# MCI's Star Trader



## fivemajix (3 February 2005)

Hi everyone,
             just wondering, has anyone had the opportunity to use MCI Technologies Star Trader program. Done a lot of research and found some very happy people and also some not so happy testimonies. The negative seems to be coming from competitors and individuals unfamiliar with the system but everyone i've chatted with that's running the program says it does everything and more than MCI claims.
What's your views? thanks,
                                      Troy.


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## DTM (3 February 2005)

Hi Fivemajix

I've seen their brochures in the mail.  I've always wondered what competitive edge they provide.  What does their software do?   

Daniel


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## fivemajix (4 February 2005)

Hi DTM,
            have a look at mcitechnologies.com for a basic overview. Also ismaassoc.com for a reveiw. I've spoken to a couple of people who claim an average 10-20% growth per month using this program, very interesting. Another one or two positive testimonies and I'll grab the thing. By the way, the star trader comes in at $8900.....whew.
                                 Troy.


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## Cosmos (4 February 2005)

Lol I live a few meters away from where they sell that crap…. on the Gold Coast, Southport.

Save yourself a lot of money and figure out how to put formulas into Microsoft excel.

Basically the software just tracks your position in the market, by taking a few extra seconds to update prices in excel you would have accomplished this and saved yourself $9K and the feeling of been ripped off.

Please do not buy this software, look around on the net. You can get a professional charting package, professional position keeping software and professional scanning software for around $2500US all in the one package and never have to upgrade for the rest of eternity.

MCI sell basic overpriced software. If you feel like spending so much cash on this software buy a horse-racing program.... it will be more productive.


Cheers


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## fivemajix (4 February 2005)

Thanks Cosmo,
         You've obviously checked it right out with such a strong veiw on the matter. Have you got a friend that got burnt with the program? You must have used the system first hand to know it so well and surely wouln't be silly enough to pay 9k yourself?
Any comments from someone who's actually seen the program in use?


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## wayneL (4 February 2005)

fivemajix said:
			
		

> Thanks Cosmo,
> You've obviously checked it right out with such a strong veiw on the matter. Have you got a friend that got burnt with the program? You must have used the system first hand to know it so well and surely wouln't be silly enough to pay 9k yourself?
> Any comments from someone who's actually seen the program in use?




Looks like you've made up your mind already.


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## Cosmos (5 February 2005)

fivemajix, I have seen their broaches and can tell straight away its not worth more then $80, but more importantly I know 2 people that work there.

MCI do a lot of telemarketing for their product and 2 of my mates work doing this. Its not a scam you will get the products but trust me its not worth $9K. The company is based in Hong Kong. The telemarketer’s get around about $1500 for each product they sell (tax-free), I hope this highlights the nature of the company to you.

If you want better software for only 2% of the price of star trader, please click here, however this is not professional software:

http://www.maus.com/fe_product_display.asp?product_id=128

Alternatively if you still want star trader download a free copy and get a source code for it and save your self $9K all together.

Cheers


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## mrfirkin (20 June 2005)

Hi everyone,

I have been sent a brochure and several follow up calls from a company called MCI Technologies promoting their software 'Star Trader'.

They are currently offering it on special for AUS$3,000 (it's normally $8,500) on the condition you pay them the difference of $5,500 after you make $30,000 in the first 12 months. If you don't show a $30,000 profit you only pay the $3,000.

As I am new, this sounds like a fantastic deal. Anyone else using this program? Looks fantastic from all accounts.

Can't wait to get it and get started.   

Cheers,
Mrfirkin.


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## Joe Blow (20 June 2005)

You may wish to read through this thread: https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=922

You'll find the 'Search' function here at Aussie Stock Forums is quite a useful feature!


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## Porper (20 June 2005)

mrfirkin said:
			
		

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I have been sent a brochure and several follow up calls from a company called MCI Technologies promoting their software 'Star Trader'.
> 
> ...





Only trouble is it is set up for the UK market as far as I know.Personally I think $3000 is expensive, doesn't do anything different to any other charting software as far as I can see.

Good marketing ploy though saying you pay them the rest when you make over $30,000 in the first year, yeah, right :screwy:


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## mrfirkin (20 June 2005)

It sounds good. Maybe I am acting a little hasty?

I have read some very favourable reviews though. 


They also have a swag of endorsements from satisfied customers all available for viewing and supposedly 100% genuine.

Cheers,
MrFirkin


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## dutchie (20 June 2005)

Firkin

Is Star Trader a black box? If it is it limits your education in share trading.

