Is the economy backwards?

ZivyTerc

Z
Hi. I'm new to the game, still in Sidewinder, and need a bit of explanation about economy and trading. I've watched the tutorial about economy map, how to find commodities flow etc.


As I needed to get from system Frigaha to system LHS 3447, I thought - ok, let's buy 4 units of something to make at least a little profit. So I checked the map and noticed, that Frigaha was producing Semiconductors and exporting them to 3447. Bought 4 of them, jumped next door.... and when trying to sell I am informed I'd be losing about 100CR per ton. :eek:


So if a resource is more expensive in system producing it, either I must have misunderstood something, or the economy is working backwards... How can I find at least slightly profitable trading routes?


Thanks for hints...
 

Hagledesperado

Hagledesperado
Go to station A, write down the prices. Go to station B, compare prices. Buy whatever will give you the most profit. That's the best I've been able to come up with.
 

ChubbyBunneh

ChubbyBunneh
The galaxy map sucks and is full of lies.

You pretty much have to fly to the surrounding systems to make sure they will buy whatever commodity for a good price before starting to trade in earnest.
 

Lobstris

Lobstris
1) You need to check individual economies at individual stations within a system, don't just believe the system map. 2) The trade routes shown appear to be based on what players have traded, and are updated infrequently, so if someone dumps unprofitable stuff at a station, it can be misleading. 3) Trading where other players are tends to lead to lower profits, so go somewhere else that's quiet - the margins will be bigger and there's more chance the galmap will tell you the truth.
 

Xious

Xious
Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.

Just go to Eravate Cleve Hub and buy Marine Equipment then sell to Ackermann. Buy Tea or Natural Fabrics there and sell to Cleve Hub... rinse repeat.
 
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CMDR Corleone

CMDR Corleone
The way to amass profit is simple, find a symbiotic triangle and fly point to point, servicing your good clients' needs.

Try buying metals in Frigaha, sell them at Cleve Hub (Eravate), buy crop harvesters/marine equipment, hop to Ackerman (same system) to sell, buy coffee/meat, head back to Frigaha, or buy tobacco and sell in Protiri (nearby star, tobacco legal, spelled something like that), buy more metals, back to Cleve and so on.

Remember it's not all about business, look for friends you can help, before you sell anything check the bulletins, see if any needs there match your load, after you sell check bulletins before you buy, see if any requests for help fit your route and cargo capacity.

I hope that helps you, and wish you success in your new venture.
 

Colonel North

Colonel North
The best reciprocal trades I have been able to find are between Hi-Tech (blue blobs) and Extraction (orange blob) economies.

Search the map for two that are close enough and then like the chap above said write the prices down between the two places. Generally if demand/ supply are not high it won't be a great trade.

Don't settle for less than 1200 per unit each way. I have found up to 1700 one way but the back haul rates are not that good.

Thrudds is excellent to give you ideas but generally the trades it comes up with have been milked and don't play out as well. But its a great tool nonetheless.
 

Viajero

Volunteer Moderator
Viajero
Did you check all stations in the system? Often times not all stations in a system will trade in the same commodities and/or at the same prices.

For me most of the apparent conflicts in the galaxy map info solved themselves after finding out the right station in system.
 

Ben Salient

B
am slightly baffled , why would you want to keep using LHS3447 ? the distances between entry point & the various space stations is abysmal
also just because an item is exported to a system ... it does not mean it is exported to EVERY starport within that system.
...
Eravate ~ Frigaha .... should have bought home how boring LHS3447 is
my advice , think about who you want to Earn reputation with & start moving either towards Sol OR towards Summerland .. you should soon stumble upon a group of systems/stars that have starports / outposts @ a more user friendly supercruise distance
and that have a nice mix of Economies all within easy Jump distance of each other
ideally find a High Tech economy ( starport under 500 LS from entry point ) .. then see if there are industrial / Agricultural / Extraction & Refinery Star systems nearby ( again with starports/outposts under 500 LS from entry point )
this should allow you to trade & do the maximum variation of missions in the quickest times , with least amount of time spent in SuperCruise
 
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Troa Barton

Troa Barton
I want to help answer your question but there's really a trick to it that you learn with time it's not the easiest thing to explain.
ill find a link that describes it better than I could but in the meantime I would suggest that you look into rare trading for the time being anyway.
its an easy way to get your feet wet with trading and all the dangers that come with it. Not only that but you will make more money with rares faster than anything else until you're in a type 7 or a shieldless asp. Once you get there switch over to regular commodities.
http://eliteraretrader.co.uk
http://elitetradingtool.co.uk
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=91538
 
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