[cgnahc]

If you trade large size or trade very infrequently, then maybe some of these consumer/retail level brokerages are fine...only because they offer additional services and information to support the trading platform.

I use Interactive Brokers. $1 per 100 share to 500 then $0.05 per 100 shares thereafter. So 1000 shares cost $5 + 2.5 = $7.50. At these rates, there is no reason to think about commissions affecting your decision to place a position.

High volume traders have $0.01-0.02 per 100sh, but through other brokers. I trade professionally, manage money, write for a trading web site, consult, and all that jazz.

Based on your info, stick with something like eTrade or Charles Schwabs. Actually, any of those others are fine for you. I think what is most important in your case is ease of use, not commision charges. You will adapt quickly to some of those brokerage platforms, but you may out grow those as you become more sophisticated in your trading. Therefore, find a trading platform that is easy for you to use, yet has advanced features for you to expand.

[hl0m4n]

^ thanks man and your right i want ease but the comissions and fees come in mind after. im new to investing, have ideas and want to try it out only putting $500 and see how that goes. i did some research on how all this online stuff works and basically i got this.

when you open an account with the site, you list your bank account information along with home address, etc. you put a deposit in your account, lets say $500 by either card, check, money order, etc. so basically this is like having a paypal account and a balance.

when you buy shares it's simple. look up the symbol enter the amount and price and simply click buy. question i have here is do these sites have like an automated sell feature like ebay bin? so lets say i buy share for $11, can i set a sell price of $15 lets say and the site will auto sell when the time comes?

when i sell a share i simply look at my account and simply click sell. all transactions and balances are kept on my site account and i can withdraw cash anytime and the company mail me check or whatever. so it's basically same thing like a paypal account with a balance. you use the balance you have on your account and withdraw money from it to your bank account or get a check, etc right?

[nyczyang27]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

question i have here is do these sites have like an automated sell feature like ebay bin? so lets say i buy share for $11, can i set a sell price of $15 lets say and the site will auto sell when the time comes

Yeah thats correct. When you do a sell order at $15, once the share price hits $15, it will automatically execute the sell order for you.

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

when i sell a share i simply look at my account and simply click sell. all transactions and balances are kept on my site account and i can withdraw cash anytime and the company mail me check or whatever. so it's basically same thing like a paypal account with a balance. you use the balance you have on your account and withdraw money from it to your bank account or get a check, etc right?

This is also correct. And also, I believe with E*trade, they will provide you with an ATM card that's connected to your stock account. Therefore, you don't have to wait in between the transfers or checks to withdraw money...Very convenient.

[sinnet112]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

^ thanks man and your right i want ease but the comissions and fees come in mind after. im new to investing, have ideas and want to try it out only putting $500 and see how that goes. i did some research on how all this online stuff works and basically i got this.

when you open an account with the site, you list your bank account information along with home address, etc. you put a deposit in your account, lets say $500 by either card, check, money order, etc. so basically this is like having a paypal account and a balance.

when you buy shares it's simple. look up the symbol enter the amount and price and simply click buy. question i have here is do these sites have like an automated sell feature like ebay bin? so lets say i buy share for $11, can i set a sell price of $15 lets say and the site will auto sell when the time comes?

when i sell a share i simply look at my account and simply click sell. all transactions and balances are kept on my site account and i can withdraw cash anytime and the company mail me check or whatever. so it's basically same thing like a paypal account with a balance. you use the balance you have on your account and withdraw money from it to your bank account or get a check, etc right?

If you're only investing $500, I'd definitely suggest a discount broker instead. TradeKing's commission is $4.95 per trade, so less than $10 total. And yes, you will be able to set it to buy below a certain price (Limit Buy) and sell if it goes above a certain price (Limit Sell). Or you can set Trailing Stops that follow the stock if it hits new highs.

[hl0m4n]

does the system work vice versa as well meaning you can set a price range and the system will auto buy x amount of shares you set? this feature along with auto sell are available on all stock sites right, mainly concerning etrade and scottrade.

seems you really need to invest alot for this to work. you have to buy enough shares at one time to have a profit after you paid off the transation fee. i can buy 2-3 shares of google though when time is right and experiment with that to see how that goes.

since this is my first time i don't want to go overboard but looking at google (goog) they seem like a safe bet.

[flukey]

wells fargo PMA checking account + brokerage account...

$25.00 monthly fee for net worth less than $25K

100 free trades per year per brokerage account

[mrwma237]

buy limit

sell limit

these orders should be on your discount brokers platforms.

though, you can just open an account at MS and we'll do it for you.

we usually give you advice on what to buy too

[hl0m4n]

damn im doing math on how much i need to make a profit after the fees and you really do need alot of capital to start this out. me on the other hand don't want to spend too much $$ for first time though. much thinking to do.

anyone use ameritrade? how is the snap ticket feature?

there is no time limit on selling a share either right?

