We literally have paid for nothing by submitting to the Journal of Empirical Finance. I have the impression that the editor in charge of my paper has not even read it, as there was just a copy-pasted message suggesting that our paper was not fit for the readership of the journal. I am aware that high desk rejection rates are common in top journals, but what bothers are two issues: 1) not any feedback at all and 2) not even recommending for the article transfer service (ATS), which connecting 1 and 2, passes the impression of our work not being read at all. After paying high submission fees, a minor feedback would be expected if the work was minimaly evaluated.
