Difference between revisions of "Using external tools to haul profitably"

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One way to earn InterStellar Kredits (ISK) is to haul (move) goods from one location to another, buying low and selling high.   
[[Category:Hauling]]
 
One way to earn InterStellar Kredits (ISK) is to haul goods from one location to another, buying low and selling high.   
 
 
 
=='''Establishing a Hauler Alt Character'''==
 
 
 
Eve University students can make a good income as haulers, even during wartime, by setting up a hauler alt character outside of the corporation. [[File:Bestower512.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Amarr Bestower]]You can establish a hauler alt of any race, as described well in this guide: [[Creating an Alt Hauler]].  However, if you set up an alt character for hauling, consider making them Amarr, as they use a very attractive industrial ship, the Bestower [http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Bestower], that requires a low level of skills, as follows:
 
 
 
* Amarr Industrial 1
 
  
* Spaceship Command 3
+
==Establishing a Hauler Alt Character==
  
* Amarr Frigate 3
+
Eve University students can make a good income as haulers, even during wartime, by setting up a hauler alt character outside of the corporation. [[File:Bestower.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Amarr Bestower]]You can establish a hauler alt of any race, as described well in this guide: [[Creating an Alt Hauler]].  However, if you set up an alt character for hauling, consider making them Amarr, as they use a very attractive industrial ship, the [[Bestower]], that requires a low level of skills, as follows:
 +
* {{sk|Amarr Industrial|I}}
 +
* {{sk|Spaceship Command|III}}
  
 
With this base level of skills, the Bestower will carry 4,800 m3 of cargo, without any modifications.  Eventually, with maxed out skills, 4 Expanded Cargohold II mods, and 3 Cargo Optimization rigs, the Bestower will carry a whopping 24,114.9 m3.  In short, with an Amarr hauler alt, you can get started quickly, and eventually end up with a very well equipped industrial ship.
 
With this base level of skills, the Bestower will carry 4,800 m3 of cargo, without any modifications.  Eventually, with maxed out skills, 4 Expanded Cargohold II mods, and 3 Cargo Optimization rigs, the Bestower will carry a whopping 24,114.9 m3.  In short, with an Amarr hauler alt, you can get started quickly, and eventually end up with a very well equipped industrial ship.
  
=='''Discover the Value of EVE-Central'''==
+
==Discover the Value of various external tools==
 
 
[[File:MarketUploaderWindow.png|200px|thumb|right|EVE-Central MarketUploader]]The [[Economics|economic]] system in EVE is highly dynamic, driven in large part (but not all) by players, and the resulting supply and demand of goods.  This results in disparities in buying and selling prices, resulting in the opportunity for trade routes, where haulers can buy at a low price in one location and then fulfill demand at a higher price in another.
 
 
 
The hauler's most valuable resource for finding profitable trade routes is the EVE-Central Market Aggregator site [http://eve-central.com/home/]. Register your hauler character there and download the free market data uploader. [http://eve-central.com/home/software.html]  Previous versions of this program required manual exports of in-game market data files, but the current version (2.0) automatically uploads market data from your memory buffer, making it much easier to use.
 
 
 
Using this tool, any hauler can routinely earn 300K ISK or more per trade run in high-sec space with virtually no risk, even with a minimum of capital or experience.  Here is the process:
 
 
 
'''1'''. Base your hauler alt in a system in high-sec with lots of stations - this does not have to be in a [[Trade Hubs|trade hub]] like Jita, Hek or Rens.
 
 
 
'''2'''. Make sure your hauler alt has enough capital to buy trade goods in sufficient quantity. For hauling consumer and industrial goods, you'll need about 10M ISK to start carrying near-full loads. If you don't have that amount on hand, don't worry - you can carry partial loads and you can earn the necessary capital over time.
 
 
 
'''3'''. Start the EVE-Central market uploader program, and use the browser to open the EVE-Central site. Sign into EVE-Central.
 
 
 
[[File:EVEMarketWindow.png|200px|thumb|right|EVE Market Window]]'''4'''. Open the EVE market window from the NeoCom interface, setting the search to Region.
 