[razer8724]

I use TD ameritrade currently. I've had it before and post merger. The customer service has been excellent the one and only time I've had to use it (I was only on hold for less than a minute) and the trades execute fairly fast. It's $10 per transaction (so essential $20 for a full transaction; $10 to buy, $10 to sell) usually, but when I enrolled almost over a year ago, they gave me 100 free trades just for joining. They also have a good options trading ability, if you're into that. I'm not the most knowledgable trader as I'm only 20 years old, but I do know that my dad has been using them for 3+ years (when it was TD Waterhouse) and he enjoys their services over the other ones that he tried.

[razer8724]

Oh, and on Ameritrade, I don't believe there is any such thing as a time limit on selling shares. They do have time delayed purchases and sales (sells or buys at a certain pre-defined time in the day that you can set).

[hl0m4n]

Originally Posted by razer8724

Oh, and on Ameritrade, I don't believe there is any such thing as a time limit on selling shares. They do have time delayed purchases and sales (sells or buys at a certain pre-defined time in the day that you can set).

same here im only 18 but want to get myself in the game. have you seen google expecially today? high of about $600 and right now low of $580. just goes up and down

[sinnet112]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

same here im only 18 but want to get myself in the game. have you seen google expecially today? high of about $600 and right now low of $580. just goes up and down

If you're going to trade, trade commodities and agriculture. I've made quite a bit just by watching and trading a few stocks and ETFs in these sectors. They're the hottest sectors right now, although the strengthening dollar may change things. That being said, these two sectors have plenty of upswing left in them. Buy it on a profit-taking day, as they haven't gone down in a very long time.

[hl0m4n]

Originally Posted by sinnet112

If you're going to trade, trade commodities and agriculture. I've made quite a bit just by watching and trading a few stocks and ETFs in these sectors. They're the hottest sectors right now, although the strengthening dollar may change things. That being said, these two sectors have plenty of upswing left in them. Buy it on a profit-taking day, as they haven't gone down in a very long time.

care to give me some pointers

[sinnet112]

These are the ones I've been watching for a few months now. I trade short term, buying at the lows and selling at the highs before it corrects itself (hopefully). This is a screen capture from Motley Fool's CAPS website that simulates the stock versus the S&P. As you can see, they've done pretty well the last few months, although I've bought and sold these numerous times already so the gains listed here aren't my actual gains (some are less, some are more)



A few not listed here that I haven't bothered "picking" in CAPS are WLT, ANR, ADR, APA, AGU, FEED, and ILMN.

[hl0m4n]

your using ameratrade correct?

[phantom330]

I use Sharebuilder for my "play" account. Works nicely and trades are cheap a $9.

[sinnet112]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

your using ameratrade correct?

I use E*Trade for my savings account (3.15% still, surprisingly), an IRA with them, but my primary brokerage account is with TradeKing.

[hl0m4n]

dang mang $4.95 is the cheapst out there isn't it. so far it is for me. that's mad good. are the transactions fast and hows the customer service?

do you get a debit card linked to your account with tradeking? most importantly how easy is it for you to withdraw the money into bank account?

thanks man

[AJayE92]

if your serious about trading and have more 6 figures or more i would NEVER use an online trading program... none of us are brokers and you could really fuck up your financial status...

if anyone needs a great broker... let me know... i've been making 30-60% avg for the last 3 years.. my last trade was on a Company, VVUS... Vivus pharmaceuticals.... when the Dow Jones went from 15 to 12,5... my stock went from 4 to 6.50

anyways sorry for boasting, just thought i'd let you know my opinion

[phantom330]

Originally Posted by AJayE92

if your serious about trading and have more 6 figures or more i would NEVER use an online trading program... none of us are brokers and you could really fuck up your financial status...

if anyone needs a great broker... let me know... i've been making 30-60% avg for the last 3 years.. my last trade was on a Company, VVUS... Vivus pharmaceuticals.... when the Dow Jones went from 15 to 12,5... my stock went from 4 to 6.50

anyways sorry for boasting, just thought i'd let you know my opinion

I wouldn't say that's always the case, statistics show that throwing darts at the WSJ usually nets you the same return as paying a broker, plus they don't rape you on commissions. For people that have no idea about the market I wouldn't suggest online trading, but if you're familiar with it there is no reason to pay somebody else, plus it's not like they are sitting there looking at YOUR portfolio all day and making trades, half the "financial advisors" I know farm out the portfolios to money managers and are essentially just salesman.