IB's systems have had some issues lately. I remember one day last week (maybe tuesday???) where TMBR autoex wasn't working all morning, and by late morning there was a bulletin saying that the IB systems were having some issues. This morning I had some lags when routing SMART orders for NYSE. I got that light blue (order is rec'd by IB but not yet working) color for like 2-3 seconds before the order turned green. I also didn't get any TMBR auto-ex's either, but I also wasn't trading much... Whenever all of my SMART NYSE trades go straight to NYSE (like last tuesday or this AM) it usually means IB is having some technical problems... just my .02 [EDIT] --- your problems are from ARCA, not IB ARCA has been f^cking everybody up for months now with stuck quotes...IB is simply re-broadcasting the fake ARCA market...and when you go to hit it, it's not really there...
I once went to a restaurant where there were rumors that they were using horse meat in their stew instead of beef. They were 'stew manipulators'. I kept eating the stew, day in and day out and hated it. I would throw up at the end of every meal but kept going back for more. It was a terrible period of my life but what made it bearable was that at the end of every day I got to 'complain' to everyone how bad the stew was and to spread the rumor that they were using horsemeat instead of beef (although I had no basis for this belief except for my own paranoia).
So if I understand correctly, you're not interested in seeking a broker you're satisfied with. Instead, you'd rather stay with one you're dissatisfied with, and complain when they don't meet your standards? You give the word "fool" new definition. OldTrader
he's pulling your chains (has been for some time now) and you're falling for it. ignore this lamer qd. 8-|
Likewise, I'm very pleased with IB. Have to agree, though, it's downright stupid to stay with a brokerage that you don't like, unless of course you just want another thing to continually complain about.... I doubt you'll be happy as some people just aren't built that way, but maybe you'll be happier.... or is that less unhappy.
You can try to match the bid and ask price to see whether they are accurate. If you are buying but the bid is the already at the same level as the ask (or even higer then ask) then probably the ask price is not accurate. Raise your buying price 1 tick ahead of the bid in this case. I had the same problem but i find this helps.
I think that most of the bad quotes I have seen are due to ARCA. If you see a locked or crossed bid, ARCA is probably to blame. I wish ARCA would fix their problems or go broke - I sometimes wonder of the "bad" quotes at ARCA are accidental.
The majority here may not like qdz2. But he is correct in saying there is an issue with the quotes. This morning was especially bad (equity/option quotes). In my experience when there is a quote issue it is often very difficult to illustrate/prove to IB but they will listen. I wasn't going to say anything until I noticed it for a few more days......
No it wasn't an ARCA issue. When there is an ARCA issue the quotes often get crossed quickly as ARCA is frozen. This was all equity quotes. In some cases they were 3-5 seconds behind. An easy way to test is to enter your limit order on an illiquid stock away from the market and see how long it takes to show up in the IB quote. (ie a listed stock with no real market on Island)