I am currently exploring different methods of making ISK in the game, and would like to hear out some advice from more experienced pilots about going forward.
Basically, I am currently making 300-400m ISK per month doing manufacturing. I am looking for more lucrative projects once I get a couple billions in my wallet.
Below are what I am looking for:
1, The method has relatively stable or at least manageable risk. In other words, it is not entirely luck-based.
2, The method should be doable either alone, or in an almost independent manner in a corporation.
Please assume that I have low levels across the board.
If you don’t already have PI set up on 6 to 18 planets, you’re missing out on a ton of passive ISK. You can also have up to 33 research/copy/invent slots per account. Use those to sell max researched BPO’s, BPC’s for invention.
You’re unlikely to get exact details, because people won’t want competition (you) cutting into their own profits.
In general, the lower-sec you go, the better the rewards, with (of course) risk of PVP.
You’re not making money from manufacturing, you’re making money from selling / trading the things you’ve manufactured. It’s an important distinction because you can increase your profits if you do better / more efficient trading, and it’s possible to, at some point, eliminate the manufacturing altogether and profit from just trading.
But anyway, in general:
Slow and steady, predictable income methods - mining, agent missions, manufacturing, PI, skill farming
Typically, people go from a slow-steady method to market trading, once they get past a certain amount of ISK, but if you’re good at the luck-based schemes (scamming, for example, or market trading based on guessing CCP’s upcoming nerfs / buffs and then cornering the markets on patch day), those can be VERY lucrative.
If you enjoy manufacturing - keep doing it. It scales well and with careful product selection and participating in a few more links of the value chain you can increase your profits into billions per month with a single account but you will need multiple characters. You’ll also need to train science, production, trade, social and planet management skills which may not be practical if you’re looking at industry as secondary income for a combat character.
You will need a shared corporate hanger. The corporation you belong to may grant this access or you may need to setup a personal ALT corp for industry.
You can mine and refine your own minerals but this is time consuming and minerals are cheap. If you enjoy mining - go for it.
PI is a background activity that all characters should be setup for. Even casual participation can easily earn 100 million/character/month. Double that if you work at it.
For T2 manufacturing, make your own advanced components. Profit margins will fluctuate but I’m currently making components for 25%-30% less than it would cost me to buy them.
Sell stuff yourself in smaller trade hubs. Don’t sell to buy orders. The smaller hubs tend to be lower volume but higher margin than Jita - which is a good combination if you are a small manufacturer.
If you make small stuff - ammo, drones, modules - you can easily do your own hauling using a blockade runners.
As mentioned by others, you also have research slots. I sell blueprint copies on contract.
There are other models. I know this one works because I’ve been using it for several years.
Selling researched/used BPOs or BPCs is done using the contract system. The best you can do is watching what other players charge for the prints using the contract search. Once you found those players, you can check their public contract history (from the burger menu on the char sheet) to get a feeling about number of sales and price development. But as everything else market related, it’s PvP and you need to find your niche.