 
 
'''5'''. Click on items that have high volumes. You want to select items that people trade in bulk which will fill your freighter hold -- in general, this will be anything that trades with volumes over 10,000 units. Some items are smaller than 1 m3, though, so for these you'll have to look for even bigger volumes.  A good list of market items to review includes, but is not limited to:
 
* Under Ammunition & Charges
 
** Under Standard Charges
 
*** Under Small, Medium and Large
 
**** All of the hybrid charges
 
* Under Manufacture & Research
 
** Under Ore & Minerals
 
*** All of the Minerals
 
** Under Planetary Materials
 
*** All of the Raw Materials
 
* Under Trade Goods:
 
** all of the Consumer Products
 
** all of the Industrial Goods
 
 
 
By clicking on each item to get the detailed market report, you will create files of current market data which the EVE-Central Market Uploader can send to the aggregated database. (Yes, this takes a little time, as it's about 30 items, but it's worth it.)
 
 
 
'''6'''. Alt-TAB (if you are using a PC) to the EVE-Central Market Uploader program. Force a scan of your system for market data files by selecting File/Scan Now - this will upload the most current data to EVE-Central. Eventually, the uploader program does this automatically, but you want to make sure you have added all the latest data, so it's good practice to do this.
 
  
[[File:EVECentralSearch.png|200px|thumb|right|EVE-Central System-Region Search]]'''7'''. Alt-TAB back to EVE, and view the browser to see the EVE-Central website. Select the trade route finder, then select a System to Region search. Enter the name of your current system plus your current region. Confirm the search.
+
The [[Economics|economic]] system in EVE is highly dynamic, driven in large part (but not all) by players, and the resulting supply and demand of goods. This results in disparities in buying and selling prices, resulting in the opportunity for trade routes, where haulers can buy at a low price in one location and then fulfill demand at a higher price in another.  
  
[[File:EVECentralRoutes.png|200px|thumb|right|EVE-Central Trade Routes]]
+
The hauler's most valuable resource for finding profitable trade routes is, among others [https://evetrade.space/ EVE Trade]. EVE Trade pulls buy and sell orders from either a single station, two stations or even two regions for station trading or finding trade routes. This gives you a (reasonably) up-to-date look at the markets all over the universe at a glance.  The process outlined below will show you how to effectively use this website to your financial advantage.  Using this tool, even a starting hauler with minimal skills and capital can routinely earn 300K ISK or more per trade run in high-sec space with virtually no risk.  As your cargo capacity and available capital increase, trade runs worth millions of ISK in profit will become routine.
  
'''8'''. You'll then get a list of all available trade routes from your current system to anything in your region. It's a good idea after your first search to enter your cargo capacity and to click the "filter for security" options - you want to find routes that will fill your ship and which stay in high-sec. Look for trade runs that generate the largest amounts of ISK per trip, and which are short duration. In systems with lots of stations, you will likely discover some good trade runs with 0 jumps! NOTE: be sure to check the volumes of both the seller AND the buyer before you purchase them - EVE-Central will tell you this. You don't want to buy 100,000 of an item only to find that your buyer only wants 20,000.
+
==Using EVE Trade==
  
One important factor to consider before selecting your trade run is sales tax. The universal sales tax rate in EVE is one percent (1%).  EVE-Central does '''not''' include the effect of sales tax in its calculations, and this is a potential trap for haulers carrying low margin goods.  While the vast majority of trade runs in EVE have more than a 1% margin between the buying and selling prices, it is never guaranteed.  Smaller haulers are unlikely to haul low-margin items, since they naturally tend to focus on trading goods that maximize profit per cubic meter (m3) of their very limited cargo space.  But freighters, and haulers with very large capacities, are more likely to select larger volumes of goods at lower margins, so they can fill their expansive holds, and they can get caught more easily in a sales tax trap.
+
Consider the following two points before you embark on your first hauling adventure:
  
For example, let's say that EVE-Central lists a trade run for buying 79.5 million ISK of Robotics, and then selling it at a nearby station for 80 million, showing a net profit of 500 thousand ISK - not bad!  But this does not take in to account the sales tax of 1% on that 80 million ISK sale, which will give you an additional cost of 800 thousand ISK - resulting in a net loss of 300 thousand ISK!  
+
* Try finding quick, zero-jump trade routes in a high-sec system with lots of stations. This does not have to be in a [[Trade Hubs|trade hub]] like Jita, Hek or Rens. In fact, trade hubs tend to have higher turn-over rates in their markets, making online databases frequently out of date for these systems.  If you are starting an Amarr hauling alt, consider a system like Penirgman which has 19 stations and is close to the Amarr starting areas. Zero-jump trade routes won't necessarily be the most profitable per trip, but the trips are very short.
  
