Jita is the benchmark, not the only market
Jita 4-4 in The Forge is commonly used as New Eden’s primary market benchmark because many items have deep order books there. Deep markets can make quantity-aware execution more predictable, but hauling to Jita has a cost in time and risk.
Regional hubs can win on convenience
Amarr, Dodixie, Rens and Hek can be better for a pilot already operating nearby. Even if a regional buy price is slightly lower, avoiding a long haul may improve the practical outcome. Conversely, thin regional depth can make an attractive top order meaningless for a large stack.
Compare depth, not just price
When two hubs differ, ask how many units are actually available near the quoted price. A hub with a 5% higher Top Buy but only a few units of demand may underperform a deeper hub once your full quantity is considered.
Factor in route and collateral
Moving expensive cargo introduces travel time, hauling cost, collateral requirements and exposure to loss. A market comparison becomes more useful when you subtract the real cost of getting inventory to the destination.
A repeatable hub check
- Open the item in Market Search.
- Compare all five hub summaries.
- Inspect the focused hub’s depth and spread.
- Change quantity to match the stack you actually intend to trade.
- Only then decide whether moving the item is worth it.