Topsteptrader

[Xela]

Xela,

Did you actually read ALL 8 pages of the thread?

I did, yes.

According to the thread you cited, it seems the owner was accused of disguising his true identity as a competing vendor on a message board where traders can post anonymously.

On more than one, it seems?

A "scam" has a very distinct definition, such as the following:

scam (def): "A fraudulent business scheme, a swindle. An illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves tricking people. A dishonest scheme."

Fair enough, Joe: I've seen no real evidence that the scheme itself is dishonest - only that the person running it has been repeatedly dishonest and deceptive. My wording probably left something to be desired.

Given what we know, and can/can't see about MES and TST, it seems very remarkable to me that people are somehow trying to compare, perhaps even to equate, the two. MES is certainly "shabby" at least, even if not demonstrably a "scam". The owner conceals and even lies about his identity. In contrast, in the case of TST, we can see real people with real phone numbers and a real physical address, and a long history, and they're accountable and very public and so responsive that there's apparently almost no aspect of their business that they're not willing to debate and discuss in public.

I think the poster who asks (in that other forum) "Do I want to do business with and depend for my income on someone who was repeatedly dishonest and deceptive?" probably has it about right.

I think Michael Boulter, who owns that forum and started the thread to warn his own members about MES, is probably a pretty good and experienced judge of these things, too.

All "just my opinion", of course.

 

[endicottsteel]

Combine update. On holiday!

 

[p0box4]

Day 4 FTP update - I blew out and hit the -$4500 max drawdown. I am expecting the email from TST confirming I failed FTP and getting sent back to combine. As per my plan I will take up their offer of $1 for another 1 month combine allowing myself only 1 reset this time. (3 overall chances to get to funded).

No excuses, no blaming TST rules, no blaming the market, 100% my responsibility. I just didn't trade well enough and with enough patience.

I am away on holiday until 12th April so will restart the combine then. GL.

I don't know about yours but email say's this:

If a rule is violated, you’ll be moved back to the Combine.*
*Any previous discount offered for a FTP rule violation is no longer valid

Currently i am down 460$ so almost half of the max DD allowed.
I will avoid trading CL for the next few day's/weeks, current behavior in CL are not good for my trading system.

 

[endicottsteel]

I don't know about yours but email say's this:

If a rule is violated, you’ll be moved back to the Combine.*
*Any previous discount offered for a FTP rule violation is no longer valid

Currently i am down 460$ so almost half of the max DD allowed.
I will avoid trading CL for the next few day's/weeks, current behavior in CL are not good for my trading system.

They emailed me when I blew up my FTP giving me the one time only code for the $1 combine retake. I havent used it yet but will when I get back from holiday.

 

[Xela]

I'm guessing Fuerteventura(?).

 

[endicottsteel]

I'm guessing Fuerteventura(?).

Good guess. Playa bossa, Ibiza. Amazing beaches. Took this a couple of hours ago at cala cabo.

 

[Xela]

Took this a couple of hours ago at cala cabo.

Very nice too ... I've never been to Ibiza. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

 

[ScalperJoe]

Fair enough, Joe: I've seen no real evidence that the scheme itself is dishonest - only that the person running it has been repeatedly dishonest and deceptive. My wording probably left something to be desired.

Obviously when comparing transparency, one cannot compare MES with TST, since there is still limited information on MES regarding their program, vs. an abundance of information on TST.

My response to your post was not directed at comparing the two firms, only to address your accusation of MES being a "scam."

 

[ScalperJoe]

@Xela is trying to give good advices to a sucker and she's asked to prove her statements... Where is your evidence that it isn't ? Out there it's Guilty until proven innocent. Not the reverse. Because we know most products are toxic when it comes to finance.

"Where is your evidence that it isn't?"

Not a single post on the links provided by the OP accuses the firm of breaching a contract with its traders.

From just a cursory overview, it seems the firm doesn't collect any fees up front, neither during the trial period nor during the funding period. A few traders claim they were paid their percentage of profits, and a few traders said they "blew up" their accounts, whereby the firm took the loss.

Now, one can make an argument and claim "a 50% payout is a scam" when comparing it to Top Step's 100% payout on the first $5,000 and 80% thereafter, however that would STILL be just an opinion.

A "scam" would imply the firm willfully deceived traders. Example: if a firm makes a claim that it's registered with a securities exchange when in fact it isn't. Example: if a firm collects funds to open a live trading account, and then puts traders in demo. (See links below).

http://www.nevisfsrc.com/advisories-2/warnings/267-nevis-trading-group-llc

http://www.dastrader.com/documents/April27-Notice-on-Nonko-g6-Nevis.pdf

Xela doesn't have to do business with MES, and neither do you or I, or anyone else for that matter. A trader has to conduct their proper due diligence before doing business with any firm, especially if there's limited information.

 

[Xela]

Obviously when comparing transparency, one cannot compare MES with TST, since there is still limited information on MES regarding their program, vs. an abundance of information on TST.

That is comparing them, Joe.

You've just compared them, in that very sentence. You even used the term "vs". If that isn't a term of direct comparison, what is it?

MES emerges very badly from that most important comparison, in my opinion.

My response to your post was not directed at comparing the two firms, only to address your accusation of MES being a "scam."

As you've just mentioned yourself, there's very little information yet about MES's scheme, and apparently none at all about whether people actually get paid the (poor-by-comparison) 50% of what they "earn". What we do know, though, is that it's being run by someone who has repeatedly been dishonest and deceptive.

So (as I quickly acknowledged, above) I should perhaps have made my "red flag comments", strictly speaking, about the owner, rather than about the scheme itself. My own perspective is that that's more than enough to put me off, anyway.