Market Trading 101

Summary

EVE Online market trading based on buying below true resale value, accounting for taxes, broker fees, hauling, relist costs, liquidity, and risk before committing ISK.

Purpose

This guide explains how to make ISK through EVE Online market trading. It covers station trading, market PvP, arbitrage, logistics, trade skills, market charts, the Monthly Economic Report, EVE Tycoon’s Market Browser, HyperNet Relay profit logic, practical calculators, and the main community tools used by traders and industrialists.

EVE’s market is not a passive auction house. It is a live PvP arena where players compete through pricing, logistics, information, patience, capital allocation, and risk control. The basic rule is simple: buy lower than you can sell after all taxes, fees, hauling costs, and opportunity costs. The hard part is proving that the spread is real before someone else captures it.

Table of Contents

•            Core Market Trading Concepts
•            Market Trading Styles
•            Station Trading
•            Regional Arbitrage
•            Logistics Trading
•            Speculation
•            Market PvP
•            Market Trade Skills
•            Taxes, Broker Fees, and Relist Costs
•            Basic Profit Calculator
•            Arbitrage Calculator
•            Logistics and Hauling
•            Organization Market Policy Placeholders
•            Corporate Hauling Routes
•            Alliance Hauling Routes
•            Coalition Hauling Routes
•            Approved Freight Services
•            Preferred Trade Hubs
•            Buyback Rules
•            Doctrine-Market Watchlists
•            Reading the In-Game Market
•            Price History Table
•            Price History Graph
•            Reading the Monthly Economic Report
•            Using EVE Tycoon Market Browser
•            HyperNet Relay
•            HyperNet Buyer Math
•            HyperNet Seller Math
•            Seller Buying Own Nodes
•            What Makes an Item Profitable?
•            Practical Trading Workflow
•            External Tools, Websites, Discords, and Spreadsheets
•            Beginner Market Plan
•            Intermediate Market Plan
•            Advanced Market Plan
•            Common Mistakes
•            Final Market Trading Rule

Core Concepts

EVE markets are regional. A buy or sell order in The Forge is not automatically visible or usable from Domain, Heimatar, Sinq Laison, Delve, or other regions. This regional structure creates price differences between hubs and remote markets, which is the basis for arbitrage and logistics trading.

A trader makes ISK from one or more of the following:

1. Spread capture: placing buy orders below sell orders and relisting acquired goods.
2. Convenience pricing: stocking items where players need them, not only where they are cheapest.
3. Regional arbitrage: buying in one region and selling in another.
4. Patch speculation: buying before demand rises or supply falls.
5. Logistics arbitrage: moving goods that others cannot or will not move.
6. Liquidity provision: buying unwanted inventory quickly and selling slowly at a premium.
7. Information advantage: using market charts, MER data, killboard trends, doctrine changes, and trade tools before competitors react.

Market Trading Styles

Station Trading

Station trading is the classic “buy low, sell high” method inside one station or structure. The trader places a buy order below the current lowest sell order, waits for impatient sellers to fill the buy order, then lists the item back on the sell side.

Use station trading when:

• Daily volume is high enough that your inventory will move.
• The spread remains profitable after tax, broker fee, and relist fee.
• Competition is tolerable.
• The item is not crashing on the price history chart.
• You can afford to hold inventory for several days.

Good starter categories usually include ammunition, drones, common modules, rigs, implants, doctrine hulls, mining crystals, abyssal filaments, salvage, datacores, and high-turnover faction or deadspace modules. Avoid low-volume “fake margin” items until you understand manipulation.

Regional Arbitrage

Regional arbitrage means buying goods in one location and selling them somewhere else. The most common example is buying in Jita and selling in Amarr, Dodixie, Hek, Rens, staging systems, faction warfare hubs, mission hubs, High Sec island markets, Low Sec entry systems, Null staging systems, or WH / J Space logistics chains.

The trade only works if the destination price is high enough to cover:

• Purchase cost.
• Sales tax.
• Broker fee if listing.
• Hauling cost or courier reward.
• Gank risk.
• Collateral risk.
• Time to sell.
• Price decay while goods are in transit.

Regional arbitrage should always be checked against destination demand, buy/sell depth, taxes, hauling time, and the possibility that market data changes before the haul is complete.

