Market Discussions

New to station trading, just using it to fund a bit of solo PVP which I'm enjoying very much. Let me start by explaining my usual approach:

Default flipping: (1) see item with > 10% difference between buy/sell order for an item (e.g. ammo); (2) list ammo b/o, update 0.01 isk as required; (3) b/o fills; (4) set a s/o for the ammo more or less immediately, update when needed; (5) s/o fills, ammo is swapped for a profit around the original estimated figure.

Pretty standard trading, then.

However, I found that on a few occasions the s/o price has plummeted since setting the original b/o. So if it's relisted, the profit margin will be under the 10%. So, I've kept the stock, stuck it in a can (with intended s/o tag) and fingers crossed I will list it when the s/o goes back up. Since doing this, I've been wondering, ''what if I intentionally set a b/o without the <10% isk difference, to resell later?''

Question is: how common is this practice (not relisting immediately), how often is it done intentionally, and what is this type of trading called?

Thanks in advance for patience. Worth adding, I know nothing about market/trading/accounting in RL. But I'm aware of some 101 things like the Bullworth burger.

Personally I'm turnover focused on most items.

Long term purchases are an exception, not the norm.

When you say crashing the market with buy orders, do you mean sell orders?
And what do you mean with "real PvP" in trading?

I've sat on stock for two years. But that was 50/50 not logging in and forgetting I had it. Did triple my isk investment though.

For completed stuff, zkill can be a good measuring stick to use as well. Gives a breakdown of what's lost and can give an idea for manufacturing or an idea of what to sit on for a bit. An example that's out of date by several months now, is Scimitars. Few months ago they rose in price from ~150 a hull to over 200 a hull (think they peaked at 220ish). Plus their manufacturing cost stayed the same. If someone had a stockpile of t2 components and enough manufacturing lines, they'd have been able to make substantially more profit out of it.

Trading comes in all styles and sizes. Just become proficient at what ever you do. Your trading style should never stay stagnant. Change will occur either due to knowledge, time, net worth or just love of the game.

Pick a style that you enjoy the most or hate the least, and become efficient at it. Expect to make a loss.
If instead you make a reasonable return, then expand on that system with your time or your ISK.

Most important when you get bored change it up!

A large part of my current style of trading has matured into the long game. I pick future growth areas and invest into those areas over time. Basically transferring my current peak valued assets into new low value assets that will likely peak in the future. It suits my long game.

I have held onto items for up to 5 years as an investment to maximize profits because I didn't need to sell. Busy selling other things and they where still increasing in vaule. Something I wouldn't recommended for the average item or even the average player, but something worth doing once you have more assets than you can ever sell. Some items have taken me years to actively sell my stock off.

Remember every trader has a different reason for trading. Understanding your competition is important, but be careful as you can get it wrong and it can be costly when starting out.

I have been a trader for over 10 years. I started as a technical trader for the first few years as was dictated by my funds and my need to maximize profit. Since then I have been a producer, a speculator, a price manipulator rotating through about 50 different items at a time (including all minerals) and pushing prices up or down by 30%. I have been just an emotional trader to see what would happen or to prove a point or to dominate a market. I even played the 0.01 game in domain using regional orders for a few years at Jita prices to dominate the market and push domains growth. The point is, in eve, it is hard to make a loss trading if you spend the time and effort.The biggest problem with trading is it takes isk to make isk. Trading is easier as you get more ISK. The first 50bill is exponentially harder than your future billions will be.

Take note of Cista's post. There is lot of valuable information there for any trader that is serious about trading as a career.