Seems like I’m leaning the right direction here, as I’m deciding if I should use oanda or forex.com.
They have been rated as a top 10 online startup by silicon alley insider as well.
I guess this thread really has given me more reasons to deposit some real money into their company. 
Thanks for all the opinions in this thread it is very handy for someone just about to open their first account.
The only thing I am concerned about is the fact that it is an American company. I would much rather use a UK company with the protection of the FSA. Any opinions on US regulations compared to UK regulations in the forex market?
I would equate the NFA to the FSA.
Hello Topchess. I just downloaded FX game from Oanda and started comparing the data stream between MT4 (northfinance) and Oanda. They appear to be fairly close…usually within a pip or two. One thing I’ve noticed however is that Oanda’s daily bars close at midnight while MT4’s close at 5pm EDT. Since I place my entry and stop loss orders on the breakout of a given bar (on MT4) at first I thought that this could potentially cause a problem. You’ve been trading using the MT4 and Oanda for some time now. Have you run into any problems? Thanks.
You can change your Oanda platform to any timezone you wish,
therefore equalising this effect.
Go to Tools > User preferences > Locale > Timezone.
Thanks Daydreamer!
reviews from both sides, making some interesting points for and against…
Some really bad reviews on oanda coming from that site! I’ve been reading lots of reviews about different brokers and I’m pretty close to giving up completely on forex. Seems every broker is out to get you.
& some really good ones, which is the norm (50/50) for most brokers,
the real bad brokers have a (90 bad/ 10 good) reviews about them.
If that’s the way you feel it is probably best if you do, because
you will constantly be looking over your shoulder to see when
your broker will stiff you next. Although, in fact, a great deal of brokers
are straight down the line.
Although, in fact, a great deal of brokers
are straight down the line.
But which brokers? The information just isn’t available. Does anyone really know if they are really trading in a fair environment? I think I finally understand the idea of a “market maker”, especially for those of use that want to start with smaller accounts. Market maker = casino. Your playing with and against the house. Not the currencies market. It’s based on the currency market, but your really playing a little sub-game with the market maker companies.
I’ve seen some posts showing charts that where stop hunted. It was almost funny to see these gigantic candlestick bodies with bottom and top wicks that extend to infinity, then come right back inline to follow the trend. It sounds like the newbies are ok until they start to make real money, then the hanky panky begins?
I did some “due diligence” research last night on brokers. I was up until 4am. I think I “over researched”. I read lots of the comparison sites and review sites. I even read a thread here that had a lot of action from a user here named Tess that had a lot of good info on ECN brokers, which got me interested to look into EFX. Maybe EFX will be ok.
On one of the review sites, I looked at reviews for one of the top brokers (forgot which one), and a reviewer posted who worked there. In his review he basically said that his job was to lie to customers and thats how the industry works. He went on to say that anyone who trades the forex market is a fool, and has no clue whats really going on with their money and how much they aren’t making.
I think my conclusion through all my research thus far is, if your going to trade forex, you need to set aside some real money with a real broker. Not 1k, or 10k, but enough to buy a standard lot on your own. Then throw in some meager leverage and your on your way. None of this mini and micro account BS. If your playing with a couple hundred dollars, or even a couple thousand, no matter how great a trader you are or how many years financial experience you have, you’ll have your rear handed to you little by little - as you will not be playing the market, but a modified “pro-house” version of the forex market. More-so for scalpers and short timeframe traders, whose money probably doesn’t even make it outside the retail broker.
I love the Oanda platform out of everything I’ve tried so far. I like the fact they have a large net assets or captial. I like that they’ve been around for a long time. I just can’t get it out of my head some of the things I’ve read.
I’ve seen some posts showing charts that where stop hunted. It was almost funny to see these gigantic candlestick bodies with bottom and top wicks that extend to infinity, then come right back inline to follow the trend.
If I ever saw this on one of my charts I would be straight on to my
broker to rectify the situation, then my money would be out of there
like a flash. I have only seen this once posted on a forums & once in
one of my charts, luckily enough in demo mode, suffice to say I did
not open an account with that broker.
Who would you say shouts the loudest, the loser trader, who cannot
trade to save their life, or the satisfied trader who makes a few pips?
The Forex market is worth a couple of trillion dollars a day, do you not
think it will attract some rogues, back stabbers, spammers, et al?
