Haha true true 
But I’m just saying that it must be pretty cool to earn those bonuses with ease 
Usually you pay for it in one way or another - either by committing you loads of trades or gaining the money back by slippage. So the money is never free. For instance, a company may give you $1000 for 100 lots traded - but at increase slippage by 1 pip per trade subtly. And guess what - 1 pip = $10. 100 lots x 1 pip = $1000. I found this when I switched to my current broker where the slippage is appalling with market orders taking 10-20 seconds to fill which gives me 3-5 pips slippage a market order, or 6-10 pips per market round trip. The only time the order fills quickly is if the price is moving against my trade very quickly where I lose 3 pips on slippage. For example if I trade 100 lots, that is worth $6000-10 000 to my broker so they can afford to give me a $1000 bonus, whereas they are actually stealing $5000-9000 off me.
Granted if you make limit orders this does not occur, but there will always be times where you want to close at market because of upcoming news, the end of the trading session etc. So even if you were to make 1 market order per 2 round trades they will usually make all the deposit money off slippage off you. And if stay with them longer, they will make more!
If you can afford it go for a decent broker - if you are in this long term, the execution will be far more important.
golden is right.
even considering going with a broker for reason of free money is the wrong thought process.
it’s like picking out a really nice tuxedo for your wedding…when you don’t even have a fiance’
get the fiance first…then the tux really won’t matter.
Jay
These incentives in my view should not be seriously considered as a way of making money. In all cases they are capped at a maximum re your initial deposit and contingent on ‘x’ mill of trades over a given period. With a futher stipulation normally of turning over the deposit as a whole (theirs and yours) by a factor of 3 or 4 before a withdraw of funds is possible. If they are a reputable broker thats bad enough but as has been stated the less than honest will claw back with slippage when it suits them. So all in all? I’d stay well clear!
I signed up because of a bonus awhile back, but that broker had a monthly inactivity fee. So they get it back somehow…like what most say above, concentrate on finding a reliable broker and trading well, not on the bonuses or contests.
Pure…not to pick on you… but something tells me that the fact you are even really asking this question tells more bout your mentality towards trading… that you don’t actually in your heart see it as a business that needs to be confronted by developing a business plan, lots of experimentation using the scientific method, and basing your rules on empirical evidence.
Your thinking “free money!” This is just not the mentality taht will get you where you want.
I’m sure there are forums out there for coupon cutting, rebate getting, and “bonus incentive capturing” visitors.
But this is a trading forum, and you likely won’t wint much of that around here. I’m not saying this to you to belittle you PM…quite the contrary. I’m saying this to push you to understand your motivations, and therefore make better decisions both for your trading future, and your life in general.
I may be wrong here…but I get the feeling you haven’t ever stepped back… and said “you know… i’m going to treat my trading like a business. I will set a goal of 3 - 5 years to be able to do this full time. I will write up a business plan, and write a half page or a full page analysis on every trade I take. I will then review every losing trade, to see any reasons possible for that trade to have lost. I will do this every day… etc…etc.”
What you would find is that you would have probably 2-4 hours of work in front of you, every day… just to click “buy” or “sell”.
You would know in your heart you are working hard today…now…to develop your business. you will also know that like most businesses, you can EXPECT to lose money until you build it big enough… (or in this case… have enough rules in your plan to guide your actions to constant success)
You see…if you did it this way, with a written business plan for your trading business, the question of receiving a few free dollars from a trading broker would actually seem… meaningless.
Of course, like any good businessman, you would take the money if it happened to be offered by the right broker, but in accordance to your business plan…it would have to be a broker that offered you the lowest spread, had the best reputation for payouts, did not requote (or almost never), and one that would best suit your needs to grow your business now, and in the future.
You might also want to see if that broker holds any sort of bond or has any assurances that they won’t go under or act in some unethical manner with your bankroll…as you will be in many ways…trusting them to hold your business capital on a day to day basis.
You would want a broker that paid out quick, and deposited quick…as the longer it takes deposits to process, the longer it will keep you from reaching your goals.
You know…the goals in your plan that outline the ROI you expect each month in terms of both dollars and percentage…and the rules in your plan that when followed on a day to day basis, will put you on track to hit those goals every week.
…
So you see… this is where you should be thinking. If you are not, feel free to deposit with whatever broker gives you the highest pay out.
That way, I can be sure to get a cut of their money as well as yours.
Jay
P.S. Oh… and whats really cool is to “make 6 - 7 figures a year trading”, not “getting free bonuses with ease”… but there
you have it… “pretty cool… with ease…” That’s what you said. And thats why I will take your money. Trading is hard work, and you want “pretty cool… with ease”.
Ouch… I guess your not handing out lolly pops today? I save ‘them ther’ one liners for trolls!
