It makes no sense to me that some products are soooooo greatly priced high (or low) for buying/selling at certain trade hub areas than others in hi sec space.
And how some items just aren’t available at all in some hi sec regions.
Ex: For the current (as of writing this) Egg Hunt you need fireworks and a launcher. Plentiful and cheap in and around the Jita system. But rare to find in Gallante space and even when found incredibly higher priced!
I understand some things will be more/less plentiful in some areas than others, and some price difference. But I would expect the major trading areas in hi sec to be mostly well stocked, and mostly evenly priced. When you get out into low sec and nullsec then I would expect fewer items and higher prices.
Market is driven by players, if nobody sell stuff, you can’t buy it. Prices are set by players too. Every market entry you see in EvE (with few exceptions not relevant here) comes from another player.
As a trader or manufacturer you want your stuff listed where many customers buy, which in highsec are the big tradehubs. If you see an opportunity for profit elsewhere nobody stops you to fill the gap.
Well the market is player driven, and certain mechanics influence player behavior. For example, players have limited market slots. So, it doesn’t make a lot sense for them to sell low volume items at reasonable prices in random backwood regions, as that market slot isn’t going to generate very much money for them. Thus, in order to increase profits, they can (1) sell that item in a busy trade hub in order maximize sell volume, (2) jack up the price, or (3) sell something else with a better margins and sell volumes.
On Jita prices:
Jita’s large customer base attracts a lot of industrialists. This results in plenty of supply, which puts downward pressure on prices. However, the industrialists who sell out of Jita don’t mind because they tend to have lower production costs and because they can make up for the slimmer margins with the greatly increased sell volume.
On Jita Item Availability:
Lots of items have low sell volumes. So, if you want to move your product in a reasonable time frame, you’d want to list it somewhere with a large customer base. And since people know Jita has the best item availability, they tend to go there when they need rarer stuff -which, of course, results in a positive feedback loop.
On price gouging:
Prices in market hubs can vary, but they tend to have enough competition to keep prices reasonable. All bets are off, however, once you start shopping at more remote stations. If there’s only one guy selling something, he can pretty much set his price. He just has to keep it low enough that most people don’t say, “F that, I’d rather make the trip to Dodixie or Jita.”
Anyway, I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea.