Logistics Trading

Logistics trading is arbitrage plus delivery. You are not only selling an item; you are selling the fact that it is already where the buyer needs it.

Examples:

• Stocking doctrine ships in a war staging system.
• Stocking mining barges and crystals in ice systems.
• Stocking exploration ships near WH / J Space routes.
• Stocking PI command centers and haulers near Low Sec, Null, and WH / J Space access routes.
• Stocking ammunition and drones in faction warfare systems.
• Stocking structure fuel, scripts, nanite paste, probes, and mobile depots in active regions.

Logistics trading often produces better margins than hub trading, but turnover may be slower and losses from hauling mistakes can wipe out several profitable trades.

Speculation

Speculation means buying before the market moves. This may be based on patch notes, doctrine shifts, alliance deployments, war, event sites, mineral index movement, production bottlenecks, or changes visible in the Monthly Economic Report.

Speculation is profitable when your thesis is early, correct, and liquid. It is dangerous when you buy after the crowd has already arrived.

Market PvP

Market PvP is direct competition against other traders. The weapon is not a ship; it is your order book.

The common PvP behaviors are:

• Undercutting sell orders.
• Overcutting buy orders.
• Baiting competitors into expensive relists.
• Temporarily buying out thin markets.
• Flooding a market to force weaker traders out.
• Splitting inventory into smaller orders to hide total stock.
• Using alts in multiple hubs.
• Selling into another trader’s buy wall.
• Manipulating price history on low-volume items.

Market PvP became more tactical after relist costs made constant tiny price changes more expensive. Broker fees apply when creating market orders, sales tax applies when a sale completes, and order changes can trigger additional broker-fee-style costs. Fenris Creations (FC) reference values use the NPC broker fee formula and confirm that sales tax starts at 7.5% and can be reduced to approximately 3.375% with Accounting V.

Practical market PvP rules:

• Do not chase every 0.01 ISK update.
• Know your minimum profitable sell price before listing.
• Let impatient competitors sell out when the spread is still good.
• Cancel and relist only when the relist fee is lower than the benefit.
• Use several items instead of betting your entire wallet on one market.
• Do not fight a whale unless you know why you have an advantage.
• Never assume a listed order means real demand; check history and volume.

Trade Skills

Trade skills fall into three functional groups: more market slots, remote trading, and reduced trading overhead.

The core market slot skills are:

• Trade
• Retail
• Wholesale
• Tycoon

The remote trading and order-management skills are:

• Marketing
• Procurement
• Daytrading
• Visibility

The trading overhead reduction skills are:

• Accounting
• Broker Relations
• Advanced Broker Relations

Accounting and Broker Relations should always be trained to V for market characters. Taxes and broker fees directly reduce profit, and most serious market activity is too margin-sensitive to leave these skills undertrained.

Recommended progression:

Beginner trader

• Trade III.
• Retail III.
• Wholesale III if available or when prerequisites permit.
• Tycoon III if available or when prerequisites permit.
• Marketing III.
• Procurement III.
• Daytrading III.
• Visibility III.
• Advanced Broker Relations III.
• Accounting V.
• Broker Relations V.

This level is suitable for basic station trading, simple hub trading, small-volume arbitrage, and learning market behavior without overtraining every skill immediately.

Serious station trader

• Trade IV.
• Retail IV.
• Wholesale IV.
• Tycoon IV if available or when prerequisites permit.
• Marketing IV.
• Procurement IV.
• Daytrading IV.
• Visibility IV.
• Advanced Broker Relations IV.
• Accounting V.
• Broker Relations V.

This level is suitable for serious Jita, Amarr, Dodixie, Hek, Rens, High Sec mission hub, and corporation staging-market work.

Regional or remote trader

• Trade V.
• Retail V.
• Wholesale V.
• Tycoon V.
• Marketing V.
• Procurement V.
• Daytrading V.
• Visibility V.
• Accounting V.
• Broker Relations V.
• Advanced Broker Relations V.

Regional and remote traders should have all market skills at V. This is the standard for characters managing orders across High Sec, Low Sec, Null, WH / J Space logistics chains, staging hubs, coalition markets, and multiple trade regions.

