Lookin fer gold in them there systems..
Mildly and Curiously Rich
Running Relic, Data, and Covert sites isn’t bad. I’ve made quite a bit of isk, and only lost a couple ships in the process. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting a “feel” of areas too as I ply my trade.
Usually I hit Relic sites for the most isk. A single null-sec Relic site can net me upwards of 25 mil isk on average. I have seen some that net me 50 mil and one even netted me 100mil isk. Intermixed with those Relic sites, I sometimes hit the Data sites. They tend to top out at around 25mil typically, though a good Drone Data site is certainly a prize to find as their drone BPOs can be worth some isk.
And therein lies the new situation I find myself in. See when you run these sites, you tend to collect a lot of module BPCs. I think I still have enough Micro Jump Drive BPCs to make well over 500 of them. Those BPCs mock me. Taking up valuable hanger space, entreating me to build them, but the cost, time, and effort in making those final units just don’t seem to make financial sense.
But I can’t bring myself to trash them.. and they don’t sell on the market very well on contracts either. Then you have your rig BPCs (of which I have well over a hundred), which seem to tempt you with more potential profit, beckoning you to use the few manufacturing slots that I operate for just a few more isk. But then you get those new Ascendency implant BPCs and Mobile Depot BPCs, the profits of which can be astounding.. and which could be better if you just had a little better skills in trade and production.
How I feel as I delve into Manufacturing and Trading in Eve Online
What to do? What to do?
Begrudgingly I’ve starting to train both my Trade and Production skills on my Main and even thinking of buying a Plex to get my alt training as well. I’ve started to Lurk on the industrial blogs.. though to the newbie that I am, they are still a cryptic mess because of my inexperience.
Still, I can’t help to wonder if this skillpath is just like my PVP skillpath. Always needing just one more skill to reach building or trading perfection.. and when does it stop? When do I start operating my alt instead of my main? Should I redirect into Mining to improve my profits?
Then I have to start thinking about expanding my operation out of high-sec systems into null-sec, which means that I might have to learn to RL diplomacy skills to gain access to establish some manufacturing POSes, which will then mean I need to start checking out ice belts and thinking in the longer term. And, as a PVP player, when do my manufacturing arrangements turn from asset into detriment?
All a lot to wonder about when I should be drinking something a little stronger than water. I’ll keep you all updated.
Ah … sounds like you could use a bit of advice from an old friend familiar with the topic!
It’s hard to know how to advise on some of this stuff, because I really don’t know what sort of facilities you have out there to work with. If they’re at all similar to NPC facilities in high (or even low) sec, actually building the stuff really isn’t hard at all. It’s just a bit of time and isk. I know you have the raw mat resources out there, so that’s a dead cinch.
So really, your question and real issue seems to me to be one of marketing/selling the product you make. And yeah, you’re right, the contract market ill-suits sales of most of what you mentioned. (The only thing that might be worthwhile, that way, is the implants). That said, if you have as many regular module bpcs as you seem to be indicating, and those are things your mates and you use out there, why not simply seed your regular market with those items? What, exactly, is stopping that?
Looking forward to hearing more about this, so I can get a better grasp of the overall picture.
-TFHC Star
Uh oh … have I killed the thread?
No, I am just very busy these days. Good to hear from you though! Just got into college again and working on a two year accounting program. Lately my Macroeconomics class has been beating my brains in. Funny thing, though, is that Eve Online made it much easier to understand. You’ll have to drop me an e-mail when you get a chance.