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How do I price my buy order on the secondary market?

Korin Hedlund avatar
Written by Korin Hedlund
Updated over 2 weeks ago

You can use market data to help determine a fair price for your buy order. The Open Orders table shows current buy and sell orders, while the Recent Trades table shows completed transactions.

Here’s how to use that data:

  • Orders match when your buy price equals or exceeds someone’s sell price

  • Buy Orders reflect what other investors are currently willing to pay

  • Sell Orders reflect what other investors are asking to receive

To buy shares quickly:

  • Set your buy price at or above the lowest listed sell price. For example, if the lowest sell order is $11.20, placing your buy order at $11.20 (or higher) increases your chance of an immediate match.

To buy at a better price:

  • You can place a buy order at a price between the highest current buy order and the lowest sell order. These orders may take longer to match, depending on market activity.

To buy a lot of shares:

  • Set your price at or above the lowest price where enough shares are available.

Other tips for placing your order:

  • Orders far from current prices may take longer to match, or may not match at all during the trading window

  • All orders are limit orders, meaning they’ll only execute at your specified price or better.

  • Once orders are matched, they cannot be cancelled.

  • Any orders not matched during the current trading window will be cancelled at the end of the week.

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