Invest in Export License - How to

Day 1,529, 20:56 • Published in USA Greece • by Dodona

N.B.: Introductory stuff for this article can be found on my previous article here. So if I say things here like "max bot price" and you're not sure what it is, you know where to find the answer.

Let me first say that trading is not for everyone. If you're not willing to invest some time, then better stick to WaMing. If, however, you are willing to invest the time and can understand some basic economics and math, then consider investing in an export license. Instead of spending 20 gold for your 1-2 new companies, spend them on a license. Worst case scenario you'll make a bad investment, but broaden your gaming experience.

ok now there are different opinions on what's a good export license to invest in. Some want to export to countries with strong currencies. They may not make optimal profits, but they will have "blue chip" currency in their hands. Some prefer "average" countries, that have ups and downs, so they will make good money when prices increase, if currency stays at decent rates. And the other option is to invest in small countries, where prices are always high, and hope that their MM will survive the imports influx. I'm somewhere between the 2nd and the 3rd, with the latter being more risky, but can pay off if you employ the hit-and-run policy.

What you basically wanna do with trade is buy cheap - sell expensive. You need two things first: a decent storage (I recommend minimum 10k) and finding a country with cheap prices. The US serves as a good benchmark, especially when they have 8+ resources. Check the prices in the US and then look at other countries with 8+ resources. If you find a cheaper one, take it, otherwise stick with the US.

When evaluating prices, always convert them to gold using the "buy Gold" side of the Monetary Market. That is 1G = 770, not 1USD = 0.002G
When looking at prices, don't look at the cheapest products only (usually FRM and q2 food). You're not gonna trade those ones only, so look at more products/qualities.

ok now you've found your supplying market. Say it's the US and let's assume that reference product is the q3 food. You invest 1 gold to buy 760 USD and use the USD to buy 760 q3 food. You now want to sell somewhere else with profit. How much profit? You should aim at 10% minimum, preferably 15-20%.

Which country offers such a profit? Well, don't expect a simple answer here. Instead, I will tell you the characteristics of this country:
- It should be operating at max bot prices.
- It should have a decent monetary market on the gold side or at the currency exchange markets.
Decent right now means that there is enough gold out there to keep the gold price at 1,300 currency.
Be aware that the exchange rates change overtime. 10 days ago 1,300 would be a very bad rate. But after they decided to get rid of toolboxes and dropped the prices, most of the small/medium countries took a hit in the MM, due to increased imports. Some dropped 100 units, some 200, 300 and some are ready to collapse.

Back to our example, you sell those 760 food at 1.98 net (max price) and you get 1,505 currency. You sell this for gold at a rate of 1/1,300 and buy 1.15 gold. That's 15% profit.

Tips on how to increase this profit:
- As I said, buy cheap. So don't buy products at random times. Visit the marketplace often; it increases your chances of picking up good deals. A good time to shop is at day change. On the other hand, evening/night eR time is usually not a good idea.
- When selling gold, don't always post offers at market rate. See how much gold is there and estimate how much above market rate you can go. It's not rare for USD can go up or down by 30 units in the same day.

Now if you've reached thus far, I better offer something as reward. I won't name a country where you should buy a license. But I will disclose a non-paper that the DD Specul&Tors Rating Agency sent me earlier.

13.00 rating means that the country has good chances of sustaining a gold rate around 1,300.
12.50 rating means that the country has very good chances at sustaining a rate between 1200-1300
2k rating means that the currency is ready to collapse or it is there already.

So, here goes:
- Moody's 13.00 rating: Bosnia Herzegovina, New Zealand, Cyprus, Estonia, Colombia.
Those countries operate at max price.

- Linch 2k: Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Singapore, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, South Africa.
Just stay away from those for the time being.

- Standard & Pools 12.50: Sweeden, Ukraine, Canada, Finland, Lithuania.
Those countries don't operate at max, but they are very close to it and they have solid monetary markets. The are 2-6% away from max price (on food).

Be advised that those ratings are likely to change, so don't just pick one of those countries before you evaluate it yourselves.
After all, you've ll heard from Plato that they are making "improvements" in 3 days, so who knows what they may come up with.

I'm pretty sure I wanted to write something more, but I forgot. It's quite long already anyways. And of course I'm always open to questions, corrections, suggestions, discussion in general.

[edit] don't buy a license to a country that has embargoed your cs country!

PS: Elias, ask and you shall receive my friend