The most important market skills are Accounting V and Broker Relations V because trading margins are often thinner than they look. If your gross spread is 10% but taxes, broker fees, relists, and hauling consume 6%, your real margin is only 4%.

Taxes, Broker Fees, and Relist Costs

Fenris Creations (FC) uses the NPC broker-fee formula below as a reference calculation:

Broker Fee % =

3%

- (0.3% x Broker Relations Level)

- (0.03% x Faction Standing)

- (0.02% x Corporation Standing)

FC reference notes also state that the broker fee uses unmodified standings, that Broker Relations does not apply to Upwell structure orders, and that 0.5% of Upwell order fees goes to an NPC ISK sink.

Sales tax is paid by the seller after a sale. FC reference values state that sales tax starts at 7.5% and can be reduced to approximately 3.375% through Accounting V.

Use these practical rates in calculators:

Sales Tax Rate =

0.075 x (1 - 0.11 x Accounting_Level)

NPC Broker Fee Rate = 0.03

- (0.003 x Broker_Relations_Level)

- (0.0003 x Faction_Standing)

- (0.0002 x Corporation_Standing)

For Upwell structures, use the structure’s displayed broker fee instead of the NPC formula.

Basic Profit Calculator

Use this for station trading or hub trading.

Quantity = Q

Buy Price Per Unit = BP

Sell Price Per Unit = SP

Sales Tax Rate = T

Buy Broker Fee Rate = BB

Sell Broker Fee Rate = SB

Relist Fees = R

Hauling Cost = H

Other Costs = O

Total Buy Cost = Q x BP

Buy Broker Fee = Q x BP x BB

Gross Sale Value = Q x SP

Sales Tax = Gross Sale Value x T

Sell Broker Fee = Gross Sale Value x SB

Net Profit =

Gross Sale Value

- Sales Tax

- Sell Broker Fee

- Total Buy Cost

- Buy Broker Fee

- Relist Fees

- Hauling Cost

- Other Costs

Profit Margin % =

Net Profit / (Total Buy Cost + Buy Broker Fee + Hauling Cost + Other Costs)

ISK Per Day =

Net Profit / Days_To_Sell

Example using Accounting V:

Q = 100

BP = 1,000,000 ISK

SP = 1,150,000 ISK

T = 0.03375

BB = 0.015

SB = 0.015

R = 0

H = 0

O = 0

Gross Sale = 115,000,000

Sales Tax = 3,881,250

Sell Broker = 1,725,000

Buy Cost = 100,000,000

Buy Broker = 1,500,000

Net Profit =

115,000,000 - 3,881,250 - 1,725,000 - 100,000,000 - 1,500,000

= 7,893,750 ISK

The visible spread is 15%, but the real margin is about 7.8% after fees.

Arbitrage Calculator

Use this when buying in one hub and selling elsewhere.

Source Buy Price = Source station sell price you pay

Destination Sell Price = price you expect to receive

Quantity = Q

Sales Tax Rate = T

Destination Broker Fee Rate = B

Hauling Cost = H

Expected Loss Cost = E

Relist Fees = R

Net Destination Sale =

(Q x Destination Sell Price)

- (Q x Destination Sell Price x T)

- (Q x Destination Sell Price x B)

Total Source Cost =

Q x Source Buy Price

Net Arbitrage Profit =

Net Destination Sale

- Total Source Cost

- Hauling Cost

- Expected Loss Cost

- Relist Fees

Profit Per m3 =

Net Arbitrage Profit / Total Cargo Volume

Profit Per Jump =

Net Arbitrage Profit / Number of Jumps

A route is usually not worth doing unless it passes all four tests:

1. Net profit is positive after tax, broker fee, hauling, and relists.
2. Profit per m3 beats your alternative cargo.
3. Daily volume at the destination is high enough to exit.
4. You can survive or outsource the haul.

Logistics and Hauling

A market trader must decide whether to haul personally, use alts, use public courier contracts, use corporation freight, use alliance freight, use coalition freight, or use professional freight services.

