Ron:
You didn't ask me, but I can't keep my opinions to myself.
Have you had a problem with canceled orders not being canceled?
Yup. The JB On-line (JBOL) software is really flakey. You never know if what you thought you did is what the system thinks you wanted it to do. Until the next day. If the system isn't AFU like it was today. There can be as much as a couple of hours delay between your request to do something (changes, orders, cancellations) and the confirmation showing up on your screen.
Are your account balances accurate?
Pardon me while I snicker. I do all my trades on a margin account, and I have never been able to figure out what the JB folks are telling me is in my account. I have to admit that some of the confusion is at my end (which stocks are over $5, what's short and its current market value, the phase of the moon last Tuesday), but even when everything is long and over $5, the numbers never match up. If you want to deal with these guys, just watch the number of shares in your account, and keep your margin to less than they indicate you can use.
With eschwab you never - never - place market trades
Good rule for any broker you trade through, unless you just like to be ripped off.
Is margin interest reasonable and how often compounded?
I really dunno. I think it's reasonable, but it is so hard to figure out what your "real" margin balance is, that when they say you were charged a certain amount, there is really no way to argue with them.
If you have complaints, does JB O treat you well?
Sure, if you want to talk to the High School kids that answer the phone. If you know what you are talking about, and want a serious answer to a question that the kids can't quite comprehend, you have to wait for a trader to call you, at his convenience. My experience has been that the trader won't discuss your question/problem, he just says, "I'll take care of it." Then he hangs up, and to find out what he has done to you, you have to wait until the next day and try to figure it out from whatever they think you are worthy of knowing that gets pasted on your JBOL screens (if you can get through).
Ron, you didn't ask, but let me interject -- do not place limit orders within the spread, or use prices less than 1/16.
They do not get executed, and trying to get them resolved is a nightmare. If you decide to use JB (oh, woe be onto thee), plan on simple, widely placed trades. Shorts are risky, multiple shorts are disasterous. Don't try to do more than one command per day (buy, sell, limits, etc.), unless you are willing to spend the next 24-48 hours in resolving the confusion that you have caused ("Left face, right face, about face, foreward march!") <VBG> With JB, the KISS principal applies (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Yeah, I'm shopping for another broker, so my comments and attitude can be taken with a grain of salt. But, forewarned is forearmed.
Good trading amigo,
jim |
