And that's exactly it. The commenter doesn't understand the wildly different processes or effects of going those two different routes. For one thing, a put (o

And that's exactly it. The commenter doesn't understand the wildly different processes or effects of going those two different routes. For one thing, a put (or call) option doesn't even trade on the same markets (usually), has a lot less liquidity (usually), and depends on the supply of people willing to write contracts against positions they already hold. (non-naked) Options also have the effect of limiting any possible loss to the price paid for the option. When you short a stock, your loss is potentially UNLIMITED. In practice, your broker will buy the stock for you with whatever cash you have on hand if the price moves against you. That doesn't happen with options but you also don't get the huge sums of money to play with by borrowing against a stock that you don't own but are positive will dive into the dirt. edit: explanation.