Why are limit trades so slow on GDAX?

[Quektis]

I trade mostly with GDAX and for some reason doing a limit sell or buy takes ages most of the time. I'm talking 15/20 minutes in which I have to constantly cancel and re-instate the trade so that it stays at the last price. This is annoying because I try to come out just before a dip and by the time the transfer gets processed its usually too late and well into the dip. When I use Bittrex it usually takes seconds. Why are GDAX trades so slow? anyone else experiencing this? I trade in euros as the dollar wallet is not available here.

[Serpens66]

minutes does not sound right. Maybe simply set the price higher/lower? Or buy/sell with market order instead.

[Quektis]

There's a pretty hefty charge for market orders. I sell at the last available price, which should be the fastest. If I sold at lower then it would take longer as I would have to wait for the price to drop to sell.

[HeRetiK]

[...] If I sold at lower then it would take longer as I would have to wait for the price to drop to sell.

Is this your assumption or did you actually try to sell lower? Because that sentence doesn't make quite sense to me. If you place a sell order at a lower price than the latest trade you should actually be faster at finding a buyer since you're closer to the highest bid.

[Quektis]

sorry I got it wrong, I meant 'higher'. Gdax won't let me sell at a lower price than the latest. I assumed that's normal?

[illyiller]

I trade mostly with GDAX and for some reason doing a limit sell or buy takes ages most of the time. I'm talking 15/20 minutes in which I have to constantly cancel and re-instate the trade so that it stays at the last price.

It sounds like you're trying to set limit sell orders, but the price drops before they are filled. So you then find yourself chasing the price downwards. Is that correct?

This is annoying because I try to come out just before a dip and by the time the transfer gets processed its usually too late and well into the dip. When I use Bittrex it usually takes seconds. Why are GDAX trades so slow? anyone else experiencing this? I trade in euros as the dollar wallet is not available here.

You can't force anyone to fill your limit orders. They add order book liquidity for others to take, not the other way around. If you need to immediately sell, you should use a market order. But there is a reason that limit orders are free and market orders cost 0.25% last time I checked. GDAX needs the liquidity.

sorry I got it wrong, I meant 'higher'. Gdax won't let me sell at a lower price than the latest. I assumed that's normal?

With a limit ask, you can't sell lower than the highest bid. Otherwise it would be a market order and would dump into the highest bid(s).

[Quektis]

Yea, usually the price drops before it is filled

[exstasie]

Yea, usually the price drops before it is filled

That's the risk you take with limit orders. It seems like you are waiting too long before you sell. E.g. the market is already dumping and then you put limit sells on the book above the spread. Meanwhile, the spread is dropping because the market is dumping.

Generally with limit asks, I am selling into strength. I'm selling when I've made a good profit, hit my target, and others are buying. If you wait until the market has already turned, then only small fish buyers will be left market buying, and chances are your orders won't be hit.

There's a pretty hefty charge for market orders. I sell at the last available price, which should be the fastest. If I sold at lower then it would take longer as I would have to wait for the price to drop to sell.

Yeah, GDAX market order fees are brutal. All the more reason why you should sell into strength with limit orders and reserve market orders for when you need to immediately exit the market.

[Quektis]

Thanks for the reply. Looks like I'm going to have to change tactics