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

To: bluejeans who wrote (11504)	4/6/1999 8:49:00 PM
From: Sir Francis Drake	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 16892

Yes, it does seem to have deteriorated. I believe I can speak with some credibility, because for quite some time now, I always trade the same stock (MSFT) first thing in the morning. Usually, I sell about 2-3 minutes after the open. Then I buy back within the next 15-20 minutes. Thereafter, I trade it several times. Since it's such a regular practice, with the same stock over the past few months, on almost a daily basis, using the same cable modem/computer set-up, I have a good feel for Datek's performance. I can pretty much draw a graph of the various problems. There was a blessedly flawless performace (at least in my experience) in the last few trading days of February, and the first 8 or so, trading days of March this year. Then the problem with lengthy cancelling cropped up, servers seem a bit more busy, and it has been getting worse. At this point, I again fear trading - and I'm adopting tactics to protect myself (basically, I don't go for the small moves any more). This definitely cuts down on the frequency of my trading. It seems it should be in Datek's interest to fix the problems, as it will result in more commissions for them. I really don't know what this cancelling problem depends upon. I understand that market conditions might have something to do with it (say, very heavy volume, and everyone going after the same shares), or perhaps the MMs have gotten more brazen? I understand there are certain time limits within which an MM has to fill or kill, and it takes some 10 seconds to kill a Snet order, but maybe the MMs are simply breaking the rules? In such cases, shouldn't Datek go back to these MMs and dispute the trades (not just for the sake of the particular customer, but to maintain the integrity of trading for all future clients)? Or is this some technical problem at Datek? Is it a software glitch? So many questions, so few answeres. I'm not necessarily jumping to conclusions, but frankly, it does affect my trading. I hope things get better.