Games like that are played in after hours all the time on the more illiquid nasdaq stocks. Stock will close at 22.69, after hours spread goes to 22.60x23.69; I've caught myself a few times almost lifting that offer without thinking. re: market making $1 away, I'll bet that for every sucker you catch with that strategy, you'll easily give back triple and then some when a news item on that stock happens to hit the wire and people start banging out all ECN bids $5 below the last trade.
Thank you everyone for all the comments. Obviously i am not happy with what took place. I do not agree with people placing these orders 1$ outside of the market. I think it is unethical. I also think it is unethical when people cut me off while driving, and i think it is unethical for people to drink and drive. The bottom line is that this stuff is going to happen regardless of what i think. One thing i want people to notice is how island handled this matter. Can someone comment on how only part of the trade got busted? How can you break the 1 print for 300 shares but not the print for 700? Why did they wait 2 hours to break it? Wow what a coincidence the stock moved over that full point and now i was in a winning position? Once again if the stock had remained a point lower and i had a negative position would the trade have been broken? Not a chance.
Unfortunately I victimized myself on an island buy in just this fashion about a year ago. Hit the offer for 500 shares exactly 1 pt above what I really intended to buy, on a fairly fast moving stock. I considered it a lesson, never tried to break the trade, and have not since repeated it. If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.
You have a point there. Maybe the monkeys at Island are morons rather than crooks. But it's probably just a normal American business: A dirty, dull business model implemented by an imbecil who happens to have a little cash and to be sufficiently insensitive, with lots of even dumber, but a little less crass employees, who do a half-assed job for the 20 bucks an hour they get paid (as long as the owner doesn't see an opportunity to enrich himself by stopping payment on their checks).
"One thing i want people to notice is how island handled this matter. Can someone comment on how only part of the trade got busted?" its real simple.this was 2 different peoples orders.only one asked for a bust.
i guess there were 2 different sellers at your price level, only one of which agreed to bust the trade. - jaan