Marcus Webb is a part-time trader in Tampa, Florida. He has been using OptionsBell for two months. Recorded August 18, 2026.
What happened
Two months. I signed up the week after I missed a $27.5M TSLA put print. I was holding TSLA and I had no idea.
The stock dropped and I found out from a headline. By then the move was already over. A colleague showed me the OptionsBell alert he'd gotten, same print, with a timestamp hours before the news hit. That's when I got what I'd been missing.
I was flying blind. I owned the stock, a huge institutional bet landed on it, and I didn't know until it was too late. It wasn't a market problem, it was an information problem.
The experience since
I have email alerts set on twelve tickers. The emails are clean, they show you the exact contract, the premium, the Vol/OI ratio. Last week I got one on a $5.1M INTC put at 172x Vol/OI. I don't trade every alert, but I see them, and that's the difference.
OptionsBell scans the full tape every five minutes, so the alert hits my inbox a few minutes after the print. I'm not first, but I'm not last either. For a retail trader like me, that's a huge step up from waiting for CNBC.
Does he use the API?
I don't code, and I don't need to. For me the email is the product. But I like that the REST API is there if I ever want it.
You don't get that with the expensive platforms. Unusual Whales charges a separate $150 a month for API access, on top of the subscription. FlowAlgo is $149 a month and doesn't publish an API. OptionsBell just includes it. I'm not paying extra for something I don't use, but I know it's there.
The biggest change
I feel informed now instead of lucky. Before, every earnings season was a coin flip. I'd hold through the report and hope. Now I've got a seatbelt.
That $27.5M TSLA put was my wake-up call, and OptionsBell is what I did about it. I don't want to be the guy who finds out from a headline again.
On the price
$24.99 is less than I spend on lunch in a day. For the peace of mind of knowing when something big hits one of my stocks? That's not a hard decision. And there's a 14-day refund if you hate it. I didn't need it, but it's there.
It wasn't a market problem, it was an information problem.
If you hold single names through earnings, the pattern Marcus describes is the one to watch for: large put premium on a stock you own, days before the headline. Our guide on hedging versus speculation in put flow explains how to tell insurance from a bet.
Full interview transcript
Recorded transcript, lightly edited for readability.
Interviewer: Today we're talking with Marcus Webb, a part-time trader in Tampa, Florida. Marcus has been using OptionsBell for two months.
Marcus Webb: Two months. I signed up the week after I missed a $27.5M TSLA put print. I was holding TSLA and I had no idea.
Interviewer: What happened?
Marcus Webb: The stock dropped and I found out from a headline. By then the move was already over. A colleague showed me the OptionsBell alert he'd gotten, same print, with a timestamp hours before the news hit. That's when I got what I'd been missing.
I was flying blind. I owned the stock, a huge institutional bet landed on it, and I didn't know until it was too late. It wasn't a market problem, it was an information problem.
Interviewer: How's it been since then?
Marcus Webb: I have email alerts set on twelve tickers. The emails are clean, they show you the exact contract, the premium, the Vol/OI ratio. Last week I got one on a $5.1M INTC put at 172x Vol/OI. I don't trade every alert, but I see them, and that's the difference.
OptionsBell scans the full tape every five minutes, so the alert hits my inbox a few minutes after the print. I'm not first, but I'm not last either. For a retail trader like me, that's a huge step up from waiting for CNBC.
Interviewer: Do you use the API?
Marcus Webb: I don't code, and I don't need to. For me the email is the product. But I like that the REST API is there if I ever want it.
You don't get that with the expensive platforms. Unusual Whales charges a separate $150 a month for API access, on top of the subscription. FlowAlgo is $149 a month and doesn't publish an API. OptionsBell just includes it. I'm not paying extra for something I don't use, but I know it's there.
Interviewer: What's the biggest change for you?
Marcus Webb: I feel informed now instead of lucky. Before, every earnings season was a coin flip. I'd hold through the report and hope. Now I've got a seatbelt.
That $27.5M TSLA put was my wake-up call, and OptionsBell is what I did about it. I don't want to be the guy who finds out from a headline again.
Interviewer: What do you tell people who ask about the price?
Marcus Webb: $24.99 is less than I spend on lunch in a day. For the peace of mind of knowing when something big hits one of my stocks? That's not a hard decision.
And there's a 14-day refund if you hate it. I didn't need it, but it's there.