Problems with Interactive Brokers (IB)

[Ltrade]

The choice to switch from a Windows-based platform to a Browser/Java-based platform is a terrible mistake.
Serious Direct Access Brokers (MB Trading, CyberCorp, myTrack) offer their clients a Windows-based platform.
The Browser/Java platform is slower, less reliable and a Windows resource hog.
The only thing I like of the Browser/Java version is the improved user interface.
IB should drop the Browser/Java platform and improve the Windows application to make it more similar to the platforms offered by MB Trading, CyberCorp, myTrack.

IB’s Pre/After hours quotes are very unreliable. Particularly the "Best" and "Instinet" quotes are almost always wrong outside regular trading hours. If you see an interesting quote on IB during after hours, it is probably a bad quote. This makes trading outside regular trading hours impossible with IB.

IB doesn’t give you access to all routes on all stocks. On some stocks you will only be able to route to NASDAQ/Instinet, on some just NYSE/Island and so on. Island and most other ECNs now support all listed (NYSE/AMEX) and NASDAQ stocks. I want to be able to choose the Island route on ALL stocks.
They should give us access to all routes on all stocks.

Stay away until Interactive Brokers solves these problems.

 

[trinfo]

Whiner. The Java TWS is wonderful - no speed, stability, nor resource problems on a lowly K6 333mhz. I have spoken to people who have stability problems when they run it on Windows, but this was a Windows problem, not the fault of Java usage.

I agree that the stuck quotes and missing/invalid routes (see also remaining SRWD/MASH in many NASDAQ issues) need fixing, but calling for an IB boycott will definitely not make things start working for you personally.

I am on the QCharts mailing list, where people keep harraunging and threatening the Quote.com reps due to the many ongoing data feed problems. This "I hate you because you won't do what I say approach" is completely counterproductive.

If the behaviour is unacceptable, E-mail help@interactivebrokers.com, tell them what you need fixed, and that you need to know what will be done about it (timeframe, resolution). If you can't live with the response they give you (perhaps your attention span is too short to endure a two-month implementation wait that is probably typical then vote with your feet and switch brokers.

It would be nice if IB would set up a more formal issue tracking mechanism to allow present customers to know what problems presently exist, and to vote on which ones they wanted fixed the most. However, I don't know the right way to make a request about making requests, given that the existing mechanism (post on discussion boards, or e-mail to IB) obviously isn't producing results in a timely manner.

Let's try to think up ways we can solve the situation instead of complaining...

IMHO.