3 ms·

Weird question: do the Reddit users really have that much trading power vs institutional investors?

grassgreener 6y ago
I think it’s a legit question. The answer is: yes. Short GME and be rich in a week. The other answer is: no. Buy call GME and be rich in a week. The whole market is irrational in the short term, maybe it’s luck, serendipity or genius. You’ll find the same pattern at your local casino. Put less than 5% of your net worth on this bs if you don’t want to FOMO. Otherwise just disregard, it’s 100% gambling.
- billylindeman 6y ago
  I’ve been following this situation and it’s mostly due to short interest exceeding all available shares ( peaked at 140% afaik). Institutions were selling naked shorts and will be forced to cover. Has nothing to do with the business it’s supply / demand of shares outstanding driving this as far as I understand it
  - 1996 6y ago
    > Institutions were selling naked shorts and will be forced to cover Serves them well! Play stupid games, ... I smile inside thinking WSB has enough power to cause a gamma squeeze and punish institutions speculating against a company gamers love!
    - bmiller2 6y ago
      No gamer loves GameStop, where’d you get that idea? They are known for buying back your 60$ blockbuster game after a month for $3, and reselling for $55. They should be dead in the water, and the shorts will eventually be correct, if they can’t pivot to a digital presence (which they can’t, because why would anyone go outside of the native platform stores?)
      - oarsinsync 6y ago
        > if they can’t pivot to a digital presence (which they can’t, because why would anyone go outside of the native platform stores?) Price. It’s often cheaper to buy a “CDKey” from a third party site and stick it into the native platform store than to buy direct. It definitely adds friction though, so it’s unlikely to become the primary method for most.
      - sumedh 6y ago
        > They are known for buying back your 60$ blockbuster game after a month for $3, and reselling for $55. Why would anyone sell it for $3?
        bobthepanda 6y ago
        Ease of access to funds and buyers. GS takes all the risk of having to find an ultimate end buyer. If that buyer has issues they take it up with GS not you. And GS can give you that money right now in the store so you can buy something else at the store at that moment. Plus a lot of people trading in games were minors, who don’t exactly have easy legal access to say online means of selling.
        sumedh 6y ago
        So GS is providing a valuable service, not sure what the problem is. If you dont like GS you can always sell and buy games on facebook marketplace and other sites.
      - austhrow743 6y ago
        If they can get away with that sort of margin for a business with basically no moat then people must love them.
      - cwhiz 6y ago
        It’s not THAT bad. I don’t love GS, but I would be sad and disappointed if the one near me closed. It’s a convenient place to buy used games.
      - 6y ago
    - 3327 6y ago
      Stonks go up. Shitron will rot under the WSB banner. This is the way.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
knaik94 6y ago
No, the large majority of the traders there don't have the capital to be big players. Some do, but they are undisciplined in the sense that the timing of when they close positions is unpredictable. It's closer to someone in a casino on a high from their hot streak not understanding the time to pull out. Some argue that they trade on herd mentality, but the reality is that you're likely to only see people who lost or gained large amounts of money. And no matter what meme stock has attention currently, you'll see losses contrasting the gains.

I think it’s a legit question. The answer is: yes. Short GME and be rich in a week. The other answer is: no. Buy call GME and be rich in a week. The whole market is irrational in the short term, maybe it’s luck, serendipity or genius. You’ll find the same pattern at your local casino. Put less than 5% of your net worth on this bs if you don’t want to FOMO. Otherwise just disregard, it’s 100% gambling.

billylindeman 6y ago
I’ve been following this situation and it’s mostly due to short interest exceeding all available shares ( peaked at 140% afaik). Institutions were selling naked shorts and will be forced to cover. Has nothing to do with the business it’s supply / demand of shares outstanding driving this as far as I understand it
- 1996 6y ago
  > Institutions were selling naked shorts and will be forced to cover Serves them well! Play stupid games, ... I smile inside thinking WSB has enough power to cause a gamma squeeze and punish institutions speculating against a company gamers love!
  - bmiller2 6y ago
    No gamer loves GameStop, where’d you get that idea? They are known for buying back your 60$ blockbuster game after a month for $3, and reselling for $55. They should be dead in the water, and the shorts will eventually be correct, if they can’t pivot to a digital presence (which they can’t, because why would anyone go outside of the native platform stores?)
    - oarsinsync 6y ago
      > if they can’t pivot to a digital presence (which they can’t, because why would anyone go outside of the native platform stores?) Price. It’s often cheaper to buy a “CDKey” from a third party site and stick it into the native platform store than to buy direct. It definitely adds friction though, so it’s unlikely to become the primary method for most.
    - sumedh 6y ago
      > They are known for buying back your 60$ blockbuster game after a month for $3, and reselling for $55. Why would anyone sell it for $3?
      - bobthepanda 6y ago
        Ease of access to funds and buyers. GS takes all the risk of having to find an ultimate end buyer. If that buyer has issues they take it up with GS not you. And GS can give you that money right now in the store so you can buy something else at the store at that moment. Plus a lot of people trading in games were minors, who don’t exactly have easy legal access to say online means of selling.
        sumedh 6y ago
        So GS is providing a valuable service, not sure what the problem is. If you dont like GS you can always sell and buy games on facebook marketplace and other sites.
    - austhrow743 6y ago
      If they can get away with that sort of margin for a business with basically no moat then people must love them.
    - cwhiz 6y ago
      It’s not THAT bad. I don’t love GS, but I would be sad and disappointed if the one near me closed. It’s a convenient place to buy used games.
    - 6y ago
  - 3327 6y ago
    Stonks go up. Shitron will rot under the WSB banner. This is the way.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

knaik94 6y ago

No, the large majority of the traders there don't have the capital to be big players. Some do, but they are undisciplined in the sense that the timing of when they close positions is unpredictable. It's closer to someone in a casino on a high from their hot streak not understanding the time to pull out. Some argue that they trade on herd mentality, but the reality is that you're likely to only see people who lost or gained large amounts of money. And no matter what meme stock has attention currently, you'll see losses contrasting the gains.