When the game goes live, I'm thinking I'm going to want to start up a courier service of some sort. The general concept being basically an in-game version of FedEx. I would take useful items/mats as payment to run things from wherever you are to wherever you want them to go.
I've only got a rough idea on how I want to do it, but the plan for now is to arrange a pickup either in-game or via private message, we'd then meet and exchange half the payment and the package, which I'd then carry to the destination whereupon I'd get the second half of the payment.
To address the inevitable problem of gankers, I will offer free, or at least heavily discounted, schlepping for any tribe willing to offer an armed escort through their immediate zone and one zone after.
None of this is going to be done until the game goes live, so this thread is to see if there's any interest in such a thing, as well as get my name out there.
I could see something like a courier service doing well. Not all tribes will be huge and there may not always be protection logged on. If he gets a rep for being honest and completing the delivery, people may take advantage of his service.
I like this idea, not sure if it will work as I have a feeling large crafting tribes will end up taking huges sections and supplying like 4-6 zones or something like that. But anyway a way to start might be by talking to Traders, trading guilds, merchants to develop ties in your choosen field.
I think that is a great idea, though you could like find a like minded homesteader in game to team up with while you travel to give you added protection while making trips around to places. If your feeling really ambitious you could mabye work on an association of homesteaders to work with to provide safe stops for your travels much like the old Pony Express.
It's an interesting concept. I don't know if I'd pay any guy to run my stuff, but if you had a combat-strong build and were good at PVP, then that's another story. Ferrying goods from one place to another means being vulnerable to getting stuff stolen :0
I have thought of this idea before and my thinking was the same of finding protection and risking getting ganked along the way. It's a great idea and I think the homesteaders would really like a service like this. Even bigger tribes could use your services. (You know at Christmas time even FedEx gets more help) =)
Making good relations with homesteads and tribes throughout Xsyon will help you get across to make deliveries. Like someone else stated the Pony Express idea.
Think you're on to something and should think out and tweak ideas. This could be something really good.