NinjaTrader - Difficult for the beginner - really poor support

I have had some limited experience trading commodities dating back about 9 years.  Recently, I decided I wanted to get back into commodity trading and began researching platforms and brokers.  I am mostly interested in trading in agricultural commodities.

(Here are their reviews: Trust Pilot; Top Rated Firms) 

I stumbled across NinjaTrader and thought this would be a great platform to use. So, I purchased a quarterly subscription and opened an account with NinjaTrader.   I'm sure this platform is great for many people but it has turned out to be a complete headache for me.  Here is what you need to know about this platform:

1. NinjaTrader provides no phone support.  You do have access to emergency help in the event something goes wrong in a trade.  But all questions are posted in a forum or via e-mail.  And sometimes, the responses don't really make any sense.  And sometimes, you have to resend your email to get a response.
   
   
2. I also signed up with NinjaTrader as my broker.  I did have a conversation with the broker about what I wanted to do.  He never informed me how limited the offerings were in agricultural commodities and I was very specific with him regarding what I was looking to trade.  They are very aggressive about getting you to set up your account to begin trading.  They probably have a quota they have to meet regarding the number of accounts they open each month.  I was told once I funded the account (Minimum $50) I could begin practicing with live data.
   
   
3. Papertrading....oh boy.  So, NinjaTrader says you can paper trade with live data.  But what is not being said here is that it is NOT real time data.  It is a simulation their system creates and it is very frustrating if you are trying to really understand a specific item.  I was practicing Live Hogs.  The simulation behaved like something else with extreme highs and lows that are not allowed in this commodity; and trade volume that was out of this world.  In addition, the Superdom showed that there was high volume trading after hours which does not exist in these commodities.  That did not work for me.
   
   So, I tried the market play back feature which would allow me to practice using the previous day's data.  This worked somewhat for me but I needed more data to work with and it was difficult getting it to go back further.  I tried to add Live Cattle and the charts wouldn't populate; in addition only one hogs contract was available.
   
   I have an email into Support inquiring about playback to see if this problem can be resolved.....no response.  Just crickets
   
   
4. I emailed the NinjaTrader broker who was so good about getting me signed into an account, only to discover that once you're signed up, there's no more response.  I'm waiting for him to confirm that I can actually trade in the commodities I want to trade in...... so far, only crickets.
   
   
5. When I pull up the commodity in NinjaTrader Coninuum, it just freezes.  I tried it in Hogs, Live Cattle and WTI.  It freezes; I have to close the program and reopen in order to get the chart to repopulate.
    
6. NinjaTrader's tutorial video library is lacking.  It's very difficult to figure out how to solve your problems.  They do have a help library with everything sorted so you can find information but I'm unable to solve my playback problem.  I have to reach out to support......and wait. 
   
   
7. Funding your account can be a challenge.  NinjaTrader uses a program called Plaid, something similar to Zelle or Venmo.  If your bank is not set up with them, then you can't fund your account electronically.  You have to send them a check or wire the money; however, if you already have an account with another broker (I had one with TDAmeritrade), you can wire money from an existing broker.  You will pay a wire fee to your existing broker.  (And consequently, pay NinjaTrader a fee when you pull the money out) Moving forward, if you want to add money to your account, you'll have to fund your existing broker, transfer money and pay another wire fee.  I think NinjaTrader charges a withdrawal fee in addition to the wire fee as well.
   

Bottom line:  I am no closer to live trading than I was almost 2 weeks ago when I first signed on to this platform.  I can't get my demo/practice obstacles cleared. My journey has exposed me to many people/organizations who seem more intent on selling me something than actually providing a service.  NinjaTrader may also offer traders a false sense of security; it's great that they have so many bells and whistles but those features may actually end up luring new traders into a downward spiral.

I've cut my ties with NinjaTrader and have decided to sign up with TrackNTrade.  I downloaded the program yesterday and today will get my orientation.  So far it's a really nice program; they offer phone support and their rep has been amazing answering all of my questions.  I'm glad I bit the bullet and made the change.

FedEx and its weird bromance with the NRA

I don't get FedEx and their loyalty to the NRA when the public backlash is obviously so overpowering.  I could understand if they were aligning themselves with an underdog who was trying to champion a cause but this is not what the NRA is doing.  The NRA is oppressive and antagonistic.  They attack those who don't support them and spread fear and misinformation. They have a stranglehold on our politicians so that they cannot serve the people.  This is not an honorable organization.

