Noob Question on Trading and tools

cassini12 · Mar 22, 2017

Couldn't post in any other area for some reason so I apologize if this is not the right place. I would like to try my hand at trading and see what the credits per hour I can obtain. I have no idea about training other than watching a few videos. Some dates are old so I was wondering nowadays what is the "most used" tool I should be using? Does Tradingdangerous still work? Tips, opinions? TY

My layout is: Asp Exp, Python, Cobra MKiV, and about 100,000 credits at the moment if that helps.. TY

Atrus5060 · Mar 22, 2017

I've been dabbling in trading while waiting for 2.3 to come out. I'm using a python for large hauls - 196T to 224T depending on whether I include a fuel scoop or not.

This will be your best friend for figuring out commodity trade routes:

https://eddb.io/

cassini12 · Mar 27, 2017

Atrus5060 said:
I've been dabbling in trading while waiting for 2.3 to come out. I'm using a python for large hauls - 196T to 224T depending on whether I include a fuel scoop or not.

This will be your best friend for figuring out commodity trade routes:

https://eddb.io/

TY, Could I get some more input on what that site actually shows me? for instance I clicked on commodity's and it shows me a list and a buy sell, but is that "general" or current? Would I then search for them? Are most people that are making money doing just single-hop routes or much longer?

Thanks

disorganise · Mar 28, 2017

Eddb.io is awesome for searching where to buy/sell stuff (particularly for missions/CGs) as well as where to find modules etc. Enter your location and a commodity and it'll show you a list of places to buy/sell lowest/highest....including how far away the station is.

Another tool I like is TCE https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/223056-RELEASE-Trade-Computer-Extension-Mk-II which reads your logs and offers suggested trades depending on where you are and have been. By default it'll only look at stations you have actually visited...I believe there's a way to open it up but I prefer the default. If I'm stuck....I revert to eddb and when I next land, add the new station to TCE.

There was also Thrudds something that was good for figuring out trade routes given your carrying capacity and funds. It's another crowd sourced web portal.
Edit.....
Found it; haven't used it for a long time so no idea if it is maintained.
http://www.elitetradingtool.co.uk

disorganise · Mar 28, 2017

I'm not a trader but....
When I was trading in the early days I found it was generally a triangle that worked out most profitable. For regular goods you want few jumps and stations as close to the arrival position as possible to minimise travel time.
But.....
I eventually stumbled upon rares. Rares get more expensive the further you travel. I ended up with another triangle spanning 200ly or so and was making decent (I thought) in my cobra.
But to be honest, missions are probably the most lucrative haulage. Once you build up status to allied you can get crazy things like being offered 2million to take 10 tonnes of water to a destination 250ly away.

cassini12 · Mar 29, 2017

disorganise said:
I'm not a trader but....
When I was trading in the early days I found it was generally a triangle that worked out most profitable. For regular goods you want few jumps and stations as close to the arrival position as possible to minimise travel time.
But.....
I eventually stumbled upon rares. Rares get more expensive the further you travel. I ended up with another triangle spanning 200ly or so and was making decent (I thought) in my cobra.
But to be honest, missions are probably the most lucrative haulage. Once you build up status to allied you can get crazy things like being offered 2million to take 10 tonnes of water to a destination 250ly away.

very interesting TY, So getting to "allied" is that literally just pick a station to call :home: and just do all the missions they ask? or is it "certain" stations that offer the most , as in should I stick with "HIGH TECH" stations or it does not matter? TY

mtt9999 [Parabolus] · Mar 29, 2017

cassini12 said:
very interesting TY, So getting to "allied" is that literally just pick a station to call :home: and just do all the missions they ask? or is it "certain" stations that offer the most , as in should I stick with "HIGH TECH" stations or it does not matter? TY

Yeh early trading is best for rares, missions are nice but inconsistent. By far the most profitable is general trading [slaves if you are into that], but metals like palladium work well too. One of the benefits of normal tradings is that it will naturally increase your rep with factions and systems, leading to missions also. A 3-way or 5-way trade seem to be best... I like to spend time researching and establishing a cool 7-system route (avoids monotony).

cassini12 · Mar 29, 2017

mtt9999 said:
Yeh early trading is best for rares, missions are nice but inconsistent. By far the most profitable is general trading [slaves if you are into that], but metals like palladium work well too. One of the benefits of normal tradings is that it will naturally increase your rep with factions and systems, leading to missions also. A 3-way or 5-way trade seem to be best... I like to spend time researching and establishing a cool 7-system route (avoids monotony).

TY, I am down for trading anything as long as its "simple" enough? Where can I get slaves and will I get Fined,Shot, Scanned etc lol ?? TY