JrFW said: sthota said: 6. Click on Sell and continue.
Just wanted to know from you fellow experienced forex traders, if there is any difference between selling and Liquidate Current Position. And do we need to do two trades for the bonus? or just one trade is enough? Also just curious, does "Liquidating" is considered a second trade? Liquidate will buy/sell at market to clear off your current position (sell if you are long, buy if short). It is meant to close your positions quickly. In a sell order, you can set the price at which you want to sell. You have control over the price but then you order may not execute.
One trade is enough AFAIK. But if you make just a single trade, you will be carrying that position (long or short), till you close it with a second trade. Is that what you want (hold on to whatever you bought/sold short). Liquidating is essentially another trade.
glad i could help. make sure that when you sell you have the correct lot size entered. I believe the default lot size when you sell is zero.
professorlin
New Member
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 4:14a
I got an email invite and signed up and funded the account, a few days later I got an email saying my email address didn't match the invite (I accidentally put in a different one for the account) and that I wasn't getting the bonus. I wrote back explaining that I used a different email address, and they replied with this:
zecco said: Thank you for your email. We do apologize for the misunderstanding. However, the mistake was in the fact that e-mails were sent to individuals who should not have gotten the e-mail. We apologize in advance but no promotional credit will be issued to your account at this time. We thank you for your cooperation in advance.
Any way to fight this?? I called and they basically told me the same thing. Anyone else "mistakenly" receive an email invite?
JrFW said: sthota said: 6. Click on Sell and continue.
Just wanted to know from you fellow experienced forex traders, if there is any difference between selling and Liquidate Current Position. And do we need to do two trades for the bonus? or just one trade is enough? Also just curious, does "Liquidating" is considered a second trade?
Yes technically everyone is doing 2 trades here on the minimum to get the bonus. You could just buy or have a short position(1 trade) if you so desire, but its risky to hold a forex position for a long time.
cosmosandy
New Member
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 9:42a
billionen said: MikeR397 said: krk206s said: I did 10k with Schwab card. Statement closed and showed the 10k earned points. After statement closed I requested 5k withdrawal from Zecco and they did chargeback (didn't email me to tell me they were doing that either). Now my pending points @ Schwab show -5K.
My guess is that when Schwab does the points sweep at the beginning of next month I'll get the $200 in my account, but then I'll be left with a negative points balance once my next statement closes. Will they withdraw from my linked brokerage account? I doubt it. What I think will happen is I'll have build my points back up to positive territory before I start seeing cash in my brokerage account again.That has been my experience in the past. If you already receive points and then get a chargeback, it creates a negative CashBack and you just have to spend though it.
I'm in the same boat. My statement closed, I was automatically sent rewards, then zecco "refunded" (chase's statement wording). I'll probably end up with negative rewards points. Does anyone have experience with chase? I'll post if anything happens, though currently rewards balance is still positive.
negative rewards point should be fine, i am currently having -ve balance. but i assume it would be a good idea to bring it to +ve ASAP
has anyone successfully double-dipped with the forex.com promo? Anyone find out how to transfer funds from zecco to forex to try and get the additional $50 bonus? (and possibly avoid CC chargeback?)
professorlin said: I got an email invite and signed up and funded the account, a few days later I got an email saying my email address didn't match the invite (I accidentally put in a different one for the account) and that I wasn't getting the bonus. I wrote back explaining that I used a different email address, and they replied with this:
zecco said: Thank you for your email. We do apologize for the misunderstanding. However, the mistake was in the fact that e-mails were sent to individuals who should not have gotten the e-mail. We apologize in advance but no promotional credit will be issued to your account at this time. We thank you for your cooperation in advance.
Any way to fight this?? I called and they basically told me the same thing. Anyone else "mistakenly" receive an email invite?
They sent out email invites by mistake??? Geez. What a line.
If they sent you an email, and put on the promotional site that the offer is only valid for those who received their emails - you should get the bonus.
How are people supposed to know if they received an email on purpose or by mistake?
The terms and conditions didn't state you had to use the same email address for the new account.
I would keep fighting for it.
The email explaining how you won't get the bonus after investing $10,000 and doing high risk trading because THEY sent the email to you by "mistake" should be of interest to the BBB.
