i suspect anyone looking for the cheapest commision is also looking to make sure they get the best price on the stock as well
hey? i don't know what you are talking about. i don't want the cheapest commission per se, i want the best direct access deal on 5000-10000 share lots. as i said, i only plan to use this account for QQQs. as far as gettting the best price on the stock? well, as long as the broker gives me the ability to get a price when i see it come up, that's all i ask for.
"So far the cheapest I have found is datek, who charge $9.95 for up to 5000. I wouldn't mind paying 2 lots of 9.95 to take 10,000 shares. It's still better than anything else i've seen. Does anyone know of any other brokers who could better this deal?" daniel m so sorry, was only going by my understanding of your opening post quote above and as it happens, i thought i was agreeing with you as in, no point to get a great price when you are filled if you are paying too much commish, and no point, paying low commish if your fill is away from the market anyway, perhaps i will stick with pissing people off, seems easier than agreeing, less flak!
I have had an Ameritrade account for about three years that I opened just to handle the larger trades in cheap stocks. They have a smart order routing system that I think is as fast, as good, and often better than many of the direct access accounts. For the larger orders, Ameritrade's smart order routing brakes the order down into parts as necessary and finds the market for the parts of the large order. IB's "Smart Order Routing" also does great on the larger orders but the commissions will cost more on the large orders. IB's TWS is for sure the best trading platform I have used. Catoosa
If you want to trade the QQQs effectively, then you'll need a direct island link. This eliminates most retail brokers like Ameritrade. Datek does offer direct island access, but there are drawbacks. The datek execution platform is web-based, not ideal for scalping or high activity trading. When I started out, I used datek. Its a pain to cancel orders and change prices. In addition, datek doesn't allow trading in $0.001 increments, which helps with the QQQs. Datek will charge you $9.99 for 5000 shares, and Ib will charge you $27.50. So the difference $17.50, which is less than 1/2 cents per 5000 shares. This difference is only significant if you are going to be scalping the QQQs, in which case the Datek platform will be a severe hinderance.
Guys if you are using Datek as your broker you have to be using Medved quote tracker. It makes everything 10x faster. Your charts, level I, level II, placing your orders, ect.... Once you place an order it is on your order screen. Canceling or changing your order takes just seconds. Scalping is even easy with Datek and Medved. Not only that but you also have many different ways to send your order. If you like a price on the Island book click on it and bang, you got it. Like the bid on your level I ro II, click and it's yours. The system is actually pretty fast. www.quotetracker.com It's free!!! Do yourself a favor.