Trading does need a buff, as other things probably needs.

[Comrade Napoleon]

I just had to do a couple of trade missions in order to gain another rank in fed space. Although not a waste of time it was close to.
I stay in a nice cosy place in the bubble, close to most things, with a very, very good network around my base. In the vicinity i'm now allied with 25 - 30 Systems/factions in the area. This was achieved by bounty hunting/ raw trading and missions. Now I'm an Elite trader, so the missions offered pay out very, very well, 3-8 mill. credits often. Many are to outposts, so naturally I sport a Python. Now doing Boom missions in the Python can without breaking a sweat net between 15 - 30 mill. credits/h with no exploits or anything else involved. Just single jumps, and often they can be chained. I know this is due to my network, aka the time invested here.
Doing the trade runs, I realised that doing A to B even in Cutter or Tradeconda, would never, ever get near this amount (unless I have missed something completely)...
Doing bounty hunting, no exploits is (for me) like 3-5 mill. credits/H
Tradeconda A to B maybe 2- 3 Mill. credits/h. ( I'm unsure here, its a long time since I did this).
I have tried mining and exploration, but I cant see those anywhere near, these levels.

Now my question is really: Is this state just something to accept, due to increased rep, or is it a hindrance for players ?
I will not at all discuss masacre missions and the like as they are obvious flaws in the game.
When you compare today what you can earn in credits /h to when game went live, its almost a 50 fold increase.

I would like some comments on this topic, if you care, thank you.


Cheers Cmdr's

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I don't do A-B trading for this very reason.

I can earn more, doing missions or more fun things, like CZs, or bounty hunting, or a CG or two.

Just like mining, bulk trading is dull and low paid.

 

[777Driver]

2-3 million in a Cutter sounds very poor, it's even poor for a T9 or Anaconda, that is the kind of cash I would earn when I didn't want to fly empty to my next stop, dial up EDDB and see what is available, not the best way to maximise commodity trading. Smart trading involves looking for system states in war/famine etc, profits are huge.

Generally I'll run mission haulage, purely for the variety of destinations, plus I don't need the cash anymore, just enjoyed the flying.

Combining mission haulage with commodity trading is the best option - 700 tonnes capacity, high paid mission for 180 tonnes going to a system that happens to be experiencing Famine/War/Outbreak, load up the rest of the hold with the required goods.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't do A-B trading for this very reason.

I can earn more, doing missions or more fun things, like CZs, or bounty hunting, or a CG or two.

Just like mining, bulk trading is dull and low paid.

Strange that you are commenting on a trade thread when you are not a trader and obviously know little about how to make money doing so :-/

 

[NCFCpaul]

I tend to mix it up. I mostly am doing passenger missions at the moment because I like to go and see the sites. I'm finding the money with exploration data on top is very good- especially as my Asp has nearly 50lyr jump range.

I run missions for the money, I'll take any local haulage missions within my jump range, switching my 6a fuel scoop and cabins for cargo space- it earns very good money.

After that I then dust off the FDL and so a little shooting. All in all, nope, no A-B trading, I still make loads of cash and enjoy the variety. I'm fairly sure I could get a Python, equip floor trading and I reckon 2-3mil/hr does seem a little low. I've always thought A-B trading was the most reliable and profitable way to earn money without using exploits. Maybe the mission board is better now, but it's essentially the same mechanic.

 

[777Driver]

Maybe the mission board is better now, but it's essentially the same mechanic.

Mission board can be better for those that hop back and forth between modes, not something I would want to do. Am fairly certain the devs partially fixed board hopping.. Or at the very least it is something they are trying to stamp out.

Nice thing about the Cutter, you can haul 700 tonnes of meds into a warzone and still kick butt (against NPC's)

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Mission trading is, well, something more for the rank gain than the credits.
As mentioned the real action in trade lies in finding where the greatest need is and supplying that.
Famines, Outbreaks, Wars - all of these can often yield much higher payouts than simple mission trade.
Then there are Rare Goods and the equally rare Trade Opportunities.

