In credit-based economies, Networking + Rep are handy for: - getting favors you wouldn't pay for with cash (already mentioned) - finding illegal stuff (e.g., weapons & fake IDs; but you probably still have to actually pay for them with money) - getting information (although again, networking/rep are more useful for finding a seller; cred can help grease the wheels) This brings up an interesting point for GMs when balancing out their games: stuff may be effectively more expensive in the Inner System, because you have to spend rep to get that illegal plasma rifle, and then cred to actually buy it. GMs should keep this in mind when thinking about up-front stipends, monetary rewards for missions, etc. The other option for GMs is to remove cred from rep-initiated transactions, e.g., your friend Leong the Factor will not only track down some heavy artillery for a favor, he'll hand it over for old times' sake. But it's more in the Sunward spirit to demand cash on the barrelhead. That's just my 2 @-rep on ways of running it. Thing is, the GM has a huge amount of control in terms of how much money/rep is injected into the campaign, so they've got wide latitude to do it either of the ways described above & still have it be challenging for the team.

is the expenditure of rep points mandatory? I mean, if a character has really good network skills in smuggling circles, for exemple, and the rep that goes with it, he would get a decent chance to get the item even with the big malus from the difference of level between favor and rep score I like the idea of having to play on the rep to have access to the merchandise, but having to pay it with hard cash