Value

Value is the standard amount of bottle caps worth of your Fallout 3 items.

Condition

 * Main article: Condition

An item's value can be directly affected by lowering/increasing the item's condition.

Actions that lower item condition varies:
 * For weapons: actively using a gun or melee weapon will lower its condition gradually. In V.A.T.S., weapons can be specifically targeted and damaged. If broken, the weapon cannot be equipped, and its value becomes zero.
 * For armour: actively sustaining blows while wearing armour will lower its condition. This type of damage is body part sensitive: a hit head will lower the value of hats and helmets, while a hit torso or legs will damage body armour and clothing. If broken, the piece of armour cannot be equipped, and its value becomes zero.

Barter

 * Main article: Barter

An item value can be indirectly affected by increasing one's barter skill. In game terms: what barter does is not to increase/decrease value as such, but instead to influence price levels by lowering buying percentage, as well as increasing selling percentage. The following formula may be used to declare selling percentage:

Initial Level (Fallout 3): 2 + (Charisma x 2) + (Luck/2). Item Sell Value Percent (Fallout 3): 45 + ( Barter x 0.45 ). S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Statistic: Charisma


 * Note: %Price rounded to nearest whole number

Master Trader perk
Like Barter in general, the Master Trader perk can also be indirectly used to increase the amount of bottle caps one gains from items, even while not influencing value directly.