What the numbers tell you
Two numbers explain most of what happens in a session. The first is searches per minute: if it is far below your speed setting, something is slowing the run down, usually errors or a throttled market. The second is your success rate, buys against misses. A run of misses means the cards are there but other people are getting them, which is a pricing problem, not a speed one.
Skipped cards are worth a look too. A high skip count usually means your ratings-to-skip list is catching more than you intended, or your per-card limit is stopping buys your filter allows.
Using history to improve
Change one thing at a time and compare runs. A narrower filter, a lower price, a different time of day. Our transfer market trading guide covers when the market is worth sniping, and the best times to buy and sell explains why the same filter can be quiet at noon and busy at six.
When a run stops badly
A captcha or a soft ban on the record is a signal to slow down before it happens again: fewer searches a minute, shorter runs, breaks left on. The safety page covers the controls, and the soft ban guide explains what EA is actually reacting to.