Why can't I decide how much I'd like to try and sell my shares of a stock for? Who decides this anyway?

Question

Why can't I decide how much I'd like to try and sell my shares of a stock for? Who decides this anyway?

Answer 1

The market determines the current price.  In other words what someone is willing to pay for it and what someone is willing to sell it for are the market prices.  The more buyers you have the more the price goes up, the more sellers the more the price goes down.

Place a limit order and you can determine what price your stock sells for - doesn't mean someone will buy it though.  But if you have a limit order in place for a few months if the price hits that point your broker will automatically sell your stock for the price you set the order at.

Answer 2

Place a "limit order" to the broker.

Basically, you're saying "Sell 100 shares of stock, for no less than $20.94 a share".

If the price is higher when they get it, you get the higher price.

If the price is lower, the broker will wait until it's over $20.94, even if it means waiting a month or two, and then sell.

Answer 3

If you have a specific price that you won't take less than, then tell your broker your minimum and he will place a "limit" order, which means your shares may not get sold if nobody wants to pay that much.  If you just want to get rid of them, tell your broker, and he will place a "market" order which will sell them for the best price he can get at the moment.