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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Curbstone who wrote (4918)	2/5/1999 6:24:00 PM
From: Cosmo Daisey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13953

Mike, """.get a back up broker. I have one and any stock I want to sell through ETrade I can sell short with the other broker to box it until ETrade get back on line and then close both positions or close the one that's against me.""" Open an account with another brokerage, the chances of both being down at the same time is pretty small. The new era of online brokers will have problems with technical growth of the hardware and the constant need to update systems. E*Trade is an online broker primarily and to expect their telephone service to be adaquate when the net service is down is a little silly. The telephony system was not designed to be a backup for the net or anything like that. Here is how it works: If broker A is down and I want to sell a stock I hold in my A account, I go to broker B and sell it short. This is known as boxing. No matter which way the price moves, I am at the same position because I gain if it goes up with my long position and lose if it goes up with my short and vice versa thereby keeping me at the same place. When broker A comes back online I can decide which position to close depending on the up or down momentum of the stock right now or just close both positions at the same time and get the price I wanted when I sold short. I have two online brokers and they have both experienced down time, this technique works. No complaints, no excuses, no bitching, just do it. We are in for many months or even years of internet broker problems so we need to be aware of the options available to us to get the job done. I would never hold Schwab stock in a Schwab account because I want to reverse the position and short them if they are down without having to double my short position to box the price. Mike, i've been doing this a long time and the one thing I have learned is the time you spend bitching could be better spent figuring out a solution. Sure you will pay a little more on commissions but usually you can make it back by holding one of the positions a little longer. The legal system is looking for headlines so they can say you elected us and we are doing our job. cdaiseyPhD@attorneys'-generals-are-politicians.com