Trading in ED

[Falcon_D]

Hello,

I've tried my hand at trading but have never been able to make close to the 1k per ton that other commanders make. Well, unless I do trading in rare goods.

My question is:
How often do commodity prices at stations change?
Is there a good 3rd party tool to help with trading?

Thanks and regards.

[Loriath]

There are a Lot of Third Party tools for Trading. You can use websites or programs on your local PC. All depends what you want to do, and how you want to do it.

Do you mind using crowd sourced data? Some people do, and they just want a tool on the PC that is better than Pen and Paper. Some have no issues at all with shared data.

Here are but a few, and you can find more if you search the EDCodex under trading tools:

Websites:
==================
INARA - Made by our very own Artie! HIGHLY recommended.
Thrudds' Trading Tools
Elite Dangerous Trade Database
ED Board

These are just a Few. And the tools that you run on your machine, well there are just as many. Search the Codex.

[TorTorden]

I personally prefer http://www.eddb.io
Unlike some that seems to be catering to those with a spreadsheet fetish, it's very concise, big bold print.
Particularily the loop feature, and that it can remember your ship settings (granted it requires making a login)
What site you would choose doesn't really matter, since most use the same database, what differs are presentation and some of the backend maths in the queries but there's no real secrets here, so most sites present the same routes.

The really great profit runs aren't necessarily shared with these sites since that way everyone would do it.
But I have seen routes ran by dozens of players each carrying 400t-500t each, and the prices has yet to change over the past few months.

The over all on average commodity with the most profit are imperial slaves, this means traveling to the empire and thusly almost anyone winds up in the empire because of it.

Now there are plenty almost as good commodites to trade, but since imperial slaves are so routinely better the databases presents them more often, seeing trade's in federal space for instance would almost require black listing imperial slaves.
If you don't want to use tools trading do not click on any of the following links.

Here's one I have been using a little, on off for the past month or so.
http://eddb.io/trade/loop/8229

There is really just a few hundred credits differing between trading in slaves and not.
I remember doing this particular run in mid july, and it's still good.
http://eddb.io/trade/loop/12883

Both of these can be a single jump with a d grade type 6, b grade FSD netting you a little over a quarter mil every two stops, trade for an hour and you have earned back the t6.

[Falcon_D]

Thank you very much for the trading tips.
I plan to do more trading once the CZ where I'm at is done. Then I'm taking my trader configured Asp out.