Thats it??? i made 44K a run doing Exotic Food from Cambridge to Manhatten, 37 Waypoints.

I found one using the FCC program. This is after having gone through every single commodity. This is probably the most profitable trade route.

It yields 1600 profit per unit, and the route is quite short too, at 3 system jumps.
I don't think anything beats this.

I have not had the time to try out yet, so do let me know what I've missed out.
Maybe the inter system travel is very hazardous?
You have to be at least neutral with the various factions though.

Start at Freeport 9 in Omicron Theta(Zoners).
Buy Alien Organisms for 400 each.
Jump to Omega 41.
Jump to Omega 5.
Jump to Cambridge, go to the Cambridge Research Station (Cryer)
Sell Alien Organisms for 2000 each.

On the return trip, buy pharmaceuticals.
Jump to Omega 5.
Jump to Leon Base (Corsairs) in Omega 41.
Sell Phamaceuticals for a profit of 543 each.
Jump to Freeport 9 in Omicron Theta. (Nothing to buy in Leon to here)
Repeat.

For me, the marquee one-way trip is alien organisms from Ruiz base to california minor. $1900 per unit not counting spoilage. It really helps to have a large freighter, and be neutral/friendly with corsairs In a dromeday, you end up selling the aliens for $500,000 profit.

Here's the full mammajamma trip:

Ruiz Base -> Cali minor (aliens) $1900/unit*
Cali minor -> Los Angeles (empty)
Los Angeles -> Baltimore Shipyard (gold) $102/unit
Fort Bush -> Cambridge (optronics) $769/unit
Cambridge -> Hawaii (luxury food) $1440/unit*
Repeat

It's a long, long, long trip. I do it if I want to feel like some kind of cargo-hauling badass.

ER

KOOL.. !! thanks alot, well, it probably cuz i was thining diamonds as teh most expensive stuff around so i just tried that, nothing else. but then again, i haven't bothered to explore the rest of the sirius system, so u guys would kno better. well, anyway, thx alot.

presently, my world is upside down, so if u do not mind, u'll have to tok to my a$$

Here are some good runs I found in Bretonia space with Freelancer Cargo Computer. It has a cool feature that allows you to sort by profit per cargo unit, so do that and rule out all the drug running and such to bases you're not friendly with, and take the best thing that's available after that.

It takes money to make money. Depending on how much money you've got, different routes are the most profitable for you. The more money you can invest in buying stuff, the better the runs that become available.

When you get to Leeds in Bretonia, buy a Clydesdale. Then load up on Light Arms and go to Durham Outpost. This is only 1 tradelane jump away, you only get lane-hacked like 1 out of 4-5 trips, and a full load nets you nearly $8k. Fly back to Leeds empty and do it several times until you have about $120K. This is enough cash to really make money.

Because this trip is so short and safe, you can make more money in less time this way than you can making multi-stop runs. For instance, I started out with a complex circle route hitting places in Manchester, New London, and Leeds, that netted about $65k, but it took way longer than doing the Leeds-Durham run 8 times, plus you had to fight nearly every inch of the way and the money spent doing that ate into profits.

Anyway, once you have a bit over $120K, then you go back to Planet Leeds and buy a full load of Optronics. Take them to Planet Cambridge and net about $42k. At Planet Cambridge, load up on Diamonds and go back to Planet Leeds for another $50k or so. IOW, just flying back and forth between Planet Leeds and Planet Cambridge gets you a bit over $90k per round trip.

This route is 13 waypoints but is pretty safe. It goes Planet Leeds - Jump Gate - Stokes - Planet Dover - Jump Gate - Planet Cambridge. I only get lane-hacked about 1 out of 3-4 trips, always between Stokes and Dover. There is usually a fight going on at Stokes when I pass by but they ignore me and even if I get cruise-disrupted I can still afterburn to the tradelane without any ill effects. Give it a try.

I've heard there's a jump hole between Leeds and Cambridge, which would make the trip shorter, but I've yet to find it.




