ELDT transfer market: how to buy cheap and sell well

In ELDT, there are no straight purchases: the transfer market works through auctions, with the signing going to the manager who has bid the most when the clock runs out. Having money isn’t enough: you need to know when to enter, how far to bid and which players are cheap for what they offer. Here are the actual rules and the ideas that separate a manager who buys well from one who empties the bank.

How the ELDT transfer market works

The seller lists the player with a starting price, managers bid for 3 days and the highest bidder wins. When the auction ends, the money changes hands straight away; if nobody bids, the player stays at his club.

There’s also an anti-sniping rule: if someone bids in the final 3 minutes, the auction is extended by another 3 minutes. You can’t win by swooping in at "the last second".

Minimum increments and maximum bids

The game always suggests the next minimum bid, depending on the amount: $10.000 up to $500.000; $50.000 up to $5M; $200.000 up to $20M; and $500.000 from there onwards.

The most useful tool is the maximum bid: set the most you’re willing to pay and the game bids for you by the minimum amount needed whenever you’re outbid, never going over your limit and even when you’re offline. Nobody can see your limit, and you can change or cancel it whenever you like.

Fees: what each side pays

The fees are fixed:

• Buyer: pays the winning bid plus 10%.
• Seller: receives the winning bid minus 10%.
• Developing club: if the player came through another club’s academy, that club receives 3% of the final price, taken from the seller’s proceeds.

Example: a $10M bid. The buyer pays $11M and the seller receives $9M (or $8,7M if the player has a developing club). Before you list a player, the screen shows the net amount you’ll receive.

The non-negotiable rules

• Minimum squad size: you can’t sell if you would be left with 13 players or fewer.
• Maximum squad size: you can’t buy if you reach 50 players.
• Young players: under-18s can’t be sold; you must first promote them to the first team.
• 14-day lock: a player you have bought can’t be sold again for 14 days.
• No reserve price: you can bid with all your available cash, including the fee and anything you’re already winning in other auctions. If you then go into the red, the game forces you to choose between a loan or an emergency sale (it sacks all your staff except the manager and sells players at random for 40% of their value), while your team performs 20% worse for as long as you’re in the red. More details in Finances.

What the bots do (and how to use it to your advantage)

Computer-controlled clubs also take part, with their own rules:

• They sell players from their squads, generally at 80% of their value. They make up a large part of the available supply.
• They buy in auctions where no manager has bid, and from one another. When trading among themselves, they pay no more than the player’s market value.
• Against a manager who is leading, they only bid up to 70% of the player’s value. If you offer more than that, the bot drops out. The auction screen shows you that figure.

For buying, this means that once you go above 70% of the value, the only person who can beat you is another human manager. Many cheap signings are completed right there, between 70% and 100% of the player’s value, in auctions no other manager was watching.

And when selling: bots buy most of what you list, but they won’t pay more than market value. To receive more than that, you need a human manager to take an interest.

How to buy players cheaply

Look where everyone else isn’t

The Market has filters for position, OVR, age, maximum price and the seller’s country, plus shortcuts such as "ending in under 3 h", "no bids yet", "listed by a manager" and "under-22s". "No bids yet" combined with "ending in under 3 h" is the first place serious scouting should look for opportunities.

The profile that performs just as well for less

To buy cheaply, look for players aged 28 to 30 with a good OVR. They perform just as well, cost less and don’t attract as much competition from the bots. A young player with good potential will usually go for more than his value; a player over 30 will go for less. Be careful: since Season 3, players gradually lose physical ability from the age of 31, so a veteran is a short-term signing.

Use "Similar sales" and saved searches

On each auction’s player page, you can see what has been paid over the last 14 days for players of a similar level and in the same area: it stops you overpaying in the heat of the moment. With saved searches (up to 5), you set your filters and receive an alert whenever a player like that is listed. And with the star, you can follow players so you don’t lose track of auctions.

How to sell players well

From the Squad menu, select the player and choose Auction. The game suggests a starting price based on market value, and you can cancel while there are no bids.

• Sell what you don’t use, not what you need. Check your squad by position: selling a substitute who never gets on the pitch gives you clean cash; selling a first-choice player without a replacement costs you points.
• Sell young players with potential to human managers. They’re the ones who go for more than their value, but only if a manager is prepared to compete for them.
• Do the net calculation. The 10% fee, plus the 3% developing-club fee, can determine whether a sale is worthwhile.
• Don’t sell just to cover a deficit. If money is tight, review wages and income first; we cover it in how to make money in ELDT.

Player loans

When you don’t want to sell or buy, there are player loans: loan out the players you don’t use and bring in the one you’re missing. These are also decided by bidding: you offer a fee (a one-off payment to the owner), and after 3 days the highest bid wins, with the same final-3-minute rule.

The main rules are: the player must be 18 or over; the owner chooses what share of the wage the receiving club pays (100, 75 or 50%) and whether to require playing minutes; loans last until the end of the season; each club can have up to 3 players on loan and 5 players loaned out; the owner can’t be left with fewer than 13 players; and there is no option to buy. It’s ideal for giving an academy youngster regular game time without losing him.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an auction last in the ELDT transfer market?

Three days from the time it is listed. If someone bids in the final 3 minutes, it is extended by another 3 minutes.

What commission does the game charge on signings?

The buyer pays the price plus 10%, while the seller receives the price minus 10%. If the player came through another club’s academy, that developing club also receives 3% of the final price, deducted from the seller’s proceeds.

Can I resell a player I’ve just bought?

No. A player you have bought is locked for 14 days before you can sell him again. You also can’t sell if your squad would be left with 13 players or fewer.

How do the bots bid?

Against a manager who is leading, they bid only up to 70% of the player’s value; if you offer more, they drop out. Among themselves, they pay no more than market value.

What is a maximum bid?

It is the most you are prepared to pay for a player. The game bids for you by the minimum amount needed whenever you’re outbid, never going over your limit. Nobody can see it.

If you don’t have a club yet, the transfer market is one of the best reasons to create one: every auction you win is one of those signings you chose yourself, using your judgement and your budget. Create your club in ELDT and start looking at the market differently.