Ulysses Knapse
Nuevo Atlas Corporation
73
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Posted - 2013.01.17 09:02:00 -
[1] - Quote
Here are a few corrections to mistakes that some make in industry on EVE Online.
1. Thou shalt not mine your own materials unless thyself is a decent refiner.
Reason: Mining is profitable, and manufacturing is profitable, but unless you are a decent refiner, don't refine your ores. You'll be better off selling the raw ore on the market to pay for refined minerals.
2. Thou shalt manufacture what people buy, not what is the most expensive.
Reason: Some things are very expensive on the market. That does not necessarily mean they are in high demand. You will have trouble selling your products if you manufacture the most expensive thing instead of the most desired thing.
3. Thou shalt not go into low security space simply because it is more profitable.
Reason: Low-sec can be a very profitable place. What isn't profitable, however, is getting yourself exploded. If you aren't prepared for low-sec, don't go there. If you don't know if you are prepared for low-sec, you aren't prepared. If you think you are prepared for low-sec, reevaluate the situation.
4. Thou shalt not undercut severely.
Reason: Undercutting to an extent is required to sell your products, but undercutting too much will decease your profits quite a bit and possibly cause others to lower prices, which results in even less profit. Be careful when trying to alter any market, as it can and will backfire.
5. Thou shalt not bring attention to thyself.
Reason: As a small entity, bringing attention to yourself by flaunting around your wealth will only cause bigger entities (and smaller ones) to want to take that wealth from you. There is absolutely no reason you should publicize your wealth. If you want to brag to your friends, fine. If you want to convince a possible ally that you can produce what they want, that's alright. If you want to go into Jita local and say "my small industrial corporation is transporting billions through this place every day.", I'm afraid you hath sinned.
6. Thou shalt not produce one product extensively.
Reason: The more of one product you are selling, the more you are competing with yourself. If Jita buys 100 of a certain item a day and you produce 100 of a certain item a day, you have succeeded. If Jita buys 100 a day and you produce 300 a day, you will still only make a profit from 100 of them a day, and therefore are spending more ISK than you are making. Eventually you will make a profit from all of the items (probably), but why would you purposely wait so long to get back on your investment?
7. Thou shalt not be lazy.
Reason: Even if all your products are on the market, even if all your factories are running at peak efficiency for another week, you still have work that can be done. You can mine, you can run missions, you can evaluate the market, whatever. You can be doing something else. Take advantage of this spare time and do something profitable.
8. Thou shalt not focus entirely on cargo capacity.
Reason: Cargohold capacity is great in a hauler (obviously), but it's not your only focus. The amount you haul in an industrial can actually backfire on you. Sure, an Iteron V with maxed out cargohold can hold 50,000m3, but that becomes a bad thing if you fall under fire. Fitting some warp core stabs and some shield extenders can mean the difference between transporting 20,000m3 with a 80% survival rate and transporting 10,000m3 with a 90% survival rate. All you are losing is a bit of time, not material wealth. Yes, time is money, but it is still better to take twice as long to do something than it is to lose half of your profits in half the time. Freighters don't suffer from this per se, but it's best not to cram your freighter full of valuable goodies anyhow.
9. Thou shalt not neglect skills.
Reason: I've seen too many people manufacturing without Production Efficiency and Mass Production. Too many. These are important skills you cannot afford to beget. A week of training Production Efficiency can mean the difference between a 5% profit margin and a 20% profit margin, and similarly for Mass Production can mean the difference between producing one and four products at a time. If you ever think you can get away with not training Production Efficiency in the manufacturing business, you don't deserve the title of industrialist.
10. Thou shalt not stagnate.
Reason: Profitable things change. If you focus on one product, you will not always make a good return. Even if you are still using the same thing, even if it is still very profitable, go out there and get ready to make something new. It might just be more profitable than your current jobs in the future.
Thus are the ten commandments of EVE Industry. There are other things you shouldn't do, but they are relatively obvious. If you don't play EVE, you really should try it. Here, have this link for an extended free trial:
https://secure.eveonline.com/trial/?invc=7247a3d4-0519-4ae6-bdf7-94dc35f530f0&action=buddy |