Third-Party Hauling. It's Insurance. Use It.

Everytime there's a big faction warfare cash-out, a large number of big value ganks are not far behind.

Now this post is not just for faction warfare nerds, but anyone who wants to haul billions of ISK in commodities. I will come at the discussion based on my own experience, faction warfare payouts.

Why do people insist on doing their own hauling? Loading up a frigate or destroyer with five or ten billion ISK in commodities, then making that trip to Jita.

Inevitably a number of those people end up dead, losing everything, all their hard work down the drain. The danger is especially high after a faction warfare cash-out, because every dog and their alt knows when these cash-outs occur, know that there's going to be convoys of haulers heading towards Jita. There's big bonanzas for the taking.

If you're not hauling to or from sovereignty nullsec, then third-party haulers are there for you. Think of them as an insurance policy.

During the last Minmatar T5 warzone cash-out (before I moved to the Caldari militia), I ended up with nearly 10B ISK in implants to sell. (Most from spent LP, the rest from placing very low buy orders, 50% of their regular market value, which nincompoops filled very quickly.) I could have hauled all of this myself. In a frigate. Or a destroyer. In a box. With a fox. Or a viator. Hell, I could have used an Obelisk. (All via an alt, of course.) Still, the risk of losing it all, was too great for me. Why not spend some small amount of ISK (comparable to the total worth of the cargo) to insure it.

That's where third-party haulers come into the picture. There's Red Frog Freight (highsec to highsec), Black Frog Logistics (lowsec and NPC nullsec hauling), Blue Frog Freight (for high collateral hauls), and Push Industries (hauling to everything but sovereignty nullsec.) I'm currently keen on Push Industries (because I like that they send me an evemail on pickup and dropoff, and they are quite a bit cheaper than Blue Frog Freight for trips between major trade hubs.)

Since nobody will take a cargo for 10B ISK in collateral, I set up two hauls. 5B ISK each. Total cost to me, ~72M ISK. If Push Industries were ganked on the haul, I'd still get what my cargo was worth. I would lose nothing, for a small "insurance" fee. If I'd hauled the items, and been ganked, I'd get nothing. Paying 72M for 10B, it's a small price to pay. Hell, we all pay a larger percentage on our ship insurance, why do so many of us forgo hauling "insurance"?

(Disclaimer: none of the third-party hauling corporations were contacted prior to or after this article was posted. I have received no ISK payout from any of the hauling corporations mentioned. I mention them only as as service to players requiring hauling.)