One of the best ways, and perhaps the only way early on, to make a profit remains hauling cargo. And while there are certainly more exciting careers to be had, trading represents a steady, and fairly safe, flow of income.

When you first start off, your going to want to make some money as quickly as possible, and probably with as little danger as possible. Since you won't have a substantial record with either military or the Elite Federation of Pilots, you're only real option is trading on weel established cargo hauling routes. The first, and most used, is the Sol-Bernard's Star run, where you bring luxuries and agriculturally based products to Bernards Star, and then take industrial products like computers and robots back. Even if you never make this incredibly sterile run, the cargo is fairly typical: most of the best trading you do will be between agricultural and industrial systems.

If you have just begun a game and have decided to lay back for a while in some of the safer systems, remember to sell your missiles and laser to make room for extra cargo space and to provide you with some extra cash to get started. In FFE you should also sell your Nav computer if you can do without it.

The best items to buy are obviously the most expensive since the profit margin will be larger. Luxury goods, computers, and robots are all good bets most of the time, and such things as gem stones and medicine can also bring in a amount of cash on certain worlds. Having bought your cargo and selected a destination, it's only a short jump and some time under the stardreamer before you hit the next port to sell your cargo and beign again. If you find yourself being beaten consistently by pirates, check out the combat tips section.

Trading Ships

The initial spacecraft (Eagle or Saker) are really meant as fighters rather than fregihters, but they'll do pretty well until you can upgrade. Speaking of upgrades, you should do so as soon as you can afford to do so, assuming you'll have enough cash left over for the basic ship outfit (such as atmospheric shielding and an autopilot) and some basic cargo. The general progression of ships you should make, assuming your sticking stricly to trading, should simply be to the next largest ship you can afford. However, some ships are exemplary in the fact that they are fine ships in general, as well as good trading ships:

Fontier+FFE / FFE only

Constrictor (90T)
Wyvern (148T)
Asp Explorer (150T)
Imperial Courier (350T)
Mantis (749T)