When ISK and items change hands it's called a "sale"... you only call it a "scam" because you're unhappy with your end of the bargain.
Don't fly what you can't afford to replace.
After the Earth was used up, we found a new galaxy and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central systems formed Concord and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the galaxy, far from Concord control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying.