A good collection of youtube casts for beginners

I came across this collection of youtube casts from Pandemic Horde recently.

It is split into two parts:

Firstly, a series of 10 videos going through the basics of Eve.  Starts as if a new player had just logged on and goes through it all.  Also includes some quick guides for flying in null sec and Asteroid Belt Ratting in null sec.

Secondly, there is a series of Pandemic Horde Lectures which includes a talk on Industry by Steve Ronuken as well as a lecture on surviving in Low Sec.

All good stuff and ideal for those just starting or those thinking about heading into Low / Null Sec.

Eve Talk host on Eve Prosper

The Eve Prosper Market Reviews are great to listen to.

The producer, Lockefox, has also started a series interviewing the players who operate businesses within Eve.

His first interview was with Delonewolf who produces Eve Talk - another Market Review youtube cast to watch.

52 minutes long.

Starts with Delonewolf's history and who he got into the market side of Eve Online.

Delonewolf talks about why he does the market side, what motivates him, how he goes about making his ISK.  He also talks about his hopes going forward for Citadels.

And, of course, the price of Plex is discussed.

Well worth a listen.

A Close Call - attacked when about to jump through a gate

As ever, i was being careless.  I wanted to get to Altrinur from Jita and decided to go the route that took me through Low Sec.

I assumed that an empty Interceptor would not be bothered.  So i was warping from gate to gate.

I of course assumed wrong . . . . . . . . 

I warped off a gate, landed on the next gate ready to jump through . . . and wham, i am seeing my shields, armour and hull going red in a hurry.

The good news was that i got away with it (just).

Looks like my attackers got nailed by the gate guns as i made my escape.

In the next system i warped off to a safe spot and cloaked up as my shields repaired.

Not sure why i survived - may have something to do with my recent skill training:

Or my attackers may just have not been too accurate.

It is these little events that give me some confidence that i can operate in Low and Null Sec.

Current fit is:

[Taranis]

'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I

Inertial Stabilizers II

Inertial Stabilizers II

5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive

EM Ward Amplifier II

Medium Shield Extender II

Prototype Cloaking Device I

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I

Eve Economic Update September 2015

At Eve Vegas 2015 CCP Quant made a presentation on the Eve Economy, which is below.

CCP Quant also wrote a blog post on the Eve Economy Update in Eve Vegas 2015 with all the relevant charts in it.

Much of the data was relevant to September 2015 unless otherwise stated.

My main takeaway from all this was that the economy is alive and well, players are more active than before and there were some charts that i will use to enhance my business.

The real great news was that going forwards we can expect monthly Economic Reports.

Eve Players

CCP Quant stared with the Peak Concurrent Users (PCU) numbers which are showing a declining trend, as shown below.

Not much was said on this, other than to just put it up there!

Eve Player Activity

Further analysis of what players do when they log in was presented.  The good news is that 83% of players make at least one warp.

Of more relevance to this blog the next chart showed that 73% of players use the market, 22% do some mining (higher than i thought), 15% do some industry (also higher than i thought) and 1% do a courier contract (also higher than i thought).

In contrast to the declining PCU numbers, activity in terms of destruction and production is stable which means that destruction and production per PCU is therefore rising.  Which means we are all more active than we were before.

That is good news for us Business folk in Eve who hopefully are as busy as ever producing and trading with those players.

Region Focus

CCP Quant then produced some charts that looked at how active each region was within the Eve economy.

In terms of Production, no surprise that The Forge (home of Jita) as the leader followed by the two regions next to The Forge (Lonetrek and The Citadel) - i assume players transporting with produced items into Jita.

No Surprises that The Forge towards the top of the list for Destruction - all those ganks i suppose.

Also, The Forge was leader in Mining.

In all, the major trade hub regions were all up there towards the top of the lists.  Domain (home of Amarr) firmly the second behind The Forge (Jita).

