Trading Guide
1. Trading Laws
Firstly, you must make sure you trade within the legal trade rates so you aren't banned for pushing. In universes 1 - 20 the legal trade rates are between 3:2:1 and 1,5:1:1 and in universes from 21 on, the legal trade rates are between 3:2:1 and 2:1:1.
Note that if you are ranked lower, you are allowed to sell your resources for a higher price. That is called pulling and is legal, however, due to a high price, no one will be willing to buy your resources that expensive. Check the trade section of your universe to see what are the regular prices at that time to know what is the best price you can set.
This guide is based on the highest legal rates 3:2:1 and 2:1:1. The closer to those ratios you buy/sell resources, the most profit you can make.
Important - pushing rule: *link to the pushing rule*
2. Trade scams
You're in risk to be scammed when you're a higher ranked player in trade. As you can send the lower ranked player anything without issues about legality, lower ranked player may scam you. Game staff can't help you here, so you have to take some things into account:
Quoted
It's simple. When trading resources ALWAYS MAKE SURE that the LOWER ranked players' resources arrive to the higher ranked player FIRST. This way the higher ranked player is forced to send something tangible in return or both higher and lower ranked accounts will be banned for pushing.
We are seeing many incidents of low ranked players scamming higher ranked players because the higher ranked player always sends his resources first.
This way the higher ranked player is forced to send something tangible in return to honor the trade or else both accounts involved will be banned for pushing. Once a ban for pushing is over the pushed resources must be either returned or traded for at the available trade rates
Source: board.ogame.org/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=400946
3. Trading Basics
The strategy of trading is that people make two or more transactions to end up increasing the number of resource units they began with. The basic and most logical rule is "sell expensive and buy cheap".
A basic trade will look like this:
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1
This trade, at the best trade rates possible will double your Deuterium at the start. (100% Profit).
4. What is a good and what a bad trade ratio?
k = 1.000 units
kk = 1.000.000 units
Sell metal, buy crystal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk metal would get you 667k crystal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk metal would only get you 500k crystal)
Sell metal, buy deuterium:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk metal would get you 500k deuterium), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk metal would only get you 333k deuterium)
Sell crystal, buy metal:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk crystal would get you 2kk metal), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk crystal wold only get you 1,5kk metal)
Sell crystal, buy deuterium:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk crystal would get you 1kk deuterium), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk crystal would only get you 500k deuterium)
Sell deuterium, buy metal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk deuterium would get you 3kk metal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk deuterium would only get you 2kk metal)
Sell deuterium, buy crystal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk deuterium would get you 2kk crystal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk deuterium will only get you 1kk crystal)
The closer to the good ratio you are, the better the trade.
Trades are usually a bit above ratio 2:1:1. Normally the rates are higher in new unis as it's more active and more players are trying to profit out of the trades, You need to be careful not to trade for a too high ratio though. There's been some trade rates like 2,2:1:1 where a player was selling metal and buying crystal. That ratio is not legal as metal is worth more than in the highest allowed trade rates 3:2:1 and 2:1:1 and will get you banned for pushing if the higher ranked player is the one profiting.
You may also not trade for a ratio ie 3:1:1 as metal would be too expensive compared to crystal.
You always need to calculate if a trade rate is good before you agree to trade.
5. Increasing Your Profit
As you need to increase your profit, you need to make more trades for the same resources, the more trades you make for the best possible ratios, the most profit you can gain.
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 2 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 2 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 4 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 4 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 8 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 8 Deut
If you start with 1kk deut, you end up with 8kk deut.
When you cannot get ahold of crystal, use metal. You get less profit, but it is easier to source. The example below is where you can field only one crystal seller.
* Deuterium > Metal in 3:2:1 3 Metal
* Metal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 1.5 Deut
* Deuterium > Metal in 3:2:1 4.5 Metal
* Metal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 2.25 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 4.5 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 4.5 Deut
If you start with 1kk deut, you end up with 4,5kk deut.
Note! Trading all resources with only one preson all the time is not allowed as it's pushing. You may sell your deuterium to one person all the time and but deuterium from a different person all the time though.
Note: Never cheat on a trade agreement, do it once and your reputation is burned, that means no more trading.
6. Merchant
Merchant will buy your resources based on a ratio 3:2:1, which is normally higher than you could get from players. This method can be used when gaining profit via trades, but it includes having a lot of regular deut sellers. You can't make a profit just with a merchant - players have to be involved. Also, note that "merchant abusers" (players who use merchant to gain profit) are not appreciated by the majority of players.
