I am trying to get into trading and I keep getting losses instead of profit. When I go to eddb I am told to buy a certain quantity and go to a system where I will make a profit. After making 13 jumps Angola to the station I was advised to and sell I get a huge loss. I have tried several times and never made a profit I was told I would get. Help please!!!
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Newcomer / Intro Buying and selling commodities
- Thread starter pilotincmd2
- Start date
If the goal is to just make money, you should try the loop finder instead https://eddb.io/trade/loops
You input your jump range and the reference system below (your location) and it will find routes close to you that are repeatable and singe jump.
Eg: 1. You go to the first station (might be some travel from your initial location).. 2. load up your cargo with said product 3. Travel to the target system which is a single jump 4 Dock, sell cargo, buy the different product it tells you then go back to station 1.. and repeat as long as you get dizzy.
Also, if you really want to be sure you're getting accurate data, you can reduce the max price AGE to 2-3 days.. and set the station distance to as much as you're willing to travel inside the system.. as well as the landing pad according to your ship.
Hope this helps
I'm new to the game, but done some trading... till I literally 'got dizzy' and decided to go take passengers with an ASP instead for a change of pace..
Final tip: a docking computer can make it even less engaging)) It saves a bunch of time and you can watch TV or something in the meantime.. especially when you get those annoying hexa-rounded whatever shaped stations that you have to spend time to spot the entrance to.
You input your jump range and the reference system below (your location) and it will find routes close to you that are repeatable and singe jump.
Eg: 1. You go to the first station (might be some travel from your initial location).. 2. load up your cargo with said product 3. Travel to the target system which is a single jump 4 Dock, sell cargo, buy the different product it tells you then go back to station 1.. and repeat as long as you get dizzy.
Also, if you really want to be sure you're getting accurate data, you can reduce the max price AGE to 2-3 days.. and set the station distance to as much as you're willing to travel inside the system.. as well as the landing pad according to your ship.
Hope this helps
I'm new to the game, but done some trading... till I literally 'got dizzy' and decided to go take passengers with an ASP instead for a change of pace..Final tip: a docking computer can make it even less engaging
)) It saves a bunch of time and you can watch TV or something in the meantime.. especially when you get those annoying hexa-rounded whatever shaped stations that you have to spend time to spot the entrance to.
1. 13 jumps - mistake right there.
2. Eddb are you doing the single-hop query? That should give you better answers.
3. If you are having trouble with EDDB than have a look at Roguey - https://roguey.co.uk/elite-dangerous/trade-helper/
2. Eddb are you doing the single-hop query? That should give you better answers.
3. If you are having trouble with EDDB than have a look at Roguey - https://roguey.co.uk/elite-dangerous/trade-helper/
what Xevyr said.
what Para Handy said.
Expanded -
Be careful with those route planners. You want to watch the age of the prices:
Pad: M 107 ls 11 hours [might be OK] Pad: L 407 ls 3 days [not so good].
And even then, they can be well off. Look at the SUPPLY on both ends of the route. If the price index says 10 hours, but the supply is high, that is worth checking. I've been flattened enough to know that a low supply isn't the best target, no matter what the quoted price is. Have a look at the Traffic Report and News in the sector; watch for lots of Cutters and Anacondas [trading].
I don't know what your trade ship is; that can make a difference. If you can carry 400+t of something, it might make an easier route to take a small loss for a station near to jump-in point.
As Para said, 13 jumps is not a good route, unless it's a full bay of Rares. Ideally, a loop is 3-4 jumps at your max FSD. Some can be larger, but you must look over the pricing data - would it make more credits doing a short, 3-hop route than a much longer 4-5hop with further out stations? There are one-hop routes but they are mythical and happen extremely rarely, so don't obsess over finding them. If they show up, it's a unicorn.
