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| You have to meet strict financial requirements as bankruptcy is not an option for a CBOT member. I note the last trade was $850,000. It is more of an investment now, in my opinion, as the pit trade is almost a non-event compared to the electronic trade. The past advantage of being a member trading in the pits was the observation of who was/is doing what & getting a feel for the orders, and of course some advantage in being on the spot in terms of getting an order filled. A member still has to maintain his account with a clearing member & pay the fees and in this day of reduced commissions I don't see much advantage. I think I paid $160K for mine....kept it for a few years and sold it for about the same price. On a more humorous note, I became acquainted with a large producer in the late 60's, every time we'd get together he was kicking himself for selling his membership as he'd bought it after WWII for $5K...but it was a tradition to send flowers when a member passed on...went thru a period of quite a few flowers...it irritated him & he sold his membership for a cheap price, made money on it but not like the later value....he was one of those impulsive types, although very successful, was always rehashing his mistakes.
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Trading, marketing and certainty
