?? I see that if I make the money on a short the broker credits it to my account, and removes it if I lose, but as the title of this thread asks : where does the money go ? Come from ? Is a person lending the stocks just betting against the one shorting and assuming the financial consequences ?? Or ??
Your profit, as a short-position holder, is the "paper loss" that the long-position holder endures. Don't overanalyze it beyond that.