Players consistently report that demolishing a placed building in Moon Sweepers returns about 75% of its purchase price, so every removal costs you roughly a quarter of what you paid. This figure is player-reported: it comes from a Steam discussion thread, a highly upvoted launch review and several gameplay recordings, not from official patch notes or a developer statement. The 1.0.3 patch notes do not mention refunds at all.
The practical takeaway is that removal is a partial undo, not a free one. The game shows how much you will get back when you aim at a building in Remove mode, so you can read the exact amount before confirming. Use that preview to check the percentage on your own build, because balance may change in later patches.
Reported Refund Examples
These are the specific numbers players and guides have recorded. Every one of them works out to the same ratio.
| Building | Purchase price | Amount reported back | Amount lost | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garage | $200 | $150 | $50 | 75% |
| Pressure Chamber | $500 | $375 | $125 | 75% |
| Unnamed structure in a published guide | $200 | $150 | $50 | 75% |
In addition, the launch-day Steam thread about building refunds opens by complaining that removal "returns only 75% of the cost", and one of the most upvoted negative reviews asks why deconstruction refunds only 75% of a building's cost. A streamer working on an early base summed it up the same way: selling something to move it means losing 25% of its value.
The Remove prompt shows the refund before you click.
How to Read the Refund Before You Confirm
You do not have to demolish a building to find out what it returns. Players report seeing the refund amount while targeting a structure in Remove mode, and at least one player backed out after seeing that a Pressure Chamber would only return $375.
- Equip the Building Tool. It costs $50 and gives access to the build menu.
- Switch to Remove mode. It is listed alongside build, map, capsule and rotation lock options on the Building Tool.
- Aim at the building you are considering removing.
- Read the amount you would get back before confirming.
- Cancel if the loss is not worth it. Switch back to build mode and look for a workaround instead.
If the preview shows an amount that is not 75% of what you paid, trust the on-screen number for your version. The 75% figure is a pattern from launch-week reports, not a published rule.
Calculating the Loss for Common Buildings
Using the reported 75% rate, the loss on removal is a quarter of the purchase price. Apply it to the prices players recorded at launch:
| Building | Purchase price | Expected loss at 25% |
|---|---|---|
| Packager | $100 | $25 |
| Garage | $200 | $50 |
| Robot Vacuum Mk I | $250 | $62.50 |
| Robot Vacuum Mk II | $500 | $125 |
| Pressure Chamber | $500 | $125 |
| Stone Press | $1,000 | $250 |
| Capsule Catcher | $1,500 | $375 |
Only the Garage and Pressure Chamber values in this table were observed directly. The others are calculations from the reported rate, so confirm them with the Remove mode preview before relying on them. Refunds for conveyor belts, foundations and other building pieces were not reported in the research for this page.
Refund Versus Workaround: Worked Examples
The 25% loss only makes sense when you compare it with the alternative. Conveyor belts were listed at $0.50 per meter, with up to 30 meters placed in one section, so a full 30 m section costs about $15. That price makes most routing workarounds far cheaper than a removal.
A reversed Pressure Chamber
You placed a $500 Pressure Chamber with its input facing away from the dust belt. Removing and re-placing it costs about $125 at the reported rate. Extending the belt around the machine to reach the input side might need one or two extra sections, roughly $15 to $30. Unless the detour blocks future expansion, reroute the belt and keep the machine.
A Robot Vacuum that has finished its area
A Mk I dock ($250) covers 19 hexes and a Mk II ($500) covers 37. Once those hexes are clean, the dock earns nothing. Removing it returns about three quarters of its price, which you can put toward a new dock on fresh ground. Here the loss is the price of moving to productive ground, and it is usually worth paying. Check that the new spot can connect to your conveyor network before you remove the old dock.
A Garage facing the wrong way
A $200 Garage loses about $50 on removal. If every vehicle trip now ends with an awkward approach to the unloading area, that $50 is spent once while the awkward approach costs time on every load. Many players would replace it, but only after unloading the vehicle and any stored cargo first.
A Stone Press in a crowded corner
A $1,000 Stone Press would lose about $250 if the calculated rate applies. Before removing it, try feeding it with raised conveyors or a splitter placed further along the belt where there is more open space. Removal is a last resort for the most expensive machines.
Refunds in Co-op
Co-op crews share one wallet, so a refund returns to the money the whole crew spends, and the loss comes out of the same place. That makes removals a crew decision. Agree before anyone removes a machine that others rely on, and have the person who planned the layout confirm the new position first. On patch 1.0.3, crewmates can build working splitters and mergers, so the fix does not have to wait for the host.
What a Demolition Refund Does Not Cover
The refund is a cash return on the structure itself. Keep these related losses in mind:
- Time and rebuilding work. Reconnecting conveyors, power and inputs takes longer than the original placement if the area is now crowded.
- Material inside the building. Players did not report whether dust or processed material sitting inside a machine is returned or lost on removal. Let a machine empty before removing it where you can.
- Garage contents. On patch 1.0.3, demolishing a Garage no longer deletes its vehicles; they move to another Garage or wait for the next one you build. Earlier builds did delete them. Whether cargo held in the Garage survives is not stated in the patch notes, so unload first.
Vehicles are not part of this refund rule. They are bought at the Garage, and the research does not give a reliable resale figure for them.
When Demolishing Is Worth the 25% Loss
A removal is worth it when the building is costing you more in its current place than the quarter you lose. Common cases:
- A finished Robot Vacuum. Once a dock has cleaned all the dirty hexes in its range, it does nothing more. Recovering about three quarters of its price and placing a new dock on fresh ground is usually better than leaving it idle.
- A machine that blocks a much better layout. If a misplaced chamber forces long detours for every new belt, the one-time loss can be cheaper than working around it forever.
- A badly oriented Garage. Players placed their first Garage facing the wrong way. If the unloading area is awkward on every trip, replacing it may be worth the $50 loss.
It is usually not worth it when a few extra conveyor sections would solve the problem. One player facing a $125 loss on a reversed Pressure Chamber chose to run belts around it instead.
Ways to Avoid Paying the Loss
Because the refund is partial, a little planning before placement saves real money:
- Check input and output sides before placing. The Pressure Chamber's input is on the side without the handle. Rotate machines during placement so the input faces the incoming belt.
- Use the 1.0.3 foundation change. Machines can now stand across several foundations, so Pressure Chambers, Stone Presses and Garages fit on square foundations without being removed and re-placed.
- Expand with splitters and mergers. They snap onto existing conveyors, and on 1.0.3 they also snap port to port, so growing a line does not require tearing it down.
- Cross belts instead of moving machines. Conveyors can be raised over existing belts and brought back down.
- Leave room. Keep space around machines for future belts and power so later additions do not force a removal.
Why Players Want a Full Refund
The 75% rate drew complaints mainly because there is no way to move a building once it is placed. The launch-day refund thread listed the frustrations together: partial refunds, no move tool, no building grid or measurement tools, and no indicators for input and output directions. Several replies asked for either a full refund or the ability to move buildings, especially Robot Vacuums.
The developers' October 24 message lists quality-of-life improvements among ongoing work, but it does not promise a change to refunds. Until official notes say otherwise, plan around the 75% figure.
Verify the Percentage in Your Own Save
To confirm the current rate on your version without losing anything:
- Note the purchase price of a building you own from the build menu.
- Enter Remove mode and aim at that building.
- Read the refund amount, then cancel.
- Divide the refund by the purchase price.
If the result is 0.75, the launch-week reports still hold. If it differs, the rate has changed and the on-screen preview is the number to trust.