Stock Markets Exposed

Online investing- any hidden fees, have any tips for me?

I don't have that much experience investing. Im thinking about throwing a couple thousand dollars into an online stock broker like etrade, ameritrade, scott trade, etc. Any startup tips for me? Which site do you recommend? Also, they always advertise $7-8 trades..... does that completely cover the trade fees? or are there hidden charges, commission fees, etc? I'm not good with all the lingo in their terms..... Yeah thanks Common Sense; Ive been playing around on simulators for about a year and I'm doing alright, just dont know how to actually do it with real money

Public Comments

1. No not usally...as long as you just buy and sell and dont do anything like switch brokers
2. few companies stocktrade.com and try other investments mutual funds franklin templeton
3. Scottrade is great if you know what you're doing. Schwab & Fidelity (Brokerage) may be better if you need a little assistance. Don't do anything until you understand investing. Don't ever take stock tips. Don't just buy your first stock because it sounds great or it's "just always going up". Learn Learn Learn before you buy one thing. Have a plan. Understand "asset allocation". Never buy anything without fully knowing it & why you're buying it (Uncle Joe says it's going to triple in two weeks is not a reason to buy). Good luck. The right approach will make you rich slowly. The wrong approach will make you poor quickly..........
4. I would like "buy and hold", get your Costco membership card and use its referral service to open an investment account with Sharebuilder.com, put any amount over $4 in, then one month later you will get a rebate of $55 (minimum) to start with. You may select a company like McDonald (MCD) or Yums Brand (YUM) to invest, say you deposit $104, and $4 for commission, then $104 - $55 = $49 which is the cost of purchase. Almost 50% off to buy a good company. You can open many accounts as you wish. Then 5 years later, if MCD or YUM gives you a double and you only pay $16 to get out, i.e., you walk away $184 ($200-$16=$184) or 275.5% ($184/$49-1) in return (or 55% annual return)
5. I use Scottade. They charge $7 per trade. Just remember that it's $7 to buy, then another $7 to sell so you need to add $14 total to your stock prices. If you buy stocks under $1, they add on an additional 1/2%. I've been with Scottrade for about 6 months now and am very happy with their service and website. Good luck!
6. I think Scottrade is annoying. Everytime I want to take money out I have to call the local office and setting it up was a pain since i had to call the office and mail in my forms. The website has been down a few times as well. Every once in a while scottrade will split my trade into two and charge me 7 dollars both times for 14 a trade so you can do all or none to avoid this but you might get a lower price for your stock. Personally I like ameritrade a lot better and have had fewer problems and i dont have to call the office. I can do everything online which for me was the whole point of getting an online broker. The trades are a few dollars more but I think its worth it for the better execution.