Common hauling options:

• Blockade Runner: small, fast, cloaky, good for expensive low-volume cargo.
• Deep Space Transport: safer medium cargo, strong tank, fleet hangar utility.
• T1 Hauler: cheap starter hauling, vulnerable.
• Freighter: large High Sec hauling, major gank target.
• Jump Freighter: high-value logistics for Low Sec, Null, and coalition supply chains.
• Courier Contract: outsource hauling with collateral.
• WH / J Space Chain Hauling: opportunistic hauling through scanned wormhole chains.
• Corporation, Alliance, or Coalition Logistics: internal freight networks with defined routes, collateral rules, service-level expectations, and approved haulers.

Rules:

• Use collateral equal to or above replacement value.
• Never autopilot valuable cargo.
• Avoid known gank systems when possible.
• Split cargo into smaller contracts if collateral is too large.
• Use insta-dock and insta-undock bookmarks.
• Treat hauling risk as a real cost in every trade.
• Confirm whether the route passes through High Sec, Low Sec, Null, or WH / J Space.
• Do not mix personal speculation stock with corporation, alliance, or coalition doctrine freight unless policy allows it.

Major freight services include PushX and Red Frog. PushX services High Sec, Low Sec, Null, Thera, Pochven, and SOV space, and offers a quote tool, customer tracking, Discord, and API support. Red Frog provides freight tools and freight services across New Eden.

Organization Market Policy Placeholders

The following sections should be filled out by corporation, alliance, or coalition leadership. They are intentionally structured as placeholders so they can be copied into an internal wiki and maintained as policy.

Corporate Hauling Routes

Route Name	Origin	Destination	Security Band	Cargo Type	Max Collateral	Preferred Hauler	Notes
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Policy notes:

• Define which routes are approved for corporation hauling.
• Define whether members may use public courier contracts.
• Define whether corporation buyback goods have priority over private market goods.
• Define standard collateral requirements.
• Define required bookmarks, cyno chains, docking access, and structure access.

Alliance Hauling Routes

Route Name	Origin	Destination	Security Band	Cargo Type	Max Collateral	Service Owner	Notes
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Policy notes:

• Define alliance-level staging and supply routes.
• Define whether route access is public to all alliance members or restricted by role.
• Define approved collateral and contract duration.
• Define escalation contacts for stuck, failed, or high-value contracts.
• Define whether market stock, doctrine stock, fuel, moon materials, PI, ore, and reactions use different routes.

Coalition Hauling Routes

Route Name	Origin	Destination	Security Band	Cargo Type	Max Collateral	Coalition Service	Notes
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Policy notes:

• Define coalition-level freight service rules.
• Define staging systems and major resupply hubs.
• Define Jump Freighter, freighter, and WH / J Space chain restrictions.
• Define who may create coalition freight contracts.
• Define whether personal arbitrage cargo is allowed in coalition logistics.

Approved Freight Services

Freight Service	Approved For	Security Band	Max Collateral	Contract Format	Discord / Contact	Notes
PushX	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Red Frog Freight	TBD	High Sec	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Internal Corporation Freight	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Internal Alliance Freight	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Internal Coalition Freight	TBD	High Sec / Low Sec / Null / WH or J Space	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Policy notes:

• List which services are approved for private trade, corporate trade, buyback, doctrine stock, moon goo, PI, fuel, and structure modules.
• Define contract naming conventions.
• Define collateral requirements.
• Define prohibited cargo categories.
• Define who reimburses failed contracts.

Preferred Trade Hubs

Hub Type	System	Station / Structure	Security Band	Purpose	Notes
Primary Public Hub	Jita	Jita 4-4	High Sec	Main sourcing and liquidation	TBD
Secondary Public Hub	Amarr	TBD	High Sec	Regional sourcing and sales	TBD
Corporation Hub	TBD	TBD	Null Sec	Corporation market stock	TBD
Alliance Hub	TBD	TBD	Null Sec	Alliance market stock	TBD
Coalition Hub	TBD	TBD	Null Sec	Coalition market stock	TBD
Doctrine Hub	TBD	TBD	Null Sec	Doctrine ships and modules	TBD
Buyback Hub	TBD	TBD	Null Sec	Ore, ice, gas, PI, salvage, loot, moon goo	TBD

Policy notes:

• Define where members should buy doctrine ships.
• Define where members should sell buyback goods.
• Define which structures have market, reprocessing, manufacturing, cloning, and compression services.
• Define tax expectations and broker fee expectations.
• Define access restrictions.

