Your broker platform may be skimming your pips

There is alot of talk in the retail forex trader world that some brokers are scam artists, stealing pips from their trader clients during each trade entry and exit that they make.  How can they do this exactly and how can you know if your broker is doing this to you?  I suggest you trade with a second price feed open on your desktop so that you can casually watch to see the difference in spread at any given moment during your trading day.  I like to use Alpari’s mt4 free demo charts.  So I have the Alpari open and also my broker’s trading platform seperately.  Most of the time the two match pip for pip but there are times when there may be a 1 to 3 pip difference between the two price feeds.   I have also tried other brokers’ platforms, with live trading accounts and truthfully, I have seen occasional small or even large pip differences (more than 15 pips) in price spread.  Tt will make a difference whether you are trading with a fixed spread broker or a variable spread broker.  With a variable spread you can often see huge differences in what one broker can offer vs. another broker’s price.   So there are times when you the trader are in a trade position and attempting to close your trade in profit but as you are clicking the EXIT button you may see your broker’s price 1 or 2 pips different than what your other price feed says, and this very well may be in your broker’s favor.  So not only did your broker just make the usual spread of, say, 3 pips for your trade you just exited but maybe an extra 1 pip occasionally will find its way into their pocket.  Isn’t this unfair?  Not really, and let me explain why.  ALL brokers except for some true ECN brokers with variable spreads and true pass through ability have the ability to manipulate the spread that they offer at any given time.  It is a fact.  It is part of their business model.  It is not illegal.  Read your broker’s terms and conditions and you will find a line that discusses this.  Afterall, brokers are in the market in order to make money, while providing you, the trader, with a good and easy service and trading platform that allows you to also make profit in the forex market online.   But here is the trick:  some brokers do this much more than others.  So it is important for you to pay attention, have a second price feed going while you trade, so that you can be AWARE that your broker is doing it and how often they do it.  It is your duty to act in your best interest when you trade which means, dear trader, that you should report to your broker that you noticed 2 times this week that their price was manipulated.  It would be interesting to know how your broker responds to this kind of call or email.  But as you and your broker know, there are many good forex brokers out there that will be happy to get a new trading client, if your broker is really a good one, they will not want to let you go.