No real surprises in any of that though personally i will be looking through them carefully to see where best to relocate my nullsec trading to.  My current location of Venal is slow.

On chart i found really interesting was what i will call the Regional Volume Flow Chart, shown below, which shows the volume (in m3) of items leaving a region less the volume entering that region:

The Forge (home of Jita) is neither the biggest volume exporter or importer (i suppose to be expected given players import items to Jita to sell and export items to take elsewhere.

What was interesting to me were the biggest exporting regions and importing regions - nothing comes to mind yet to the reasons but i suspect there are plenty.

ISK Float, Sinks & Faucets

This was interesting.

First interesting point was that there was 870 trillion ISK sitting on active accounts at the start of September 2015.  By the end of September 2015 this was 876 trillion.  That is plenty of spare ISK lying around.

63 trillion came in mostly via bounties / NPC Commodities (wormhole loot), incursion payments and insurance.

30 trillion left due to spend in the LP store, skillbooks / blueprints to NPCs and then the fees / taxes.

And then 27 trillion left with active accounts closing down.

The net interesting point here was that total ISK sitting in player and corporate wallets is a massive 883 trillion - perhaps, then, no surprise that the price of plex is rising!

Plex Prices

CCP Quant moved quickly over this - but main point of interest was the price of Plex on the Chinese server is 6.8bn ISK vs 1.2bn on our server.

Economic Indices

Not that helpful, to be honest.

As CCP Quant commented, there has been so much change in composition of minerals etc per item that they start to lose their meaning over time.

Much more useful for someone who wanted to look through the history of Eve and see its evolution over time - the effect of the introduction of Invention, 

Ganked at the warpgate in my Interceptor

Well, i have been working on travelling safe and fast in Low and Null Sec as i explore the place trying to work out how to make good ISK in there.

First off, i tried a Helios.  Worked ok but broadly i was getting taken out once every 4 round trips i made.  Main issue was not being able to warp off fast enough after a gate jump.  I can deal with the bubbles - being cloaked whilst warping is a big plus.  Never warping gate to gate gives me plenty of time to sort myself out if i hit a bubble in warp.  But, like i said, still vulnerable when warping away from a gate jump, even with almost insta-cloak.  Also, warping from gate to planet / customs office and then to gate can be slow when trying to go 26 jumps!

My Hellios fit was:

[Helios]
Inertial Stabilizers II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

5MN Microwarpdrive II
Scan Acquisition Array I
Scan Pinpointing Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Expanded Probe Launcher I

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I


In a prior post i made about trading in Null Sec i had several bits of advice on what to do.

So, next step was to train up my Interceptor Skills and so i now run around in a Taranis.  In all, pretty good.  Bubbles no problem.  Pretty much inta-warp off gates.  If i have undock points then undocking is seemingly invulnerable.  Very fast travel.  Main risk though is landing on a gate with someone fast off the mark with a smart bomb - which is what happened to me the other day.


My Taranis fit is:

[Taranis]
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
Inertial Stabilizers II
Inertial Stabilizers II

5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
EM Ward Amplifier II
Medium Shield Extender II

Prototype Cloaking Device I

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I



My kill reports (of my alt) nicely list where i have gone down in a one-sided blaze of glory.

In the latest one, the killer picked up a nice 75m ISK for their efforts.

So, my next step is to train enough skills to be able to put two shield extenders on the Interceptor - i suspect that should do the trick.

If that fails, i suspect i will try the Victorious Luxury Yacht.

I have been War Dec'd

Drama and excitement for my corp: Ironforge Commerce Guild.




The Background


So, i log in yesterday to post my sell orders and what do you know, i have been War Dec'd by an alliance called Chicken Wings.  Which is an alliance with one Corp called X-Com.


X-Com has 31 members.


And to be fair, they probably know what they are doing.  Certainly relative to a trader like myself.  I get nervous flying my Interceptor outside of Hi-Sec!


