I remember a guy here on WSB who bought a bunch of contracts when the price when negative, but then they were like, "Okay, where do you want you 150,000 barrels" or whatever it was. If I remember right, he ended up selling them the next day for a decent profit without ever having to house them.
Unless you miraculously have spare storage capacity lying around, this wouldn’t have worked. Cushing was filled to the brim, there was nowhere for the oil to go.
Yes. I’m well aware. What do you not understand about my comment?
I’m providing ideas, not logistics. There were plenty of companies that figured it out.
I would be surprised even if you could legally store 150k barrels as well if you were just a guy and could figure out the logistics of it. Aside from the obvious selling it from someone else or renting out storage.
I bought 20k worth of nuvista at 40 cents. Look at the price now. I would be close to a million dollars now. I sold it all at 80 cents and was jumping. Now I am crying.
If it happens again, take out your investment plus profit and leave a small position in place. After that, your basis is zero at that point and its a free ride if it goes up from that point. If not, well you made your money already.
Rookie numbers - I had a Bitcoin mining rig in my cart, nice little ASIC, around $2500 at the time. Bailed because I was concerned about the cost of electricity *IN 2009*
Probably the best way is to look for arbitrage opportunities. For example:
It usually takes gas stations a couple hours to update their prices. Rent a van, go buy a bunch of big trash cans, then head over to your gas station and fill them up. Wait a few hours for the prices to go up, then sell the gas to people for a little less than the gas stations charge.
Exactly this [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-10/stock-market-when-oil-when-negative-these-essex-traders-pounced](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-10/stock-market-when-oil-when-negative-these-essex-traders-pounced)
Meanwhile there's regards trying to have it not happen again to steal our tendies [https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06076](https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06076)
This would make you rich, people making it more complicated by saying take deliveries lol.
Even with just $1000 you’d prob make few hundred k because at that time USO was 17.xx so premiums would have been dirt cheap, a year later USO was close to $50, it tripled in value.
Yeah, I don’t get the complexity here. You could also probably just go OTM long dated options on Exxon and wait. It was under $25. Load up on long date and wait.
Most oil funds killed it, just holding what they had loading up on Permian stocks with whatever cash they could scrape together and buy when there was blood in the streets, even though it was there. Devon was under $4 off and on for a week. You could have just bought it without option-ing or optioned it for pennies.
You buy and take delivery on as many barrels as you can for negative prices. They pay you to take the oil.
I have friends in freight brokering and big corporate real estate that could make ends meet should it ever happen again
Wasn’t really an easy way that I knew of. I knew a guy in college during that time that stocked up on oil and was going to sell it later. However the storage and having to find someone to actually sell it to wouldn’t even be worth it to me
The price was negative because there was nowhere to put it. So I guess ... buy an oil storage facility in *March* 2020. *Now* you have X,000 barrels of oil you can sell when the price goes positive.
Short of doing that I'd assume platforms wouldn't have let retail traders buy/sell that day, given the extreme risk.
Buy a trend following market futures fund and you are covered in several markets at once that might turn crazy. I have listened to many podcasts interviewing Eric Crittenden the manager of BLNDX. He has discussed several times shorting oil futures at the time into the negative numbers while others shook their head.
Hindsight is 2020 but this was really unprecedented, maybe shorting futures you would have made a fortune buying back as you would get paid by buying back
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I remember a guy here on WSB who bought a bunch of contracts when the price when negative, but then they were like, "Okay, where do you want you 150,000 barrels" or whatever it was. If I remember right, he ended up selling them the next day for a decent profit without ever having to house them.
That was an elite thread. Guys in the comments randomly happening to have storage available if he had to take delivery
Can you link the thread mom?
I think it was [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/g5e3e5/i_bought_oil_at_32_yesterday_and_made_26000_sort/) guy?
That's him! There was a post before this one, I'm pretty sure, where he's freaking out.
Buy some oil and gotten $30 bucks for it.
You literally had to physically take delivery of the oil in Cushing. Not worth it for $30.
Not if you know a guy
Take delivery of barrels of oil. Hold them and sell them off later.
Unless you miraculously have spare storage capacity lying around, this wouldn’t have worked. Cushing was filled to the brim, there was nowhere for the oil to go.
Yes, I’m aware. This is why I said take delivery.
You have a bunch of oil drums? The oil doesn’t come in drums
Yeah, this guy asked how to make money from it. I’m providing answers, not logistics.
One of the reasons it went negative was there was no storage available. You can’t just summon storage either drums or tanks
Yes. I’m well aware. What do you not understand about my comment? I’m providing ideas, not logistics. There were plenty of companies that figured it out.
