Sry I didn't read through all 17 pages of comments, I just don't have the time. Maybe a summary of the already discussed pros/cons could be added to the first post? If not, that's fine by me - just a suggestion.
From the perspective of a new player, lack of storage is really weird. I've played plenty of games in the past few decades and this seems rather odd to me - but that's also because I tend to hoard stuff in virtual worlds.
I think there are different ways to introduce some kind of storage system to the game as a quality of life feature, while making sure that it doesn't impact current game mechanics as some might fear.
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A few ideas - numbers are just examples to illustrate the basic concept:
1) high cost for storage transfer between stations (e.g. double market value, thus transfer will never be profitable)
2) slow transfer (e.g. 24-48 hours or more)
3) limited transfer (e.g. once per week/month) or some sort of cap (e.g. 1000 tons per month)
4) risky transfer between stations (e.g. actual ships are transporting goods, can be attacked by NPCs and/or players)
In general, if storage transfer between stations would be implemented, one could design it to be not profitable (at all) and only appeal to those who really need to move things, but can not be bothered to haul everything themselves. That way, a player could try to avoid flying a cargo ship but either has to pay for an expensive service or take the same risk as regular hauling.
The main goal of this approach would be to make station transfer a solution that comes with drawbacks for those who are planning to exploit the mechanic. In theory, I could see any of these options (even a combination of them) work out well - the question is ofc how well it would translate into the game.
Another option would be something like EVE's contract system: if players want to transfer storage, they would have to wrap it all up and another player would have to accept it as a mission and haul it to the desired destination. This way, we could have new gameplay as well. The only question is how to make sure there are no scams (it's the least favorite of the options because of higher exploit potential). Also, depending on the system, it might take a while until a player picks something up. Paying for NPC haulers might be the better alternative.
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Alternatively, as has been suggested by others: no transfer between stations at all - a solution I could live with, because most of the time, I really just need to dump some cargo where I'm docked for whatever reasons.
Some ideas how this could be implemented in particular:
A) daily/weekly/monthly fee (e.g. 50 MCr per week - or per ton) to rent local storage space
B) limited time local storage (e.g. 24 hours; hefty fine if cargo is not picked up after timer runs out)
C) upgradable local storage module (e.g. starts at 25 tons; each module's price increases exponentially)
D) local storage permit (e.g. deliver 5000 tons of resource to earn the privilege; could be temporary)
Any of these (or a combination) sounds also interesting to me. It would require some work, one way or another, so players would have to give it some thought if it is worth getting local storage - this kind of convenience should have a price imho.
If paying with credits is considered too easy, one could introduce special missions to earn a "storage permit" for a particular station - that permit could expire after a while or it would unlock only a limited amount of storage. If a player wants more storage, they would have to invest more time/resource to unlock it.
Again, the main goal is to create a situation where players are forced to make a decision. Someone who really needs local storage, will jump through the extra hoops because their individual need is worth the effort. Someone who just wants to make a quick profit probably will not really develop the incentive to grind local storage space, unless there is some sort of long-term profit - in which case I think that kind of dedication should be equally rewarded.
Ofc, I may be wrong about people's masochist tendencies, but I really doubt e.g. a gold seller would invest time into something like this - the reason why gold sellers exist is because there is quick profit. The longer and the more arduous a process, the less profitable it is overall (I might underestimate these kind of people though).
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Just to make it clear once more: these are just examples. I'm trying to make the point that there are always different ways to implement a mechanic and that there are always different parameters one can make use of and adjust the experience accordingly, depending on what one wants to achieve/avoid.
I really think the game could use storage, at least non-transferable, local storage - upgradable, somewhat limited (e.g. max number of stations with local storage and/or max tonnage per station) and/or costly.
A feature like this shouldn't just come with benefits imho, but also with drawbacks, whatever those may be.
However, I also think while this would be a great quality of life feature, it is not that essential - I'd much rather see the current module storage improved by adding proper filters/categories so I don't have to waste time scrolling through the entire list - because that's a real pita.