I have received an email that was actually sent by mistake from a company a couple times. I always got a follow up email apologizing for the first one.
Even if the email was sent to some people by mistake (which I HIGHLY doubt) THEY were responsible for notifying those people of the "mistake" BEFORE those people handed over $10,000 on the basis of the "mistaken" email.
Good question on the transfer. I assumed they would have something in the account opening / funding process to initiate a direct transfer.
However, their terms and conditions say "Accounts transferred from other businesses that principally operate as a forex dealer, futures commission merchant, or securities broker-dealer are eligible to receive an additional $50. FOREX.com may request documentation to prove account withdrawal or transfer such as, but not limited to, a copy of your account statement no older than 30 days."
Crazykole5 said: has anyone successfully double-dipped with the forex.com promo? Anyone find out how to transfer funds from zecco to forex to try and get the additional $50 bonus? (and possibly avoid CC chargeback?)
ProfessorEd
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 1:10p
On negative balances on credit card points.
Years ago I paid some large medical bills by card which I expected to eventually be covered by insurance. After the insurance paid (long after)I got some money refunded by check, but most refunded by credit card. I am not sure the money always went to the card the original charge had been on (they apparently for security reasons had not kept that data). The net result was a negative point balance on these cards that has stayed for years (fortunately, the cards are not very attractive for spending). Naturally, I have not made much use of these cards since for spending.
As was pointed out by someone, it was probably a mistake to charge the expense because you lose negotiating power if there are problems.
ProfessorEd
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 1:41p
Foreign exchange trading is risky.
Even if someone is saying he made money, his luck will probably change.
It is a zero sum game in which wins and losses must be equal, and only the brokers make money. Unless you have a real need to hedge, or special knowledge, do not risk more than you can easily afford to lose.
If you are trying to reduce losses, there may be ways to enter trades in pairs that move oppositely to each other, but I am not immediately sure which they are. Possibly since the US and Canada are closely linked, a pair that was long one (with a third currency) and short the other (again with the third currency) would be lower risk. Possibly a third trade in the US/Canada pair could reduce your risk to almost zero. Almost zero risk means a sure loss (profit for the firm). Even with an apparently perfectly hedged position, the time needed to enter positions and close them out means you could be unlucky and lose significantly.
ProfessorEd
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 2:03p
Since this could have been a good deal for those who got the invitations, does anyone have any good guesses as to whether such promotions may be repeated? Would it be worth opening a Zecco account in order to receive such future offers? For couples, possibly even for each?
While they appear to no inactive account charges I assume they at least check your credit and may be able to hit you with hidden fees etc. Any one have any useful experience?
I gather people are not happy with them as a brokerage firm for use as your main account?
ProfessorEd
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 2:21p
While it may be too late for many, an account such as this appears ideal for someone who has a rewards card with a fee that they plan to eventually close. The new Chase Sapphire card might be an example (a nice bonus number of points for opening a card with a fee, but nothing that makes the card really worth using much afterwards).
You could charge your Zecco puchase to such a card, get points, use points, and eventually have Zecco return your money (minus your losses of course). If credited to the card you would have negative points. If it was a card you wanted to use later (such as the Schwab card with its great 2%) you would have to do enough spending to get into positive points before you got anything. I presume you could then close the card and be home free.
The major risk would seem to be that a sophisticated firm might notice this "loss" and take adverse action either canceling other cards, or declining new cards.
My casual impression from reading many threads is that many firms lack such sophisticated systems,in spite of the obvious advantage of them of such systems (and the apparent ease of setting them up). Many have reported year after year collecting bonuses from the same firms for opening new cards, new bank accounts, etc.
A card that you expected to cancel, might be a little less exposed to adverse action than one you might keep, but not use (to show the history or the lines)since I could imagine someday a manual review in which someone notices the card or cards with a large negative balance and decides this justifies taking points from another card, canceling cards, or turning down new applications.
My impression is that canceled cards (especially ones canceled a while ago) do not appear on many systems. I had an unfortunate experience with a Chase card canceled with a fee I did not want to pay, where the fee was not removed as promised when I canceled. The fee remained on the account along with overdue charges, interest etc. After I learned there was a problem (another firm telling me this unpaid item on a credit report was a problem), a Chase customer service representative when asked to check for unpaid bills claimed there were none (his systems showed only open accounts). While the account was eventually found on another system and the matter dealt with, it did show cnceled accounts were less accessible.