Corporate Buyback Rules

Buyback Category	Accepted Items	Pricing Basis	Tax / Fee	Location	Payment Timing	Notes
Ore	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Ice	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Gas	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Moon Goo	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
PI	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Salvage	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Loot	TBD	90% Jita Buy	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Doctrine Hulls	TBD	Replacement Price	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Policy notes:

• Define accepted item types.
• Define whether compression is required.
• Define whether reprocessed materials are preferred over raw items.
• Define appraisal source and pricing basis.
• Define whether buyback applies to High Sec, Low Sec, Null, and WH / J Space locations.
• Define rejection rules for damaged, fitted, rigged, unpackaged, or mixed-container contracts.
• Define contract format and payment time.

Doctrine-Market Watchlists

Doctrine / Fleet Type	Hulls	Core Modules	Ammunition	Drones	Rigs	Replacement Stock Target	Market Owner
TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Watchlist policy notes:

• Define minimum stock levels for each doctrine.
• Define who updates market orders.
• Define whether doctrine prices should be Jita + hauling, fixed alliance price, subsidized price, or reimbursement-based.
• Define replacement thresholds.
• Define wartime emergency restock rules.
• Define whether restricted doctrines should be stocked publicly or distributed by contract only.

Reading the In-Game Market

The in-game market’s price history is one of the most important tools for traders. The Price History tab can be viewed as a table or graph and includes daily high, low, average, order count, and quantity traded.

Use the table first, then the graph.

Price History Table

Important columns:

• Low: often close to the price where sellers sold into buy orders.
• High: often close to the price where buyers bought from sell orders.
• Average / Median: helps determine whether most transactions are closer to buy orders or sell orders.
• Quantity: actual units moved.
• Orders: number of transaction events, not necessarily current open orders.

A good station-trading item usually has:

• Consistent daily quantity.
• A real spread between buy and sell prices.
• Median between the low and high.
• No sudden crash in average price.
• Enough orders to prove repeated activity.
• Not too many active competitors.

Price History Graph

The graph shows volume, moving averages, median price, min/max bars, and the Donchian channel.

Interpretation:

• Volume bars: demand and liquidity. High volume means easier exit.
• 5-day moving average: short-term momentum.
• 20-day moving average: slower trend.
• Median dots: more robust than averages against outlier trades.
• Daily min/max bars: intraday spread and volatility.
• Donchian channel: volatility envelope; narrow means stable, wide means unstable or manipulated.

A safe beginner market has a steady 20-day average, reasonable volume, and a spread that remains profitable after fees. A dangerous market has low volume, huge spikes, wide min/max bars, and a recent price jump with no obvious demand reason.

Reading the Monthly Economic Report

Fenris Creations (FC)’s Monthly Economic Report, or MER, is a macroeconomic report for EVE. MER data is used to understand broad economic movement, price indexes, production, mining, destruction, ISK faucets, ISK sinks, and trade behavior.

Use the MER to answer market-wide questions:

• Are minerals rising or falling?
• Is production increasing?
• Is destruction increasing?
• Which regions are mining the most?
• Which regions are producing the most?
• Which regions are losing the most ships?
• Are ISK faucets expanding?
• Is the velocity of ISK rising or falling?
• Are price indexes confirming what you see in Jita?

Key MER sections:

Mining Value by Region

High mining means raw-material supply. If mining falls while demand remains stable, mineral prices can rise. If mining rises sharply, mineral prices may weaken unless destruction or production absorbs supply.

Production Value by Region

High production indicates industrial concentration. Production hubs need minerals, PI, reactions, components, datacores, fuel, and logistics.

Destruction Value by Region

Destruction creates replacement demand. War zones, Pochven battles, faction warfare, Low Sec conflicts, Null campaigns, and WH / J Space fights can increase demand for ships, modules, rigs, drones, ammunition, and fuel.

Price Indexes

Use price indexes to validate a thesis. If the Mineral Price Index is rising, mineral-heavy ships and structures may become more expensive. If ship indexes fall while minerals rise, manufacturers may be compressed by poor margins.

