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You can’t avoid committing crimes in an Elder Scrolls game, it’s sometimes required to pickpocket or steal items for a side quest.
There are also certain items you can’t buy from shops that need to be stolen, while some are just too expensive. But for the most part, stealing is just fun to do. There’s nothing more addicting than the adrenaline rush you get sneaking around people and running away once you get caught.
When you do get away with it, you could end up with something valuable. There are two things you can do with your prized possessions: you can either display them in your house or sell them.
Selling them isn’t actually easy as merchants don’t like buying stolen goods from people. However, there are ways to sell them in Skyrim. Here’s how.
So, can you sell stolen items in Skyrim?
Yes. Fences are willing to buy stolen goods, but you can also convince other merchants to purchase from you if you’ve heavily invested in Speech.
The latter is much more strenuous as you need to reach level 90 Speech to get the Fence perk. Levelling up your speech can be done by selling expensive (non-stolen) goods, as well as bribing or persuading NPCS.
The easiest way to sell stolen items is by selling them to a fence, but in order to do that, you’ll need to join the Thieves Guild.
How to join The Thieves Guild in Skyrim
If you’ve already gone as far as stealing, then you’ll fit right in. Go straight to Riften and find Brynjolf, who can be found in the market in the morning or at the Bee and Barb tavern at night.
Don’t worry, he’ll approach you immediately and talk to you when you’re nearby. If you’ve managed to avoid the “toll fee” requested by the Riften guard earlier, Brynjolf will compliment you. Keep the conversation going and he’ll give you a task.
The first task he gives you is simple, he will ask you to go to the market and steal Madesi’s ring while he provides a speech. While everyone is distracted, you’ll have to plant the silver ring in Brand-Shei’s pocket, framing him as the thief.
Be quick, go to Madesi’s stall which is the third stall to the left. Lockpick the strongbox and take the ring. Return to the first stall and hide behind the wooden crates where Brand-Shei is sitting, pickpocket him and drop Madesi’s Silver Ring in his inventory.
If you made it in time, Brynjolf would pay you 100 gold and open up about his organization going through some bad luck. Ask him about it and he’ll offer you a place in it, accept it and he’ll give you another test.
Even if you didn’t succeed with the first, Brynjolf will still be kind enough to give you another chance. To get to the Thieves Guild, you’ll have to go through a sewer called The Ratway to get to the Ragged Flagon tavern, where their headquarters is.
It’s located underneath the market, go downstairs and you’ll find a door that leads you to The Ratway.
Once you’re inside the sewers, you’ll have to fight your way through a lot of unfriendly bandits, an orc, and a ghost. When you reach an area with a table right after the ghost, then you know you’re in the right place. Enter the door past that area and you’re now in Ragged Flagon.
Talk to Brynjolf again and he’ll give you one more task (“Taking Care of Business”) before you officially join the Thieves Guild.
The quest requires you to hunt down three people who owe Bynjolf gold. You can find Bersi Honey-Hand in the Prawned Pawn, Keerava in Bee and Barb, and Haelga in Haelga’s Bunkhouse. It’s up to you how you get the gold from them, but you must give them to Brynjolf to join the Thieves Guild.
How to Sell Stolen Items in Skyrim
Now that you’re in Thieves Guild, you can talk to Tonilia the Fence. There are also 7 other Fences in the game where you can sell your stolen items, but they require you to finish some tasks to prove that you are trustworthy.
The first set of Fences you can unlock early on in the game are Mallus Maccius, Gulum-Ei, and Enthir.
These are all the other Fences in Skyrim:
- Mallus Maccius in Honningbrew Meadery (Whiterun)
- Gulum-Ei in The Winking Skeever (Solitude)
- Enthir in the Hall of Attainment (Winterhold)
- Niranye (Windhelm)
- Endon in the Silver-Blood Inn (Markath)
- Any Khajiit Caravan (various places in Skyrim).
Keep in mind that they all keep a certain amount of gold. If they run out of gold, you’ll have to look for other fences while they restock it.
Although it’s difficult, unlocking all the Fences is excellent, you’ll be able to conduct your business in various areas instead of returning to one fence and waiting for them to restock their gold.
Conclusion
And that’s how you conduct business as a thief in Skyrim! It’s actually pretty easy, and we hope that this guide helped you figure out how to sell stolen goods.
Becoming a thief is actually fun, you get to collect things other players don’t get to if they took the crimeless route. If you want to learn more about the world of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, make sure to check out our guides!
