Buying stock for the first time

Question

how does it work? do i pay a monthly fee to a broker just to buy a few shares? if im only buying a few shares, will i even make more money than the broker fee?

Answer 1

it's usually only worth it if you buy multiple shares of stock.

Answer 2

With Scottrade it's about $7 to buy and $7 to sell.  That's pretty much it.  With stocks the company post earnings every quarter (different dates for different companies).  Blow out earnings in their reports mean more people are likely to invest.  Check out yahoo finance and also the message boards.  The boards may be biased but at least you get an idea of what's affecting your stock.  Also paper trade- check out Investopedia.com

Answer 3

I went to one of those online sites where it's like seven dollars per trade.  I started off with like five hundred bucks and lost my butt so I quit.  I wouldn't get a broker unless you're investing a lot of money.

Answer 4

No monthly fees. You can make a trade for under 10 dollars for any size trade with an online broker such as TD Ameritrade, so even a small trade won't feed a lot of bucks to your broker.

But you must use an online broker and not a full service broker such as Merrill Lynch that might have an outlet close to you.

Answer 5

broker comm according to your sell or purchase amount  

Answer 6

You will be charged a commission (fee) for each order you submit to the firm, regardless of the number of shares (unless you are doing block trades which you are not doing)

One of the goals of investing is to make money, but no one can give you any guarantee that you will make money

BUT - Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.

Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

Here is some reading material that can get you started in the right direction, The first book you should read is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Then try some of these

What Works on Wall Street by James O'Shaunessey

Beating the Street by Peter Lynch

One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch

The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom

How to Make Money in Stocks” and 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success both by  William O’Neil

Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance.  (http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp http://finance.yahoo.com/ )

While at MSN following the strategy lab analysts to get a feel for what the pros are doing and why.  This site has some basic information for beginners. If any site offers free information, take it.

Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are

Investopedia - http://www.investopedia.com/  Stock Charts - http://stockcharts.com/

http://www.investorshub.com/  http://www.1source4stocks.com/

Answer 7

At discount brokerages, you typically only pay a commission to buy and sell, and not a monthly fee.  If you are talking to a broker that charges a separate account maintenance fee, just dump that broker and get a different one.

However, if you are only investing a small amount of money, it is true that fees will eat up a chunk of your potential profits (or add to your losses!)

That's part of why beginners that only have a limited amount of money should start with mutual funds instead of individual stocks.  (In fact, the vast majority of us should stick with mutual funds or ETFs instead of individual stocks...)

Answer 8

i started with zecco.....still use it, still very happy. only ones with no fee for stock trades, and no minumums.  it took me some time to see that most of my gains were lost to the fees i paid to actually buy stock and sell it....all the others will charge you fees for trading, but compare and see for yourself!

http://friends.zecco.com/r/a7a2877caab81...

Answer 9

Stock are bought and sold through a stock broker.  There are two types of them: full-service and discount.  Full-service brokers tend to be more expensive but they advise you on what to buy.  On the other hand, discount brokers are much cheaper, but you have to make your own trading decisions.  Some brokers will charge a monthly fee in addition to the commission rates.  Others only charge a certain amount of commission per trade.  Commission can be charged in different ways as well.  Some brokers may charge a certain amount per share.  Others have flat-fee rates.

If you are only buying a few shares, you will probably have to find a broker that does not have minimum deposit requirements.  I currently use Firstrade ( http://www.firstrade.com/ ) and they are one of the brokers that do not have minimums.  They are also cheaper than most big name brokers, so you don't have to worry as much about the broker fee.  With Firstrade, I would say that as long as you're not a heavy trader, you will be fine trading with as little as a few hundred dollars.

Answer 10

for new beginner, i think overnight income shares more simple, workable and profitable. you do not need to pay any fee.

Answer 11

You might want to look into Zecco, they give you 10 free trades a month as long as you have at least $2,500 in total equity.