Quote from cstfx:
Where exactly is it that IB charges 1 cent a share? Are you trying to mislead people?
Certainly not. I trade on average 100,000.00 shares a day give for take. When I was looking to make a switch from TD I called Interactive, waited on hold for about 5 minutes, then the rep mistakenly hung up on me, then waited on hold again for about 3 minutes.
When I finally got through they told me I would start at .01/share. I told them about my activity and asked if they would negotiate. The rep was very rude. Finally I had to end up faxing my confirmations to them to prove it. After all that I opened my account as they had agreed to .005/share + some other volume limit there after type thing I can't remember right now. So I started trading. Platform and charts and such were "ok" not great but ok. After my first week of trading I went to pull my files and make my records and noticed they were charging me .01/share. Rep told me they could switch me from now on but could not fix it for the trade I already did! Completely screwed me out of $2500.00
After that I was done. Now I apologize if my experience was unique and has never happened to anyone before (which I doubt) but I am certainly not trying to mislead people.
All I am saying is there are great firms out their and it's unfortunate that they get overlooked in forums like these that are flooded with "IB" "tradestation". There like the Patron of trading. Good and all but certainly not the best tequila in mexico!
A friend of mine sent me to Cobra Trading (
www.cobratrading.com). These guys are the absolute best. When I call, they know me by first name! I have never been put on hold once and live reps ansewer the phones. No automated system.
I use the Cobra IQ (insta-quote) platform. In my opinion it doesn't get any better for a day trading platform. It's got everything, it's extremely easy to use, and 100% customizable!
I pay .005/share and the pass through ECN rebates to me. On most of my limit orders I send to ARCA or Isld I usually end up paying about .003 - .0047 per share.
The execution is lightning fast. Platform is incredibly redundant and reliable. Never crashes or gets stuck! I never have a problem getting short locates. They go out to the street and get you the shares you need. And the customer service is 1 in a million in this mechanised, automated world we live in. For any serious day trader, swing trader, or share builder I highly recomend and I am sure thier are others out there.
Sorry for any confusion! Happy Trading To All!