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Crime & Punishment

 
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Help me find a way to smuggle

Author
Alliria Seedspawn
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#1 - 2012-02-21 22:58:10 UTC
So here my original plan was to make runs down to null sec and back hauling little stuffs, as it was the closest thing to smuggling I could think of. Been talking with a former cohort of mine whom I've done some cloaky PvP with (and I trust) and who has been spending time down in null, and he helped me see the survivability problems with my plan. Perhaps it's something I can work up to. But I still want to smuggle. So now I'm left with trying to find a new way.

I've tried smuggling contraband in the past with a cov ops, and I had a few successful runs before being caught. Did some reading up then and found that, from the way I interpreted the information, being caught while smuggling contraband is really just chance based, and your skills / ship have little to do with it. Is this accurate? I can handle the consequences of getting caught, but I want it to be due to my own error vs a chance based system.

So now I'm thinking that my best alternative to smuggling would be to haul very high value items about high and low sec that would make me incredibly gank worthy. Any ideas? I'm thinking PLEX is a good option, but what are some others that are relatively small m3's and very valuable, but still sell relatively quickly on the market?

Any other ideas on how to create some version of smuggling in game?
Tidurious
Blatant Alt Corp
#2 - 2012-02-22 02:08:13 UTC
Implants. They can be worth a LOT, sell pretty fast, depending on where you take them, and take up nearly 0 space in your hold. You could take them in a shuttle :)
T0RT0ISE
Viziam
Amarr Empire
#3 - 2012-02-22 02:22:40 UTC
Are you suggesting that putting yourself deliberately at risk of losing at least a plex worth of isk is a rewarding game plan for you? If so you would be better off just fitting up some nice ships and going solo PVPing.

By all means do what you like but senselessly flying about with PLEX in your cargo as a 'challenge' sounds pretty silly to me.

Also, if you want to try 'smuggling', then putting semi-resonable buy orders for faction loot and implants that are dropped in particular NPC null stations and then moving them back to high sec hubs at a profit could be rewarding. Buying shadow serpentis magnetic field stabs and snake implants in Syndicate for example. Most people have the means to move them by themselves but you could find yourself doing a modest turn of profit while getting to do the smuggling you are interested in.
Ahrieman
Codex Praedonum
Divine Damnation
#4 - 2012-02-22 12:55:10 UTC  |  Edited by: Ahrieman
First, I'm gonna give you the best advice for your chosen career: DON'T EVER TRANSPORT PLEX!

Now for the less obvious stuff. To move contraband, you just need to be in a fast align ship and not autopilot. The only time you will get caught by customs this way is when you land on a gate. Just say no to handing over your stuff and jump through. Hitting the jump button (as opposed to the warp to 0 button) to initiate warp will make this process even easier since you will autojump as soon as you reject the customs offer to take your stuff and not nuke your ship. Nevertheless, still spam jump after refusing to turn over the goods.

Moving stuff to 0.0 can be profitable, but there are also lots of profitable transport runs that are easier to make. If you can fly a cloaky hauler, moving ammo to FW/pirate hubs in low sec can be an easy money maker since many people will happily pay 5-10% mark ups just for the convenience of buying it in their home system. Often, they will pay even more. It's almost surprising that more industrious pilots aren't doing this with faction/T2 ammo and commonly used pvp mods. You can even buy the stuff right off of sell orders, move it, and sell it for profit very easily.

Courier runs to 0.0 can be profitable, but you should consider your markets carefully since there are jump freighters and carriers that already do this. Trading in null sec can be feast or famine based on the current logistical support already available to pilots in the region. Good luck.

EDIT: Genuinely disappointed that someone liked a thread that I put time into. My likes typically are from pure trolling.

Solo Rifter since 2009

FloppieTheBanjoClown
Arcana Imperii Ltd.
#5 - 2012-02-22 15:25:08 UTC
Ahrieman wrote:
DON'T EVER TRANSPORT PLEX!


Ignore this advice. Carry all the plex in shuttles, rookie ships, and T1 industrials. And use autopilot.

Founding member of the Belligerent Undesirables movement.

Vrykolakasis
Sparrowhawks Corp
#6 - 2012-02-22 15:48:30 UTC
This sounds fun.

