Because at the time my opinion was the stock was too expensive. So I sold puts at a strike price that I felt was fair value. I do not like having cash just sitting around on the sidelines, especially with the crappy interest rates. So when I want to acquire a position in equity at a predetermined max price point I then go and sell puts. But in the meantime I did collect a nice return. Spreads are also nice if you want to buy at a predefined minimum price but want to protect your self from any black swan events. So you can predetermine your max loss as well. I like planning ahead, putting it all on paper and then executing my positions. Options are a great tool, Sad that so many people fail to make use of them.
Per here selling put options is "When you are bullish on market direction and bearish on market volatility." http://www.optiontradingtips.com/strategies/short-put-option.html I must have something confused with your plan of wanting to be assigned the stock? See I'm planning on selling Sept S&P OTM options at strike prices below 900 and keep the premium and im having a hard time correlating this to what you did
A trader wants the premium, not the stock. An investor who wants to own stock at a certain price will sell OTM puts. If wrong, he just keeps the premium. If right, he acquires the stock at a more advantageous price.