QCharts No Longer Displays Delayed Exchanges

AAAintheBeltway · Oct 24, 2006

One of the nice features of QCharts was that you got delayed data from exhanges you didn't subscribe to for real time data. No more. Now apparently you only get data from the exchanges you pay the real time fees for.

Thanks a lot ESig. I was waiting for you to screw us. You didn't disappoint. What else can you foul up?

eSignal Support · Oct 24, 2006

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

Now apparently you only get data from the exchanges you pay the real time fees for.

Absolutely not the case. You can add bundles for either delayed futures or delayed stocks to your account for a nominal $5/mo fee. Please see the System Status notice for more information and instructions on how to add the bundles to your account.

In case you aren't aware, several domestic futures exchanges have announced that they will be charging for streaming delayed data. More will be sure to follow so you won't see vendors giving this data for "free" much longer.

Thanks.

AAAintheBeltway · Oct 25, 2006

Quote from eSignal Support:

Absolutely not the case. You can add bundles for either delayed futures or delayed stocks to your account for a nominal $5/mo fee. Please see the System Status notice for more information and instructions on how to add the bundles to your account.

In case you aren't aware, several domestic futures exchanges have announced that they will be charging for streaming delayed data. More will be sure to follow so you won't see vendors giving this data for "free" much longer.

Thanks.

So bottom line is that you are now charging $10/mo extra for what was included in the basic subscription before?

I don't see how the fact that some exchanges will charge in the future for streaming delayed data justifies charging for it now and also blocking historical, not streaming, data.

I like QCharts and have defended it here many times, but you guys don't seem to realize that IB data is free and there are excellent charting applications that can use it. Even I am beginning to question why I should pay a couple of hundred bucks a month for a product that is not always reliable, particularly now that we are getting the trademark ESig nickel and dime treatment.

Babak · Oct 27, 2006

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

...particularly now that we are getting the trademark ESig nickel and dime treatment.

sigh, I'm sad to say it but: it begins.

Quote from eSignal Support:

In case you aren't aware, several domestic futures exchanges have announced that they will be charging for streaming delayed data. More will be sure to follow so you won't see vendors giving this data for "free" much longer.

In case this is a legitimate new cost to you, why not take a page from IB's playbook and act with integrity? That is, outline explicitely which exchanges are charging this extra fee and only charge for those. Leave the others alone until they also do so.

Applying a flat fee where it was once free based on simple conjecture as to who may or may not apply this fee in the future is not acting with integrity.

eSignal Support · Oct 27, 2006

As a data vendor, all our fees are right up-front for users to evaluate. We don't make money off margin accounts or commissions, like most brokers. So a comparison to a broker like IB is not really valid. I'd say we have great integrity in terms of pricing. It's all laid out.

How much a broker makes off each customer isn't so clear.

Just something to think about.

Thanks.

BSAM · Oct 28, 2006

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

.....I like QCharts and have defended it here many times, but you guys don't seem to realize that IB data is free and there are excellent charting applications that can use it. Even I am beginning to question why I should pay a couple of hundred bucks a month for a product that is not always reliable, particularly now that we are getting the trademark ESig nickel and dime treatment.

(Speeeee, AAA---www.quotetracker.com)

Babak · Oct 28, 2006

Quote from eSignal Support:

As a data vendor, all our fees are right up-front for users to evaluate. We don't make money off margin accounts or commissions, like most brokers. So a comparison to a broker like IB is not really valid.

That's a non sequitur. I didn't compare you to a broker. I simply said that you should explicitely state which exchanges are charging you for the delayed data and pass those on to the customers. This is the way IB handles exchange fees.

Instead what you're doing is charging customers based on the conjecture of what an exchange may or may not do.

In case it is still not clear, here's an illustration:

Exchange A - has begun charging $1 for delayed data
Exchange B - has not but may in the future
Exchange C- has not and says will not

Qcharts should break it down and only charge for Exchange A's data. What I disagree with is charging $5 based on the conjecture that Exchange B and C may at some point in the future charge for such data.

Capisce?

local_crusher · Oct 28, 2006

sorry, but to say that esignal fees are transparent is simply not true - I think i have never seen a more complex fee table.

It is a matter of fact, that the retail market-data business could be a very profitable ground for a new provider.

If IB or another really competitive company entered this market, they would immediately crush the existing 'players' like IDC who take it from the living & the dead.

Think of it as about 500-1000MB of data each month coming to you for $150-$400

AAAintheBeltway · Oct 28, 2006

The problem here is not really ESig. It's those damn exchange fees. I have always resented paying $40-60 per month simply for the privilege of using an exchange. And let's face it, as exchanges consolidate, these fees are going to increase. It is a guarnateed profit stream for them.

I have stayed with QCharts for futures data/charting because it is exactly what I wanted. Does it have 97 indicators? No, but who uses them anyway, particularly if you are an intraday trader. It has super convenient drawing tools, everything works the way you expect it to, and there is none of the hassle with backfill or historical data you get using the IB feed. Fire it up in the morning and you are ready to go, no worries about refreshing charts,etc.

Now if only QCharts would come up with a way for us to use the IB feed for intraday data and avoid the exchange fees, but keep their excellent historical data. Would anyone be interested in that product?

Cdntrader · Oct 28, 2006

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

Now if only QCharts would come up with a way for us to use the IB feed for intraday data and avoid the exchange fees, but keep their excellent historical data. Would anyone be interested in that product?

whoa there's the holy grail!

LOL