ProfessorEd said: Since this could have been a good deal for those who got the invitations, does anyone have any good guesses as to whether such promotions may be repeated? Would it be worth opening a Zecco account in order to receive such future offers? For couples, possibly even for each?
While they appear to no inactive account charges I assume they at least check your credit and may be able to hit you with hidden fees etc. Any one have any useful experience?
I gather people are not happy with them as a brokerage firm for use as your main account?
I opened my trading account with Zecco in Oct 2008 - funded with $25 - have not made a trade or anything. No fees for inactivity. Not showing as a pull on my credit report.
Opening an account is not simple with them - lots of forms.
I opened in Oct 08 when they were offering free trades. But I decided to find someone to refer me, since they paid a $65 referral bonus. Found someone to do that (and split the $65) - opened and funded ($25 initial deposit). Took forever for them to pay the referral bonus. They verified there was no requirement to trade or no minimum funding required, but played all the other games of did I click on his referral link. They finally paid the bonus.
They are now offering a $75 bonus for referrals - but are requiring that the account be funded with at least $500 now. Must be funded within 60 days of account opening. Still no requirements for a trade to be made.
"You'll receive your referral reward in the first 10 business days of the following month after your friends open and fund their Zecco Trading accounts with $500 or more in each account. Accounts must be funded with at least $500 within 60 days of the account opening date to qualify."
So you could possibly work with someone to give a referral - fund with $500, wait for them to get the $75 bonus (10th day of following month) - and then move some of your money back out of the account and only leave a small amount in.
I am funded with $2550 from credit cards. I am still considering funding the whole $10,001 before I make a trade. But I still don't entirely understand credit card utilization - and am trying to keep my utilization number low.
If I put $5,000 on a credit card and pay it off before the next statement, will it still show that I utilized $5,000 of credit?..especially since I have not used that much credit on the card before, so it would change my high balance amount.
Also - if Zecco refunds the amount to the card (instead of me paying it off) does this have any effect on whether I am considered to have "utilized" those funds?
Also, I have been keeping my credit use under 10% on each card at all times. I use my cards a lot for rewards, but pay the one I use the most often off more than once a month (i.e. any time the balance is reaching 10%). Is the 10% figure too conservative?
jteef1 said: I am funded with $2550 from credit cards. I am still considering funding the whole $10,001 before I make a trade. But I still don't entirely understand credit card utilization - and am trying to keep my utilization number low.
If I put $5,000 on a credit card and pay it off before the next statement, will it still show that I utilized $5,000 of credit?..especially since I have not used that much credit on the card before, so it would change my high balance amount.
Also - if Zecco refunds the amount to the card (instead of me paying it off) does this have any effect on whether I am considered to have "utilized" those funds?
I don't think we know if credit scoring uses utilization as a continuous variable, or uses buckets (e.g., 0%, 1-20%, 20-40%, and so on). However, I believe 10% is too conservative. 20% should be safe. I'd say even 30-40% is quite safe -- keep in mind that there does not seem to be "memory" for utilization, the only one that matters is the most recent / current one ... which you should be able to manipulate on the time scale of one billing cycle (provided you did not spend the money you do not have).
Thank you. I have been trying to learn what I can, but that is sometimes difficult. The basics are easy to learn - but the more specific questions are harder to get answered.
I opened several credit cards at the same time last fall (when I heard it was getting harder to open them, so I decided to get while the getting was good). But my credit score took a big hit, I guess from the combination of inquiries and new credit.) So though I have been using one of them steadily to generate rewards - I pay it off constantly (several times a month) even though it has zero percent interest until April 2010.