In my opinion, Sandy Hook should have shaken everyone to the core.  That should have been enough to look at the NRA in the eye and say, "Hey, we are going to start doing some serious research and put some measures in place to prevent this from happening again."   FedEx, were you not aghast by this event?  Did you not think the NRA was overstepping in not allowing our leaders to gather data and find solutions?  Did you not have any employees that were directly impacted by that event?

And then there's this nasty display by Ted Nugent.   Many people may not know this but Ted Nugent is on the Board of the NRA.  FedEx, why would you, or any self-respecting company for that matter, align your brand with this?  How is this befitting your organization?

I have always viewed FedEx as a smart, creative, American brand; associating it with Tom Hanks and a soccer ball named Wilson.  Now, I'm just baffled.  

And now it's the NRA that's dictating to our country's leaders how schools should address these threats.  And the answer isn't that the schools hire personnel who are trained to serve and protect.  No, they want teachers and staff to be burdened with the responsibility of protecting students with guns.  So, FedEx, you and your employees can drop kids off to school knowing that you get to go on with your productive lives and the teachers, who are not related to you, are expected to deal with this problem by putting their lives on the line protecting your kids.  Do you really not have an issue with this?

Do you not have employees who have been impacted by the multiple mass shootings that have happened in this country?  What a slap in the face to them.  Honestly, I don't get it, I really don't.  But to each his own.  

Thankfully we are in a country where we have choices.  So, you'll know why I'm choosing UPS and why I'm contacting companies who ship to me regularly and asking them to use UPS as well.

Good luck, I hope the NRA proves to be worth your loyalty.

Battling the NRA - A comprehinsive list of organizations who want to change gun laws.

One of the things the NRA understands, because it's practiced in every oppressed nation in the world, is that you have to suppress the voice of your opponent if you want to keep them down.  So, what's going on to empower us to rise up?

Here's a comprehensive list of sites who want to make a difference all in one place.

1)  He's a single source of information about gun violence that's being gathered and organized - Gun Violence Archive.  The more you know.

2) Notice how they threaten anyone who wants to break up with them - sounds very much like an abusive spouse.  If you would like to know who's partnered with the NRA, here's the list- Drain the NRA.  If you want to let these companies know how you feel about their partnership with this vitriolic organization, phone numbers and addresses are included.  They need our support and encouragement to leave this abusive organization.

3) Here is where you can go to let your voice be heard -March For Our Lives  .  They have organized events to keep our voices out there.  Make sure you know where to be.

4) There's another organization that is pushing for gun reform as well: Every Town for Gun Safety.

5) Here's another organization that is fighting against gun violence - The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.  

If you know of another organization or source of information you think would be helpful, share it in the comments section. 

Infinity Printing Supplies - Scam - Finally, they left me alone!

Ok, everyone, so it's been a while since they've called me.  I do believe, I'm officially off their radar.

I think that submitting a complaint to the Better Business Bureau helped with this.

If you have fallen victim to these guys and you have stumbled across this blog post, here's something I would like for you to consider.

You are not obligated to purchase ANYTHING from these guys.  Their spiel basically states that you, a small business with probably one or two printers, got a special discount because they OPENED a box so you could sample the goods at a cheap price.   And because they did this HUGE favor to you, you are now somehow obligated to purchase the rest of the box.

Think about this, really think about it.  Do you know how many small/sole proprietor businesses they are calling?  All of whom probably have Canon, Epson, HP ink jet printers like you.  HUNDREDS.  Do you really believe they have hundreds of open boxes laying around a warehouse just waiting for customers to come back and finish out the box?  Seriously?  Do you have any idea how expensive warehousing something like that would be?

NO!!! They did not open a special box for you.  They have a huge inventory of ink that they got their hands on really cheap and they are peddling it to you at much higher prices.  And the scam here is that they are telling you that they will sell it to you at a great price if you will buy more from them.  But I can tell you, it's not that great a price.

They don't put anything to you in writing!  Remember that.  You don't receive a confirmation of order via e-mail that outlines the terms that were offered in the initial phone conversation.  That way they can make up the story at a later time and you can't recall what you agreed to.  But you're a good person, and they know that, and you want to be fair.  So they try to guilt you into buying more.

I DID NOT BUY ANY ADDITIONAL INK BEYOND THE INITIAL PURCHASE. Nothing happened to me.  I'm still here and I feel no guilt.

