sell open vs sell close—what's the difference?

I have been trading for a while but still get confused by these terms.

I notice sell open and sell close options but I am not sure when to use which one. I made mistakes picking the wrong one before.

Can someone explain this simply? I want to understand it properly.

Sell open starts a short position. Sell close is for closing existing longs.

Sell open means you are starting a new short position. This is when you believe the price will drop. Sell close means you are closing a position you already have, allowing you to take profits or losses. Before making any moves, check your current positions. If you hold a buy position, choose sell close to exit. If you have no positions and expect the price to fall, then go with sell open.

I made the same mistake last month and lost $200 on a GBP/USD trade that should’ve been profitable.

Sell open means you are opening a new short position, which is betting that the price will drop. Sell close means you are closing an existing long position, which lets you take profit or loss.

I now triple-check which button I am hitting. That $200 lesson was expensive enough.

Sell open means starting a short position. You profit if the price drops. Sell close exits a long position, locking in current profit or loss. Always check current positions.

Think of it like trading cars. Sell open means borrowing a car to sell right away, hoping to buy it back later for less. Sell close is simply selling a car you already own.

Always check your current positions before making a move.