I can easily operate whilst docked and i suspect i could still undock in my interceptors etc.  But lets just say i will not be firing the guns here.


I sent a message to their CEO who politely replied that i would have to wait to see that their aim was.  Held out an option for me to make an offer to avoid all this.




So, what to do?  What offer to make?


It looks like Chicken Wings has War Dec'd a load of other Corps at the same time - so i suspect they are clearing out a system of highsec POS's or something similar.


Personally, i was not doing much with my small POS - just keeping it fuelled really, waiting for some spare time to look into what i can do.  Experimenting on ideas here and there.  Needless to say, i have taken down all the extra items but left the Tower up and fuelled.


Seems to me my options are:


1) Pack up my tower and leave (happy to do that)


2) Do nothing and see what happens


3) Recognise that i have 241bn ISK and hire someone to fight my corner


Lets see what happens.


All advice is greatfully received.

A possible sink for Plex - ganker get out of jail card

So, i was ganked at the weekend at an undock point in Jita.  My own fault, Obelisk carrying 2.2bn ISK if cargo.  For i am a fool.  Ganker let me go with my Obelisk once i had jettisoned my cargo.

I warped to my undock point but the ganker was all over me before i had aligned.  And the rest, as they say, was history.

So, anyway, whilst i was watching the ganker undock ship after ship from the larger ship (i assume a carrier) to attack me whilst bumping me with another ship i did wonder if Plex could not be used to save my sorry self here.

So, lets say i could use one Plex to cause Concord to web any ship(s) that are bumping me?  For say a few mins to let me get away?

In effect, i could carry up to 5bn of cargo, say, and i would be willing to use up to 4 Plex to protect me on my journey, in an emergency.  Clearly, that is not a good business model - but i still come out on top (given the alternative was to lose 5bn of Cargo and a ship and pod).

Now, it would not be long before people like myself run out of Plex so this would be all the rage for a few weeks then die down as surplus Plex is used up.

And, you know, maybe half the ISK cost of the Plex used could go to the ship being webbed by Concord - as a compensation to the (would be) ganker?

Anyway, perhaps a suitable sink for Plex?

Clearly, could also cause Plex to rise if it is seen as a way of getting away from a ganker in an emergency!

But, more likely, i suspect it will use up Plex sitting in hangers doing nothing.

New Economic Data about to be published in Eve Online

Hat tip to delonewolf at the Eve Talk for spotting this.

CCPQuant was on the O7 show yesterday (18 September) and announced that the project he had been working on was to do with releasing new Eve Online economic data into the community.

Currently, the plan is for a monthly graphical report showing:

• ISK sinks and faucets (i.e. a complete summary of the ISK coming in and out of the system)
• Trade deficit by region (i.e. imports and exports by region)
• Production and Destruction
• Various indices like CPI, Gross User Product
• Total ISK traded daily

CCPQuant is looking for feedback for further ideas.

His part starts at 28:36 in the youtube video below:



Personally, i am looking forwards to this data.

Not yet sure what additional data i would like to see but i am sure there will end up being a whole section on the Plex price!

Edit: corrected to CCPQuant (instead of CCP Guard).

Splitting stacks in the Market Deliveries hanger

If you are like me and you like to set up courier contracts from your "Market deliveries" hangar then you would have come across the problem of trying to split stacks in this hangar.

The advantage of setting courier contracts from the "Market deliveries" hangar is that it is counted as a corp hangar and so when it is hauled it will be delivered to the "Market deliveries" hangar in the target station and so accessible by any member of your corp.  This is a better idea than setting up the courier contract from your own "Item hangar" and so when it is delivered you then have to "item exchange" from your char to either the corp or another char - all very tedious.

However, if you want to split items in the hangar it can not easily be done.  i.e. lets say i want to split my Plex into a stack of 34 and a stack of 60.

