Trading Stock

I have gathered quite a war chest recently from completing sites and decided to invest a little in the stock market. Where can I trade stock online, like experimentally. I would prefer something cheap as I would be only investing a few hundred dollars. Suggestions?

investopedia.com

D site for beginners, sample game with real values

they have tutorials and tips --- and they also offer possibility of actual investing...

Buy soon....the market is downnnnnnn (= depressed values!).

www.vse.com


virtual stock exchange! It's all fake, but I'm pretty sure they get info from the REAL stock exchange and relay it. Pretty nifty if you ask me.

Thanks for the sites. i am going to look at these and watch mad money again!! <--- boooyah skidaddy ( i think thats how u spell it out haha )

I was hoping for like a real stock trading site, thanks though.

www.scottrade.com ($7 commissions per trade)
www.tdameritrade.com ($9.99 commisions per trade)
www.zecco.com (Free up to 40 trades a month)
www.etrade.com (I think $12.99 per trade)
www.schwab.com
www.sharebuilder.com

You should read all the fine print when it comes to the pricing of trades. Some advertise $X and say you have to make a certain number of trades per month.

Based on personal experience, Scottrade is pretty good and its one of the cheapest. TD Ameritrade is supposed to be the best because they have a lot of research tools and stuff, which might make them worth the extra $3 per trade.

Also to be sure, the commission is PER trade, meaning it'll cost commission x2 to buy and sell (i.e. $14 to buy and sell with Scottrade). If you're investing with only a few hundred dollars, the commissions will eat up most of the profits you'll potentially earn. Not only that, sites have a minimum amount to open an account. With Scottrade, its $500. TD Ameritrade is $2000 I believe. Do your research before you open an account and deposit any money.

I use Scottrade for my IRA and they have low fees. I recommend them.

I've been using TD Ameritrade for about a month - I got 45 days of free trading after an initial $2000 deposit.

findme, take Cramer's advice with a grain of salt...he's pretty much been a flake lately. "tips are for waiters" (basically what I'm saying, is make your own picks and do your own research...ask yourself "why company x?"....then see what Cramer has to say).

"Option trades only cost $3.50 plus $.60 a contract"

What is an Option and how is it different from like a Trade for stock for oh say MSFT.

[quoteed30ee968b="coolvaughan"]"Option trades only cost $3.50 plus $.60 a contract"

What is an Option and how is it different from like a Trade for stock for oh say MSFT.[/quoteed30ee968b]

You won't be dealing with options for a while, if ever...they're generally used for speculation/hedging.

http//www.investopedia.com/dictionary/ if you need any more related definitions )

Thanks guys, I think I am gonna go with Zecco for now because I have about $500 to invest and plan to be a very active trader so commissions could kill me. Has anyone had experience here?

i'm crying in the corner because of my stocks this year ( My college fund has been down huge this year... Although, today I was up $309 in the market D

[quote11a034a835="tjwor"]i'm crying in the corner because of my stocks this year ( My college fund has been down huge this year... [b11a034a835]Although, today I was up $309 in the market D[/b11a034a835][/quote11a034a835]


That's because you were probably down $1000 last week ;)

What are you invested in (mutual funds, common stock, etc.)?

I wish I had some cash to invest. I have some, but it's all accounted for within a year.

I can't wait till I get into the real world and out of college and start making some money.