Some commision realities about IB and Tradestation
- Thread starter jay123
- Start date
don't bring the thread down to that level. But if I may, no wonder why you have 700 plus posts in 6 months of signing on this username, when they are all 5 words response that have the intellectual capacity and insight of a 4 year child. Hey look I just got my post count up by one more.
Now back to the real discussion.
OK, 6 pages later and the schmuck still has no alternative to IB. Don't you just love whiners?
This schmuck, bundlemaker you putz , is telling you that he didnt open the thread to drive away customers from IB. He started the thread to make IB customers as well as TradeStation customers aware of their true commisions costs when applied to real life trading. I never had nor will I mention alternative brokers here to use in place of them, that is not my intention it is only your perception that I should have. No I hate whiners by the way. I hate when people whine but I love when people are willing to make more aware to others certain hidden costs that are being passed on to customers whatever business that might be in. I am glad there are people like me that keep others more aware and possibly businesses a bit more on their toes so putzes like yourself Bundlemaker can enjoy the fruits of those movements later on.
What do you want? $0 commissions? Or maybe a direct access broker to pay YOU for your trades? Geez ... some of us who have been trading remember the days when you paid $25 PLUS ECN fees PLUS SEC fees just 7-10 years ago. If you're gonna whine about this then I suspect you need to come up with a trading strategy that can cover these MASSIVE incremental costs. Or, why not trade INTC, MSFT, CSCO where liquidity isn't a problem and you'll get filled on ALL your shares at YOUR price?
was "you want 1000 shares, you only get filled at 500".
why not do what i used to do (and still do sometimes when i want it NOW), which is to put in the price ABOVE the ask?
so the trade comes as: 500 sh @60.1, 200 @60.12, 200@60.15, 100@60.2 total comission $7.50 . (IB).
however...if you cancel, and then are more patient, you'll spend $10 on commish, and get a lower price on the shares.
if you go to another broker that charges $10/trade, no matter what, you'll still spend $10 for that first 500 shares, and then $10 for that second 500 shares, unless you put the price above the ask. in which case the $10 in commish from them is still slightly higher than IB's.
(using IB only, as i dont have an account with TS).
why not do what i used to do (and still do sometimes when i want it NOW), which is to put in the price ABOVE the ask?
so the trade comes as: 500 sh @60.1, 200 @60.12, 200@60.15, 100@60.2 total comission $7.50 . (IB).
however...if you cancel, and then are more patient, you'll spend $10 on commish, and get a lower price on the shares.
if you go to another broker that charges $10/trade, no matter what, you'll still spend $10 for that first 500 shares, and then $10 for that second 500 shares, unless you put the price above the ask. in which case the $10 in commish from them is still slightly higher than IB's.
(using IB only, as i dont have an account with TS).
it is beyond comprehension to me, and likely many others who have been around for a long time back into the early 80's..... how ANYONE can complain about IB. I love these guys although I do not trade very large size as addressed in the original poster's altruistic "complaint"; and I trade a lot of options.
But it is certainly often true (Jay) that some people just don't know how good they have it! My advice (with all due respect) is, don't take things for granted bro. And since you first mentioned a Chinese stock in your illustration... I will suggest a chinese adage to consider:
BE CAREFUL what you wish for!
Regards,
ICe
a side benefit, which i've probably mentioned elsewhere...
IB's reliability and speed of execution is incredibly good. i used to be with other brokers - some not geared towards daytraders, some were - and none of them matched IB.
because of this, my trading performance increased considerably, because i could concentrate on my trades, and not worry about outside influences. some were reliability and speed...and one was "gee, if i don't price this just right, i'll have to pay another $20 to get out of 300 shares or maybe more if i don't price it right". with IB, i just say "whoop dee doo. $3 more."
if you're on TS or MB, i can't comment on those systems, and have only heard good things on those as a rule.
IB's reliability and speed of execution is incredibly good. i used to be with other brokers - some not geared towards daytraders, some were - and none of them matched IB.
because of this, my trading performance increased considerably, because i could concentrate on my trades, and not worry about outside influences. some were reliability and speed...and one was "gee, if i don't price this just right, i'll have to pay another $20 to get out of 300 shares or maybe more if i don't price it right". with IB, i just say "whoop dee doo. $3 more."
if you're on TS or MB, i can't comment on those systems, and have only heard good things on those as a rule.
Ditto!
Period!!
AMEN!!!
As far as I'm concerned any profitable trader for the year... ought to turrn over a small % of said profits to IB's Holiday Fund as thanks for a great year, for charging fair & professional commissions for off-floor retail traders and as a token of our goodwill! :eek:
As far as I'm concerned.... IB should prosper and grow!
Guess my sentiments are based upon thinking back to how much I have given greedy Charley (Schwab), and others, over the past years that, if returned, would likely buy a large second home in Aspen... !!
ICe
p.s. Contrast IB with Cybertrader (a Schwab company), and note their (Cyber's) ripoff commissions structure on options and the like, during recent years encompassing a bear market... up until present!
Do I want zero commissions? Sure why not I wouldn't mind trading for free, however since that is unrealistic I will settle for reduced commissions year over year. I began trading in 1993 and I remember trades at Waterhouse being charged based on dollar size. You would buy 1000 shares of a 50 dollar stock and get charged 50 bucks for it. They called that "semi-discount" brokering. People complained then about waterhouse...but people in those days would say geez your complaining about Waterhouse well if you were using Merrill Lynch you would have been charged 100 bucks for that trade so don't complain! This is no different then now...yes commissions are drastically lower than those days. I remember the evolution to how we got down to these prices. Mainly back them broker/dealers were making fortunes ripping people off for commissions however people accepted it. People didn't know better or didn't feel "comfortable" arguing the point. Looking back nobody in their right mind would accept such commissions schedules these days. Now going forward its the same thing...I will voice my opinion and say yes I would like lower commissions...am I selfish yes...more money to me in the end. However, one thing I would like of IB and Tradestation is simply to not reset their commission schedules when modifying the price of a limit order.
Clueless you call me...no sir. I am very experienced in all of this and have been around for too many years in this business from the broker/dealer in the early 90's to trader for almost a decade.
My bottom line has always been profitable over time and over comes any commission schedule thrown at me. However, as has been brought up in many other threads regarding lower commission costs etc etc, why not try to get them lower? Good businesses do 2 things :
1: They increase revenue
2: Keep costs down
I do number one very well...As for number 2 I like to do what I can to apply external pressures to keep rates as competitive as they can be going forward.