A good rule of thumb, therefore, when selecting your trade run is to look at the potential profit margin of the run, and compare it to the original purchase price - ''if the profit is not more than 1% of the purchase price, pass on it'', and find a better run, even if it means one that will not completely fill your cargo hold.
+
* Make sure your hauler alt always has enough capital to buy trade goods in sufficient quantity. For hauling consumer and industrial goods, you'll need about 10M ISK to start carrying near-full loads. If you don't have that amount on hand, don't worry - you can carry partial loads and you can earn the necessary capital over time.  You'll always want to keep a buffer of ISK in your wallet that is sufficient to fill up your cargo hold if you can.  Keep this in mind when you find yourself with enough money to add modules to your ship that increase its capacity, or upgrade your ship altogether.  If you spend a significant portion of your ISK on the modules and/or new ship, you won't have enough left to be able to use the added volume. For those that are starting an Amarr hauling alt, your first upgrade to your Bestower will likely be four Expanded Cargohold IIs (~2M ISK) which will increase your cargo capacity to just over 13,000 cubic meters.
  
'''9'''. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT: Most of the time, EVE-Central provides good trade run suggestions, but it's always a good idea to double-check. Verify that the EVE market window data is the same as the EVE-Central recommended route information. This is why you want to start in a system that is NOT a trade hub. The market in a busy trade hub, such as Jita, can be so volatile that between uploading market data and doing the route search, it can change significantly. Better to do this in relatively quiet systems with more market stability.
+
===Selecting a trade route===
  
'''10'''. If your trade route checks out, buy the items from the station that you will haul. Warp to that station, open Items, and drag them into your ship's cargo hold. Undock, warp to the buyer destination, dock there, unload back into Items, then right-click your items and select "SELL THIS ITEM". Check one last time that the buying price is the same as what you expected from the EVE-Central data - if it does, execute the sale. (If it doesn't, you may want to sell it anyway if it's still profitable. Use the Wallet/Transaction tab to find the price that you bought the item, if you forget.  Be extremely leery about using the Advanced selling option to set your own selling price, as this will apply a broker fee, in addition to the usual sales tax, that can further erode or eliminate your profits.)
+
'''TODO: Add info how to select a good trade route that is less populated and region trading.'''
  
'''11'''. The market window for the item you just bought and sold will now change. Click on that item, Alt-TAB to the uploader program, and use "File/Scan Now" to EVE-Central, so that it has the most current information.
+
# When starting out, it might be a good idea to run hauls between the big trade hubs. Because of how the market works, prices are always different at the different hubs. A good and short route is between Amarr and Jita. A one way trip takes just about 10 minutes, which means the risk for someone else spotting the same profit is relatively low. Always check the details of an item to see detailed buy/sell orders and make sure there is ample demand in the destination station.
 +
# One important factor to consider before selecting your trade run is [[Tax#Sales_tax|sales tax]]. The universal sales tax rate in EVE is two percent (2%), although this can be modified be skills training.  EVE Trade does '''not''' include the effect of sales tax in its calculations, and this is a potential trap for haulers carrying low margin goods. While the vast majority of trade runs in EVE have more than a 2% margin between the buying and selling prices, it is never guaranteed. Smaller haulers are unlikely to haul low-margin items, since they naturally tend to focus on trading goods that maximize profit per cubic meter (m3) of their very limited cargo space.  But freighters, and haulers with very large capacities, are more likely to select larger volumes of goods at lower margins, so they can fill their expansive holds, and they can get caught more easily in a sales tax trap.
 +
# '''THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT''': Most of the time, EVE Trade provides good suggestions for goods, but it's always a good idea to double-check. Click on the details button (little + to the left side of the respective item) and check how much good buy orders exist at your destination station. You don't want anyone else fulfilling all of them while you are still on the way. Another way to do this is are websites that get up to date market information, like [https://www.fuzzwork.co.uk/market/viewer2/#/ this market viewer]. Select your Region in the top left and then search for the item you want to buy or sell. Remember though, that the market in a busy trade hub, such as Jita, can be so volatile that between uploading market data and doing the route search, it can change significantly. One way to avoid this problem is by doing your trading in relatively quiet systems with more market stability. If your trade route ends in a trade hub it might be wise not to invest too much into a single run to avoid huge losses by inaccurate market data.
  
