OptionHouse???

Discussion in 'Retail Brokers' started by TraderSU, Jan 30, 2009.

  1. Why don't I see any discussion about this discount broker? No reviews.

    Are they not good & reliable?

    Thanks,
     
  2. they are relativly new so not much on them...they seem to have a pretty good platform and pricing schedule though...

    and no ...i don't work for them
     
  3. SForce

    SForce

    I use OH and have for almost 3 months now. The flat commission is great and I like the interface. It's my favorite interface of any broker I've used. Simple and to the point. They have a few tools but I've never used them, don't need them. My only wish is that you could route orders to specific exchanges, but that is not a choice. Hopefully in the future they allow it for a surcharge or something. What else you curious about with them?

    (I also do not work for OH).
     
  4. i had some wierd experiences with them.

    i wanted to sell one naked call. and I clicked the preview and it accidently refreshed 5 times and sold 5 calls. instead of 1

    now it so happened that, by the time I realised it, the calls were profitable, but I will not hope that this happens again. I am trying to get a refund on the commission claiming that I wanted to do all 5 simultaneously, as the time diff between my trades were just a few seconds..

    also, I like they activity logs and the ease in which you can export to excel and analyse your trades.

    but here is one problem with commissions
    since it is flat.. I tend to use them when I do a large number of contracts
    I also have Thinkorswim and when I have to do a single contract , I use TOS


    also , if u refer someone from optionshouse, they will give you your 10 freee trades after 6 months.. ! a eon of time.

    otherwise I am over all pleased with them.

    i was with Scottrade/zecco and tradeking prior to moving to OH.
     
  5. nlslax

    nlslax

    I'm going to a road show they are having in Orlando this coming week. I like TOS's platform and would keep an account there, but the cost difference with the flat pricing is compelling.

    I'm guessing their interface isn't as intricate at TOS, will probobly sign up the demo.

    Thanks for the input guys. I haven't found any reviews online yet for OH.
     
  6. SForce

    SForce

    Strange, I've never had any issue like that but I'd guess if the records do show 5 executions of the same trade in a short amount of time they would realize it wasn't something you did intentionally. .. Not even sure you could do that on purpose that quick.. guess it depends on how long a few seconds is though.

    I have a secondary account as well. Haven't used it yet, but mainly got it because it (the other broker) had low commission with a low broker-assisted charge to route orders. Oddly enough my other broker just lowered their commissions and broker-assisted fee even lower.

    I had a promo code when I signed up in November and I didn't see any free trades coming through. I had every intention of calling them about it and then one day saw a $200 credit to my account. I called to verify it was not a mistake and sure enough, they credited my promo code. I think it activated after 50 trades.

    I need to make sure people put me down as reference if they join. It always slips my mind.
     
  7. SForce

    SForce

    Yah I got an advert about the road show in Palm Beach. Going to try and make it to that one on Tuesday or whatever day the paper says just out of curiosity and because I have s--t else to do.

    I've never used TOS and at most seen a couple screen caps from people but safe to say no it isn't as intricate. I think they run off the theory that if you have a use for 9.95 flat option pricing then you probably have tools you're used to and won't change anyways - seems accurate to me. All market info is realtime though and the option chains are realtime auto-updating. No L2 but you can pull up exchange info on each option to see current bid/ask sizes.

    Anyways yah, when I was looking into them I couldn't find any reviews etc either which is obviously why I'm writing this now.
     
  8. nlslax

    nlslax

    I agree SForce, as long as the platform is intuitive and I can use some other tools I'm used to, I'm sure it would work. I mostly trade spreads so taking a little extra time having to use a secondary tool isn't an issue.

    I'm just a little curious how they can make a profit at $9.95 per trade vs $.50 per contract. I will be sure to ask that ? on Thursday. Let me know how it goes on Tuesday.
     
  9. SForce

    SForce

    Yah and I don't trade spreads but they now do 14.95 per spread up to 4 legs.

    One way I figured they could be saving money is if they're using some of Peak6's network capabilities. Piggy backing on their internet uplinks etc. If Peak6 had enough unused bandwidth that was being paid for already etc etc etc

    I also don't think they need a lot of people in the customer service department for tech help etc. It's not that the interface isn't noob friendly but what new trader would have a use for OH over one of the other brokers that target new people specifically.
     
  10. nlslax

    nlslax

    I see where they say I can open and close an IC for $14.95 each way regardless of the # of contracts. That sounds good - it also sounds a little too good so I will ask my questions.

    My current broker charges me $100 each way for a 20 contract (20 contracts each side = 80 total) IC. Paying $30 roundtrip vs $200 is something to think about. $200 could be 20% or more of my max potential profit.

    I'm curious what their rules are re portfolio margin and trades within an IRA. I've read their FAQ's - will see what they say this week about that and SIPC coverage.
     
    #10     Jan 31, 2009