For example, in the image below i am unable to split my 94 Plex in my "Market deliveries" hangar - if i try the standard shift+Left click and try to split the stack then i get the Access Denied warning:

The "Market Deliveries" hangar is not technically a corp hangar.  The only way to get items into the hangar is to either buy from the market using corp funds or to set an "item exchange" contact up with your own corporation (and even then you need another char (preferably on another account to do this quickly) to accept the items into the corp and so into the Market deliveries hangar).  You can set up courier contracts from the "Market Deliveries" hangar which will be delivered to the "Market Deliveries" hangar in the station hauled to.

Fortunately, i have discovered how to split stacks in the "Market deliveries" hangar.

• Right-click the item >>>> Create Contract
• On Page 1/4 of the Create Contract window: Select "Item Exchange" and "My Corporation"
• On Page 2/4 right-click the item and select "Split Stack", as shown below

• You can then split the stack as required
• Then press Cancel on the Create Contract window

Job done!

(edit: corrected spelling of "hangar")

Trading in Null Sec

After two years in Eve Online, and after much inspiration from Sugar Kyle's most excellent blog Low Sec Lifestyle and her ventures in creating a low sec trading venture, i have decided to try and set up a trading venture in Null Sec.

My business in High Sec is doing fine, making me 217bn ISK to date.  I hear that Null Sec is the place to be though i really have no idea about what is best . . . . . 



Research into travelling around in null sec

That, of course, meant going into null sec.  For the first time.  I had once ventured into low sec but never null sec.  Never seen a bubble.  Never had local open as a default.  Never felt the need to cloak.

One of the best pieces of research i found was on the forums, written by a player called Gummy Worm, titled Null Security Space Guide to Running Sites.  Seems to cover everything (at least everything i can think of):



Chosen ship and fitting to travel in null sec

I went for a Helios to travel around in null sec.

At gates, when i land, i do the warp and insta-cloak.

[Helios]
Inertial Stabilizers II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

5MN Microwarpdrive II
Scan Acquisition Array I
Scan Pinpointing Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Expanded Probe Launcher I

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I


. . . . . not even sure why i have the scanning / Probe items to be honest.  If i could think if anything to replace them with that makes my survivability in null sec improve then i would go for it.



. . . . . . .  died a number of times

i believe the expression is podded.

Three times so far, all can be seen on zKillboard.  First one undocking in Scalding Pass, putting on the mwd to get distance and getting blasted by a battle ship.

Second time was in a bubble when coming through a gate.  A bit of bad luck, landed right next to a waiting ship so could not re-cloak in time.

Third time was not cloaking quick enough when warping after a jump - actually, this one i doubt i could survive if i did it again.  I thought i cloaked as quick as i could after starting the warp sequence.

Not annoyed about losing the ship and fittings, it is the implants that is annoying.  80m or so ISK to replace them all.

So far, lost about 360m in ships / fittings / implants.



Chosen Region

Firstly, i decided to go for only NPC stations - last thing i want is to be locked out of my items.

Secondly, i could have gone for a NPC station in a player owned region but instead i went for a NPC region (i don't know if that is a good idea, i will see).

That all said, for now i have gone for Venal.
I travelled all the way up to the ORE region and all the way as far south as Scalding Pass and Catch regions.

It is amazing how empty null sec can be.  Quite often, when i was wondering around, i would be the only person in the system.  Other times, the bubbles on gates were off the dials.



Hauling items to sell

Third party haulers, for sure.  Not a chance i am hauling my own items for now.

Costs me about 250m ISK to contract my items from Jita to my chosen station.  So far i am using New Evolution Express.

One of my characters is learning Jump Drive but has a way to go before fully able to use it for the best.



Chosen items to sell

I am starting with T2 fittings - no idea if this is a good idea, or how it will go.  I have posted 11.4bn of items for sale.  If it does not go to plan i will initially seek to find another region to sell in rather than change what i am selling.

It will cost me about 300m ISK every time i seek to move my items.



