has a minimum value it can't drop below.
- Condition: Standard, Light Wear, Heavy Wear, Cracked, Exposed Screws or Reinforced. Players report that Standard and Light Wear are hard to tell apart and look for the thin light line on the metal.
- Plasma colour: the guide calls colour the biggest indicator of quality. Standard and High-Grade are named; any other colour counts as Low-Grade.
- Manufacturer: a bonus applies only if all of a maker's conditions match. Wild's Rides (WLD): any condition, Low-Grade or Standard plasma. ZhongHua Shipbuilding (ZHS): no condition or Reinforced, Standard plasma. Republic Naval Requisition (RNR): any condition except cracks, Standard plasma. Ignition Lab (IGN): no condition, High-Grade plasma. All four always have a seal.
The guide's own worked examples:
- Guide example 1: base value 100, cracks -50, reinforced +20, and no manufacturer bonus because no maker allows cracks: 70 Credits.
- Guide example 2: base value 100, heavy wear -30, exposed screws -10, low-grade colour -50 leaves 10, but a cartridge can't go below 30, so it is worth 30 Credits.
Cybernetic Hands are the first official appraisal requests many players get. The Cybernetic Hand Appraisal Guide scores five things, and a hand also has a minimum value:
- Material: Aluminum Alloy, Carbon Composite or Gold Plated.
- Condition: none, wears or damages.
- Control interface: the demo's guide lists EMG, EMG+, Neural Interface and Unspecified.
- Add-ons: Armored and Blade; each counts on its own.
- Set bonus: Tactical is Carbon Composite, EMG+ or Neural Interface, no wear or damage, and both Armored and Blade. Deluxe is Gold Plated, Neural Interface and no wear or damage, with or without add-ons.
The guide's own worked examples:
- Guide example 1: base 100, Carbon Composite +50, wear -35, EMG+ +45: 160 Credits.
- Guide example 2: base 100, damage -85, Unspecified control -60 comes to -45, but a hand can't go below 50, so it is worth 50 Credits.
How to spot counterfeit items in Probably Stolen
The game marks some items as inspectable. Three of them are authenticity checks with their own handbook: Food Stamps, Immunivax Injectors and Hemingway Cigarettes. Your mentor introduces the system with a shipment of counterfeit cigarettes and a Magnifying Glass.
How a check works. Use the Magnifying Glass on an inspectable item to open the Inspection Tray, the Counterfeit Check panel. Compare what you see with the handbook. If you find a problem, pick the matching issue at the bottom of the panel (lettering, logo, colour, seal, value, chip, indicator, label, serial number or body, depending on the item) and confront the customer.
- One issue is enough. If the item is counterfeit, a single discrepancy is enough to confront the seller.
- If you are right, the seller lowers the price.
- If you are wrong, you lose Reputation and the customer may take their business elsewhere.
- If a seller says their own item is fake or broken and you think it isn't, you can tell them so. They raise their asking price and you gain Reputation.
Check before you buy. Counterfeit isn't the only problem: a genuine Food Stamp with a damaged chip, or a genuine Immunivax Injector from a recalled batch, is still unusable.
Republic Food Stamps: spotting a fake in Probably Stolen
Food Stamps are part of a social program for eligible Lower Levels citizens. You redeem them at the Commissary to buy food. Because they only buy food, the mentor's note says they are often traded below their value for Credits, and some are forged and sold to people who only find out when the stamp fails to redeem. The Welfare Program starting perk opens the Commissary from the start and may give you Food Stamps on Mondays, depending on your total wealth. Players report that most other stamps come from Scavenger sellers, and that which sellers bring them is random.
The Republic Food Stamp Authenticity Handbook checks five things:
- Lettering: spelling errors, obviously misaligned text, or differences in colour, font or missing letters.
- Logo: a missing logo is wrong.
- Security seal: higher-value stamps carry one and lower-value stamps don't. A stamp printed at 160 Credits or more has a security seal, and one under 160 Credits has none.
- Stamp value: stamps come only in a fixed set of values, so an odd amount is a giveaway. The handbook lists the only values a Food Stamp is issued in: 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 240 Credits.
- Chip: every stamp has a chip. A missing or damaged chip makes the stamp unusable, even if it is genuine.
The handbook ends with a reminder that the differences should be obvious at a glance. Players report that a fake can come down to a single letter in the wrong font, so look at each word.
Immunivax injectors: counterfeit, recalled or expired
The Immunivax Injector is a high-precision immuno-regulator that holds back Sentinel's Collapse. It matters most if you take the Sentinel Collapse Disorder perk: you start with one injector and must take one every week, and skipping too many ends the run.
The Immunivax Injector User Handbook separates three problems: a counterfeit (label problems), a genuine injector that is unusable (a recalled batch or a cracked body), and one that is expired or empty (the indicator). It checks five things:
- Indicator: the handbook shows examples for genuine, expired and empty.
- Label: a missing label means counterfeit. Watch for spelling errors, a missing company name, a missing product name or a clearly different font. The genuine label in the handbook reads "Carmicheal Pharmaceutical" and "Immunivax", in the correct case only.
