Jan. 15 at 10:28 PM
$RECAF POST #5 — “What a Forced Buy‑In REALLY Means (Plain English)”
A forced buy‑in happens when a short seller can’t deliver the shares they sold:
Their borrow was recalled
They can’t re‑locate
Borrow availability is zero
They’ve failed to deliver too long
When that happens, the broker has no choice.
They must:
1. Go into the open market
2. Buy REAL shares — not synthetic ones
3. At ANY price that exists
4. And charge the short seller the full bill
They don’t negotiate.
They don’t wait.
They don’t get a discount.
They sweep every layer of liquidity:
Displayed asks, Hidden orders, Dark pools, Market‑maker inventory
If the book is thin, they climb the ladder.
If someone has shares posted at
$5 or
$10 — and the broker needs size — those orders can get hit.
If they can’t locate shares to settle, brokers Must buy whatever real shares exist — at whatever price is available.
That’s why high‑priced bait orders matter, because they are liquidity ladder a buy‑in must climb when lower levels are empty!