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Non-Tech : Datek Brokerage $9.95 a trade -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jack Zahran who wrote (6088)	11/25/1997 2:30:00 PM
From: Rubber Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16892

I'm not going to go into who's at fault (I work in customer service, so I hate arguments) but the execution times, if you get on, is within one minute. I cannot say the same for others, but during the day I have quite a fast, reliable internet connection available to me, so I have very few problems trading/check quotes/etc with Datek. As well, I would say I have more trouble getting into cnn.com or cnnfn.com, possibly because of the computer systems in my area (running NCDs with barely enough memory). All in all, the general rule of thumb is still buyer beware. Just because it's advertise doesn't mean what the advertiser's true legal meaning is your own. Advertiser's persuaion of the merit in their products is not uncommon. You know as well as I that late-night televised products are big business. However, most of those products have slight flaws/etc that you can't really tell unless you've experienced it up close. Ultimately it is the consumer that makes the decision as to whether to try and buy, not try at all, or jump into it with blindfolds on. I use Datek because (I don't mind admitting it) I have a really small position. In fact, I just started trading with real money. Am I malinformed? No, I paper trade for several years before it was legal for me to open an account, and you bet I researched on Datek. I picked Datek at the same time when all the complaints about the service were a dime a dozen. I figure equilibrium has to be reached somewhere. With Datek, I find often I get prices between the spread when I sell (I always set a limit) and the price is well, cheap. I can plow my profits right back into the next trade, and the accounting to this moment is still correct (should I be surprised?). Unfortunately for others, they've lost money one way or another (fail to connect to Datek due to server overload for example). With myself, I do a few trades a day, rarely keep it overnight.. and always always set limits trade to minimize losses (right after close). Well, I've got to go for the time being.. certainly welcome your comment. While I agree with you, don't forget that Datek advertises as the fastest service. Many have been taken in by these advertisements and the 1 Minute bait policy. Is it the investors fault that Datek told them otherwise?