1. Trading Laws
Firstly, you must make sure you trade within the legal trade rates so you aren't banned for pushing. In universes 1 - 20 the legal trade rates are between 3:2:1 and 1,5:1:1 and in universes from 21 on, the legal trade rates are between 3:2:1 and 2:1:1.
Note that if you are ranked lower, you are allowed to sell your resources for a higher price. That is called pulling and is legal, however, due to a high price, no one will be willing to buy your resources that expensive. Check the trade section of your universe to see what are the regular prices at that time to know what is the best price you can set.
This guide is based on the highest legal rates 3:2:1 and 2:1:1. The closer to those ratios you buy/sell resources, the most profit you can make.
Important - pushing rule: *link to the pushing rule*
2. Trade scams
You're in risk to be scammed when you're a higher ranked player in trade. As you can send the lower ranked player anything without issues about legality, lower ranked player may scam you. Game staff can't help you here, so you have to take some things into account:
Quoted
It's simple. When trading resources ALWAYS MAKE SURE that the LOWER ranked players' resources arrive to the higher ranked player FIRST. This way the higher ranked player is forced to send something tangible in return or both higher and lower ranked accounts will be banned for pushing.
We are seeing many incidents of low ranked players scamming higher ranked players because the higher ranked player always sends his resources first.
This way the higher ranked player is forced to send something tangible in return to honor the trade or else both accounts involved will be banned for pushing. Once a ban for pushing is over the pushed resources must be either returned or traded for at the available trade rates
Source: board.ogame.org/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=400946
3. Trading Basics
The strategy of trading is that people make two or more transactions to end up increasing the number of resource units they began with. The basic and most logical rule is "sell expensive and buy cheap".
A basic trade will look like this:
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1
This trade, at the best trade rates possible will double your Deuterium at the start. (100% Profit).
4. What is a good and what a bad trade ratio?
k = 1.000 units
kk = 1.000.000 units
Sell metal, buy crystal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk metal would get you 667k crystal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk metal would only get you 500k crystal)
Sell metal, buy deuterium:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk metal would get you 500k deuterium), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk metal would only get you 333k deuterium)
Sell crystal, buy metal:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk crystal would get you 2kk metal), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk crystal wold only get you 1,5kk metal)
Sell crystal, buy deuterium:
good ratio 2:1:1 (1kk crystal would get you 1kk deuterium), bad ratio 3:2:1 (1kk crystal would only get you 500k deuterium)
Sell deuterium, buy metal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk deuterium would get you 3kk metal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk deuterium would only get you 2kk metal)
Sell deuterium, buy crystal:
good ratio 3:2:1 (1kk deuterium would get you 2kk crystal), bad ratio 2:1:1 (1kk deuterium will only get you 1kk crystal)
The closer to the good ratio you are, the better the trade.
Trades are usually a bit above ratio 2:1:1. Normally the rates are higher in new unis as it's more active and more players are trying to profit out of the trades, You need to be careful not to trade for a too high ratio though. There's been some trade rates like 2,2:1:1 where a player was selling metal and buying crystal. That ratio is not legal as metal is worth more than in the highest allowed trade rates 3:2:1 and 2:1:1 and will get you banned for pushing if the higher ranked player is the one profiting.
You may also not trade for a ratio ie 3:1:1 as metal would be too expensive compared to crystal.
You always need to calculate if a trade rate is good before you agree to trade.
5. Increasing Your Profit
As you need to increase your profit, you need to make more trades for the same resources, the more trades you make for the best possible ratios, the most profit you can gain.
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 2 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 2 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 4 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 4 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 8 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 8 Deut
If you start with 1kk deut, you end up with 8kk deut.
When you cannot get ahold of crystal, use metal. You get less profit, but it is easier to source. The example below is where you can field only one crystal seller.
* Deuterium > Metal in 3:2:1 3 Metal
* Metal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 1.5 Deut
* Deuterium > Metal in 3:2:1 4.5 Metal
* Metal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 2.25 Deut
* Deuterium > Crystal in 3:2:1 4.5 Crystal
* Crystal > Deuterium in 2:1:1 4.5 Deut
If you start with 1kk deut, you end up with 4,5kk deut.
Note! Trading all resources with only one preson all the time is not allowed as it's pushing. You may sell your deuterium to one person all the time and but deuterium from a different person all the time though.
Note: Never cheat on a trade agreement, do it once and your reputation is burned, that means no more trading.
6. Merchant
Merchant will buy your resources based on a ratio 3:2:1, which is normally higher than you could get from players. This method can be used when gaining profit via trades, but it includes having a lot of regular deut sellers. You can't make a profit just with a merchant - players have to be involved. Also, note that "merchant abusers" (players who use merchant to gain profit) are not appreciated by the majority of players.