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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about ISK Scout — covering general usage, trade routes, hauling, courier contracts, reprocessing, manufacturing, and market analysis. Each section corresponds to one tool page.

General

Is ISK Scout really free?
Yes — every feature is free, with no ads or paid tier. Routes, couriers, reprocessing, and manufacturing analysis are fully usable without an account. EVE SSO login is optional and only enables personalized features like My Orders tracking and skill-based auto-fill.
Is connecting my EVE account safe?
We use the standard EVE SSO OAuth2 with PKCE — your password never reaches us, only the access tokens CCP issues. Tokens are stored encrypted, scoped to the minimum ESI permissions needed (wallet, orders, skills, ship, assets). You can revoke access anytime via the official EVE Third-Party Applications page.
How is ISK Scout different from evetrade.space or Adam4EVE?
Existing tools compare prices between hubs at the top-of-book or median level. ISK Scout simulates the full order book to exclude loss zones automatically, and weighs reliability grades, gatecamp risk, and cargo efficiency together — so displayed profit is closer to what you can actually take home. Couriers, reprocessing, manufacturing, and technical analysis are also handled in one tool.
How often is the data updated?
Market orders refresh every 5 minutes, matching ESI's cache window. Trade history refreshes hourly. All analyses (routes, couriers, reprocessing, manufacturing) are precomputed every 5 minutes in the background and served from cache for instant response.
Which trade hubs are supported?
All five majors: Jita 4-4 (The Forge), Amarr VIII (Domain), Dodixie IX (Sinq Laison), Rens VI (Heimatar), and Hek VIII (Metropolis). Active remote stations are auto-discovered and analyzed alongside.

Trade Routes

Is ISK Scout free to use?
Yes. ISK Scout is free for all EVE Online players. You can browse routes, run reprocessing and manufacturing analysis, and use the cargo optimizer without an account. Logging in with EVE SSO unlocks personalized features like My Orders tracking and skill-based tax/fee auto-fill.
How is this different from evetrade.space?
evetrade.space compares prices between hubs based on top-of-book or median values. ISK Scout simulates order matching across the full order book, so it excludes trades where the destination buy orders lack depth or where you'd enter a loss zone partway through — the displayed profit is closer to what you can realistically take home.
How often is the market data updated?
Market data refreshes every 5 minutes from CCP's ESI API. Route summaries, courier routes, reprocessing, and manufacturing analyses are precomputed every 5 minutes and served from cache for instant response.
What does the reliability grade mean?
A through F. A = deep order book, top order represents under 30% of volume, prices within historical range. F = thin book, single dominant order, or out-of-range prices. Grade C and above is usually safe for normal trading.
Which trade hubs are supported?
Major hubs: Jita 4-4 (The Forge), Amarr VIII (Domain), Dodixie IX (Sinq Laison), Rens VI (Heimatar), and Hek VIII (Metropolis). Auto-discovered remote stations with active markets are also covered.

Synergy & Round Trip Hauling

Round trip vs one way — what's the difference?
One way is A→B and stop. Round trip means A→B then B→A with trades both ways — double the volume for the same jump count. ISK Scout automatically adds forward-leg profit to the return-leg budget so capital compounds.
When should I use chain mode?
A→B→C→A loops. Useful when good margins are scattered across multiple pairs rather than concentrated on a single round trip. The downside is longer routes mean more risk exposure — the tool factors gatecamp detection into the score.
How is the score calculated?
Jump efficiency (35%) + total profit (25%) + ISK per hour (25%) + mode bonus (round trip +10%, chain +15%) − risk penalty. The balanced weighting recommends routes by time/risk efficiency, not just raw profit.
Can I run round trips with limited capital?
Yes. The tool selects forward-leg items that fit your budget, then expands the return-leg budget by adding forward-leg profit. Start with 100M ISK; if you net 50M forward, the return leg loads with 150M.

Courier Contracts

How much collateral is safe?
We recommend keeping any single contract under 30% of your liquid ISK. If the cargo is lost, that collateral is gone — never wager more than half your capital on a single hop. For high-risk routes, the tool auto-suggests splits that keep individual exposure under 10% of capital.
How is the risk score calculated?
Aggregated from each waypoint system's security level, recent ship/pod kills, and kills-per-jump ratio (0–100). Under 30 = safe, 31–60 = caution, 61+ = dangerous. Gatecamp detection adds extra weight when pod-kill ratio and hourly kill frequency are both elevated.
How does contract splitting work?
Based on risk and cargo volume, the tool recommends breaking one contract into N smaller ones. Splitting a 100M collateral contract into four 25M contracts caps a single loss at 25M. The tool computes the optimal split count and per-contract reward.
How is the reward set?
Base 2% fee (configurable) + weighting by volume, distance, and risk. If the reward is too low the client won't accept, so the tool also shows the market-average reward for similar routes to help you price competitively.

Reprocessing

Which skills matter most for reprocessing profit?
Reprocessing (+3%/level, all materials), Reprocessing Efficiency (+2%/level, all materials), and Scrapmetal Processing (+2%/level, modules and ammo only). If you're focused on module/ammo reprocessing, Scrapmetal Processing V is the highest-leverage skill to train first.
What does 50% station yield mean?
The base reprocessing efficiency at NPC stations. Process 100 units of ore, get back 50 units of refined minerals. High-sec citadels usually offer 50–52%, low-sec NPC stations 50%, null-sec citadels up to 56%.
Which item types are usually profitable to reprocess?
T1 modules, ships, and ammo frequently exceed their market price as recovered minerals. T2 modules vary based on small morphite (T2 byproduct) yields. Ore prices fluctuate daily with mining activity.
When does Scrapmetal Processing apply?
Only when reprocessing modules, ammo, and items (excluding ore and ice). Ore and ice use Reprocessing plus the type-specific skill (e.g., Veldspar Processing).

Manufacturing

How much does ME (Material Efficiency) affect profit?
1% material cost reduction per ME level (ME 10 = −10% materials). For ships and structures where material cost dominates, the gap between ME 0 and ME 10 often crosses the break-even line — it's worth researching BPCs or your BPO before producing.
How is job cost calculated?
Job cost = estimated value × system cost index × 1.0 (NPC station) or with citadel bonus applied. The system cost index fluctuates with manufacturing activity in that system — Jita is expensive, outer systems are cheap.
Are taxes and fees applied automatically?
When logged in via EVE SSO, your character's Accounting and Broker Relations skill levels apply automatically. Without login, you can adjust defaults (3.6% sales tax, 3% broker fee) manually.
Which items are most profitable to manufacture?
T1 ships, drones, and launchers usually have stable margins. T2 modules and ships swing more due to invention costs. Margins also shift seasonally — monitor the 5-minute updates daily for entries and exits.

Market Analysis

How do I read RSI?
Above 70 = overbought (consider selling), below 30 = oversold (consider buying), 30–70 = neutral. The 14-day standard works, but EVE markets often spike post-patch — so a more conservative 25/75 threshold reduces false positives compared to 30/70.
When are Bollinger Bands useful?
20-day moving average ± 2 standard deviations. Price breaking the upper band signals short-term overheat; breaking the lower band signals oversold conditions. Narrowing band width often precedes volatility expansion — frequently seen right before patch announcements.
Does technical analysis actually work in EVE?
It complements fundamental analysis (production cost, item usage) rather than replacing it. For short-term trading and station trading, RSI and MACD give cleaner entry/exit timing than raw bid/ask comparison and reduce noise.