$3000 will buy you a lot of education (books etc) so that you can make you own decisions or study recommedations from the likes of Fat Prophets et al.

Look before you leap,  the market will wait for you to get an education in trading shares.

I am sure all the products, like Star Trader, on the market can produce positive results (especially if their results are from periods where the market was rising - a dart board would make money!).

Read some of the threads here, at least, before you take the plunge.


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## Bloveld (20 June 2005)

Hello
You know that you will only be able to use data from MCI.
How much does their data cost?
Steve


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## tech/a (20 June 2005)

I'll bet your from the same Firkin Family as Star Trader.

Your a Firkin dead give away.

*Can't wait to get it and get started. 
They also have a swag of endorsements from satisfied customers all available for viewing and supposedly 100% genuine.*

Firkin Fantastic stuff.


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## mrfirkin (20 June 2005)

Hi there tech/a

No, I am not in anyway affiliated with MCI.

Cheers,
MrFirkin


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## Joe Blow (20 June 2005)

mrfirkin said:
			
		

> Hi there tech/a
> 
> No, I am not in anyway affiliated with MCI.
> 
> ...




MrFirkin,

It wasn't a moderator who deleted those posts, it was me. I deleted them because we don't allow profanity on the forums.

Feel free to respond to tech/a's post without any obscene language.

Thank you,
Joe


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## mrfirkin (20 June 2005)

This forum sucks,

Who the hell keeps editing or deleting my replies to this insignificant piece of floatsom that calls himself tech/a ?  What??


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## mrfirkin (20 June 2005)

well joe, you are obviously so bored or nout better to do than sit there watching me type the replys.

You saw what this ugly sod wrote back to a perfectly innocent question?

yes?

I want the right of reply. !!!


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## Joe Blow (20 June 2005)

mrfirkin said:
			
		

> well joe, you are obviously so bored or nout better to do than sit there watching me type the replys.
> 
> You saw what this ugly sod wrote back to a perfectly innocent question?
> 
> ...




MrFirkin, you have the right of reply, you just don't have the right to swear on these forums.

I am sure you are capable of responding to tech/a without using profanity.

The rules here apply to all members equally. Check the link at the bottom of the page that says "Code of Conduct" for a full list.


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## doctorj (20 June 2005)

MrFirkin:

If a deal is too good to be true, then it probably is. 

The only reason why they would say you only have to pay the extra if you make a large sum so a person will be deceived into thinking those type of returns are typical.  Unfortunately, to me it stinks of a marketing ploy.  Even if you lose money, it will still cost you *$3000*.

If you're interested in learning how to trade profitably and are willing to do a bit of leg work yourself by accepting that there is no one holy grail to make you money then $3000 will go a very long way.  In many ways, trading is as much an art as it is a science and with this in mind its beneficial to get as many different opinions and theories as possible so you can find or develop one that suits your needs, personality and skills.

Go borrow or buy some books. Read lots. Find a group of people to answer questions - this forum is great for bouncing ideas.  Even look for a mentor in your peer group. Find out how other people trade. There's a strong bias towards technical trading here, but many of the richest people in the world rely on fundamentals.  Lose money in the market - there's no greater lesson.

At the end of the day though, by purchasing a black box trading system you've decided that you want to make money but you're not prepared to put the work in yourself.  While it may work in some circumstances, it also may not and either way, you'll be none the wiser.  When you eventually decide that it doesn't work great or that it doesn't work great in all market conditions and you want to trade on your own, you'll be back at square one and you'll need to do the work yourself anyway.

The only group that is DEFINATELY going to make money from you buying a $3000 trading system is the group that sold it to you.


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## Pastor (23 June 2005)

Hey Mr Firkin, just in reply to ur post, I too am interested in this program, got the leaflet, rang them up, got the info pack, rang them up again to talk to them about it.  They told me, and this was on the 22/6/05, that it would cost me $5900, and that I'd have to pay $3000 once i made $30,000.  I think you have your figures confused, or they just seem to make up the prices as they go along?  Let me know what you think!  But yes program does sound fantastic, still not sure about it though, and reading other peoples posts about them, I am having second thoughts.  You still have to pay $49.95 a month for the online stock prices updates.  This money also covers a monthly newsletter and 24hr 7-day a week customer support.  If you dont pay the monthly "subscription" you will have to enter the stock prices manually.  Any more feedback about the subject greatly appreciated.

Pastor


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## tech/a (23 June 2005)

Simply ask for audited trading results over the last 2 yrs---actual trading.
If its any good they will trade it themselves and will fall over to prove how good the actual results are.