 

[Ian Skippy]

I just had to do a couple of trade missions in order to gain another rank in fed space. Although not a waste of time it was close to.
I stay in a nice cosy place in the bubble, close to most things, with a very, very good network around my base. In the vicinity i'm now allied with 25 - 30 Systems/factions in the area. This was achieved by bounty hunting/ raw trading and missions. Now I'm an Elite trader, so the missions offered pay out very, very well, 3-8 mill. credits often. Many are to outposts, so naturally I sport a Python. Now doing Boom missions in the Python can without breaking a sweat net between 15 - 30 mill. credits/h with no exploits or anything else involved. Just single jumps, and often they can be chained. I know this is due to my network, aka the time invested here.
Doing the trade runs, I realised that doing A to B even in Cutter or Tradeconda, would never, ever get near this amount (unless I have missed something completely)...
Doing bounty hunting, no exploits is (for me) like 3-5 mill. credits/H
Tradeconda A to B maybe 2- 3 Mill. credits/h. ( I'm unsure here, its a long time since I did this).
I have tried mining and exploration, but I cant see those anywhere near, these levels.

Now my question is really: Is this state just something to accept, due to increased rep, or is it a hindrance for players ?
I will not at all discuss masacre missions and the like as they are obvious flaws in the game.
When you compare today what you can earn in credits /h to when game went live, its almost a 50 fold increase.

I would like some comments on this topic, if you care, thank you.


Cheers Cmdr's

Basic medicines get me 3k/t when going into an outbreak system. Even assuming your return leg is empty, and you only have 500t, thats 1.5 million every 7 minutes or. And you can easily find these using the BGS filters all over the bubble. In a Cutter I cant see how you'd earn anything below 10m, even if you play casually and relaxed.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

Last time I was at it, (selected) A > B trading in a Cutter was easily 12-15mil/hr. Say 9-12 for the same route in a Conda and thus likely similar (provided no range issue) in a T9. The various medicines > outbreak and Imperial Slaves can form the basis without much looking.

I really wouldn't bother with less than 3000/ton if credits are my goal, so you can multiply from there.

It's been a long while since non-mission trading was the best route to riches, but it still works.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Strange that you are commenting on a trade thread when you are not a trader and obviously know little about how to make money doing so :-/

True, i know little on how to trade effectively.
But even then, it's still more economical to do missions.
Same with mining.

Currently I only haul for CGs, and i don't even care about the actual trade profit, so i get it from the nearest source, and work my way out.

 

[Xenagogue]

I don't know, man. I think trading is plent profitable if you know where to look.
Personally, I use EDDB.io to do research for profitable trade routes. So, I just choose high profit items (like slaves), and filter for the lowest cost, I go to the station (mostly only stations for me), then I filter to the highest selling and scroll until I find a place a couple jumps away, and then I buy and sell for hours. A one jump trip for me while being lazy took about 10-12 minutes with my below minimum requirement computer. Made about 5.5M/hr in a Type 7.

As for missions, especially with a cargo Asp, DB, Anaconda, or iCutter, you can go out to Ceos/Sothis for long range delivery. I made 4.2M in 20-25 minutes in my DBX for 16T of cargo. (Not counting return, again garbage computer and laid back schedule.) If I had an Annaconda, I could probably make at least 20M/hr. Then again, I'm allied with all the stations (3) and most of their factions, and am allied 100% with the Federation (I used the stations for data transfers and deliveries between them to get a Cobra III + modules and an Asp X + modules). So I think if I ever want to go back to the quieter lifestyle, I have excellent money making opportunities.

Also, I do all my trading in open, I know that matters to some of y'all.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

I dunno, Comrade. I think trading is OK.

We definitely have the same play strategy when it comes to making money. Allying with so many factions close to "home" allows you to rack up credits fast. But it's obvious from discussions elsewhere in this forum that there are plenty of folks out there who have never even considered it.

