Comparing IB to E-Trade is like comparing a Ferrari to a Pinto. E-Trade, even in its infancy, was never as customer friendly as IB. E-Trade was never that great, IB has maintained its high level of service while getting much bigger.
Yes, they're great; but. The but is simple: if you don't know what you are doing and/or are an idiot you should stay away from ib. They, like Brown used to do, require a certain capability from their customers. If you have a friend using them who can help compensate for what you don't know then this warning may not be so relevant. Some facts if you are seriously asking the question may be found at: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69275&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 Merrill Lynch is highly recommended to those who don't have what it takes to be an IB customer. Cheers