My idea is you load up a badger (use a standard badger, it aligns faster and can get away easier) with plex and I'll fleet you and we'll fly through nullsec together, I'll fly combat and keep the pirates off your tail, there are some great places that you can sell plex for almost 2x the original cost; I'll show them to you. I'll do it all for only 1/10th of the cost of the plex.
Alliria Seedspawn
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#7 - 2012-02-22 15:56:10 UTC  |  Edited by: Alliria Seedspawn
Vrykolakasis wrote:
This sounds fun.

My idea is you load up a badger (use a standard badger, it aligns faster and can get away easier) with plex and I'll fleet you and we'll fly through nullsec together, I'll fly combat and keep the pirates off your tail, there are some great places that you can sell plex for almost 2x the original cost; I'll show them to you. I'll do it all for only 1/10th of the cost of the plex.


uh-huh...
Lady Ayeipsia
BlueWaffe
#8 - 2012-02-22 15:59:39 UTC
Alliria Seedspawn wrote:
Vrykolakasis wrote:
This sounds fun.

My idea is you load up a badger (use a standard badger, it aligns faster and can get away easier) with plex and I'll fleet you and we'll fly through nullsec together, I'll fly combat and keep the pirates off your tail, there are some great places that you can sell plex for almost 2x the original cost; I'll show them to you. I'll do it all for only 1/10th of the cost of the plex.


uh-huh...


Danger Will Robinson, Danger!
Mela Vothis
Black Frog Logistics
Red-Frog
#9 - 2012-02-22 16:34:24 UTC
Vrykolakasis wrote:
This sounds fun.

My idea is you load up a badger (use a standard badger, it aligns faster and can get away easier) with plex and I'll fleet you and we'll fly through nullsec together, I'll fly combat and keep the pirates off your tail, there are some great places that you can sell plex for almost 2x the original cost; I'll show them to you. I'll do it all for only 1/10th of the cost of the plex.



Seems pretty legit
Lady Ayeipsia
BlueWaffe
#10 - 2012-02-22 16:46:12 UTC
Look, if you want to smuggle... Train up for a covert ops cloaky transport. Then find an npc nul sec area where you want to seed the market. Load up your ship in a trade hub and sneak on out there.

Start with simple, common items:

T2 warp scrams, disrupts, and webs.
T2 medium weapons
T2 Target painters
Cyno field generators
Mobile warp disrupts of varying size and tech levels
Common skill books

I believe a place like the great wilds would be easy access, but more market competition. Blood raider space would be tougher, sansha's even worse, but more profit.

Alternatively, there are ample pockets of hi sec. Seed those markets with needed items. You will have to sneak through low sec, but the isk is there and you would be closer to your goal of smuggling. And if this works, place buy orders in nul or the pockers to buy low, smuggle out, and sell high.
C LaForge
Perkone
Caldari State
#11 - 2012-02-23 02:31:55 UTC
1. Get PLEX.
2. Put PLEX to Reedemable Objects.
3. Smuggle yourself as deep as you'd like up or down the rabbit hole in an implantless clone;
4. Dock where you want to.
5. Redeem PLEX.
6. Put PLEX up for sale.
7. ???
8. Profit.
T0RT0ISE
Viziam
Amarr Empire
#12 - 2012-02-23 11:57:25 UTC
Oh god. Duckfaces are invading New Eden.
War Kitten
Panda McLegion
#13 - 2012-02-23 17:27:01 UTC
Alliria Seedspawn wrote:


Any other ideas on how to create some version of smuggling in game?


Get a whole bunch of slaves, slavers, slave hounds, etc and haul them around in front of Electus Matari members in their space.

They take their anti-slavery roleplay very seriously :)

I don't judge people by their race, religion, color, size, age, gender, or ethnicity. I judge them by their grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, clarity of expression, and logical consistency.

THE L0CK
Denying You Access
#14 - 2012-02-23 19:27:18 UTC
You're trying to find a way to snuggle? Well I'm a bit uncomfortable with the idea of it all but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do, now get over here and give me a hug.

Do you smell what the Lock's cooking?

Ahrieman
Codex Praedonum
Divine Damnation
#15 - 2012-02-23 20:31:42 UTC
T0RT0ISE wrote:
Oh god. Duckfaces are invading New Eden.


They are now Blink

Solo Rifter since 2009