'''12'''. Go to step 7 and repeat for the next few trade runs. Every half-dozen or so trade runs, go back to step 5 to upload refreshed market data on all your target trade items.
+
=== Executing a trade run ===
 +
#If your trade route checks out, make sure you are in the same station as the seller (they should at least be in the same system).
 +
#Buy the items that you will haul. There may be multiple sell orders for that item in the station, make sure you get the right one!  Note that there may also be some cheaper but at a lower volume than what EVE Trade listed—buy these first! Just make sure you end up with the same total item count in the end.  The item will appear in your station hangar.  Drag the item into your cargo hold.  If it doesn't all fit, something has gone wrong with your math and you will need to make multiple trips. 
 +
# Warp to the seller's system and dock at their station.
 +
# Open your cargohold and drag the items to be sold into your station hangar.  Right-click the items to be sold in your station hangar panel and select ''SELL THIS ITEM''. Check one last time that the buying price is the same as what you expected from the EVE Trade data - if it does, execute the sale. (If it doesn't, you may want to sell it anyway if it's still profitable. Use the Wallet/Transaction tab to find the price that you bought the item, if you forget.  Be extremely leery about using the Advanced selling option to set your own selling price, as this will apply a broker fee, in addition to the usual sales tax, that can further erode or eliminate your profits.)
 +
# Go back to the '''Selecting a trade route''' section and repeat for the next few trade runs.
  
=='''What's the payoff?'''==
+
==What's the payoff?==
  
 
Using this process, haulers can easily make 1 million ISK about every 20 minutes - sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Not a bad return for something that is almost risk free.  
 
Using this process, haulers can easily make 1 million ISK about every 20 minutes - sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Not a bad return for something that is almost risk free.  
  
As warned in step 8 above, EVE-Central does not include the effect of sales taxes or broker fees on your transactions.  It's up to you to remember the potential effect that these costs will have on the profitability of your trades.  Fortunately, the 1% standard sales tax is easy to calculate.
+
As warned above, EVE Trade does not include the effect of sales taxes or broker fees on your transactions.  It's up to you to remember the potential effect that these costs will have on the profitability of your trades.  Fortunately, the 1.5% standard sales tax is not hard to calculate.
  
You can reduce the amount of sales tax by training the Accounting skill - this reduces sales tax by ten percent per level.  So, a fully maxed out Accounting level of 5 will cut the standard 1% sales tax by half, resulting in a sales tax rate of one-half percent (0.5%).  However, the Accounting skill is relatively expensive to acquire (about 4.5 million ISK), so you will have to trade a great deal to earn that back from slightly lower sales taxes.
+
You can reduce the amount of sales tax by training the Accounting skill - this reduces sales tax by ten percent per level.  So, a fully maxed out {{sk|Accounting|V}} will cut the standard 1.5% sales tax by half, resulting in a sales tax rate of three-quarters of one percent (0.75%).  However, the Accounting skill is relatively expensive to acquire (about 4.5 million ISK), so you will have to trade a great deal to earn that back from slightly lower sales taxes.
  
Broker fees will also apply if you use the Advanced option in your market trades to set a specific selling price, rather than selling at available market prices (i.e., selecting the "Sell This Item" option and accepting the offered market price).  Broker fees are variable and can double your transaction costs, especially if your standing to the faction of the station where you are trading is poor.  An illustration of the relationship of standings to broker fee can be found here: [http://go-dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/Thoraemond/eve-market-order-broker-fees-20090510.png]  In general, sell at market prices, and don't use the Advanced option when hauling - unless you really know what you are doing, and you believe that your higher potential profits will make the additional broker fee worthwhile.
+
Broker fees will also apply if you use the Advanced option in your market trades to set a specific selling price, rather than selling at available market prices (i.e., selecting the "Sell This Item" option and accepting the offered market price).  Broker fees are variable and can double your transaction costs, especially if your standing to the faction of the station where you are trading is poor.  An illustration of the relationship of standings to broker fee can be found here: [http://dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/Thoraemond/eve-market-order-broker-fees-20110417.png]  In general, sell at market prices, and don't use the Advanced option when hauling - unless you really know what you are doing, and you believe that your higher potential profits will make the additional broker fee worthwhile.
  
You also have to watch out for suicide gankers, of course. To minimize this risk, don't autopilot, warp to 0 between gates, and jump manually. And: insure your ship - always.
+
You also have to watch out for suicide gankers, of course. To minimize this risk, don't stock too much value in your ship, don't autopilot, warp to 0 between gates, use insta-docks/undocks and jump manually. And: insure your ship - always.
  