If you can afford a DBScout [ 500kcr new] and about 8mil for this A-rated build, [25ly] or perhaps a Cobra MkIII [350kcr new] and again, about 8mil for this A-rated build [DBS jumps 2ly more but Cobra carries 36tons] do it. Unless it's a rock-stable thing that you've already been doing, check your routes first, both ends, with a small, fast vessel and a test run. If you're trading in an Asp or something, just go to both stations first and check prices. Most of the time it's OK, but as you found, it can be a nasty surprise.
A good rule of thumb is never fly without a cargo, even if it is only making you your fuel and docking fees. This is the Trader Creed. You might occasionally relax that if the 1-way trip is juicy enough to deadhead the way back. Even then, there's almost always something you can take back.
A thing for me is that I do not often take stations further out than 700m; I just feel I get interdicted more times.
Some people will say, "do Imperial slaves." It's quite profitable. Depends on how you think about that kind of stuff.
My own trade explorations has shown me that getting certain medical items to systems in a war state can be even more profitable, and usually everyone's too busy warring to interdict me lol. You do know that you can filter the Galaxy Maps for systems states, yeah? On the edges of war or boom states & at the fringes; that's where you want to be trading.
Your ship should have no guns, you don't need them and their weight. You're building for evasion, not fighting. Beef up thrusters, shields & boosters - you want to be able to run fast enough to get out of their range using Boost while your FSD spins up and you hi-wake.
Finally, remember that as you are using EDDB, so are hundreds/thousands of other Commanders!
Good luck, Trader
what Para Handy said.
Expanded -
Be careful with those route planners. You want to watch the age of the prices:
Pad: M 107 ls 11 hours [might be OK] Pad: L 407 ls 3 days [not so good].
And even then, they can be well off. Look at the SUPPLY on both ends of the route. If the price index says 10 hours, but the supply is high, that is worth checking. I've been flattened enough to know that a low supply isn't the best target, no matter what the quoted price is. Have a look at the Traffic Report and News in the sector; watch for lots of Cutters and Anacondas [trading].
I don't know what your trade ship is; that can make a difference. If you can carry 400+t of something, it might make an easier route to take a small loss for a station near to jump-in point.
As Para said, 13 jumps is not a good route, unless it's a full bay of Rares. Ideally, a loop is 3-4 jumps at your max FSD. Some can be larger, but you must look over the pricing data - would it make more credits doing a short, 3-hop route than a much longer 4-5hop with further out stations? There are one-hop routes but they are mythical and happen extremely rarely, so don't obsess over finding them. If they show up, it's a unicorn.
If you can afford a DBScout [ 500kcr new] and about 8mil for this A-rated build, [25ly] or perhaps a Cobra MkIII [350kcr new] and again, about 8mil for this A-rated build [DBS jumps 2ly more but Cobra carries 36tons] do it. Unless it's a rock-stable thing that you've already been doing, check your routes first, both ends, with a small, fast vessel and a test run. If you're trading in an Asp or something, just go to both stations first and check prices. Most of the time it's OK, but as you found, it can be a nasty surprise.
A good rule of thumb is never fly without a cargo, even if it is only making you your fuel and docking fees. This is the Trader Creed. You might occasionally relax that if the 1-way trip is juicy enough to deadhead the way back. Even then, there's almost always something you can take back.
A thing for me is that I do not often take stations further out than 700m; I just feel I get interdicted more times.
Some people will say, "do Imperial slaves." It's quite profitable. Depends on how you think about that kind of stuff.
My own trade explorations has shown me that getting certain medical items to systems in a war state can be even more profitable, and usually everyone's too busy warring to interdict me lol. You do know that you can filter the Galaxy Maps for systems states, yeah? On the edges of war or boom states & at the fringes; that's where you want to be trading.
Your ship should have no guns, you don't need them and their weight. You're building for evasion, not fighting. Beef up thrusters, shields & boosters - you want to be able to run fast enough to get out of their range using Boost while your FSD spins up and you hi-wake.
