i'm just speaking facts from my actual trading. def is correct very few of the orders i placed between the bid and ask were filled on the box. were the box is good is if i hit the bid or ask price about 20% of the time i'll get a 1-5 cent price improvement instantly. as far as stock commissions go the avg retail client who trades anything above a $20 stock will trade 500 shares are less at a time so ib's commissions for that situation are much lower. MBT-STEVE ABOUT 5 MONTHS AGO YOU CAME OUT WITH A .004 PER SHARE ALL IN COMMISSION PLUS SEC FEE AND THEN WITHIN A WEEK IT WAS GONE AND REPLACED BY YOUR $4.95 PLAN C. WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT AWAY?believe me i'm not saying ib is flawless as there platform to trade stocks is archaic for high vol traders as its very cumbersome to trade with. ib has not changed there platform much in the 5 years i've been there.but ib is catering to the masses more than the professional daytrader