'''Fly safe!''' o7
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==Further Reading==
 +
* [[Hauling|Hauling guide]]
 +
* Syllabus of E-UNI class [[Hauling 101]]
 +
* [[Eve University Class Library#Hauling|Recording of E-UNI hauling classes]]
 +
* [http://k162space.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/hauling-how-not-to-die/ How not to die when hauling] (2010)
 +
* [http://eve-marketdata.com/ EVE Market Data], [https://evemarketer.com/ EVEMarketer], [https://eve-marketdata.com/ eve-marketdata], [https://www.adam4eve.eu/ Adam4EVE], other handy EVE market databases
  
----------------------
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[[Category:Guides]]
 
+
[[Category:Hauling]]
==Further Reading==
 
* UNI hauling guide: [[Hauling]]
 
* Syllabus of UNI class, Hauling 101: [[Hauling 101]]
 
* Recording of UNI hauling classes: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Eve_University_Class_Library#Hauling
 
* Here's a great feature on "how not to die" when hauling: http://k162space.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/hauling-how-not-to-die/
 
* Another handy EVE market database: http://www.jitonomic.com/
 
* Yet another handy EVE market database: http://eve-marketdata.com/
 
* Yet another very interesting trade route finder - this one uses data only from your own market reports, but also includes a tax effect calculator: http://code.google.com/p/navbot/
 
* Another trade finder based on database from EVE-Central and EVE-Marketdata, but only to major trade hubs: http://eve-tools.org/marketOffersFinder.html
 

Revision as of 17:58, 29 February 2020

This page should be updated due to game changes.
Reason: Eve-central is no more

One way to earn InterStellar Kredits (ISK) is to haul (move) goods from one location to another, buying low and selling high.

Establishing a Hauler Alt Character

Eve University students can make a good income as haulers, even during wartime, by setting up a hauler alt character outside of the corporation.

Amarr Bestower

You can establish a hauler alt of any race, as described well in this guide: Creating an Alt Hauler. However, if you set up an alt character for hauling, consider making them Amarr, as they use a very attractive industrial ship, the Bestower, that requires a low level of skills, as follows:

With this base level of skills, the Bestower will carry 4,800 m3 of cargo, without any modifications. Eventually, with maxed out skills, 4 Expanded Cargohold II mods, and 3 Cargo Optimization rigs, the Bestower will carry a whopping 24,114.9 m3. In short, with an Amarr hauler alt, you can get started quickly, and eventually end up with a very well equipped industrial ship.

Discover the Value of various external tools

The economic system in EVE is highly dynamic, driven in large part (but not all) by players, and the resulting supply and demand of goods. This results in disparities in buying and selling prices, resulting in the opportunity for trade routes, where haulers can buy at a low price in one location and then fulfill demand at a higher price in another.

The hauler's most valuable resource for finding profitable trade routes is, among others EVE Trade. EVE Trade pulls buy and sell orders from either a single station, two stations or even two regions for station trading or finding trade routes. This gives you a (reasonably) up-to-date look at the markets all over the universe at a glance. The process outlined below will show you how to effectively use this website to your financial advantage. Using this tool, even a starting hauler with minimal skills and capital can routinely earn 300K ISK or more per trade run in high-sec space with virtually no risk. As your cargo capacity and available capital increase, trade runs worth millions of ISK in profit will become routine.

Using EVE Trade

Consider the following two points before you embark on your first hauling adventure:

  • Try finding quick, zero-jump trade routes in a high-sec system with lots of stations. This does not have to be in a trade hub like Jita, Hek or Rens. In fact, trade hubs tend to have higher turn-over rates in their markets, making online databases frequently out of date for these systems. If you are starting an Amarr hauling alt, consider a system like Penirgman which has 19 stations and is close to the Amarr starting areas. Zero-jump trade routes won't necessarily be the most profitable per trip, but the trips are very short.
  • Make sure your hauler alt always has enough capital to buy trade goods in sufficient quantity. For hauling consumer and industrial goods, you'll need about 10M ISK to start carrying near-full loads. If you don't have that amount on hand, don't worry - you can carry partial loads and you can earn the necessary capital over time. You'll always want to keep a buffer of ISK in your wallet that is sufficient to fill up your cargo hold if you can. Keep this in mind when you find yourself with enough money to add modules to your ship that increase its capacity, or upgrade your ship altogether. If you spend a significant portion of your ISK on the modules and/or new ship, you won't have enough left to be able to use the added volume. For those that are starting an Amarr hauling alt, your first upgrade to your Bestower will likely be four Expanded Cargohold IIs (~2M ISK) which will increase your cargo capacity to just over 13,000 cubic meters.

