There's no arb there for the little guy. Serial months MAR/JUN/SEP/DEC of index futures settle to cash as that's the only time they expire. ES for example stops trading at 9:30 but the settlement isn't known until around Noon or so. The QCharts symbol is SET.X for the SP settlement and it's also posted on the CME once it's calculated.
IB only allows deliverables of cash. IB just doesn't get into the business of physical deliverables because it's a huge headache. Since a very high percentage of people who trade are only interested in getting the cash as a result of the movement of a particular commodity, IB is here to serve that need. If you are interested in getting a few rail cars of corn to your doorstep, there are other brokers that can help you.
next time i am going to buy some outta money calls for a nickle and try to hit jackpot with them. i noticed back in march they jacked that shit up too. i was ripped that time couple Gs. i thought it was odd. good thing this time i rolled.
From what has been said here, you got ripped because there was a strong BUY bias on Friday. Had it been the other way you would have banked. Moral is, if you don't understand the rules, don't play the game. In this case, get your butt out of the contracts BEFORE expiration to avoid the random fill.
I'm amazed that someone who is so blatantly wrong, who makes false and insulting statements, would not even both to offer an apology other then then the weakly worded one above that sounds like typical politician weasel-speak ("I apologize if you somehow took offense when I said you ripped me off.") Here let me help you construct a proper apology which you owe both IB and Def: "Def, sorry for being an ignorant tool and blaming IB and everyone but myself for my lack of knowledge. Next time I will do some basic research before I go off half-cocked. Thank you for not giving me the internet spanking that I most decidedly deserved." See, that wasn't so hard.
Hey Def, a suggestion... When IB sends out these warning message emails saying "one or more futures or futures options in your account have an underlying for which IB cannot accept delivery. These contracts(s) are approaching either first notice or expiration dates..." it would be nice if you would identify which account has the offending position and which position you are referring to. I've got multiple accounts and many futures positions and it is bothersome to have to look through and guess/figure out what we're talking about. I'm guessing I got the message last night due to some Nymex July crude futures. I believe these futures continue trading until Wednesday (and first notice day is on Friday), so your warning message is a little premature. Unless, perhaps, you were referring to some other position I've got?? It's hard to tell. Just a suggestion... Aaron Schindler Schindler Trading