Shysters who would rather you trade with this broker who they just
happen to have a ref. link for, or that broker who they happen to own?
Take a look at the top brokers on
http://forums.babypips.com/rate-my-broker/3900-your-funds-safe-nfa-shut-down-small-forex-fcms.html
& choose one.
You will need to start somewhere though, it is best to start small
then build up your confidence, then move on to an ECN.
All in all, I still like the Oanda platform. Oanda has enough captial to stay afloat according to NFA requirements.
Is anyone using Oanda here with a decent amount of money? There are many positve reviews of Oanda, through about late 2007. Once we get into 2008, everyone is against them, especially for customers with larger accounts. The nickel and dime guys never see a problem, but once you drop a thousand or two in your account, then they ignore stops, huge slippage, spreads widening and triggering stops, orders filled minutes later. Essentially slowly picking your account dry.
Like what folks talk about here:
I’m sure it’s somewhat biased considering the subdomain name though, but this is whats talked about in the majority.
but then we have this thread: , which I wonder if it is populated with employee comments.
“Once you start trading successfully during volatile times with OANDA you become a target.”
I can’t keep going with this. There are lots of folks who say Oanda is great. But are there any folks who have a decently funded account, or making “good” money trading at Oanda? If there are, please speak up! It sounds like if you have a $100 account or a few hundred, you won’t have a problem pulling in a few cents ontrades. But if you start making good money, your all done.
First: The two sites you mention own and run by one and the same man. Plus Forexbastard if you happens to find it.
Second: Which “volatile times” did he mean? Market always volatile, otherwise we can’t make money. If it means market ranging, well, without good strategy and money management, you’ll get whipsawed anywhere you trade.
Third: Let’s compare brokers with foods. If you look for a single food for which everybody vouched for, you won’t find it. You’ll have to taste it yourself to see whether it fits your appetite or not. Thousands of people may vouch for the same food, but it’s no guarantee that you’ll like it when you taste it yourself.
Fourth: What’s make you think crooks only hunts for big money? When I started trading live almost 8 years ago, a broker took my last $90 by deleting my account. Yes, they DELETED my account. By then I didn’t know about any forex forum nor NFA or anything else. I let it go, consider it a tuition fee for my forex study.
I trade Oanda with a large amount of money, more than
a couple of hundred bucks.
As long as you stay away from news trading there will
be no problems.
But in the long run you pays your money you takes your
chance, you personally are the only one who can make the
decision.
Got to admit Oanda is the only broker i use now. I have never had an issue with them, as above, dont trade the news with them, as they do widen the spread, but there are obvious reasons as to why they do this.
I appreciate the replies to this old thread!
But if a food tends to make people sick after awhile, even if it’s one of the greatest tasting products ever, it would be nice to know before stocking the pantry with a product you thought was safe.
And thanks daydreamer65. After all the reading I’ve been doing, I was starting to get the impression that Oanda might be comparable to a carnival game in the forex market, since it’s good for newbs, free for all lot sizes, paypal as a funding option, etc. In addition, I research things to death before I make any decision that involves more than $25. I understand the disclaimer that it’s inevitably my own decision. Not looking to have a decision made for me, just looking to see if any experienced traders are happy with Oanda.
Thank you as well n_aftab. I’m hoping that is why the complainers are complaining. From what I’ve learned so far, I would never trade the news.
I have traded with them since the beginning of the year. I don’t think they are crooks, but they do have the worst connection dependability I have ever seen. Every single time I close trades, no matter where I am, no matter what kind of internet connection, the platform loses connection for about four minutes. I have two accounts, so this is rather irritating. I really cant wait to switch to another broker when my account grows.
I have traded with Oanda for several months. I am happy with them in every regard except the stability of their platform. Yesterday I could not trade as the applet kept shutting down. Today is the same. Its not that when I open and close trades it freezes. It is doing this continually.
If the instability keeps up with Oanda, then I need to change brokers as it is currently impossible to trade.
Are there any brokers with dependable platforms???
I’ve experienced a bit of irregularity with the connection the past several days, but nothing prohibitive for the purpose of trading; but then my usual time horizon is a long daytrade/swing trade, so immediate access isn’t as crucial for me. One is right to fully expect 99.99% uptime for a web-based platform run by the largest retail forex broker by volume.
I did read somewhere about Oanda taking a beta version live, and problems just this past month. maybe there are some routing issues internal to Oanda’s data center or something.