1 thing that might not be good with eoption though (I think ) is if you have a 1 x 1 vertical spread, you will get charged their ticket charge of $3 for each leg which means 3.1 for the buy and another 3.1 for the sell vs. IB of 70 cents for 2 contracts which brings it up to $2 with their minimum charge of $1. Is this accurate?
Unless you're buying DOTM on SPY/SPX or other LIQUID equity option, you may want to stick with some of the more tried and true brokerage firms only because you'll get decent fills with IB and/or TOS. If you cannot get filled or get filled at a shitty price, I can guarantee you the cost of commission will PALE in comparison to the cost of a poor purchase (or sale) price. While brokerage firms get paid for order flow, I have heard that eOption is notorious for poor fills given their routing system that redirects orders based on payment for order flow. At least with IB or TOS you can pretty much trade on any given option exchange and the order will be routed to the exchange where the liquidity is greatest.
DeltaHedge Thanks much for your take. Not to bash eOption at all, just to say my search reveals that not all are served optimally at one brokerage vs another. "Fit" is of maximal import. And, determining whom is a fit~ reveals much more about my trading and influences thereon! What a mirror! Perhaps I'm evolving and whom initially I'd reject or find alluring as a brokeage affilliation, is no longer under consideration, while another shifts back into view. For me, that is a beauty of this site...exploring !
I trade 500-lot credit spreads at OptionsHouse and I am happy with them. I'm just a retail trader, so I don't know anything about direct access.
Thanks for mentioning OptionHouse. I just learned that my buddy uses them [believe it's sister company BrokerHouse, same platform] because they understand the nature of the particular option plays he puts on. He calls a specific broker whom was assigned him, when necessary- which isn't often. He does like their service & platform.
+1. this is why major institutions do transaction cost analysis (TCA) to measure EVERY cost - not just the obvious (and sometimes smallest) one.
I wonder if OptionsHouse's ability to piggyback on PEAK6's backend means that their technology and trading capabilities are being under-recognized.
i don't think it matters. everyone loved OH when they had the unlimited cars for $10 but the deal turned out to be too good for their customers so they got rid of it. i doubt OH's execution is any better than TOS' or IB's even though they have peak6 support. anyone confirm or deny this with personal experience?