Ok, So 500-600M was more an ideal max

Also consider maxing out mechanics, hull upgrades, spaceship command etc.

With a freighter having no module slots, that extra gain of agility and hitpoints from the core skills could mean the difference from life and death.

Always use warp to zero, and if you absolutelly have to carry some high value stuff, run a few test flights with a shuttle and try to map the best route, that is the route that requires less alligning between jumps even if it takes you extra jumps. You may find that warping to a sun/planet and warping from there to the gate can break your allign time by doing half the turn to get to the planet/sun and the other half to get to th gate. This will cut down the time you're sat around as a sitting duck.

I did some statistics on Freighter Ganks in Uedama last month...

There were 50 ganks between the 3-31rst of March. 48 seemed to be suicide ganks. 4 were ganked empty (due to bad standings with goons), 4 were ganked because they had double-wrapped packages, 4 were ganked with a cargo between 0.4-3b isk.

In general, your chances of getting ganked are very slim... and if you carry under 1b isk in cargo, your chances are extremely slim (i.e.you'll have a better chance of being struck by lightening!).

With this in mind, there are a few points I suggest above and beyond the "don't be a loot pinata" rule. If you are carry a blingy load, the options below help reduce your risks:

A.) The safest means when carrying valuable cargo is to use a web-to-warp scout. You need to be traveling at 75% of max velocity to enter warp, and webbing your ship instantly reduces it's max velocity, but doesn't instantly reduce your max speed. Using 60% webs (t2 or meta 4 or various faction), 2 webs will reduce the max velocity of a freighter from ~100 m/s to ~19 m/s, and 13 m/s with 3 webs. 75% of this speed is 10 m/s, which takes only a few seconds to achieve. Carefully timing the webs allows you typically enter warp before anyone can bump you... but can be inhibited by a suicide tackler.

B.) Another method is to enter suicide gank systems in an unexpected manner. For example, if you're traveling to Amarr from Jita, you generally go through Niarja. The autopilot typically has you travel Amar -> Ashab -> Madirmilire -> Niarja. Don't jump directly from Madirmilire to Niarja... but instead go Madirmilire -> Bahroma -> Niarja. You could still get ganked in Niarja, but usually scouts don't "follow" your progress (yet), so they will generally be setup on the Madirmilire gate rather than the Bahroma gate in Niarja, Which allows you to bypass their suicide camp.

C.) Another method to use is to dock up prior to entering a suicide gank system. For example, if you're traveling jita to amarr through Niarja, set your destination to Kaaputenen and dock up there for 15 minutes or so. In general, your ship's assets are scanned earlier in the pipe so suicide gankers have time to prep an attack. They generally gank in 0.5 systems, as concord takes the longest to respond in these systems. By taking the break, they may assume you dropped off goods, or took a different route... and may write you off as a target. The longer the break, the more effective this technique works... and if truly AFK hauling (while at work, or asleep), breaking the trip into 2 parts (Part 1: Amarr -> Madirmilire, dock up/log off. Part 2: Log on, manually fly through Niarja, Autopilot to Jita), you're unlikely to be a target as no-one will have recently pre-scanned you prior to entering Niarja.

A number of the ganks along the Niarja corridor happen in Madirmilire.

If you see someone yellow boxing you at a jump gate, go park your ship in a station for a while as they've scanned your cargo and will gank you if they like the value.

So now the problem is that I kinda lost interest in playing the game, basically starting all over again. I mean what's the point spending hours and hours playing when you can loose everything in a second. What's the point being in highsec when police doesn't work anyway? Sure I know now, I won't ever haul expensive cargo in a fragile can but what hard lesson comes next? I am scared to go mining with my retriever or buy even more expensive ship, if I can loose it in highsec. I guess this game is not for me :-\

What's the point being in highsec when police doesn't work anyway?

Always use warp to zero, and if you absolutelly have to carry some high value stuff, run a few test flights with a shuttle and try to map the best route, that is the route that requires less alligning between jumps even if it takes you extra jumps. You may find that warping to a sun/planet and warping from there to the gate can break your allign time by doing half the turn to get to the planet/sun and the other half to get to th gate. This will cut down the time you're sat around as a sitting duck.

Hi, I'm relatively new player and I got ganked today for my first time. And it was really painful.

Around a month ago I started as a trader doing stationtrading in Amarr, while doing some occasional small 200m isk max shipments from Jita. I earned little bit over one billion isk this way. And for me it was A LOT. I started to be quite good at it, doing spreadsheets and stuff. Today I did extensive market research figuring what would be most profitable to ship from Jita and sell in Amarr. It took me a while and I compiled list of very profitable stuff and went to buy it in my bestower. I arrived in Jita and bought 1 billion isk worth of items. All the money that I earned by trading so far.
I knew that something like suicide ganking exists but I didn't know how it works or how fast it is. I didnt have a clue that I cant stand a chance in untanked hauler. I thought that I manage to get away if I'm in high sec. Would I even have a chance if i put some hardeners on it? I have no clue. Well long story short I got popped instantly right after entering system 2 jumps before Amarr. I learned the hard way. All the effort and my free time invested gone in a split of an second.

So now the problem is that I kinda lost interest in playing the game, basically starting all over again. I mean what's the point spending hours and hours playing when you can loose everything in a second. What's the point being in highsec when police doesn't work anyway? Sure I know now, I won't ever haul expensive cargo in a fragile can but what hard lesson comes next? I am scared to go mining with my retriever or buy even more expensive ship, if I can loose it in highsec. I guess this game is not for me :-\

Fly safe, ZC.

Stop giving out false information. It doesnt matter if your ship is already facing the object you are warping to or has to turn 180 degrees. Both ways take just as long to start warping. This is why you always see freighters initiate warp while they have not fully alinged yet. they reached warp speed faster then they were able to turn.

So now the problem is that I kinda lost interest in playing the game, basically starting all over again. I mean what's the point spending hours and hours playing when you can loose everything in a second.

For extra fun when you are watching TV or just afk for the day. Take a fully insured Indy equiped with a bunch of cheap buffer tanking mods (best not to fit too smart even if it's) with a couple of double wrapped items (for bonus points add in some random really cheap sleeper loot) , autopilot the route jita -> Amarr -> Dodixie and so on. If you are lucky someone will decide you have phat lewt, and blow you up. In which case you collect your insurance pay out, and sell off your killrights for a tidy profit. The most amusing thing is the ganker will generally end up buying off the kill rights with an alt....

or they're already -10 and don't give a ****.

So now the problem is that I kinda lost interest in playing the game, basically starting all over again. I mean what's the point spending hours and hours playing when you can loose everything in a second. What's the point being in highsec when police doesn't work anyway? Sure I know now, I won't ever haul expensive cargo in a fragile can but what hard lesson comes next? I am scared to go mining with my retriever or buy even more expensive ship, if I can loose it in highsec. I guess this game is not for me :-\

On a different note, apparently in my 7 years on/off this game I have never heard of "double wrapping" but I can only assume it means putting a secure container in your hold to put the valuables in?

I do this with all my standard ships (not my Freighter) but it's to allow a tiny bit more cargo space, not to confuse players as to it's contents, maybe I should re-think my approach.

Putting the items into containers and then courier contracting the containers. Plastic wrap of contract + container = double-wrap

You are better-off in an un-scanable Blockade Runner. [I moved 7 billion ISK out of Jita in an alt's Crane earlier this evening.]

You were still better off back when it was a scannable blockade runner. (yea I'm still bitter about the change).