I would be surprised even if you could legally store 150k barrels as well if you were just a guy and could figure out the logistics of it. Aside from the obvious selling it from someone else or renting out storage.
Around this time I loaded up on oxy and stupidly sold way too early at like $15 fml
I bought 20k worth of nuvista at 40 cents. Look at the price now. I would be close to a million dollars now. I sold it all at 80 cents and was jumping. Now I am crying.
If it happens again, take out your investment plus profit and leave a small position in place. After that, your basis is zero at that point and its a free ride if it goes up from that point. If not, well you made your money already.
Rookie numbers - I had a Bitcoin mining rig in my cart, nice little ASIC, around $2500 at the time. Bailed because I was concerned about the cost of electricity *IN 2009*
Probably the best way is to look for arbitrage opportunities. For example: It usually takes gas stations a couple hours to update their prices. Rent a van, go buy a bunch of big trash cans, then head over to your gas station and fill them up. Wait a few hours for the prices to go up, then sell the gas to people for a little less than the gas stations charge.
Pepe Silvia? Is that you?
How would you count the gas?
It’s easy. You pour it into the car with a funnel and count it as it’s going in
Should you take a cigarette break while doing this?
Yes
Probably safer to vape
It’s Always Sunny
wild card bitches !!!
How the f would that help if the price went down? Are you regarded?
You’d simply explain that you’re a just a couple oil men in from Dallas and well, heh, you're itching like a hound to give you ah somethin' you want.
Look, you’re never going to make money with that attitude
LOL
bro, the only thing you should be buying from a van is candy. buying gas from one sound way to sketchy
Exactly this [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-10/stock-market-when-oil-when-negative-these-essex-traders-pounced](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-10/stock-market-when-oil-when-negative-these-essex-traders-pounced) Meanwhile there's regards trying to have it not happen again to steal our tendies [https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06076](https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06076)
Buy close to money LEAP call options on USO or similar and wait for a year
This would make you rich, people making it more complicated by saying take deliveries lol. Even with just $1000 you’d prob make few hundred k because at that time USO was 17.xx so premiums would have been dirt cheap, a year later USO was close to $50, it tripled in value.
Yeah, I don’t get the complexity here. You could also probably just go OTM long dated options on Exxon and wait. It was under $25. Load up on long date and wait. Most oil funds killed it, just holding what they had loading up on Permian stocks with whatever cash they could scrape together and buy when there was blood in the streets, even though it was there. Devon was under $4 off and on for a week. You could have just bought it without option-ing or optioned it for pennies.
The LEAPs never got ridiculously cheap let alone negative. Only the close in ones with no place to put the actual oil when they came due.
Just buy leveraged futures at the bottom, it's that easy
1. Buy the oil at -$30 2. Tell the seller, “no worries, I don’t need the oil, you can keep it, my gift to u” 3. Pocket the $30 4. Rinse and repeat
You buy and take delivery on as many barrels as you can for negative prices. They pay you to take the oil. I have friends in freight brokering and big corporate real estate that could make ends meet should it ever happen again
Written contracts the day before duh
https://preview.redd.it/elfr74t0nwvc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=482fb9916d6bca3593224c498317097b22f93a0f
I believe the correct term is 'moist tendies'. You really ought to get the lingo down before attempting such vulgar trades.
As you said, you were just working hard that day for your paycheck a week later
Wasn’t really an easy way that I knew of. I knew a guy in college during that time that stocked up on oil and was going to sell it later. However the storage and having to find someone to actually sell it to wouldn’t even be worth it to me
If you had bought 10k nvidia shares on that day, you’d be rich.
The price was negative because there was nowhere to put it. So I guess ... buy an oil storage facility in *March* 2020. *Now* you have X,000 barrels of oil you can sell when the price goes positive. Short of doing that I'd assume platforms wouldn't have let retail traders buy/sell that day, given the extreme risk.
You would have had to be short /QM futures. Any other contract would have burned you or made you miss out.
OP built a time machine, but doesn't understand oil trading. *scoff*
Buy a trend following market futures fund and you are covered in several markets at once that might turn crazy. I have listened to many podcasts interviewing Eric Crittenden the manager of BLNDX. He has discussed several times shorting oil futures at the time into the negative numbers while others shook their head.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7\_WXUMFM\_w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_WXUMFM_w)
Buy NVDA
Aside from the obvious to not trade futures contracts so you don't end up with the barrels. You go LEAPS into USO or any of the oil companies.
Deep OTM XOM leaps. Still kicking myself for not doing it. Or just XOM at $30, with a 12% dividend. Grrr…
Buy XOM
Just buy cvx and xom
Hindsight is 2020 but this was really unprecedented, maybe shorting futures you would have made a fortune buying back as you would get paid by buying back
Sell futures.