Selecting a trade route

TODO: Add info how to select a good trade route that is less populated and region trading.

  1. When starting out, it might be a good idea to run hauls between the big trade hubs. Because of how the market works, prices are always different at the different hubs. A good and short route is between Amarr and Jita. A one way trip takes just about 10 minutes, which means the risk for someone else spotting the same profit is relatively low. Always check the details of an item to see detailed buy/sell orders and make sure there is ample demand in the destination station.
  2. One important factor to consider before selecting your trade run is sales tax. The universal sales tax rate in EVE is two percent (2%), although this can be modified be skills training. EVE Trade does not include the effect of sales tax in its calculations, and this is a potential trap for haulers carrying low margin goods. While the vast majority of trade runs in EVE have more than a 2% margin between the buying and selling prices, it is never guaranteed. Smaller haulers are unlikely to haul low-margin items, since they naturally tend to focus on trading goods that maximize profit per cubic meter (m3) of their very limited cargo space. But freighters, and haulers with very large capacities, are more likely to select larger volumes of goods at lower margins, so they can fill their expansive holds, and they can get caught more easily in a sales tax trap.
  3. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT: Most of the time, EVE Trade provides good suggestions for goods, but it's always a good idea to double-check. Click on the details button (little + to the left side of the respective item) and check how much good buy orders exist at your destination station. You don't want anyone else fulfilling all of them while you are still on the way. Another way to do this is are websites that get up to date market information, like this market viewer. Select your Region in the top left and then search for the item you want to buy or sell. Remember though, that the market in a busy trade hub, such as Jita, can be so volatile that between uploading market data and doing the route search, it can change significantly. One way to avoid this problem is by doing your trading in relatively quiet systems with more market stability. If your trade route ends in a trade hub it might be wise not to invest too much into a single run to avoid huge losses by inaccurate market data.

Executing a trade run

  1. If your trade route checks out, make sure you are in the same station as the seller (they should at least be in the same system).
  2. Buy the items that you will haul. There may be multiple sell orders for that item in the station, make sure you get the right one! Note that there may also be some cheaper but at a lower volume than what EVE Trade listed—buy these first! Just make sure you end up with the same total item count in the end. The item will appear in your station hangar. Drag the item into your cargo hold. If it doesn't all fit, something has gone wrong with your math and you will need to make multiple trips.
  3. Warp to the seller's system and dock at their station.
  4. Open your cargohold and drag the items to be sold into your station hangar. Right-click the items to be sold in your station hangar panel and select SELL THIS ITEM. Check one last time that the buying price is the same as what you expected from the EVE Trade data - if it does, execute the sale. (If it doesn't, you may want to sell it anyway if it's still profitable. Use the Wallet/Transaction tab to find the price that you bought the item, if you forget. Be extremely leery about using the Advanced selling option to set your own selling price, as this will apply a broker fee, in addition to the usual sales tax, that can further erode or eliminate your profits.)
  5. Go back to the Selecting a trade route section and repeat for the next few trade runs.

What's the payoff?

Using this process, haulers can easily make 1 million ISK about every 20 minutes - sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Not a bad return for something that is almost risk free.

As warned above, EVE Trade does not include the effect of sales taxes or broker fees on your transactions. It's up to you to remember the potential effect that these costs will have on the profitability of your trades. Fortunately, the 1.5% standard sales tax is not hard to calculate.

You can reduce the amount of sales tax by training the Accounting skill - this reduces sales tax by ten percent per level. So, a fully maxed out Accounting V will cut the standard 1.5% sales tax by half, resulting in a sales tax rate of three-quarters of one percent (0.75%). However, the Accounting skill is relatively expensive to acquire (about 4.5 million ISK), so you will have to trade a great deal to earn that back from slightly lower sales taxes.

Broker fees will also apply if you use the Advanced option in your market trades to set a specific selling price, rather than selling at available market prices (i.e., selecting the "Sell This Item" option and accepting the offered market price). Broker fees are variable and can double your transaction costs, especially if your standing to the faction of the station where you are trading is poor. An illustration of the relationship of standings to broker fee can be found here: [1] In general, sell at market prices, and don't use the Advanced option when hauling - unless you really know what you are doing, and you believe that your higher potential profits will make the additional broker fee worthwhile.

You also have to watch out for suicide gankers, of course. To minimize this risk, don't stock too much value in your ship, don't autopilot, warp to 0 between gates, use insta-docks/undocks and jump manually. And: insure your ship - always.

Further Reading