In Summary

I honestly have no idea if this will work and i very much suspect that i will be moving my goods from one null sec region to another until i find one that works.

Eve Online Podcasts and Video Casts

There are a surprising number of podcasts on Eve Online with subjects varying from Lore, to a daily news round up, to general Eve items (though also surprisingly few on the ISK making side of Eve).

I download most of them via itunes.

Fortunately for us all, there are two websites that keep a list of most of them:


Eveonlinepodcastrsslist

Eveonlinepodcastrsslist is a nice site that lists the podcasts as they happen and allows you to play the podcast from the site.  Useful if you want to see what are the latest podcasts.


Evepodcasts

Evepodcasts has a list of the active podcasts, as well as a link to the inactive podcasts.  Also, it has a list of the video casts on its main page.

It also as a page of song parodies by the EVE Online community pilots.



I have added both the useful links on the right >>>>>


I also keep a page that lists the dedicated ISK making videocasts on my blog.

Banking Industry in Eve - just small changes to the Contracting System needed

OK, just glance at the Courier Contract written below and then read on - all will hopefully be explained!

I write the following Courier Contract:

Item i want hauled: <-900m ISK> (yes, negative 900m ISK)
Ship to: <Same station> (yes, not moving it anywhere)
Reward: <50m ISK>
Collateral: <-1 Plex> (yes, negative 1 Plex)
Expiration: <3 days>
Days to Complete: <1 month exactly> (yes, not less than but equal to)


If you accept this then you would receive negative 900m to haul (i.e. give me 900m ISK) whilst the you put negative 1 Plex up as Collateral (i.e. i put 1 Plex up as Collateral) and i put 50m ISK aside as collateral for the fees.

After 1 month exactly you complete the "haul" and return the -900m to me (i.e. i give you 900m) and i award you with 50m fees, and so i get back my 1 Plex Collateral.

If the contact fails then you get the Plex.


The problem with a Bank today in Eve

At its simplest, banks bring together people with surplus money (savers) with people who want to borrow money (borrowers).

The bank acts as a middle man – it borrows from the savers for an annual fee (called the saving rate) and lends to the borrowers for an annual fee (called the lending rate).  That spread (lending rate less saving rate) covers the cost of loans going bad (defaults) and the costs of the bank and so gives the profits.

As security, the bank takes first charge over assets of the borrower (not collateral per se but the right to take over an asset if the loan goes bad).

The security for the savers is a national Central Bank which guarantees a certain level of deposits and requires the Bank to deposit cash with it plus hold liquid cash.

What Eve does not have is that Central Bank.

Actually, that is not quite true.  Eve does have certain trusted third parties that act as the middle man when loans are taken out, for example.

But you get my drift - currently there is nothing to stop a bank just walking off with the deposits savers have placed in it.


One small addition to the Contracting System could change that

However, with a small change to the contracting system we could have a banking industry up and running.

The small change needed would be for Courier Contracts to be allowed to courier to and from the same station, be able to Courier negative ISK, for negative Collateral and the "days to complete" be set as exact times.

So, lets assume i am a Bank and you are a Saver, and i am offering 50m interest over one month for 900m deposits (=5.6% interest).

So, as a Bank i would put in the Contact system:

Item i want hauled: <-900m>
Ship to: <Same station>
Reward: <50m>
Collateral: <-1 Plex>
Expiration: <3 days>
Days to Complete: <1 month exactly>


A saver would accept that and so receive negative 900m to haul (i.e. give me 900m ISK) whilst the saver puts negative 1 Plex up as Collateral (i.e. i put 1 Plex up as Collateral) and i put 50m ISK aside as collateral for the fees.

In effect, i have received 850m (900 - 50) whilst one of my Plexes is tied up for one month.  I need to turn the 850m into 950m to breakeven.

After 1 month the Saver completes the "haul" and returns the -900m to me (i.e. i give the saver 900m) and i award them 50m fees, and so i get back my 1 Plex Collateral.