ISK Faucets and Sinks

More ISK entering the economy can support higher nominal prices, but only if it reaches buyers. Watch bounty prizes, commodities, ESS-related behavior, taxes, broker fees, and other sinks.

Velocity of ISK

Velocity indicates how actively ISK is changing hands. Lower velocity can mean players are hoarding, waiting, unsubscribed, deployed, or risk-averse.

MER process for traders:

1. Download the latest MER raw data.
2. Check price indexes month over month.
3. Compare mining, production, and destruction regions.
4. Identify bottleneck materials.
5. Compare with in-game market charts.
6. Build a watchlist.
7. Buy only when item-level volume confirms the thesis.

Using EVE Tycoon Market Browser

EVE Tycoon is a profit-tracking and market-management application for EVE Online. It tracks trade and industry profits across characters, tracks production lines, and gives traders order-management tools.

Use EVE Tycoon’s Market Browser for:

• Checking active orders outside the game.
• Comparing regions and stations.
• Looking at order depth.
• Finding thin markets.
• Checking whether a spread is real.
• Monitoring your own orders after login.
• Exporting or using API-style market data workflows.

Market Browser workflow:

1. Search the item.
2. Compare Jita, Amarr, Dodixie, Hek, Rens, and target staging systems.
3. Check the lowest sell and highest buy.
4. Check order depth, not only top price.
5. Ignore one-unit bait orders unless your quantity is also one.
6. Compare spread to your full fee calculator.
7. Check in-game price history before buying.
8. Use EVE Tycoon to monitor existing orders and profit tracking.

Do not trust a single displayed top order. The best price may be tiny, expired soon, bait, in a dangerous structure, or too small to matter.

HyperNet Relay

The HyperNet Relay is EVE’s in-game raffle-style item sale system. FC reference notes state that it may not be available in some territories, can be disabled by player request, and is accessed from the Neocom under Finance where available.

HyperNet offers can only be created in NPC stations. FC reference notes state that repackaged items, Blueprint Copies, Ancient Relics, and Abyssal Modules can be offered; containers and items containing other items are not permitted. HyperCores are required to create an offer, are not refunded, and a 5% HyperNet Relay fee is deducted when the offer completes.

HyperNet Buyer Math

A buyer is not “investing.” A buyer is taking a probability-weighted gamble.

Item Value = V

Total Nodes = N

Nodes Bought = K

Node Price = P

Pickup / Hauling Cost = H

Chance to Win =

K / N

Expected Value =

(K / N x V) - (K x P) - H

Break-Even Node Price =

V / N

Example:

Item Value = 1,000,000,000 ISK

Total Nodes = 8

Node Price = 150,000,000 ISK

You Buy = 1 Node

Chance to Win = 1 / 8 = 12.5%

Expected Item Value = 125,000,000 ISK

Cost = 150,000,000 ISK

Expected Value = -25,000,000 ISK before hauling

A node is mathematically attractive only when:

Node Price < Item Value / Total Nodes

Most public offers are priced above fair value, which means buyers are usually negative expected value. You can still win, but the average buyer loses over time.

HyperNet Seller Math

A seller profits by pricing nodes above fair value enough to cover item cost, HyperCores, completion fee, rebates, and marketing.

Item Acquisition Cost = C

Total Nodes = N

Node Price = P

HyperNet Fee Rate = 0.05

HyperCore Cost = HC

Rebates / Promotions = R

Gross Node Revenue =

N x P

HyperNet Fee =

Gross Node Revenue x 0.05

Seller Net Profit =

Gross Node Revenue

- HyperNet Fee

- Item Acquisition Cost

- HyperCore Cost

- Rebates

Break-even node price:

Break-Even Node Price =

(Item Acquisition Cost + HyperCore Cost + Rebates) / (N x 0.95)

Example:

Item Cost = 1,000,000,000

HyperCores = 60,000,000

Rebates = 0

N = 8

Break-Even Node Price =

1,060,000,000 / (8 x 0.95)

= 139,473,684 ISK

If you list each node at 150,000,000 ISK:

Gross = 1,200,000,000

Fee = 60,000,000

Net after fee = 1,140,000,000

Profit after item and cores = 80,000,000

Seller Buying Own Nodes

Some sellers buy their own nodes to make an offer appear active or to finish it faster. This changes the math.