Finally, remember that as you are using EDDB, so are hundreds/thousands of other Commanders!
Good luck, Trader
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Good news incoming for traders. With the Beyond update there will be a LOT more tools you can use within the game to help you buy low and sell high. For example, the price of goods at various markets will be accurate as of the time you look at the information. No more “20 day old data trap” we”ve all fallen for at some point in our career.
That's exactly what I was suggesting him, exploiting Zemina Torval's mechanic buying her cheap slaves in systems controlled by her and selling it to the nearest system exploited by her..
Those are usually all 1 hop routes even for freighters (most are 10-15 ly apart) so not really a unicorn.. at least it was pretty common for me.
Obviously the fine art of being a trader (the version you're talking about) is a totally different beast
I couldn't imagine playing the game just by transporting slaves (I did it for a single afternoon to 'get-rich-quick' and had enough for half a lifetime lol) So again I was merely suggesting this (the 1-hop slave trade) in case he simply wants to use trading to make some initial cash so he can jump into something else. And in terms of payout it's actually quite good.
A fully loaded type-7 nets your roughly 1.3 million in a round-trip and with a docking computer and close station distances it takes roughly 7-8 minutes to complete or maybe less (never measured it), but it's basically a single jump.. some really short supercruise.. fighting the occasional interdiction (yes, you can win the minigame every single time even in a stock type-7 against npc-s so no reason to submit lol) then throttling down to auto-dock.. quickly swap cargo and off you go back. If you do it right you can probably make 10-15 million an hour, which is indeed decent for new players.
The downside is that it is utterly boring on a 'wanna facepalm yourself' level... like I said I could only do it for a single afternoon and got bored out of my mind.. To emphasize how boring it actually is.. afterwards I rather sold the type-7.. bought an ASPEx instead and went to the end of the galaxy lol (well not the end, just Colonia) not doing anything else but scanning the beacons (so no planet scans and 'exploring around') which pretty much meant about 1800 -ish jumps for my unengineered FSD in a row. That got boring as well, but not nearly as much as the slaves haha.. plus I was carrying a passenger offering me 40 million and got another 130m -ish after selling my scan data so it set me up financially pretty decently.
Anyway, fly safe, whatever you choose to transport!
Cheers!
Is true, but I haven't played a single game in the last 20 years that didn't have a meticulous (boring) weapon/material/ship/skill upgrade path. You know how many Iron Daggers I had to make in Skyrim to hone my Smithing? You know how many Imps I had to butcher to raise my Swordsmanship? I don't know. Too finagleing much. If you know, please don't tell me because I'd probably cry.
... Obviously the fine art of being a trader (the version you're talking about) is a totally different beast
Well, people go on about how trade is so boring. It isn't, if you get seriously interested in it. You know what would make me tear my hair out? Gathering mats for 500-1000 rolls (figures I've seen) to make a godroll on some weapon or module, and then repeating that for all the ship's modules. Ugh. No.
OK
We need to know about his ship - a lot depends on what he's working with; a T-9, Hauler, Sidewinder...
A circular Rares run, which can be a couple weekend sessions, can give a good, reliable quick-credit boost. Trading is really profitable in bulk, which means moar cargoes. Getting into a T-7 gives him a much larger cargo, hence moar profit.
OK pilotincmd2 what ship are you flying?
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On your scanner, approach the station in a roll - the entrance slot will show (not really well but whatever). If you can't make it rotate into view, you're on the opposite side of the station on approach. Also, the entrance will point roughly (and by that I mean 'kinda') towards the planet it is orbiting.
Of course, for the dedicated there is the Trade Computer Extension MkII where you hold the data yourself and do not NEED to share it with the community.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/223056-RELEASE-Trade-Computer-Extension-Mk-II
It even has a Wiki now:
http://trade-computer-extension-mkii.wikia.com/wiki/Trade_Computer_Extension_Mk.II_Wiki
It is so much more than a trade computer nowadays, so many features, but for a dedicated trader, you can't beat it. So well supported and updated too.