My credit score has had two major jumps, but has not changed in the last few months. So I guess I have done all the repairing I can do in that repect, except for the part that will take time into account.
cyberkost said: I don't think we know if credit scoring uses utilization as a continuous variable, or uses buckets (e.g., 0%, 1-20%, 20-40%, and so on). However, I believe 10% is too conservative. 20% should be safe. I'd say even 30-40% is quite safe -- keep in mind that there does not seem to be "memory" for utilization, the only one that matters is the most recent / current one ... which you should be able to manipulate on the time scale of one billing cycle (provided you did not spend the money you do not have).
gerguk
Addicted Member
posted: Jul. 25, 2009 @ 8:16p
i have a zecco stock account and i was invited.. funded w/ 5k and accidentally made a trade.. then quickly funded w/ another 5k+ so i could take advantage of the $200 bonus.. and luckily they did pay out the 200 automatically even though i had less than 10k w/ my first trade.
i dont know why everyone says forex is so risky.. i started sunday totally new to forex and im up 3k.. 0 losses on any trade btw i've requested check withdrawl even after making many many trades and both times they've refunded the money to my credit card. if that doesnt make me a "bona fide" forex trader i dont know what will.
With the deadline quickly approaching, and the fact that I still am learning what to do with the zecco forex, I am haven't really seriously considered opening the other account right now. But I did sign up for a pratice account with them because:
1. It was a good place to play around and learn which buttons to click and how to click them. (My biggest fear has not been choosing the wrong trade. My biggest fear has been doing my chosen trade incorrectly and watching all my funds disappear while I tried to click the right buttons) 2. They let you download a free Currency Trading for Dummies e-book when you sign up. 3. I figured people with practice accounts will most likely be a good "target" market for them to offer future promotions to.
Crazykole5 said: has anyone successfully double-dipped with the forex.com promo? Anyone find out how to transfer funds from zecco to forex to try and get the additional $50 bonus? (and possibly avoid CC chargeback?)
ussrfw
Senior Member
posted: Jul. 26, 2009 @ 12:33p
Good idea! Could you please keep us post on your withdraw process?
mrlandlord said: Finally got my 200 yesterday, 7 days after trade. I forwarded the promo email zecco sent me and had to bother them about 3 times before they finally paid it. Now I am waiting til funding card statement closes, promo is over, and plan to withdraw slowly about 2k at a time to try to avoid chargeback to funding card. They sure did not mention chargebacks in any of the t & c's.
Xeon852
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 26, 2009 @ 3:37p
gerguk said: i have a zecco stock account and i was invited.. funded w/ 5k and accidentally made a trade.. then quickly funded w/ another 5k+ so i could take advantage of the $200 bonus.. and luckily they did pay out the 200 automatically even though i had less than 10k w/ my first trade.
i dont know why everyone says forex is so risky.. i started sunday totally new to forex and im up 3k.. 0 losses on any trade btw i've requested check withdrawl even after making many many trades and both times they've refunded the money to my credit card. if that doesnt make me a "bona fide" forex trader i dont know what will. Thanks for the data point. Since I don't plan on trading that much, I guess I will withdraw now and take it back to the CC since it is clear I will never get to the level of a check request.
remember to enter the nfa# for GAIN Capital (0339826).
With nothing to lose and $200 to gain, here's what I wrote:
The firm mentioned above ran a promotion targeted to a specific group of current clients on July 8th, 2009. I satisfied the terms and conditions of their promotion and they are refusing to honor their promotional offer. It appears to me to be a case of bait and switch but will let your agency determine that for certain. A sample text from the invitation reads as follows:
You can get up to $200 when you fund your account and make your first trade by July 31st, 2009. If you have not already signed up for an account, this is a great opportunity to get started!
Just complete these three easy steps: Open a Zecco Forex trading account Make your deposit Place your first trade!
I'll update this thread as I receive correspondence on this complaint.
As you point out, I don't expect you'll get your $200 bonus. However I did read an interesting GAIN Capital finding on the NFA site you linked....
GAIN was fined $100,000 a couple of years ago for "using deficient promotional material and failing to uphold high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade; failing to establish and implement an adequate anti-money laundering program; and failing to notify NFA that GCG was carrying customer accounts" (link).
full complaint stated on page 2 "NFA's examination found numerous and serious deficiencies with GCG's promotional material"
There were 3 counts in the complaint but only count 1 was specific to how they marketed their service.
How are people only gaining/losing <$10 per trade? I'm doing a lot size of 1 on USD/GPB, USD/CAD, USD/JPY and even when I buy/sell within a second I still lose on average $40+.
MikeRT
Member
posted: Jul. 27, 2009 @ 3:04p
I take it you're trading a standard contract and not the mini?
