Hello ID and All.

I began researching EA's because I have been thinking of taking my own mechanical system and placing it into robot form because of health issues. I've spent a serious amount of time gathering info on how to get this done. Along the way, I've gotten a look at the EA developers, programmers, and marketers and formed what I think are some reasonable conclusions.

Almost every EA website that I have seen hits me the wrong way. If these sites are an example of high end internet marketing, I'll pass. I admit that I was not a potential buyer then and I am not now, but most of the ones I have looked at are an insult. Some of the ROI claims are pretty grand to be sold for only $97. Most of us have come to admit that there is no Holy Grail. But, if I ever decided to sell my own system, it would be at a price that made it possible to provide accurate trading records, a proper physical address, telephone numbers, full time Tech Support and the other normal services for the customer. And, a reasonable profit to keep the thing open.

I'm not a programmer. Those that I have contacted for quotes to program my personal system are not cheap. Yet they all say that it is a relatively simple program project. I realize a system seller is going to spread the costs over a large number of sales while I'm paying for a one off. But, from what I can tell, with the affiliate programs they have, their websites and the ad space they buy, they must expect to sell a lot of them. Then again, one system website claims they have sold over 43,000 copies! That would pay the bills, I suppose.

Countless times, I have read posts that question why anyone with a good system would consider selling copies to the public. Yet I see plenty of threads and posts offering trading ideas for nothing. The simple truth is that some people have a knack for discovery, research, innovation, and programming. That doesn't mean they also have a great supply of money. And, we all must remember that where there is money, there are those that spend most of their time trying to steal it or scam others out of theirs. So, protect yourself. If I were in the market for an EA, I would demand historical trading records, and a bullet proof money back program such as those offered through Click Bank. Then I would run the heck out of it on a demo until I decided it was worth the risk of real money or needed to go back to the developer. If the seller couldn't meet those conditions, I would simply pass.

But, there is another side to this. Recently, I received a call from an old friend telling me that he had joined the club and purchased an EA. Within a couple weeks, he was on the phone again yelling that he was loosing money and had been ripped off. He was going to raise some heck about it with the seller and on the web to anyone that would listen. Since it was loaded on his laptop, I asked him to bring it over so that we could go over everything. It didn't take many questions to see problems. His EA was designed for two specific currency pairs. He wasn't trading either one of them. He had often closed trades by manual override. He sometimes turned his laptop off.

After getting it properly set up on a new demo with the right pairs, we just let it run for a few days. Just like magic, it did its thing and he began to see several profitable trades, one after the other. It was a scalping EA, so they weren't big. But, they were winning trades. He took it back home with him. Two months later, he called to say that he had just shut it off and wasn't really doing anything with it anymore. Why was that? The small profits from his mini account just weren't very exciting and he was bored with it. Bad EA or bad trader? You be the judge.

Sorry for the length.

Fair Winds
Islandssailor