TD Waterhouse won't "lend" any stock that you own outright for short selling. It's the shares you buy on margin, or that the institution owns, that get shorted. I'm not sure about the other brokers. Maybe the Canadian and U.S. Brokers operate under different rules. I imagine that the guy who had this happen to him owned some of the shares on margin, or else some kind of option to buy. Putting a "sell" on my shares accomplishes nothing because I own them all outright.

Having said that, I've seen some mistakes made and some outrageous prices paid on thinly traded stocks. You could put a high price out there and hope that someone makes a blind "buy" order when there are no other bid in place.

MR