Cmdr Sy
Appetite 4 Destruction
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Posted - 2007.10.14 11:40:00 -
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The main hubs and their immediate surroundings are nice, but there are many secondary hubs, and these are too numerous to list. Look out for systems which are home to high-quality L3 and L4 agents in combat fields, 0.0 entry point systems, and what passes for the "capitals" of regions such as Everyshore and Khanid, less known to many players.
Learn the sources and end uses of items. Many essential PVP modules are common drops from NPCs of a select few factions, and they will often be dumped cheap in some low secs not far from their 0.0 home regions. A few runs in a frigate may result in death, or a 20-50% profit. Learn what the must-have items are.
Mission runners are even more lazy when it comes to offloading intermediate quality loot and trade goods.
Warp bubble demand near chokepoints is an ancient and competitive business, but check it out, and you might be lucky with skillbooks in NPC 0.0. If nothing else, at least it is a harmless illustration of the general principle.
The ore mix in a region will determine which minerals are in relative abundance, and which are in short supply.
This is also the case with ice and moon materials and derived components, although some knowledge of the manufacturing process is advisable. There are POS industry guides out there which will offer clues.
Mexallon forms a disproportionately high component of refined rat loot. Use this knowledge wisely. 
Grind your way to tax-free refine (+6.67 effective standing) with a large and and popular NPC corp, and get those skills up. You can then buy some loot for less than its scrap value and ... profit. The payoff can take a while, but you will earn ISK during the grind.
A freighter will have its uses, but a transport, blockade runner, inty and covert ops will be of more practical day-to-day use. If you don't have them yet, they will open opportunities and save you a lot of hassle.
There is much else that you can work out for yourself, but this should get any newbie started.
And I don't think offering a slightly better pointer than "buy low, sell high, don't ask questions" is going to cost me any money either.
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