as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
why ever use a market order?
user
the original poster's concern is valid.  sometimes, market orders do get executed at seemingly ridiculous prices. in addition to victor's reasons for using a market order, sometimes a seller does not care how low the price is.  for example, after a company goes broke, its stock continues to trade for a while.  this allows shareholders to realize their losses for tax purposes, and allows short-sellers to close out their positions.  a shareholder who is trying to realize a 10 dollar per share loss for tax purposes probably does not care whether he gets 10 cents per share or 0.001 cents per share, so a sell-at-market order makes sense.
assistant