Industrialist: Markets
So you need your next boat? Need ammo, parts, or something more particular, like male or female exotic dancers, drugs, or slaves? Almost everything we use in Eve is offered for sale by other players. Items offered by NPCs on the market are actually the exception rather than the rule.
Too bad players are getting stiffed because of basic shenanigans that some market players live by.
You thought you could only get ganked in low security space? What about losing 5 Omega years worth of PLEX because of a drunken “Sell” or “Accept” click? There are famous stories out there concerning stuff that has happened with a market commodity, a shifty contract, or social engineering.
On the other hand, with patience and shrewdness, you can become so powerful over time that Alliances, Coalitions, or even the CSM will take notice of your gameplay. Just know that there are established players who are very good at this. In extreme cases, cartels emerge which control the price of strategic goods, such as certain moon products, or T2 BPOs. There are also live player brokers that specialize in conducting large-scale transactions, like the sale of Titans or large structures.
This is only an introduction to markets in Eve, but it contains the chief information you need in order to buy and sell in Eve without losing your shirt.
The First Things to Know
- There are 3 ways to trade in Eve:
- Trading “In-station” — This involves no fees and is normally done with players you know.
- Contracts — Contracts involve a small fixed fee, but no taxes. They can be targeted to the public, private, the corp or the alliance. Public contracts can be searched throughout the galaxy.
- Markets — Markets contain buy and sell orders for most of what is available in-game for a given region only. There could be a better deal the next system over if you, but the trade-off is having to fly over to it. You can buy or sell immediately, or you can place an order.
- The largest trade hubs in the galaxy are: Jita (Eve Wall St.), Amarr, Dodixie, and Hek/Rens.
- Manufacturing, moon, and Planetary industry are potentially very lucrative, but involve various costs that come into play in addition to market fees. Both skills and NPC standings play a major role in getting the most for your transactions.
- In-game scams are considered content for all types. Consider blocking trade spammers in “Local”.
Trading “In-station”
This is a simple and obvious approach with corp mates and other players you trust. When you are docked with another player, you can trade items on hand with that player directly by right-clicking on that player in the guest list and selecting “Trade”, and dragging what you wish to give to to the top half of the trade window. The other player can also offer Items or ISK in the same manner.
Just be aware of what items are worth, if you are concerned about being treated fairly. No additional fees will be charged by trading this way, and only when BOTH players press “Accept” will the trade takes place.
Contracts
These can be issued for any item in a station hangar. They last up to four weeks. If a contract expires, the items revert to the original owner. The 10000 ISK contract fee is not refunded.
These can also:
- Take the form of a sale, an auction, or a courier job
- Be used for items not available on the markets, like blueprint copies, bundled goods, assembled ships, etc
- Be used to move items by a third party in exchange for collateral and a fee.
Creating Contracts
You can create a contract directly from the Contracts UI window.
Through the contract wizard, select the item you wish to offer in a contract by right-clicking on the item(s) to “sell” and select Create Contract, then:
- Choose whether to sell it as an item exchange or an auction
- For item “trades,” follow the wizard to post the items to be sold
- For auctioning an item, you get the highest bid when the contract expires. This is risky, but for popular goods such as pirate faction blueprints, it can go well.
- Set up a “Want To Buy” contract. For this, you would:
- Offer ISK in exchange for a desired item
- Check the box “Also Request Items from Buyer,” and enter the type and quantity of the items you want
Searching Contracts
Contracts can be searched much like searching for items in the regional market, except you can trade or move items across the galaxy this way.
They can be Public or private, or for your corporation or alliance, and they are all searchable. These contracts can contain items to sell or buy — Even items that cannot be traded on the market. With These items, bidding is very subjective, but often outrageous prices will be demanded, because someone is trying their luck for a buyer.
Regional Markets
Most trade is conducted on the market. Every region has one, and they are not connected. Most of the orders on those markets are placed by players — You can tell by the lifespan of the order being less than 90 days. Orders placed by NPCs are marked as expiring after a year or so.
The Forge market with the Jita IV - Moon 4 - Caldari Navy Assembly Plant is considered the standard exchange. About three-quarters of all market trade in the game is conducted there. The other trade hubs are notable for goods used by Amarr, Gallente, and Minmatar players.
Some players will place buy or sell orders to acquire items normally traded with NPCs for convenience or to acquire goods from players who do not value an item or are not inclined to travel to sell. Prices are also higher or poorly paid in remote locations where player-traded items supply is poor, or when players manipulate markets in order to raise prices.
Buying on Regional Markets
If you need to buy anything, open up the “Regional Market” and use the item tree on the left of the window to find what you need. You can use the search box on top to filter which items will appear. You can also control which items to list by location, whether in your station, the system, or the whole region. It is easy to buy wrong, but you can put the items back up for sale and recover most or all of your losses sooner or later, for the right price. Now as a buyer, you do not pay any tax on transactions. Rather it is when you sell that costs come into play.
Selling on Regional Markets
When you sell on the market, whether “immediately” or by placing sell orders, you will have to pay taxes. This can be significantly reduced by leveling up your Accounting skill.
The percentages may seem low, but it could mean trillions of isk over a period of time:
| Accounting Skill Level | Sales Tax Due |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | 8.00% |
| Level 1 | 7.12% |
| Level 2 | 6.24% |
| Level 3 | 5.36% |
| Level 4 | 4.48% |
| Level 5 | 3.60% |
Placing Sell Orders
A sell order is a powerful tool. Instead of just getting whatever other buyers offer for instant transactions, you can control the price you want to receive for your goods. But, it comes at an additional cost.
Along with standings you have with a faction/corporation at the NPC station you’re utilizing the regional market in, you can use the Broker Relations skill to reduce this cost.
| Broker Relations skill level | Broker Fee |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | 3.0% |
| Level 1 | 2.7% |
| Level 2 | 2.4% |
| Level 3 | 2.1% |
| Level 4 | 1.8% |
| Level 5 | 1.5% |
With maximum skills and standings at 10, The Broker’s fee is only 1%. Therefore the total cost of sales ranges from 4.6% to about 12% for skills and Station NPC standing. Therefore the spread of cost can be so great, that it is worth having dedicated players focusing on trade skills to serve a group of sellers.
Note: Orders can be changed after being placed (“relisted”), but there is a charge for that as well. That cost can be reduced with the Advanced Broker Relations skill.
Player owned Station sales
In Upwell stations, the above rate does not apply. Instead, the Broker’s fee is the Owner % + an additional half percent. However, the relisting cost at such stations is complicated, and it may be better to take the order down and place the order again.
Other uses for the Market
The market is also a very useful way to explore the options you have based on your faction/race and skills. In addition to price, every item has information associated with it that shows its specifications and whether you require skills to use it. There is even information pertaining to what industrialists need to know as well. This way the market can make you aware of what systems and technologies there are in the game.
Further Reading
EVE University: Trading — This is an in-depth treatment of the mechanics of trade in Eve and it also offers additional topics, such as analyzing markets for items suitable for trade, and reading the regional market price and volume charts.
Scams in EVE — This is a compendium of shenanigans and dirty tricks used by players to rob other players, on the markets or elsewhere.
Tools
These two specific tools are great for industry:
But, there are many more useful websites and tools you can use to help you navigate the markets and industry in general.