1. If a pirate asks too much, say "My ship insurance is payed up, and it'd actually be cheaper for you to kill me!"
Seriously. It works. And if not, die. Most 5ks fill for cheaper than $2m, with many goods.
Its an RP way of saying "JUST KLL ME"
2. Scouts are useful, occasionally... , but solo, click the lanes ahead of you to see if they're interuppted.
3. the second you see a red contact on your screen, or known pirate, wait untill the next lane, escape, turn around, redock in the direction you came
4. Don't hire anyone else, ever. It's useless and they're response time to save you could be changed by many thing.
5. Trade at the lowest possible server population for your time zone.
6. Use jumpholes when possible and faster, most pirates camp lanes or gates
7. Always have an escape plan, nearest dockable base, etc.
8. Check the chat list before entering a system
9. Search the forums with a suspected pirates character name, find out if they really are a pirate.
10. Get a cloak or a cap armor for your transport as soon as possible. Don't carry enough fuel to cloak through the whole trip, that would be inefficient and costly. Have just enough to cloak and escape.