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

To: Gerald Walls who wrote (7456)	3/20/1998 7:17:00 PM
From: The Vet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16892

<< Does an account at Datek provide any perks? >> Generally I have been happy with Datek (I have been trading with them almost a year) but you must be prepared to work things out for yourself as their support is pretty thin and you are lucky to get a real person to answer the phone within a reasonable period. This can be expensive if you are out of the US and can't use the 1-888 number. Things I like about Datek 1. Executions are usually quick. 2. Server Capacity is being constantly upgraded. (Internet network delays can occur but most of them are outside of Datek) 3. They usually fix technical problems promptly. 4. No charges for Wire Transfers 5. Direct representation of your orders on NASDAQ via Island. 6. Check writing now has been introduced Things that have caused me pain. 1. In the early days Wire Transfers and funds in and out could be delayed and it was hard to get service or explanations. (This seems to have improved lately) 2. Failure to acknowledge or address bugs (Actually they have no bugs only undocumented and unwanted features) until they have a fix. 3. No Option trading. 4. Mysterious margin calculations that are hard to verify. Mine are now right but it took several months complaints of incorrect calculations last year before they were fixed. 5. Email notifications are still flaky. Sometimes they arrive sometimes they don't and you never know when. I would just as soon they made it an option and allowed us to turn them off! 6. Email to support is often either lost or ignored. You do far better if you can email a specific person but even that is not sure to obtain a reply. Datek email in both directions seems to often pass into cyberspace never to be found again. 7. You can occasionally get odd fills and there is no all or none function. They only charge one commission for the whole order regardless of the way it fills but I once got stuck with only 39 shares out of a 5000 share order. Be aware that I have not used the cheque writing facility yet so I don't know how it will work out, but I am pleased that almost everything you need to do with respect to your account can be done directly via the web. Hope this recount of my experiences helps.

To: Gerald Walls who wrote (7456)	3/20/1998 9:07:00 PM
From: Peter H. Hodge	Respond to of 16892

Another advantage: they always seem to have shares to short, even on the real popular shorts.

To: Gerald Walls who wrote (7456)	3/20/1998 9:31:00 PM
From: gbh	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 16892

Gerald, I'm also a pretty satisfied customer. Much more so than with my other account at Lombard/Discover. Of many, many trades I've had only 2 or 3 freebies. I'd say the vast majority of my NASDAQ trades have been in under 10 seconds but I must admit I only trade high volume medium to large cap stocks. NY trades are somewhat slower, maybe about 20-40 seconds average, but I can't recall any free NY trades. My few dealings with customer service have been pretty good too. Relatively short phone waits, maybe 5 minutes max. Best perks: 1) FAST executions. 2) Market/Limit same price. 3) Can sometimes fill between the spread. 4) Long to short, short to long in one trade (one commission). 5) Low margin interest. 6) Checking (soon I guess, haven't got the checks yet). 7) Express server almost always up, and fast. 8) Jon Tara's new Super Express page (very cool) stockclub.com 9) Unlimited quotes with a quote list (although I only use this as a backup now that I use Bullsession for dynamically updating quotes).