Ask for a guarentee that if you follow the software to a "tee" then fail---you'll show your trading account---then they will refund your purchase price no questions.

That normally sorts them out.

OH whats all the firkin fuss about!!


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## Pastor (23 June 2005)

tech/a said:
			
		

> Simply ask for audited trading results over the last 2 yrs---actual trading.
> If its any good they will trade it themselves and will fall over to prove how good the actual results are.




Forgive my dumbness/naiveness tech/a, but could you explain further?  My question would be.."Are you trading using this program?  If so, can i see the audited trading results?"  Is that sorta on the right track?  

Ta for help

Pastor


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## tech/a (23 June 2005)

Pastor.

If claims are being made about performance then those claims should be varifiable by potential customers.
How you personally word your proof requirement is up to you.
But thats the one I have used when pulled to a seminar or presentation by a friend.99.9% of people in the room havent the guts to question credibility.
Thats to the sellers advantage.

The answers I have recieved are pretty well evasive or down right avoidance.
The only one accomodating my request was "Home trader" ,no I havent done the course but I have met the principals in Adelaide had coffee and looked over their supportive evidence---wads of it.--I havent varified any purely because niether I or a friend interested in trading didnt go any further.

A fool who asks a question is only momentarily a fool.
A fool who asks no questions remains a fool indefinately.


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## mrfirkin (23 June 2005)

Pastor said:
			
		

> Hey Mr Firkin, just in reply to ur post, I too am interested in this program, got the leaflet, rang them up, got the info pack, rang them up again to talk to them about it.  They told me, and this was on the 22/6/05, that it would cost me $5900, and that I'd have to pay $3000 once i made $30,000.  I think you have your figures confused, or they just seem to make up the prices as they go along?  Let me know what you think!  But yes program does sound fantastic, still not sure about it though, and reading other peoples posts about them, I am having second thoughts.  You still have to pay $49.95 a month for the online stock prices updates.  This money also covers a monthly newsletter and 24hr 7-day a week customer support.  If you dont pay the monthly "subscription" you will have to enter the stock prices manually.  Any more feedback about the subject greatly appreciated.
> 
> Pastor




Hi Pastor,

They must make up the prices as they go. They have sent me a 'one off' special deal of $3000.00 instead of $8500.

It's rubbish night tonight and guess where MCI's brochure went ?

After doing some research and listening to the wisdom of many on forums like this I realise it's just a scam.

I am new to all this stuff and have decided to do something else with my money than invest in shares.

Seems to me there are so many richard craniums involed in this investing lark and the likes of MCI and kind hearted souls like tech/a really make you feel welcome. NOT  

Good luck with it.

Cheers Paul.

PS, Better skip the MrFirkin bit as it seems to get up tech/a's nose for some reason?

Maybe he was one of the fools that got stung with this piece of rubbish from MCI.


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## Pastor (23 June 2005)

Yeah I have been asking this guy question after question. But was still left feeling aprehensive about the whole thing, so decided to investigate further, which brought me to this informative forum.  The financial review has also written up a review on the Star Trader, which I found quite interesting. For those interested you can find the article here: http://afr.com/articles/2004/02/12/1076548157545.html 

I am very new to the whole share market bizo, in fact I hadn't even thought about investing in it till I got that flyer in the mail from MCI.  But as I have found out, one has to do alot of research before heading out to start investing. That is unless you pay someone to do it for you, ie Managed Fund.  So I thank you all for the responses, and I shall continue to research all methods and probably will end up doing a course of some sort in share trading to learn more about it.  Because at the end of the day, I'm not in it to get rich, I'll be in it to have a more comfortable living, if it is at all possible.  

p.s. - if someone can point me to a thread in the forums regarding books and or courses that one could do, it'd be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Pastor


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## dirty digger (28 September 2005)

Where would a fella download a copy from?


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## monoply (29 September 2005)

I get the feeling fivemajix is trying to promote some sales for this product.

We all know its crap. If people are making money using it, its just because of the bull run. You might as well buy a horse racing software program.

If youve got a spare 9k, go for it, but I dont think you will see it again. They will actually give you the product cheaper if you push them. It only costs them a few bucks for a cd, and they sell it to you for 9k.


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## RichKid (29 September 2005)

monoply said:
			
		

> I get the feeling fivemajix is trying to promote some sales for this product.
> 
> We all know its crap. If people are making money using it, its just because of the bull run. You might as well buy a horse racing software program.