Seller-Owned Nodes = S

Total Nodes = N

Node Price = P

Item Value / Cost = C

HyperCore Cost = HC

Expected Seller Profit =

[P x (0.95 x N - S)]

- C

+ [(S / N) x C]

- HC

Interpretation:

•            Buying your own nodes increases the chance you get the item back.

•            Your own node purchases still suffer the 5% fee drag.

•            If you win your own item, you can relist it, but you paid HyperCores and completion fees.

•            It is not free demand; it is a marketing cost and variance tool.

Best HyperNet items:

•            Rare ships.

•            Officer modules.

•            Abyssal modules.

•            Expensive skins.

•            T2 BPOs and rare BPCs (Molok ex.).

•            Collectibles.

•            Items with emotional demand and poor normal-market liquidity.

Avoid HyperNet as a buyer unless the node price is below fair value or you consciously accept the gamble. Use HyperNet as a seller only when you know your acquisition cost, fair value, HyperCore cost, completion fee, and likely fill rate.

What Makes an Item Profitable?

An item is profitable when all of the following are true:

1.          The spread survives taxes and fees.

2.          The volume is high enough to sell within your target time.

3.          Competition is manageable.

4.          Price history is not collapsing.

5.          You can source enough quantity.

6.          You can move it safely or cheaply.

7.          Your capital is not trapped too long.

8.          You have a reason buyers will keep buying.

Bad traders ask, “Is the margin high?”

Good traders ask, “How many units can I move, how fast, after fees, and what can go wrong?”

Practical Trading Workflow

Use this daily process:

1.          Open EVE Tycoon, ADAM4EVE, Fuzzwork, Janice, or EVE Workbench.

2.          Build a candidate list.

3.          Check in-game market orders.

4.          Check in-game price history.

5.          Calculate net profit after fees.

6.          Check volume and competition.

7.          Place orders at your planned price.

8.          Record cost basis.

9.          Haul or courier goods.

10.      Relist only when the relist fee is justified.

11.      Review profits weekly.

12.      Drop slow markets and double down on proven markets.

External Tools, Websites, Discords, and Spreadsheets

Resource	Type	Use
EVE Online Official Discord	Discord	Official community Discord with character verification and general EVE discussion.
EVE University Wiki	Website	Core learning reference for trade skills, market mechanics, hauling, and general game systems.
The Oz - EVE Online Markets	Discord / Website / Spreadsheet	Trading community; Oz’s site links a community trading spreadsheet, Mokaam, MER Power BI, ADAM4EVE, EVE Cookbook, PI tools, and EVE Guru.
Oz’s Community Trading Spreadsheet	Spreadsheet	Starter trading and profit tracker; access through The Oz’s tools page and use File > Make a copy.
EVE Tycoon	Website	Profit tracking, market management, production-line cost tracking, market-order tracking, and order-update workflow.
EVE Tycoon Market Browser	Website	Market order browsing and market comparison.
ADAM4EVE	Website	Market, industrial, statistical, margin, trend, PI, and cost-index tools.
Fuzzwork Market Data	Website / API	Market data and pricing source for spreadsheets and tools.
Fuzzwork Blueprint Calculator	Website	Blueprint, material, job-cost, and profit calculations.
Janice	Website / API	Appraisal and pricing tool; useful for collateral, buy/sell/split pricing, hauling, and contract valuation.
EVE Workbench Market / Trade Tool	Website	Market browsing, trade route checking, fits, and item tools.
Ravworks	Website / Discord	Free third-party market and industry tool with production planner, bill of materials, job planning, and profit analysis.
EVE Cookbook	Website	Industry build calculator with blueprint, reaction, structure, rig, system index, and market price logic.
EVE Isk per Hour	Windows Tool / Discord	Manufacturing, mining, invention, and reverse-engineering ISK/hour tool.
EVE Online Excel Add-in	Spreadsheet / Official Tool	Official Microsoft Excel add-in for public and private EVE data, including universe, blueprint, asset, wallet, and market-related data.
Mokaam.DK	Website	Historical market data extraction without querying every item individually; linked from The Oz’s tools page.
MER in Power BI by Matthew	Dashboard	Power BI visualization of MER data; linked from The Oz’s tools page.
PushX	Freight Website / Discord / API	Professional courier service with quotes, MyPushX tracking, public Discord, and spreadsheet/API quote support.
Red Frog Freight	Freight Website	Established freight service and trip calculators for hauling contracts.
Haulers Channel	In-game Channel	Public courier-contract discovery and hauling discussion.
New Eden Trade and Market	Discord / In-game Community	Trade community and public market stocking project with Discord and public chat channel.
SCC Lounge	In-game / Discord Community	Market discussion community for traders and arbitrageurs.
The Hyper Nexus	HyperNet Discord / Community	HyperNet-focused community.
HyperNet Relay Calculator	Website / Forum Tool	Community HyperNet calculator for offer analysis.
HyperMogul	Website	HyperNet profit tracker with market analysis, deal tracking, and portfolio insights.

