Piece of advice: If I were you, I wouldn't get involved in trading early on. Zone's decent if you play it right, but trading is one way to burn yourself out pretty quickly. For me, progression in a game is what keeps my interest which is why it's really fun as a new player.
Once you get a decent gun like the green/red rifle, a good way to get a pretty good amount of gralats is by doing showdown events or alien rambo - if alien rambo still even exists.