If the contact fails then the Saver gets the Plex.

In effect, i have paid the saver 50m interest for 900m 1 month deposit.


That is a Bond, how does it become a Bank?

The above is actually more like a bond (fixed loan with collateral) - turning this into a bank merely requires a series of the above to happen.

The Bank could write new courier contracts every 7 days (i.e. 5 courier contacts on day 1, another 5 on day 8, another 5 on day 15, another 5 on day 22, another 5 on day 29 etc etc giving deposits of 21bn) and so about 20% of the deposits are withdrawn each week (5 contracts complete) hopefully replaced by an inflow from the 5 new courier contacts accepted.

And so we have a bank.

If anyone can see a flaw in my thinking then i am all ears.


Who would want to be act as such a Bank?

Business players (traders / manufacturers) in a corp who had surplus Plex and could give a steady interest income to corp mates who had other things to do (liek blow up ships).  In effect, good traders / manufacturers / business players would be of value to corps looking to provide additional benefits to members.

Anyone who had surplus Plex (like me) and just wanted the fun of being a Bank.


What is the downside for the saver?

If the price of Plex falls below the deposit value - then the Bank would be tempted to take all the ISK to another character and so the contract would fail leaving the Saver with a lower valued Plex.

But the point here is that perhaps we have could have a system in place where Savers are much better protected and so able to participate in a banking system with much more confidence.


How does this add content to the game?

ISK lying around unused would be put to use by the Bank to try and earn the interest to pay the Saver.

Failed banks would see Plex be transferred to someone who is more likely to use it (as game time or to sell to generate ISK).


What will this do for the price of Plex?

If we assumed some banks fail then Plex would be transferred and some likely sold - so, if anything, puts downward pressure on Plex.  Or you could have a load of players wanting to become Banks and so buying Plex for the collateral.

What not to Haul in one shot

I don't often single events out in Eve as an example of what not to do - but this has to be an exception.  I spotted this on reddit.

This zkillboard link shows an Iteron Mark V being killed with cargo of 48bn ISK in it.

That had to hurt.

We could perhaps question the values assigned to the Blueprint Copies - but nonetheless, that is a lot to be transporting in a mere hauler like that.

As ever, i advise using courier contracts to have items hauled including this discussion right at the start of my business on Eve on why using courier contracts makes good business sense.

I have also discussed why i am willing to pay much more to get my items to their destination within 24 hours.

There is a video of a presentation at Eve Fanfest 2015 from a Red Frog member.

Eve Online: Amarr Market - another Video tubecast on the Eve Online markets

I have discovered another Eve Online video tubecast.

It is called Eve Online: Amarr Market and, as the title suggests, it focuses on the Amarr market.  It is a weekly tubecast and seems to have been going for 2 years.

The angle here is that it focuses on a trade hub that is not Jita.  Amarr is the second largest trade hub after Jita and i find it to still be quite competitive.  However, a focus away from Jita is a welcome variety.

It has a standard format at the beginning:

- starts with a review on the mineral market
- then reviews the salvage products
- occasionally other items
- and finishes looking at Plex


I have included its link on the right hand side of this blog:

As a reminder, the other two video tubecasts i watch are:

It is worth saying that the value in these videos is watching them as they come out.  Their value lies in keeping up to date with what the producers are saying at the time.


Eve Talk

Eve Talk by Delonewolf.  It is a weekly YouTube cast for 20 - 30 mins talking about what he's seeing in the markets.  Has been going since at least the start of 2012.  Focused more on station trading, primarily looking to buy items at one point in time to store in a hanger to sell at later point in time at a better price.

Format is the same week to week: Starts with a talk on the Plex market, moves onto the minerals, then T1 ships, T2 ships, T3 ships and then a different market each week.  The discussion centres on what is happening by looking at charts and then Delonewolf gives his views on why this is happening followed by some trade ideas.

