Shipping Line
$460Qi base cost · $7.60T/sec
Business Overview
Cargo ships full of profit.
The Shipping Line sits comfortably in the middle of the pack: cheap enough to stack early, strong enough to matter later.
Cost Scaling
Every business in Tycoon Cards uses the same cost curve: each copy costs 15% more than the last. For the Shipping Line, that looks like this:
| Copies owned | Cost of next copy | Total spent to reach this many |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $529Qi | $460Qi |
| 10 | $1.86Sx | $9.34Sx |
| 25 | $15.1Sx | $97.9Sx |
| 50 | $498Sx | $3.32Sp |
| 100 | $540Sp | $3.60Oc |
Income Scaling
Income scales linearly with copies owned — no diminishing returns, ever. Owning more of the Shipping Line always earns proportionally more:
| Copies owned | Income per second |
|---|---|
| 1 | $7.60T/s |
| 10 | $76.0T/s |
| 25 | $190T/s |
| 50 | $380T/s |
| 100 | $760T/s |
Profit Calculations
| Payback period (1st copy) | 60,484,980 seconds |
| Income per dollar spent | $0.0/s per $1 |
| Efficient switch point | Around copy #4 (when the next copy costs more than Airline) |
See the Business Tier List for how this business ranks against all other 99 tiers by payback period.
Unlock Requirements
There is no gating system on businesses in Tycoon Cards — the Shipping Line is available to purchase from the very start of any run, the moment you can afford its $460Qi base cost. The only realistic "requirement" is reaching that amount of money, either by clicking, by owning cheaper businesses, or by carrying prestige and card bonuses from a previous run.
Best Upgrades
Individual businesses don't have their own upgrade trees in Tycoon Cards — the Shipping Line always earns exactly $7.60T per copy at base rate. What actually "upgrades" its value are the game's shared systems: levelling supporting cards (below), earning achievement bonuses, and increasing your prestige multiplier. Each of these applies as a percentage on top of every business you own, including this one.
Best Supporting Cards
At this tier, all-income and passive-income cards deliver the biggest absolute gains, since a percentage bonus on a high-earning business is worth far more in raw dollars than the same percentage on a cheap early tier.
Prestige Recommendations
Owning multiple copies of this tier usually means you're in the later half of a run — a reasonable point to start planning your next prestige once growth visibly slows.
Read the full Prestige Guide for general reset timing, or the Prestige Point Planning guide to calculate exactly how many points your next reset will earn.
Research Interactions
Tycoon Cards does not currently include a research-tree system — the Shipping Line cannot be researched or unlocked through any mechanic beyond simply affording it. A research tree is listed as a possible future system on our Updates & Roadmap page; this section will be updated if that ever changes.
Evolution Path (Tier Progression)
Businesses in Tycoon Cards don't evolve or transform — each tier is a permanent, independent business. What we can show honestly is this business's place in the overall 100-tier progression:
- Previous tier: 📦 Logistics Company ($297Qi base cost)
- This tier: 🚢 Shipping Line ($460Qi base cost)
- Next tier: 🛫 Airline ($713Qi base cost)
Visual Progression
The five tiers surrounding the Shipping Line in the business roster:
Best Strategies
- This tier represents serious income — prioritise it once your card bonuses are strong enough to make the large upfront cost worthwhile.
- Watch the payback period column below; once it drops to a reasonable window relative to your play session length, it's worth investing.
- Remember that all businesses share the same 15%-per-copy cost curve, so the fundamental buy/hold maths never changes — only the absolute numbers do.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Shipping Line cost?
+
How much does the Shipping Line cost?
+The first copy costs 459,952,458,116,199,400,000 in-game dollars. Each subsequent copy costs 15% more than the last, following the same cost curve used by every business in Tycoon Cards.
How much does the Shipping Line earn?
+
How much does the Shipping Line earn?
+Each copy of the Shipping Line earns 7,604,407,844,278.476 per second, before any card, achievement, or prestige bonuses are applied.
How long does it take for the Shipping Line to pay for itself?
+
How long does it take for the Shipping Line to pay for itself?
+At base rates, one copy pays back its own cost in approximately 60,484,980 seconds — though bonuses from cards and prestige typically shorten this in practice.
When should I switch from the Shipping Line to Airline?
+
When should I switch from the Shipping Line to Airline?
+Once you own around 4 copies of the Shipping Line, the cost of your next copy will exceed Airline's base price — a reasonable signal to start diversifying into that tier instead.
Does prestige reset my Shipping Line count?
+
Does prestige reset my Shipping Line count?
+Yes. Prestiging resets all business ownership, including the Shipping Line, back to zero. However, any cards or achievements that boost this business's income remain permanently in effect on your next run.
Related Businesses
Related Guides
- Business Guide — full roster, cost curves and buy order
- Business Tier List — every business ranked by return on investment
- Economy Guide — how growth curves and inflation work game-wide
- Prestige Guide — when and how to reset for permanent bonuses
Changelog
- v1.2.0 (April 2026) — Added as part of the business expansion from 10 to 100 tiers.
Business data verified against the live game configuration · Part of the 100-business encyclopedia · Written by the Tycoon Cards development team