-Bullethead

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria

Covered in many other threads but here it is again. Trade in general will yeild more for distance. The problem is time. A trader wants the best yield per unit of time. As time is money. There are 2 fast routes that make high yields, both are in part illegal trades. You will need to be on neutral or better terms with some of the less savory types. Also if you plan on trading get the Dromedary freighter. It is the best in the game. The humpback looks tougher on paper but the thing handles like a whale on the beach to the Dromedarys whale in the ocean. OK here are the 2 quick routes.

In Liberty
Mactan base --> New york gate --> Texas jump hole --> Beaumont Base and back

Cardimine from mactan to Beaumont, Engine components from Beaumont to Mactan. Yield is 1139 per cargo unit per round trip. The law will never give you a problem.

In Reinland
Planet New Berlin --> sigma 13 Jump hole --> Yanagi Base and back

Engine components from New Berlin to Yanagi and Cardimine from Yanagi to New Berlin. The yield is 1138 per cargo unit per round trip. Use the trade lane to get to and from the jump hole less than 3k from it. The law may want to check your cargo in New Berlin but you should have pleanty of time to get on planet before they go hostile on you. This is the faster of the 2 routes but the bad guys are tougher if they don't like you.

I have done both and to make cash fast I like the Berlin run best, the badlands are apply named traveling through it is just not fun.

If you want to stay strickly legit you will want to do some variation of the New Berlin --> Sigma 13 --> Chugoku --> Honshu --> New Tokyo and back to The Ring (base next to New Berlin) with Diamonds and Niobium. Takes much longer but yields 2182 per cargo unit per round trip. If you go to Dresdan system you can get a yield of 2408 per cargo unit per round trip at the expense of more time.

i got a pretty good route too
roppongi Station (New Tokyo system, right next to Planet New Tokyo)
buy Luxery Consumer Goods for 810/crate
sell em at Ainu Depot (Hokkaidu) for 1440/crate
buy Cardamine for 475/crate
sell em at Roppongi Station for 810/crate

thats 965/crate profit for the distance of 3 trade lanes (together about 150k distance), 1 JG and 30k cruise to ainu depot (no trade lanes in hokkaidu)

if u have trouble finding ainu depot: once u arrive in hokkaidu by taking the jumpgate in new tokyo u go up on the navmap to find Sapporo station
from there go straight to the left and u ll end up about in the middle between a jumphole to kyushu and ainu depot
it should be visible on your map by the time u arrive there

i worked out some more trade routes
note: these are SINGLE trade routes
i didnt include a return route

but they earn a lot of cash so if u like em u can find a return route yourself and make even more money

the profit is when u use the dromedary (275 cargo)
i only included the number of jumpgates u need to take so u might check the routes more in detail to see how many trade lanes or free flight u need to do (if there are no tradelanes)


Planet Honshu (Honshu // Police) --> Arranmore Base (Dublin // Mollys)
engine components (371250$) // 6 jumpgates

Freital Base (Omega 11 // Red Hessians)--> Planet New Tokyo (New Tokyo // Police)
diamonds (399300$) // 10 jumpgates

Planet Malta (Omicron Alpha // Outcasts) --> Planet Manhattan (New York // Police)
cardamine (330000$) // 8 jumpgates

Planet Manhattan (New York // Police) --> Ainu Depot (Hokkaidu // GC)
luxery consumer goods (346500$) // 5 jumpgates

The only thing that counts is $/hour. On my favourite trade route from new berlin to yanagi depot I earn about 3 mio per hour.

Does anyone know a trade route that is better?

Ok this is what I do

Colorado, Planet Denver you buy Optronic 462 and Sell to
Cambridge, Planet Cambridge for 1.329 = $216,750 (Humpback)
Then
Cambridge, Planet Cambridge you buy Luxury Food(Steaks)160 and sell to
Colorado, Planet Denver for 1.360 = $297,500(Humpback)
Thats 514,250 a round trip, do it 4 times round trip and you got 2G+
Downside
5 Systems and the Steaks are perishable, but its a round trip and its a blast
when your a couple of freighters racing and the last one has to pay 20k to the winner

alright, I'll let go of my secret trade run...

requires rep with corsairs/bretonia:

cadiz base/omega5 - artifacts -> new london : buy 135 sell 1200
new london - light arms -> leon base/omega41 : buy 350 sell 1275

15-18 mins round trip, net in dromedary is around 500k