What I can conclusively say about long term results in EU.

Based on all the research I've done, all the numbers I've examined... All the runs by many people who share their results with me... Your chief goal, for long term results in Entropia... Mind you it could take years for it to balance out... I am still no where near balanced out after so many years... But what I am seeing in the numbers is this:

As long as your markups on loot cover your decay, and markup on your decay, you are in good shape for the long term.

Of course more is better... But if everything works the way it is said that it does, and I've seen enough to know it's more or less true for the average player... MA skims off your decay (Not all decay... Melee, mining amps, etc probably have a majority % going to the loot pool and just a small portion going into MA's coffers, otherwise a sword would not give you loot since it has no ammo if MA keeps all decay), your markup you skim off other players.

TT values in terms of spend and loot have in my directly observable instances, ran + or - a few percent of actual TT cost of the runs, even when figured on the long term.  The longer the run, in fact, the nearer to even in terms of TT it works out to.

Markup folks, Markup.. Do not give your loot away if you know it has value... If you are going to tt something with markup or sell it to a trader who wants to pay you next to nothing, don't. It is far better to deposit again and stockpile your good loot until you can do something with it. You will probably end up depositing again anyways, might as well do it sooner than later, that way in the long run you are actually having to deposit less.

The only way to approach things is, play to stay even. Wins and losses will happen... But if you can aim for being even, good things are even better when they happen while you are even. It is a game of survival. Will your bankroll last until you hit something good?