for a while i was thinking that black market pipeline would let you buy the item straight up through the contact for 10% off if you do the searching yourself, but i was talking to some of the other players and they said that i would have to still pay the finder's fee. Am i right in thinking that way, or were they right?

Well, if you are searching for the item yourself, you typically don't have to pay a finders fee, but you do have to make the negotiation tests yourself(which take a long time and use up time you could be doing other things in), and the GM has a right to say that you simply can't find something without a contact. Picking up a latex face mask or an ares predator IV might be as easy as a trip to the crime mall, but picking up a heavy machine gun would be damn near impossible without knowing someone who would have access to it.

I personally rule that specialist contacts(warzs dudes, arms dealers, ect) charge a smaller finders fee for items in their field them a generalist(fixer, black marketeer, ect), but generalists charge a smaller amount them a specialist would outside of their specialty.(an armsdealer might be able to get you that medic program, but it would be difficult for them). Specialist contacts might not charge a finders fee at all if it something they might have on hand(you can trust the armsdealer to have some assault rifle bullets without needing to go searching for them).

The Availability test tells where you can find the item or not. No contacts are needed. And no finder fee if you use only your Negotiation + Charisma.

If you use the black market pipeline, you either get a better deal or more dice (which should result in a better deal). Finder fees would work like with other contacts, whatever that is for your campaign. You benefit from your special contact either way.

And finder fees are harsh. You pay 80% base for stolen goods, and get 30% base if fencing them to a contact. If you pay a finders fee, you should get the margin.

okay, thanks for the help