I tend to agree, judging by the way the posts have been phrased; well, looks like this thread isn't exactly going to help them! There's also a portfolio mgmt programme called Stator which appears to be good, I'm considerng downloading a free trial, I think Tech was tinkering with it. I really can't justify a big outlay on such software when you can get most things for free, preserving capital is key, why give it away so easily?

Still, nothing wrong with a debate, as long as no one uses ASF to plug software for commercial purposes.


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## monoply (30 September 2005)

Also its his first ever post. Maybe business was a bit quiet this week.


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## yada (25 October 2005)

I had one of their salesman trying to push it on to me tonight. He claimed that his clients were making 10-20% per month. When I asked about the price, he hesitated and told me about the montly fee instead. I asked again and he told me that it sold for $8900! (ripoff!), but that was very quickly reduced to $5900 after I told him it was a no go. 
As for the $42 monthly fee, supposedly it is waived if you buy 5000 shares in their parent company... 
Hopefully that will be the last I hear of them, but hearing from other's experience I'm sure I won't be that lucky


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## tech/a (26 October 2005)

Some more discussion here

http://lightning.he.net/cgi-bin/suid/~reefcap/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=68;t=000002


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## dano065 (21 December 2005)

*MCI - Star Trader*

hey..new to this forum, this is my first post... have been chatting to someone from mci, does anyone use it with sucess? What do you think about the star trader software?


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## wayneL (21 December 2005)

*Re: mci-star trader*



			
				dano065 said:
			
		

> hey..new to this forum, this is my first post..., have been chatting to someone from mci, does anyone use it with suscess. What do you think about the star trader software




:headshake

Nicks book plus amibroker will be better choice IMO...and many thousands cheaper.


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## petlyn123 (2 January 2006)

I came accross the discussions on star trader by accident and have registered simply to give you the point of view of someone who has been using the program for about 11 months. As far as I am concerned anyone who buys this software with a view to positive results will always be disappointed. I find it extremely difficult to use and at no time have we been successfull as given to us by the sales pitch. I was also originally approached at $8900 and declined, however got a phone call several weeks later with a series of questions and then offered it to me for $5000 and the balance doesnt have to be paid unless I made $30000.00 clear of tax in the first twelve months, even though I explained that I was very much a novice and intended only starting with play money. i.e $5000.00. So far I am in the red and rarely find a stock that meets their criteria to purchase from the parameters I set under their guidelines. I find comsec more informative.

My recommendation is FIND SOMETHING ELSE.


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## mrfirkin (2 January 2006)

G'day Petlyn123,

Thanks for alerting us all to this crap dished out by this mob. Sorry you lost your hard earned to this scam.

I have had them hounding me with high pitched sales calls for several years now.

The last telemarketer that called me from Star Trader called me a 'Loser'
and hung up on me. She chucked a hissy fit when I said no thanks.

I think it's time the Office of Fair Trading looked into this outfit.

What is it about Queensland, The Gold Coast in particular that has so many con artists lurking around?

A mate of mine lost a lot of dough on horse racing software and they were also based on the Gold Coast. 

Cheers,

Mrfirkin


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## TraderPro (29 June 2006)

Today I received yet another one (probably the fifth time!) of their glossy mail outs with their colourful pictures of "successful people" as well as impressive return percentages.

I wasn't fooled.   

I think this black box software is simply for people who are plain greedy and lazy. Greedy for money and too lazy to do their own research and learning. I met someone at a trading seminar who had bought this package who wasn't happy with it. At least he rejected it and was taking action to find a better way.   

Find out more about MCI here:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=304096


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## bunyip (29 June 2006)

I got a call from this Star Trader mob claiming that their clients are making 20% a month (240% a year) by using their software for a few minutes each day to select stocks. 

Think about this.....240% a year! That's about 10 times the return made by Warren Buffet, who is considered the world's greatest investor. 

If they could make that sort of return for no work and just a few minutes of their time each day, why on earth would they need to flog software for a living?

Don't allow yourself to be duped by these criminals. If it sounds too good to be true, don't touch it.

Bunyip


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## hotdarwinguy (7 May 2014)

Is this software still available? What is it called now?


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## Noshed (8 May 2014)

hotdarwinguy said:


> Is this software still available? What is it called now?




I used to use it years ago but changed to property just in time before 2008 & am now back in the market.
I made > 32% returns from 2002 - 2007 & would recommend it to anyone.         

Regards,

Noshed.


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## waza1960 (8 May 2014)

I can smell


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