If their business model really is to open perfectly good boxes of ink and sell a portion of those boxes to customers with the hopes that they will eventually buy the rest of the box, then that stupid business model is on them, not you.  You are not obligated to make their business model work.

Please do not fall for their bullying tactics and don't be afraid to hang up on them.  They will not agree with your position, no matter how angry you get or whatever argument you put forth.  You will have to hang up on them.  And yes, again, it goes back to you wanting to be a good person.  So you feel badly hanging up on them.  I can assure you, these guys set their alarm to wake up everyday to pressure people into buying something they do not want or need.  Do you think they lose sleep at night over this?  They do not and neither should you!!!

Hang up on them if you have to.

Infinity Printing Supplies - Over a year now and they just won't go away

It's been over a year and they are still stalking me.  They continue to tell me that I am obligated to buy more ink from them

I accused them of being a scam - a claim he adamantly denied.  Yet, I have 6 different phone numbers for them.  If they are a legitimate organization, why do they have to call from different numbers?  How is it they continue to get blocked?

Infinity Printing Supplies IS A SCAM.

HERE IS THEIR BBB REPORT

HERE IS ANOTHER SITE THAT COMPLAINS ABOUT THEM

AND ONE MORE VERY USEFUL LINK OF INFORMATION

Do not do any business with these guys....ever!!!

Is Paul Ryan being the Adult in the Room?

In my opinion, there was something patronizing in the meeting Donald Trump had with Paul Ryan.  Ryan sat next to Donald Trump and told America that they were going to Make America Great Again.  Something about the way he said it and the way Donald was sitting next to him, I couldn't help but invasion Ryan patting him on the head.

And then, more recently, he's made it very clear that a round up deportation will not be taking place even though Trump, during his campaign rhetoric, made it very clear that was his plan.

I don't think they anticipated him winning this election, I really don't.  I believe the plan was to get Hillary elected with a cloud over her head, making her less powerful.  So, now they got him.  I think Ryan wants to make sure he has a real tight grip on things.

I'm curious how long Trump is going to respond to Ryan's calling all the shots.  I also am very curious with regard to how Trump is going to handle the limitations that come with his position as he continues to deal with Congress.

I absolutely hate the turnout of this election, I really do.  It makes me ill just thinking about it.  But I have to admit, I'm very curious to see how things turn out.  Unfortunately, I don't see any way to stop the reversal of so many rights that were won during this last administration.  That is the biggest tragedy of all.

I miss blogging

So, I'm sitting here, probably like many Americans post-election wondering how this happened.  What I say "this", I mean how did this country elect a man like Trump to be President.  A man who spent his campaign denigrating Muslims, Mexicans, and women.  A man who clearly did not have the qualifications or temperament to be President.  An unqualified man running against an extremely well qualified woman.  How did this happen?

I strongly believe that a huge part of this was the presence and rapid dissemination of misinformation through social media.  Facebook has become a place for superficiality only because no one wants to post long thought out posts.  Long thought out posts are cumbersome to read or otherwise too revealing of the poster.  Blogging allows us some sense of privacy as we let it out there to be shared with fellow bloggers.  We can be thoughtful and it's not easy to get disinformation through our blog.

I miss the intelligent conversations.

I knew when Comey's letter came out 11 days before the election that it was the end.  She had such a fabulous momentum.  The momentum she needed to win this election, then the letter came out.  I cried.  I panicked.  I knew.

I watched the polls on Real Clear Politics hoping and hoping this would not have an impact, but it did.  Even though Nate Silverman gave her a 70%+ chance, I wasn't sure.  It's heartbreaking.

The thing is, I don't think the Republicans wanted her to lose, I think they wanted to have something over on her so they could cripple/hinder her Presidency.  I don't think they thought Trump would win, they just didn't want her to have a mandate.

For all intents and purposes, Trump pretty much funded his way to the White House.  I'm hopeful that means that he won't be the Republican's puppet, either.  I'm hopeful that he will take into account all the wonderful things that Obama accomplished during his Presidency and preserve many of them.  I have so many gay friends who are married, they are so worried about the state of their personal lives.  I am extremely concerned about Roe V Wade.

There is a part of me that wants to believe that somewhere in there we have a man who can be empathetic and flexible.  I'm starting to like Melania so, maybe, if she married him, there's something in him that is good and decent.

I've decided to take a break from Facebook for a while.