There is one way that independant merchants could get their hands on trading
vessels at a low cost legally:
Buy a used ship. The older it is, the cheaper it is. Megacorporations
will probably sell off ships that are 30 years old or older, most likely at
no more than half (new) price. A 40+ year old ship would probably be one fourth
new cost. The Imperium (before the Rebellion) would have probably sold off
small warships and scouts that were obsolete (minus weapons and military
sensors, of course...) for 10-20% cost. Such ships would be at least 30 years
old, and would probably not have a lot of useable cargo space.