RC… that WAS my lolly pop I handed him 
Jay
I agree that any bonuses can’t be totally free - in any case you will pay for them. For me initial deposit bonus - its a good way to save part of the spread in this way. i earn funds not on bonuses, but if it present - its a good addition to general income, besides you can add here IB rebates - totally you will have not bad “salary” )
Wow, a bit harsh with the reply there but nevertheless, point taken. To reiterate, I asked this question out of interest (as I very clearly pointed out before asking it), in absolutely no way referring to my own trading or to taking advantage of these bonuses myself. I merely wanted to know IF traders take advantage of these bonuses…
Anyway, forgive me for asking.
I guess to sum it up, the bunoses are there coz there are people that actually make use of it.
and yeah, there is nothing wrong with asking. and I did get some insight from this thread. good day guys.
I agree with the posts that say the brokers will reimburse themselves one way or another.
Chasing those incentives can actually get someone in trouble. It’s like “free drinks” in a casino. They are usually in the $50 to $100 dollar range, and to be honest, that’s not even worth trying to play with.
If you do have a solid strategy, and can avoid falling into the “make a million overnight” trap that most fall into, it does set up nicely as an added cushion for someone just starting out like Simon sez… hehehehe Simon sez:D
And no need to be forgiven, you’ve done nothing wrong. That was a valid question:)
while I agree with the validity of it, it does beg the question as to the mentality of the asker.
PM… it came off strong intentionally. I wanted to make a point (and maybe didn’t) that you should not really even be thinking about bonuses until you are a profitable trader…
at which point, bonuses will likely not matter at all anyway.
Personally, I never even thought about bonuses… how could I? I was thinking about how I was going to go from a losing trader to a winning trader for basically 3 straight years.
It’s a matter of prioritys. The man with a crushed limb in a car accident doesn’t generally care if the building across the street is painted an ugly shade of pea green.
And ok…maybe i am being too self revealing here, but thats the way I saw it…and obviously on a core level…still do.
but i don’t think i’m wrong either. I can put this to a poll…how many of you who trade profitably for 1 year + ever considerd taking the time to learn about the bonuses given by the various brokers? or does it ammount to any substantial profits for any of you? even say…5% per month of your monthly income?
I am actually very curious. maybe I’m dead wrong here. lets find out.
Jay
And I would be entirely the wrong person to ask about that.
Brokers are not charitable organizations;)
I saw one place that offered to PAY a person for demo trading.
How did it work? The demo trader put a fixed sum of money in an account. Then traded demo. If the trader made money, the demo broker would pay out the amount above that balance made in one month.
See the wording there? The amount ABOVE… So say you put $100 in. And you made $78. You didn’t get $178 back, you got back $78.
Most of the sales gimmicks that prop up that initial balance are just like that.
They have a clause, or an out that has you match that deposit later, or you have to have a ton of trades, or [insert out clause here].
As for the initial post here, I’m sure it was an honest question.
I don’t think it’s out of bounds to think that if a trader knows what he’s doing, and can turn a steady profit, why he wouldn’t take advantage of those “freebies”. But would be like being Minnesota Fats, and entering a small town pool hall tournament. You’d clean up.
The only problem is, the amount they offer just isn’t worth the work to get it.
Eremarket, I seriously don’t understand why you are unleashing on me like that about how wrong my trading mentality is and how I know nothing about trading etc. Didn’t I make it clear that I am only asking this question out of pure interest? I already have an account with Oanda and have received ZERO bonuses and have absolutely no intention of ever making use of a bonus myself. Wow, I thought you were one of the nicer guys on this forum… my mistake.
It does seem strangely excessive. Probably just as well the subject matter was only broker incentives. I’d hate to see the reaction to anything slightly more controversial
I wouldn’t mess with Puremuscle - he is a bodybuilding Afrikaner - probably about 6 6 ft tall if he is average for a South African.
Hmmm… i think something is becoming lost in translation here PM… Although I am meaning everything I’m saying… the TONE of it is being taken to…well… strong.
I’m stating this strongly (vivid, exaggerated metaphor… not cold elitist vocal tone) because I’m trying to get you (and others who read this) to understand the implications of this type of question. And as I said earlier… this may just be my own personal bias here…nothing against you, as much as against anyone thinking anything is easy when it comes to trading.
As others have said in this particular thread…there is really no free lunch. My point was to say since there is no free lunch…spending time looking for it will not get one the success they would want, and its largely a waste of time (at least…it sure won’t make a good trading income for anyone)
And i was responding in such a strongly worded manner, because the way I understood your question, it sounded like you were genuinely considering supplementing any trading profits with such broker discounts. It was not clear from what I could tell that in that first post that you were NOT considering this. Above… post 21, you make it clear, but in the first, you mentioned cool and with ease. I will give that I misunderstood your intentions…and, in fact, that I am projecting my own disguest of brokers who use such ploys upon those who don’t understand the ultimate price they pay for such things.