Discord invite links can expire or change ownership. Prefer links from the project’s official site, EVE forum post, verified Discord landing page, in-game channel MOTD, or alliance/corporation services page when possible.

Beginner Market Plan

Start with 100 million to 1 billion ISK.

1.          Train Accounting V and Broker Relations V.

2.          Train other market skills to III where available.

3.          Pick 20 high-volume items.

4.          Avoid items with fewer than 10 daily units unless they are expensive and familiar.

5.          Use Jita first because data is easiest to verify.

6.          Place buy orders on 5-10 items.

7.          List acquired goods at a realistic price, not necessarily the absolute highest.

8.          Record purchase price, fees, sale price, and profit.

9.          Reinvest only profits at first.

10.      Do not haul more than you can afford to lose.

11.      After two weeks, cut the worst half of your markets.

Intermediate Market Plan

Capital target: 1-20 billion ISK.

1.          Train Accounting V and Broker Relations V.

2.          Train other market skills to IV where available.

3.          Expand to Amarr, Dodixie, Hek, Rens, and one mission or faction warfare hub.

4.          Add High Sec island markets, Low Sec entry markets, Null staging markets, or WH / J Space logistics markets if you have access and hauling support.

5.          Use EVE Tycoon and ADAM4EVE to scan margins.

6.          Use Janice for bulk appraisals.

7.          Use courier contracts for larger moves.

8.          Start tracking profit per market category.

9.          Add speculation only with a written thesis.

10.      Build a private watchlist of 100-300 items.

11.      Track doctrine and war demand.

12.      Use MER data monthly.

Advanced Market Plan

Capital target: 20 billion ISK and above.

1.          Train all market skills to V.

2.          Use multiple alts and regional hubs.

3.          Build dashboards from EVE Tycoon, ESI, Excel Add-in, Fuzzwork data, or internal corporation tools.

4.          Trade both liquidity and logistics.

5.          Maintain stockpiles in High Sec, Low Sec, Null, and WH / J Space staging systems where authorized.

6.          Finance industrialists or buy bulk inventory below Jita.

7.          Watch MER trends before market consensus forms.

8.          Use courier networks as part of margin planning.

9.          Control risk by category, not just by item.

10.      Avoid public manipulation unless you can exit before copycats.

11.      Keep enough liquid ISK to exploit crashes.

Common Mistakes

•            Ignoring taxes and broker fees.

•            Buying because the spread looks large without checking volume.

•            Hauling too much value in a weak ship.

•            Investing everything in one patch rumor.

•            Updating orders too often and losing profit to relist fees.

•            Trusting a single top buy or sell order.

•            Buying out a market without knowing replacement supply.

•            Selling into panic instead of checking the actual demand curve.

•            Assuming HyperNet buying is profitable because someone posted a win.

•            Forgetting that slow inventory has an opportunity cost.

•            Treating High Sec, Low Sec, Null, and WH / J Space logistics as the same risk profile.

•            Stocking doctrine markets without checking approved alliance or coalition fits.

Final Markey Trading Rule

Every profitable trade must answer this question:

After all fees, hauling, risk, time, and relists, can I exit this position for more ISK than my next-best use of the same capital?

If the answer is yes and the downside is acceptable, take the trade. If the answer is unclear, reduce size or pass.