- Serial number: every injector must have a valid seven-digit serial number. The valid range is 1250000 to 4559999, and the first three digits are the batch number. Recalled batches are 250, 251, 301, 355, 385, 386 and 421; an injector from one of them is unusable. The handbook's own examples show 4251059 as genuine, 2509584 as a recalled, unusable injector and 141414 as incorrect.
- Body: visible damage such as cracks makes an injector unusable.
- Colours: compare the injector with the handbook's correct main colours.
Getting the handbook. It comes with the item name Immunivax Assessment Guide. The developers' August 2026 beta notes added it to the Skip Intro start, and since their September 17, 2026 patch notes Dr. Jackson restocks it, including on a Rock Bottom start.
Hemingway Cigarettes: how to check a pack
Counterfeit Hemingway Cigarettes are common on the station, and the handbook warns that their value, like their quality, is far lower than a genuine pack. The Hemingway Cigarette Authenticity Handbook checks four things:
- Lettering: spelling errors, misaligned text, uneven print, or differences in colour, font or missing lettering all point to fraud.
- Logo: compare it with the genuine example.
- Colour: use the Hemingway Color Checker, an official colour swatch, to compare.
- Security seal: Hemingway Cigarettes are never sold without one. A missing or broken seal means counterfeit.
As with Food Stamps, the handbook says the differences should be obvious at a glance. Georgio, who also turns up in our radioactive waste guide, has his own lines when you call out a pack of cigarettes, from "Ah, Georgio didn't know about this" to "Georgio will lower the price."
Labels, labelers and who notices a fake
Some items carry a label you can edit. The Steam page lists it among the things you can do: relabel counterfeit products as genuine. The mentor's own example is labelling a counterfeit box of cigarettes as genuine to raise its price.
- Labeler: "Used to edit the label of an item." This is the one that changes what a label claims. The developers' patch notes mention a red labeler and a blue one, and players take the plain Labeler to be the red one.
- Blue Labeler: "Used to rename an item." It changes the item's name only; since an August 2026 beta patch the custom name also shows on a container's window. Players use it as a reminder, for example naming a relabeled item "counterfeit" so they don't forget what it really is, and our rats guide uses it to keep rat meat sorted.
Who will catch you. The mentor's note is blunt: most workers, Security Officers and Lower Levels citizens know the common frauds, so the scam fails and costs you Reputation. Scavengers know them too but often don't carry the equipment to test. Tourists and Upper Levels citizens are generally less aware. "But sooner or later, people will find out." The in-game help adds that if you are caught selling an item worth less than its label, your Reputation may take a hit. Players report that the trouble doesn't always come the same day; one player selling relabeled water heard nothing until the next morning. Water has its own grades and buyers; see selling water without getting caught.
Version notes and limits
This page describes the free demo before the update the developers announced for October 19, 2026. Several details are still open: the exact appraisal fees, entry fee and accuracy bands, which are not readable as text in the demo's files; the colours drawn inside the handbooks, such as the Immunivax indicator and correct main colours; whether the plain Labeler is the red one players describe; how often appraisal customers come; and what the full release adds, since the developers keep adding appraisal and inspectable items.
The October 19 demo update triggers a recheck of the guides, handbooks and item descriptions on this page, and the full release on October 28, 2026 triggers a recheck of everything. Changes are made on this page, with the date they were checked.
Probably Stolen appraisal FAQ
Should I join the Appraiser Board?
It adds a second income: a base fee plus a bonus for accurate estimates. If you are not ready, ask the member to come back later and they return a few days after.
Why do I get so few appraisal customers?
Players report that appraisal customers are rare and compete with your other display signs. Keep the certificate in the display case and don't crowd it with signs.
What are appraisal slips for?
They show the fee you received and how accurate you were. The official FAQ says you can throw them away after reading.
Can I get promoted from Junior appraiser in the demo?
Not in the demo. The mentor's note describes certification exams in the future tense, and the developer lists appraisal progression as work planned after the demo.
How do I tell a fake Food Stamp?
Check the lettering, the logo, the security seal, the printed value and the chip against the Republic Food Stamp Authenticity Handbook. A damaged chip makes even a genuine stamp unusable.
What are Food Stamps for?
They are redeemed at the Commissary to buy food. A forged stamp only shows itself when it fails to redeem, so check it before you pay.
Can I sell a recalled Immunivax Injector?
The handbook treats an injector from a recalled batch as unusable, the same as a cracked one. A buyer who checks will call it out.
How do I tell fake Hemingway Cigarettes?
Check the lettering, the logo, the colour against the Hemingway Color Checker and the security seal. A pack without an intact seal is counterfeit.
What happens if I accuse a seller wrongly?
You lose Reputation and the customer may take their business elsewhere. One clear issue is enough when the item really is fake.
What does the Blue Labeler do?
It renames an item; its description is "Used to rename an item." It doesn't change what the label claims. That is the plain Labeler's job.
Who notices relabeled goods?
Most workers, Security Officers and Lower Levels citizens. Scavengers often lack the equipment to test, and tourists and Upper Levels citizens are generally less aware.
I lost a guide. Can I get it back?
Dr. Jackson restocks the Immunivax handbook since the September 17, 2026 patch notes. Players report that other guides can be bought back from him too, except the Aug guide.
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.