Been complaining for 9 months about a problem in the Ameritrade data feed. Still not fixed. Excuse by techs and upper management is , well, we are rolling out another platform in 6 weeks so thats why this is broken and remains broken for the last 9 (or more) months. Billion dollar co.
The data feed problems I see (I use them mostly for their tick-by-tick charts) is that the data for options is often delayed by some number of seconds (sometimes a few, sometimes 30 or so), and sometimes the data for some options suddenly turns stale and it starts showing a bid/ask that are several hours old. I sort of compare AMTD to Burger King. You go there because it's cheap and filling, not because of the quality.
I experienced this very data feed problem today and actually lost money because of that. I called Ameritrade and the freaking customer service just told me it was not part of their contract to provide accurate data.
Today at 3 something all the Ameritrade Level2 servers started lagging by huge amounts. Quote off by a half HOUR or more, It should be illegal to distribute bad quotes like that. Shut the m*****ker off if its not working Worthless even as I post this at 4:30. I called to bitch about it and the broad says she hadnt heard about it. There is the occasional stuck or missing quote, buy I dont think Ive seen an IB quote lag for YEARS.
I have noticed this problem too and it has cost me money. I use APEX. Where is the best place for me to get an option quote? Is it the option chain or is it the little blue and white rectanglur box quotes just before you enter the order?