Xeon852
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 27, 2009 @ 3:04p
Jobowoo said: How are people only gaining/losing <$10 per trade? I'm doing a lot size of 1 on USD/GPB, USD/CAD, USD/JPY and even when I buy/sell within a second I still lose on average $40+. What is your account set up as? Doesn't sound like you chose mini and instead you have more leaverage.
Xeon852 said: Jobowoo said: How are people only gaining/losing <$10 per trade? I'm doing a lot size of 1 on USD/GPB, USD/CAD, USD/JPY and even when I buy/sell within a second I still lose on average $40+. What is your account set up as? Doesn't sound like you chose mini and instead you have more leaverage.
I'm using a practice account. How do I change it to mini lot size?
Jobowoo said: Xeon852 said: Jobowoo said: How are people only gaining/losing <$10 per trade? I'm doing a lot size of 1 on USD/GPB, USD/CAD, USD/JPY and even when I buy/sell within a second I still lose on average $40+. What is your account set up as? Doesn't sound like you chose mini and instead you have more leaverage.
I'm using a practice account. How do I change it to mini lot size? So these are not real losses. What are the spreads like for USD/EUR, USD/JPY etc. in the practice a/c?
did xau/usd trade last wed. and got my $200 bonus today.
rusmilinyet
Member
posted: Jul. 27, 2009 @ 9:12p
rusmilinyet said: Wow, that was interesting. I just finished my trade of EUR/USD & realized profit of $4. The time between buy & sell was a matter of seconds. I spent most of yesterday practicing with AUD/USD, GBP/USD & EUR/USD. I found that I had better luck with minimizing my loss with EUR/USD - maybe it's less volatile? I just watched the EUR/USD price today & bought 1 lot when the price was heading down & sold on an uptick. It's actually pretty easy, just need to get use to the screen.
Now I need to withdraw the money.
I funded with $3,750 each with citi, schwab & chase with all counting as a purchase.
Update: I was notified I didn't qualify for the bonus. Requested a withdrawal of monies. Received email about funds back to funding source. Requested my $4 profit sent via check (hoping they would just send a check for all). As of today, original funding back to all cards, profit check is in the mail per Zecco & online account shows zero balance.
I tried a different Citi card today and put $3700 with no problems ($1400 cash advance limit). Don't know why the first card didn't work - tried it again and still didn't work.
nojoke
Member
posted: Jul. 27, 2009 @ 11:21p
glxpass said: nojoke said: Just to provide a data point.
- Opened account on 7/14 (did not receive email invitation, and currently a Zecco customer), and funded $5,000 twice on my Chase card, for $10,000 total. - Placed trades on 7/16 - Saw bonus post on 7/19 and withdrew $9,998.61. Leaving exactly $200 in the account. - Called today and spoke with the CSR and he advised that they are sending out a check for the withdrawal (I was actually expecting a credit back to the method of funding). Please report on how it worked out after you actually receive either a check or a chargeback. Thanks!
This type of garbage is common place with Zecco. Worst broker I've ever dealt with, and I've had over a dozen. I will be happy when they go bankrupt.
Wow. That JAVA app was pathetic: laggy, inaccurate... the slippage was downright unacceptable: I had a stop activated that 7 pips away from the most extreme bar. Absolute joke... Trading with that POS will get you murdered (take heed all trading geniuses who are up 30% in a week).
I have a few accounts with Zecco, but am anticipating a fight on this. Why did I waste any effort on this POS company?
...To all those people thinking about actively trading for a few weeks to fulfill the abstract "bona fide forex trader" qualifications, I would advise against it. Slippage, commissions and dealing with Zecco/GAIN for what? A shot that they might allow you to get a check? Maybe?... They were probably charged 1% on all these credit card transactions and will be wanted those back, so I imagine they're being pressured hard to refund all those CC purchases.
This is a cut your losses situation. Go forth to the internet and bad mouth Zecco henceforth!
With a 6 month max CC refund (can anyone verify this?) it might be worthwhile to keep the 10k in the ZccoFX. @2% interest you are out $100 (before taxes) @4.5% interest you are out $225 (before taxes) So that might be worth it, depending on your rewards... In hindsight, I should have used a card not linked to a common rewards account, like Citi... Then you just cash out the rewards, get the negative rewards balance and abandon the card.
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