Unfortunately they are mixed in with his other youtube clips - so the link above goes to his youtube page.

Eve Prosper Market Review

the Eve Propser Market Review, which just started on Thursday 16 October 2014 night US time is a stream and youtube cast by John Purcell (Lockefox ingame) of the Eve Prosper Blog.

The link above is to the playlist on his youtube channel.  The Youtube cast has the 50 - 60 minute show but not the question and answer session afterwards.

It starts with a general news segement (not really market related), followed by the market charts starting with Plex, then some interesting charts, then Minerals, Moon Products and the  Fuel markets.  Lockefox gives his views on why the prices and volumes are moving, and some ideas on potential trades to make.

The show notes and slides can be found on his blog.

Sovereignty Blockade Units are now obsolete

As part of the Patch released last week "Aegis Sovereignty", Sovereignty Blockade Units are now obsolete.  Details in the patch notes.

Sovereignty Blockade Units in space self destructed where as Sovereignty Blockade Units on the market were moved into the seller's hanger.

Furthermore, these Sovereignty Blockade Units in hangers can now be sold to NPCs for 250m.  Not a bad profit for anyone who was producing them at the current 170m raw material cost.

Now, before anyone works out that they only cost 170m to produce it is worth noting that the existing Blueprints don't actually produce them anymore!

However, if you have any lying around in your hanger - now would not be a bad time to sell them to your nearest friendly NPC.

Or put them up on the market as a collectors item!

For the Blueprint - you can't put it up for sale on the market, you can only put it for sale via the contract system, again as a collectors item.

Hauling Corporations - a review for my business needs

I have written many times on why i use haulers rather than haul items myself, including this discussion right at the start of my business on Eve on why using courier contracts makes good business sense.

Furthermore, i have also discussed why i am willing to pay much more to get my items to their destination within 24 hours.

Indeed, there is a video of a presentation at Eve Fanfest 2015 from a Red Frog member.

Bottom line, is that it makes good business sense for me to use courier contracts to transfer my items from one location to another.


I am reviewing who i use to haul my items

I have now come to a point in my business where i am looking at all the options on hauling my items from Jita to the other trade hubs.  This has been caused my some people leaving in my favourite hauling corporation PushX which has prompted me to make a review of what else is out there.

Now, to put this all in perspective, PushX has undertaken 690 courier contracts for me, hauling 845bn ISK of items, costing me 16.5bn (i.e. 2%), all have been delivered on time (within 24 hours) and only 3 have failed (2 recently).  Job well done, in my books.


My conclusion

Read below for all the discussion - but i plan on trying out New Evolution Express for all courier contracts from Jita to the other trade hubs, and the independent individuals for all other contracts for now.


My Aims

I only really want three things from a hauler:

1) A known price (it is part of my cost of doing business)

2) A known time frame to deliver my items (an item not on the market can not sell)

3) Reliability (this is key - it must get to the destination time and time again, within the stated timeframe)

The Hauling Corporations

As far as i can tell, there are 5 options.

• New Evolution Express
• PushX Industries
• Red Frog Freight
• Haulers Channel
• Independent individuals

New Evolution Express

New Evolution Express is a very new hauling corporation but experienced.  Made up of prior members of PushX.

Website not up to full functionality yet - i need to put in the number of jumper whereas the other two corporation websites work that out themselves from the starting and ending system.  That is annoying.

Offers two speeds of service: normal = 3 days to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete; and Priority = 1 day to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete.

Offers a menu of pricing depending on Standard vs Jump Freight vs Thera / Collateral / Space Security / Volume / Time.  At first glance, the menu is mind boggling (gets easier to understand with time), i always find it best to go straight to the price quote page.

Can go from anywhere to anywhere.  Maximum volume 845,000 m3 (standard freight, highsec).

Customer Support Channel: very new but seems well staffed.

Reliability: very new but so far so good.


