NPC's will still seed the market, EvE players will then have to undercut the price of the NPC's ... Simple. The price *should* never go above the NPC price, end result being we get cheaper items.

The economics of this will be at the EvE side with material costs etc.

Only if manufacturing is allowed in dust, which I god hope will never happen. The dust market has to have a base price and a base supply. Until mercs can affect the resource supply needed, either by capturing Planetary Infrastructure or whatever, the EvE economy will prevail over dust.

As for material costs on the EvE side, not really an issue, the price can be high if the amount of end product is high too i.e. 5000 GEK's for a single BP run. The sale price of those GEK's will be reduced.

You also have to take into account the "insane amounts of market PVP" that occurs in EVE online. The EVE market is insanely HUGE and there are many many players that do nothing other than poll the markets for money making opportunities.

Besides, as stated above by others, CCP will initially have NPC manufacturers set the high-end prices and EVE players will only be able to price-fix to a point.

Jadd, I like you. Solid and logical replies, IMHO. And I'm glad someone noticed the irregular comparison of proto suits to battleships. I'm not knocking the intent, just an off comparison.

Why shouldn't mercs take part in industry:
Because we're mercs ;( We are professionals for hire to kill and be killed. Our purpose is death, not creation. I believe a secondary access to the market is just fine though (i.e., selling surplus gear and salvage). Hell, maybe even limited access to refining surplus to then sell the raw materials on the open market, but without access to skill into the refinement efficiencies and such EVE subscribers have access to. Perhaps an NPC interface from our merc quarters with flat fees or percentage commissions across the boards. That could evolve in time into something more.

If lore isn't enough of a justification, then consider it from a business standpoint. Players subscribe to EVE with a monthly fee. Some choose to go the way of the industrialist to support the market created by PVP and PVE mission runners. Why, from a profitability standpoint, would I offer that same access to a non-subscribing gamer on what is technically another game? If you could manufacture and skill into industry, mining, refining, transport, etc., then you are negating 1) your purpose as a merc, and 2) an entire paying player base that could seriously undermine the entire economy of EVE. Why should an industrialist on the EVE side continue subbing if they could do the same thing through Dust for free?

Yes, an EVE-based industrialist can also skill into PVP, PVE, etc., etc., without diminishing skills in market-based gaming, so why not Dust mercs? It's the same universe, for sure. Unfortunately we are still tethered to the commercial reality here. We all signed up to be mercs in a F2P environment. While I do believe us mercs should and will have limited access to the market for purchasing and selling of surplus, that access should be restricted to our own tiny little ecosystem---as it is within EVE. If an EVE industrialist wants to sell beyond the system, that player transports or hires a transport/escort provider. I simply do not have the logistics, as a merc, to do that. If I want to do that, then I will sub-up and EVE account and gain such privileges.

Down the road I can definitely see a path that would evolve, allowing Dust mercs (probably only corps really) to reverse affect the EVE market through skilled-gained manipulation, but what that entails is beyond me without first seeing our economies merged.

I should also note, before someone points it out for me, I think Dust PVE would be just fine in gaining salvage, isk, or even minerals through side-missions or even minimal mining of scattered ore loads that were too small and abandoned by larger industry corps or even salvaging of abandoned equipment from those same corps, all available to be traded and sold as a merc to the open market without our local systems. I would even love, possibly, to see rare minerals or salvaged loot that could only be discovered as a merc, on the ground, by hand. This thought would give a bit of balance as well as handing a bit of leverage to the individual Dust merc/corp over the EVE-side industrialists. Alliances could develop, bargains made, trades brokered, etc. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I'm just throwing that out to be clear that I am NOT one-sided on this. I just think everyone is making way too many assumptions based on limited experience of the bigger picture here. The two economies are still but two economies. Baby steps and such.

The big boys in EVE will hoard the good stuff while mercs suffer
Sure, in a simple view of things. Those alliances have their own ecosystems. Of course they will produce for "theirs" and sell the surplus for profit and even at inflated margins----for as long as the market allows them to. They will provide their Dust brothers and sisters with all the gear they need to maintain their corporation/alliance hold over whatever resources they desire. Oh woe to the limited smaller Dust corps abound, and death to those that dare run solo. That is until the little guys of EVE enter in. let the big fish eat big fish and cannibalize each other until their bellies are full. The smaller fish will scavenge the waste and drops left behind and find a sub-market willing to feed along side.

Smaller corp and individual industrialists will undercut the ridiculously over priced gear in one system, while filling the vacuum created in another. There's an entire market to do nothing but to buy low in system A, transport, and sell high in System B in EVE. Those channels already exist and can be used to do the same to provide for Dust mercs, with even an entire market dedicated to camping and pirating those intersecting waypoints along the established trade routes, which in turn creates a player base willing to escort those transports to assist in protection-----using mercs as mercs doing those wonderful mercy things that only mercs can do.


I ramble.
TL/DR: We all have a role. We are just artificially limited atm, due to a separation of our economies.

All the best,

- me.