Makers collect the spread from participants who want to transact right now (the price of immediacy). &quot;Real&quot; investors are better off because they paid someone to take a position of their hands that they didn&#x27;t want. They made their trading problem someone else&#x27;s.<p>Takers exploit the option value of resting orders by trading when &quot;fair value&quot; moves but those orders don&#x27;t. &quot;Real&quot; investors are better off because they cheaply acquired a security they may hold for years (the fact that the price will shortly move against them by a penny or two is irrelevant). Market makers are worse off--but they&#x27;re HFT guys, and it&#x27;s not really your problem.