BTW - I still miss Thrudds (r.i.p.) - I wish someone had taken that site on, it was soooooo useful.
Really? You see their orientation in supercruise now on your hologram graphic and when in normal space that also shows arrow-heads on the sides, pointing you to the slot. By eye there are red lights on the corners at the rear of the station and white ones at the front face corners and of course they always rotate in the same direction.
These Coriolis stations are cuboctahedron shapes.
Really? You see their orientation in supercruise now on your hologram graphic and when in normal space that also shows arrow-heads on the sides, pointing you to the slot. By eye there are red lights on the corners at the rear of the station and white ones at the front face corners and of course they always rotate in the same direction.
These Coriolis stations are cuboctahedron shapes.
Yea, I figured that out... the problem is imo. they should've made station's orientation appear in relation to your ship position and not the way you are facing. Currently you have to go towards the opposite direction than swing back to check how much you've 'moved' it.. and so on.. if it would take your ship position instead, you could just go in the proper direction until it rotates just right, than turn towards it and fly straight, instead of the current back and forth 'testing'
Also once you request docking the hologram shows some arrows on each side that point towards the side with the slot.. but those arrows are a bit fat as well lol.. I always find myself double-checking which one is the pointy end.
Thanks for the clarification on the name haha I think I'll just call them Coriolis stations from now
Someone explained that some time ago on here - there's a technical term for it, but essentially it's coming from the actual (military?) flight indicators. You'll get used to it
.I am flying the type 6 Hauler
Yea, I figured that out... the problem is imo. they should've made station's orientation appear in relation to your ship position and not the way you are facing. Currently you have to go towards the opposite direction than swing back to check how much you've 'moved' it.. and so on.. if it would take your ship position instead, you could just go in the proper direction until it rotates just right, than turn towards it and fly straight, instead of the current back and forth 'testing'
Also once you request docking the hologram shows some arrows on each side that point towards the side with the slot.. but those arrows are a bit fat as well lol.. I always find myself double-checking which one is the pointy end.
Thanks for the clarification on the name haha I think I'll just call them Coriolis stations from now
My technique has evolved from the one you describe (I also was unhappy about the way the indicator works) now When I start to line up on a new station I swerve around a little to locate the docking slot, then watching where the pesky thing goes I complete lining up the station on the compass at first and then the HUD I then offset my course so that the docking slot is pointing down toward the console and the lock symbol for the station is in the upper third of my view ahead (note I don't use VR or headlock) then as I approach the station pull my track up so that when I get to close range I have curved round into line with the station so that when I drop from cruise I am facing the slot.
What I've been doing since last I posted is that once close enough I point my ship slightly away in the direction of the slot on the hologram. As I get closer the target lock of the station on my HUD starts to go away from my center point on the HUD
Then I simply use the analog magic of the joystick to counteract the exact speed of the target lock moving away so that it remains at a fixed distance from my center point... Lord behold.. the hologram of the station starts rotating without my ship having to move or me losing track of the target lock
It's still a pain when they're near higher gravity planets... I hate the slow-down effect
What I've been doing since last I posted is that once close enough I point my ship slightly away in the direction of the slot on the hologram. As I get closer the target lock of the station on my HUD starts to go away from my center point on the HUD
Then I simply use the analog magic of the joystick to counteract the exact speed of the target lock moving away so that it remains at a fixed distance from my center point... Lord behold.. the hologram of the station starts rotating without my ship having to move or me losing track of the target lock
It's still a pain when they're near higher gravity planets... I hate the slow-down effect
Thats the way, it will become so second nature that you will find yourself doing it when approaching Outposts and MegaShips where it is sort of pointless.
For high speed approaches you need to get tips from the racing crowd, Buckyball etc.
*mourns with you*