I'll give you a more clear answer... It's hard to get shit answered around here...
First off, welcome to FOnline, may your travels be as harsh as they are adventurous.
Secondly, while the "BARTER" skill and system is a bit wonky at the moment, the key to making caps through merchants is to find out what that special item is that they will pay dearly for.
After you find out what merchants take what, then it's just a matter of a waiting game... waiting for that merchant to have caps to give you in exchange.
For example:
The merchant in the GUNS shop in the Market section of the Hub pays a pretty penny for broc flower, xander root, and fruits. Collect a few of these, and you will be able to make a nice amount of money just by wandering around and picking up the resources on the ground.
Another good source of income is selling scavenged FN FALs.. They go for 500-2000 caps to the right merchant.
I hope this helps, and if you ever need any assistance in anything, be it levelling, escorts, advice, or anything else, feel free to PM.
Does gecko skinning require a perk or special item? I ran into a vault city patrol killing geckos and looted the corpses. No skins at all.
You need to get the Gecko Skinning perk from the trappers in the Trapper Camp in Klamath.
better shovel shit if You want to earn caps.
DO NOT DO THIS...