To: Plucky who wrote (494 ) 3/12/1998 5:03:00 PM From: NAUGHTY NOTES Read Replies (2) | Respond to
the onll sure way to sell an otc stock is by hitting the bid, whatever it may be. be careful when you phone your broker you don't say "it's 65-70, sell my 10000 at .65" if you really want to sell all of it. if only one market maker is bidding he may only take 2000 or 5000 leaving you with the balance. if the market is moving fast you may get a call 10 minutes later at .55 cents and you're stuck. you are better of saying (if you trust your broker and their traders) "sell my 10000 with a 60 cent limit". if you have 20000 or 30000 you would want to piece it out in 5000's. if your broker called a mm and said "i have 30000 to go, you are on the bid at .65" you would sell 5000 if you were lucky and instead of him being 63 bid he will pull back to 58. the other mm's will see this and realize there is a size seller out there and will back off as well. the only way to sell these stocks is to say "just whack the ####". on occasion you can sell in between if your trading desk is good. they will phone the other companies that are not mm's and say "i am a better seller on fdcd if you have any interest". if that broker has an open order to buy at 65 a deal would be struck and thay would cross it away from the mm's.if he/she got a buyer a while later at and the market was .63-.68 and their buyer was willing to pay mkt, they would phone your desk and buy yours at .65 and ,print the trade,and then sell it to their client at .68(hence a double print).selling in the middle involves a lot of calling around sometimes, and if it's busy they won't do it. your ticket will be filed away and forgotten, meanwhile the stock was bid 65 cents for 10 minutes but the trader was sleeping at the switch or just too damn busy to remember your crumby little order. if he does happen to remember it and it is bid at .68 , and your trader is a bit slimy, he will sell stock at .68 to the bidder and then buy your stock at .65 and pocket the difference (market permitting of course). so this is the way of the "out of your pocket and into mine" market. you can't be afraid to sell a few cents lower to ensure that you can actually sell it. good luck.
