www.eoption.com 3 bucks plus 0.10 per contract. Nice. I've been looking for a firm with cheap prices. I know IB is cheaper, but their notorious customer service scared me off. TOS is being bought out by TD ameritrade, but I have an IRA acount with them already and I have no idea what will happen to TOS. So has anyone even tried eOption yet? Their tools look quite sparse...
Insanely basic interface. If you're looking for cheap options prices and a nice interface I like my OH account better than my EOption account, but if you just need low options commissions for small orders than EOption is good for that and (although I've never used it) they can route your orders via broker assisted call for only $6 more per trade.
Well, I would be trading less than 70 contracts for quite a while, but at 6 or more contracts per leg, this would actually turn out to be cheaper than IB.
Commissions are only part of the cost of trading. What about the cost of bad fills? Look at the SEC Rule 606 report for eOption to see where option orders are routed. It is a sad joke.
Well... I just read their 606 report. I'm not too well versed in order flows. Can you translate as to how the percentages deals with bad fills? It seems like a good chunk of the option orders are routed to citadel derivatives group. I think I am going to have to really read that book by Larry Harris about market microstructure...
Well, I just compared a few 606 reports of other online brokers. Think or swim routes most of their orders through Citi. TD Ameritrade routes most of their option orders through the major option exhcanges. Since many people rave about TOS, I would think they provide decent fills. I don't know why Citi would be better than eOption's Citadel. IB seems to want to hide their reports because they ask you to contact customer service for the 606 report...
You need to educate yourself on how the markets actually function and how orders are routed. Do you think that you are going to get a better fill on your orders by routing to a 3rd party or direct to the exchanges?
The IB performance reports are in plain view. Go to the IB homepage. Just put your mouse on the "About IB" tab and click on "Performance Reports", then on the new page click on "IB's Quarterly Broker-Dealer Order Routing Reports".
Wow... then I doubt Think or Swim provides any better fills than eOption... So I guess some of those cranky reviews about IB trading against them and bad fills from IB was just from stressed out traders wanting to blame something external. IB routes mostly directly to the exchanges. Have any recommended reading material? I am eager to suck up anything enlightening.
I don't know a lot about 606 reports etc. But from experience, if you're using limit orders on all your option orders you can mostly ignore those reports. Personally I don't think order routing matters when it comes to options (at all) as much as people try to claim it does, usually in defense of their favorite broker, but again, I know little about routing stuff. Stock orders on the other hand is another issue. I have little experience with EOption other than the one option I bought through them(via limit order which filled the same as any other broker would have. I split the b/a and it filled almost right away). I originally opened the account to lock in a promotional rate in case I wanted it later. (They later made that promotional rate the rate you see now). I ended up not needing it. Despite the "routing" issue the other guy keeps arguing is so relevant; there are other things to look at besides commissions. In this case I'm referring to the interface. Of the brokers I have used, EOption is the most basic, least impressive interface of all. Another reason I love my OH account.