Smuggler

Smugglers were those persons who engaged in smuggling, which even during the reign of near-monopolies like the Trade Federation and Techno Union was consistently implied to be the only form of interstellar commerce in the Galaxy. Independent companies and corporations indeed are known to have existed, but actual commercial hauling seems to have been the exclusive preserve of smugglers. We are left to wonder how, precisely, did galactic economics work, and are forced to conclude that, apart from smugglers, it didn't.