PushX Industries

PushX Industries is a long time established corporation.

Very user friendly website - the best there is.  I just need to input the starting system + ending system + volume + collateral and i am quoted the normal & rush price.  Everything is well laid out.  It just sets the standard.

Offers two speeds of service: normal = 3 days to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete; and Rush = 1 day to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete.

Offers a menu of pricing depending on Standard vs Jump Freight / Collateral / Space Security / Volume / Time.  Again, at first glance, the menu is mind boggling (gets easier to understand with time), i always find it best to go straight to the price quote page.

Can go from anywhere to anywhere.  Maximum volume 1,125,000 m3 (standard freight, highsec).

Adding to that PushX has another website that tracks how your courier contract is progressing.  Hence, you can see if your contract has been accepted / delivered without logging into the game.  Another major plus.

Customer Support Channel: was excellent now poor after many members left to start New Evolution Express.

Reliability: was excellent but has recently tailed off, again, after many members left to start New Evolution Express.


Red Frog Freight

Red Frog Freight is the oldest hauling corporation in Eve.  Has various divisions: Red Frog Freight to haul cargo in highsec worth up to 1bn; Black Frog Freight to haul cargo in low sec; Blue Frog Freight to haul cargo valued at over 1bn ISK in Highsec.

The corporation operating as different divisions does make it look optically complicated but gets easier with time.

Website basic but very straight forward to use.  Probably the easiest to use.

Offers two speeds of service: normal = 3 days to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete; and Rush = 1 day to for contract to expire + 1 day to complete.

However, the Rush Jobs are limited to highsec jobs where collateral is under 1bn ISK.

Offers a menu of pricing depending on highsec vs lowsec / Collateral / Time.  The least complicated menu of pricing given it does not charge differently for different volume.

Can go from anywhere to anywhere.  Maximum volume 845,000 m3 (standard freight, highsec, less than 1bn collateral).

Customer Support Channel: Not sure myself but only hear good things about it.

Reliability: Not sure myself but only hear good things about it.



Haulers Channel

I have never used this chat channel "Haulers Channel" to highlight the courier contracts i have on offer.

From what i can tell, it seems populated and active with a focus on intel and tips for haulers as well as highlighting courier contracts for offer.

The discussion i see on hauling is high quality and well worth sitting in there if you are a hauler.


Independent individuals

This is really the courier contract system where you just put your contract on the open market.

I do use this typically to transfer items from a trade hub to Jita.  Perversely, i find it is done in a few hours and typically much cheaper than if one of the hauling corporations were to do it.

Indeed, another blogger MoxNix at MerchantMonarchy stated that they always used the public courier contracting system given the jobs were always done on time and much cheaper than the hauling corps.


Price Comparison between the Hauling Corporations

Given i operate in Highsec only, i input a variety of courier contracts to compare prices.  There is one consistent winner for the options i chose is New Evolution Express - it seems as if they are at a constant discount to the other hauling corps in an attempt to gain market share as a new entrant:



Jita >>> Dodixie, 900m collateral, 100m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 22.2m
PushX Industries 23.6m
Red Frog Freight 99.0m


Jita >>> Dodixie, 2.5bn collateral, 100m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 33.0m
PushX Industries 36.6m
Blue Frog Freight none offered


Jita >>> Dodixie, 2.5bn collateral, 50000m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 39.0m
PushX Industries 43.8m
Blue Frog Freight none offered



Jita >>> Hek, 900m collateral, 100m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 24.0m
PushX Industries 25.8m
Red Frog Freight 123.0m


Jita >>> Hek, 2.5bn collateral, 100m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 37.5m
PushX Industries 42.0m
Blue Frog Freight none offered


Jita >>> Hek, 2.5bn collateral, 50000m3 volume, Rush/Priority Job

New Evolution Express 45.0m
PushX Industries 51.0m
Blue Frog Freight none offered