Tried to buy a stock on E-Trade and...?

Question

tried to buy shares of a stock at Market Price and it came up with this alert:

Non-equity, bulletin board, OTC, pink sheet and other specific securities are not eligible for the price type you have specified

What does this mean? I cannot buy shares of this stock?

Answer 1

You entered an order at a price that was not reasonably close to the current market.

In put edits are used by all broker/dealers to prevent customers from placing orders that are too far away from the quoted market with the assumption  that they entered an incorrect symbol or entered a wrong price,

Try putting in the order within or at the quoted market

Answer 2

They are trying to protect you from getting ripped off in thinly traded stocks by requiring you to specify a limit price.  It's really for your own good.

Answer 3

Yeah its prohibiting you from executing an order for a stock not listed on the exchange. OTC.BB and pink sheet stocks are penny stocks and arent listed. You can prob get that restriction lifted by calling them but I wouldnt. Just the fact you used a market order on a penny stock is a red flag that you prob should not be trading them. Use only limit orders to ensure good prices, these stocks are extemely illiquid, if you use a market order to get in and and market order to sell you will prob lose 25% or more in the spread alone.