Auctions
The idea, basically, is that some bases might have old storage units filled with abandoned cargo and other
Not quite sure how bidding would work - maybe the player gets three opportunities to bid, and each time is told how much competitors have offered? And gets the item if the final bid is the high one?
When you win, you find out what you got - for example, in this case four cargo pods might be empty and worthless, ten might be furs, and the other ten minerals, the military crates might be e.g. an ECM hardened missile and a faulty docking computer (which can be discarded, or installed but you have to pay for it to be repaired), the livestock crate might be slaves or a Trumble.
I really have no idea how this could be made to work, but I think it could be fun.
Unknown Cargoes
It might be interesting if a small proportion of cargo pods were unidentifiable if you scoop them up - the label or transponder tag was damaged, and the only way to find out what's inside is to open it in port. Contents are otherwise randomly-generated standard stuff, and you can see them normally when you press F8 in port, but they're always a gamble since you don't know what you're getting; if the hold is getting full, do you keep them or dump them?