In this area, i am jaded an cynical. trading is hard enough for everyone (i’m absolutly no exception) without distracting bells and whistles like this created to snag new folks into an otherwise genreally more expensive…generally less competitive, dealer created marketplace.
As a futures trader, I can tell you that no such incentive exists. I daresay I believe it to be actually illegal in the united states for a futures broker to offer such. not sure about that…but i’ve never seeen it.
And heh…ya… I do come off strong sometimes. Think I might have been in a particularly intense conversation if I recall correctly, anyway.
I am sorry you took it this way, and I see how that would be a pretty darn easy thing to do. I apologize.
That being said… I still hold firm in the points I made. I personally think its absolutely disgusting for any broker to offer such a thing unless it is the absolute genuine article. It’s a ploy. designed to convince you why an otherwise less competitive broker should get YOUR MONEY.
They care nothing for you… and their poorly constructed business model illustrates this very clearly. It’s not the same as using a coupon in a grocery store. this is a financial business decision (at least that is everyones intentions usually), and to think that they would sway such a big part of ones decision to who they may trust their future career on with a free incentive of a rather trivial amount of money (in the world of having a trading business)… this to me is rather abhorant.
I can’t imagine going into business with someone just because the offered me “a new car!!” or whatever. if they have to do this to convince me…then the facts don’t speak well for themselves, IMO
If they really had the goods…they wouldn’t need bells and whistles. I see u use oanda. I have, and still do, and I love them. there are things I dont’ like, but overall…great.
What I like most of all is … I can honestly see very clearly what I can expect from them, and what they will deliver: low spreads, quick payouts, minimal requotes, and a very very high frequency of of times that my orders get filled without any broker games or what not.
Again… I said earlier that my ferocity in this manner is more a reflection of me than you…it’s my own “hot point”, and (now) very obviously, not yours.
Bottom line: I on a very deep level have a great issue with inauthenticity, “games”, anything “slick”, or anything that is used to take advantage of people by playing on their emotional desires rather than just offer what will really help this person best get to what they really want: to be a successful trader.
I just think they should offer the lowest spreads, fast reliable payouts, good customer service, and anything else that they can give their customers to make them ACTUALLY make real money.
Instead, they play on your emotions, do not ever actually give you the money without some catch(s), and often have to have these catches because they can’t really compete in a toe-to-toe match with the best retail brokers.
I find it immoral, flawed, shortsighted, and manipulative. Just deliver the best product you can, that will help us (forex traders) best achieve our goals.
Although polarized, I’m far from alone in this camp. Here is an article you may find interesting:
How to find a good Forex broker
Jay
P.S. Simon seems to be one guy who got a bonus for signing up…and he seems happy with his broker as someone who is to a degree holding an informed, opposing view point. I still see it as a intrinsically “lesser” way of doing business, as it does not serve to help someone get what they really want in the forex markets: trading success.
Controversy I can handle. It’s manipulative and greedy (and in all other U.S. regulated markets…illegal) marketing tactics that get to me, and this is only compounded by people who for a variety of reasons fall for them.
Jay
Hi,
Again a strange post coming from me but never forget: I’m a trader FIRST AND FOREMOST. Unless you’re ALREADY profitable: don’t let the bonuses lure you. Alright: ‘there are bonuses and there are bonuses’ i.e. the terms and conditions are not always the same. But for the MOST part: the terms and conditions are there to encourage you to overtrade JUST to be able to claim the bonus and that’s the ‘ploy’ (even although at the time you may not even realise that this is playing a part in your risk management psychologically). You’ll lose that account, make every excuse ‘under the sun’ as to WHY you lost the account, by that time you’re ‘hooked’, and then comes a series of deposits of your OWN money, and so on and so forth. Think about the logic behind (most) of these bonuses: the broker is GIVING you money so that you can use that money to TAKE MORE money from them??? What a world THAT would be if it were reality!!! LOL!!!
I won’t lie to you: I still keep my eye open for those ‘no deposit cash bonuses’ at other brokers. I get a (morbid???) ‘kick’ out of trading with the broker’s money, make enough to be able to withdraw the profits once they exceed the amount of the ‘no deposit cash bonus’, and then look for the next one!!! LOL!!! Alright: it’s never a lot of money e.g. sometimes $20, maybe $50, and in one case $100. It’s really only to ‘stick it to them’ really!!! LOL!!! If anything I’d say to look for those types of bonuses. If you cannot profit from the broker’s ‘no deposit cash bonus’ then keep demo trading before committing your own funds and once profitable THEN take advantage of the different bonuses on offer but never allow them (the bonuses) to affect your risk management, trader psychology, or trading decisions. If you ‘make it and take it (the bonus)’ then ‘good on you’. Accept it as a ‘gift’ but never let it influence your trading!!!
Regards,
Dale.
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