Importing 101 [Brave Collective]

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=====Importing 101=====

===What is Importing?===
Importing is the act of stocking a market. Broadly speaking, it is done by purchasing and transporting goods from a trade hub like Jita
and listing them for sale on the market at a slight markup.

==Why import?==
Importing is important and convenient for several reasons.

  * It scales with wealth. The more you have to invest, the more you potentially can make.
  * Markets in nullsec don't always have the materials needed to produce needed items.
  * It can be done without training any skills.
  * It helps keep pilots in ships, which is important for the alliance.

===How to import items===
==Step 1: finding what to import==
This is inevitably the biggest question you get from folks looking to start importing. You're never going to get a straight answer
of "Import this exact thing" for many reasons such as the markets change and it could be outdated, people don't want to split their market share,
you may have different expectations of trade velocity and the amount of isk you want tied up/risk you want to take,
and you may not have the buying power for certain items. There are some definite guidelines and things to watch for though to identify potential items.

  *Be on slack and in the #indybros-public channel. People will often throw requests for things there. If it gets mentioned you may want to look into it
  //but beware everyone else in channel will also take note//  
  *Meta modules cannot be produced (stuff that isn't just "module name I" but isn't tech II or blingy. show info on it and the meta level should be between 2 and 4) This often makes them great candidates for importing. Be wary though, not every variant is commonly used. Check item volumes to get an idea of demand.
  *Items used in alliance fleet doctrines are often in high demand and can make for decent starting points. Margins can be tighter in these items though.
to see lists of doctrine items and stock levels!
  *If you have the ISK to invest importing a blingy item or two can help make a tidy profit, and you can usually go for a bit extra of a markup.

In addition to tips like the above you'll generally want to avoid tech I items as they can be produced and undercut you pretty easily. Tech I ship hulls especially are almost never a good importing decision.
As you get accustomed to the types of things that sell you will be able to find more options as well. Pay attention to the volume of an item (insert picture here). Does it sell often? When it sells, how many sell?
Is there a lot of competition on market relative to the volume? These are the types of questions you'll find yourself thinking about as you start evaluating items for importing. The answers to which
will depend entirely on your personal preferences and tolerances for those criteria. If its a low volume item with limited competition you can make a tidy profit, but it may sit for quite some time, or
if plenty sell a day but there are a lot of other sellers you may come in and get undercut after only a few sales. Find what you're comfortable with and keep track of it!

**Ideally though you are looking for items that have medium to low competition, decent volume, and are priced so that you can buy in a trade hub, mark up the price, and still come in at around equal to or a bit under competitors**
High competition markets are viable, but require lower margins and a bit more wherewithal to see it through.
 
==Step 2: Buying the items==
This is the easy part. Generally you will want to do your purchasing on a market toon or alt that is parked in a trade hub.
Which trade hub doesn't matter too much, though some have advantages over others. Just a character you don't have to move around much
that you can have do a buy all. 
  
EDITS STILL IN PROGRESS - Max
  
  
   - Purchase said items in Amarr or Jita. I prefer Jita
   - Transport them to Elgoi by using public couriers, txi ( https://www.trinity-x-industries.com/high-sec-services/ ) or doing it yourself.
   - Use BLT to get it moved to our Nullsec staging [::public:alliance:logistics:jf:how-to-use?s[]=freight | BLT wiki]], http://freight.bravecollective.com/ (use after)
   - Put items on the market for a price higher than what you paid including hauling costs, don't forget taxes.
   - [Optional] Update your orders to stay top order to maximise sales, just don't make a loss in doing so.
   - Profit :isk:

(Go to #indybros-public for more advice)