general expert advisor questions?

I see a number of EA's all over the internet. Websites, ebay, ect... Well anyway, specifically on ebay I see one that has multiple users leaving feedback of how good the system is.

Now searching throughout forums I see that almost every trades just loves to trash these commercial EA's. Saying things such as they are all useless and so on.

I have inquired about the specific EA on a different forum and was accused of promoting it, so I will leave the name disclosed.

Is there a reason why expert forex traders absolutely hate the commercial EA's that are available? I feel that some of them can be very profitable. The best reason I am getting is 'why would someone trade a successful EA if it works? its stupid' ...Well if I were in the position of whoever is selling these EA's, I would sell them like hot cakes.

I understand i am ranting a little bit, but there just seems to be this specific negative attitude that forex traders have, and its downright annoying.

I rather agree with you, beachfront! There is a weird attitude among some folk in these forums. I guess it is just a serious case of "not invented here" syndrome, that seems particularly prevalent in the US for some strange reason.

I guess most of these folk would have difficulty writing a shopping list, let alone a few thousand lines of serious code. At most, they can paste OP's EasyLanguage "code" into TradeStation. So instead they just rubbish the efforts of others.

Stick with your quest to find what works for you!!

I will venture to say that most of us who are rather dismissive of products like this are such because we have a strong belief that people often fall into traps that, in the end, only serve as a detriment to one's equity. It is very very easy to see the comfort in not having to think much about what it is you are doing. The idea of pressing a button and having a magic box spit out money is precisely what gets money OUT of many people's pockets and into the pockets of those who deceive.

Trading is about forming an understanding of the world around you and using that understanding to your advantage in the markets over time. This is rarely accomplished by pure automation given the fact that idiosyncrasies change in the market. Traders MUST adapt or they are yesterday's news.


So while an EA very well may work wonders in today's market, tomorrow's is not guaranteed. It seems to me that a better use of one's time is to study the market instead of sitting back and hoping the $200 software or system you just bought is going to make you a millionaire.

Sure, it has probably happened to a few people. And more power to them because cash is a fact, not an opinion.

I just would rather not see everyone try to make the half-court jumper with closed eyes.

Of course I could be wrong...

I don't think people hate them, it's just that nobody would sell a truly profitable EA, why would they have to? The same logic applies to seminars, trading courses, books etc.

if we start with small capital, with only few% return a month, compared to sell it and get .... let's say bigger that that, than it is a sell....

ever try to make ea? i give up even before starting...

I think there is also a lot in what JFX81 says, too. I have devised a number of systems that have worked well (in some cases, spectacularly so) for a while, then stopped working almost overnight. The market adapts to traders and it changes in subtle ways, and you are shut out again.

This why my current interests lie with adaptive algorithms. I am looking at systems that change as the market conditions change. Not sure if I will find such a system, but looking is fun. I am afraid I am geeky enough to consider advanced maths a fun hobby....