I always use market orders to short on the NYSE and watch the spread closely to make sure it's filled within reason. I've always been filled fairly, sometimes better than I expected, but I'm sure there's always the risk of being raped. I usually trade pretty high volume stocks though (>1,000,000).
Not true. If a short seller is first to place an order onan uptick, a long seller doesnt take priority. This is a common myth which isnt true. Trust me.
I would imagine that jefftrader is correct because I thought orders would be filled on a price/time preference.
To Baron, This is a great topic with a real interesting discussion going on, has nothing to do with the Software section it's in, and would be very useful to alot of people if it were properly placed in the Trading section.