The cancellation fees are to prevent bots from moving orders all over the place and then pulling them when they look like they'll be hit. Most brokers will offset them with execution credits (not sure if this is done by the exchange or the broker) but generally if you have one fill per five cancels you'll be fine. Instead of bitching about the fees, find a way to work them into your system (do you really *need* so many cancellations)?
ROFLMAO Clearly you see nothing wrong with the juxtaposition of the terms "Trading Guru" and "master financial educator" No?
To the best of my understanding, Nasdaq Options and ARCA Options don't charge any cancel fees AT ALL. So consider routing to them instead. It seems obvious to me that cancel fees are designed to protect the profits of entrenched market makers and/or to make up for antiquated technology at the "legacy" options exchanges. My guess is that such exchanges will likely have to either merge or fold, save ISE and BOX, which could shape up in this respect if they're forced to.
Your theory does not fully add up. The newer, all electronic ISE charges 2.00 per cancel, .5 more than the 'legacy' CBOE. http://www.ise.com/assets//documents//OptionsExchange//legal/fee/fee_schedule.pdf
To clarify -- I regard everything aside from ARCA Options and Nasdaq Options as legacy. In my opinion, the others' policies (BOX's somewhat excepted) structure execution and pricing to grossly favor MM's over customers and I think are on their way out, long-term, one way or the other. But I don't claim to know everything and am as curious as anyone in seeing how this all plays out.
Not being able to cancel? Would probably save me some headaches... It wasn't that long ago that I was chasing the offer on some USO spreads on my blackberry while driving... Everytime I would bid to cross the offer, by the time I submitted, it would move on me... Hell of a time.
The problem is many options have spreads wide enough to drive a truck though. I don't like having to pay good money in order to attempt a FAIR fill. It's a racket. Weren't the fees much lower a short while ago? Like 25 cents through IB.