Please Help

[johnnyde]

Hello everyone,

I'm kind of new to trading so bear with me please.

I'm confused about being able to buy on the bid and sell on the offer (regarding stocks).

I have heard some people say if you place a bid, it won't get filled unless the stock goes against that bid (goes down by a penny).

I have heard others say that the bid will get filled regardless of whether the stock moves up, down or not at all. The bid gets filled within a few seconds.

Which is it?

Please help,

Johnnyde

 

[Rhody Trader]

As with any order you put in for a stock, there needs to be someone willing take the other side. If the market for AAPL is 634.83-634.85 and you put in a bid at 634.83 then either some seller needs to lower their offer price to match your bid or a seller must come in at the market (assuming you are at the top of the order queue) to hit your bid.