I agree with folks above - I like to stack up on haulage, sourcing, and passenger missions, then just cram whatever is left of my cargo hold with any valuable commodities as I move along the route.

As soon as I'm done unlocking Bill Turner and getting my little Viper upgraded, I'm going to work out a couple of rares routes for my wing. Should be something fun for us to do... rares trading with supplemental normal commodities.

 

[StiTch]

It's fine for reliable income. It's only "low" as it's eclipsed by the stacking of certain missions. Say one was to remove stackable missions - the income from trading is now in perspective.

Also doesn't help that bounty hunting income is much higher after engineering.

So really IF a change is to be made, we decide whether to tone down most income sources in the name of balance, or buff trading/whatever income and forget credits were ever a restriction.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Also doesn't help that bounty hunting income is much higher after engineering.

It's also true for mission running. Even without the added income of mission bounties, just having a tuned-up FSD allows you to move missions much more quickly. In my Python, I can stack haulage and passengers to all of my local systems and do the whole circuit in single jumps.

Note that I'm absolutely not complaining. I love having access to credits, as part of the joy of this game (for me) is the ability to outfit, experiment with, and fly many types of spaceships for all manner of activities.

 

[shadragon]

I find trading to be about the same as when I first started. The difference now is you can't milk the same route 10-20 times in a session. Supply and demand impacts on the BGS and your profit margin, BUT multiple trade routes can help keep your profits at a decent level.

Amended: CG's artificially suspend the BGS and you can use that to your advantage, plus get CG rewards for volume.

 

[Kosmetas]

Stop the creep! If trading makes less than doing missions or bounty hunting nerf them don't boast trading. This is very similar to weapon creep and just as damaging. No where is it written in stone that everything be fair and even. Wasn't it just a few updates ago the complaint was that Trading made too many credits and Missions didn't pay enough? It wasn't too long ago the complaint was that Trading made too many credits and Bounty Hunting wasn't profitable.

So, please stop the creeping (boasting) of "systems" to make credits and reduce the influx of credits... including hacks and such.

 

[DragonIV]

My current stable Cutter route (single hop) can make 18M/hr.
Have a similar setup to OP with missions, so in my Python I can make as much as 30M/hr (I'm also trade Elite) but, and this is a big butt, it is not a reliable 30M/hr. Even mode switching won't get you that--it's luck of the RNG. More commonly, I make no more than 15-18M/hr doing this. However, it's infinitely more interesting than A-B trading, especially since when I get crappy contracts I go and fight off interdictors or jump into Shots Fired USSes. I am looking forward to the 2.3 option that will allow you to decline mission destination changes--that'll make the Python even more profitable per hour when I do roll a nice set of missions.

- - - Updated - - -

Note that I'm absolutely not complaining. I love having access to credits, as part of the joy of this game (for me) is the ability to outfit, experiment with, and fly many types of spaceships for all manner of activities.

I can't THIS this enough.

 

[GG7]

Once the "Three Missions Only" stacking limit hits the live servers, conventional trading is all but dead if you ask me.

(Glad I already have my Elite Trading Rank done)

 

[777Driver]

Once the "Three Missions Only" stacking limit hits the live servers, conventional trading is all but dead if you ask me.

(Glad I already have my Elite Trading Rank done)

Three mission limit is not for haulage missions, unless something changed recently, it was designed for kill missions. Besides, mission hauling is not even trading, nothing stopping people getting trade rank the old fashioned way, still way faster than how we achieved Elite rank... Fully laden Shieldless T9/Anaconda 600,000 credits was a good run.

 

[yodajedifishmaster]

just reading thread title made me think 'buff everything needs buffing.'

and then 'buff everything, and you buff nothing.'

 

[DragonIV]

Besides, mission hauling is not even trading, nothing stopping people getting trade rank the old fashioned way, still way faster than how we achieved Elite rank...

I was trying to figure out how I hit Elite in trade the other day having only A-B traded 600M CR to date. Must be all those haulage missions I was doing to break up the A-B monotony, I've easily done a couple hundred million in those.