Before opening an ONLINE TRADING account a little
effort to be made by you.
You can learn a lot by visiting an online stock trading site before opening a brokerage account and joining in the investing fun. Most companies who host an online stock trading site will allow visitors to peruse their site to ensure it is a good match between an investor and an online brokerage.
The first step is to decide if you need a full-service online stock trading brokerage or a discount service. Full-service brokers have their time and place but note that in the current competitive environment discount brokerage services tend to offer almost the same facilities as full-service firms. Make sure that you weigh all options before deciding which one is right for you.
By looking through an online stock trading site you can determine if the costs of making trades through the brokerage is worth the service they are offering. With competition really heated among the many online brokerage sites, prices have dropped considerably.
Be prepared, however as that per trade cost is for both ways of the deal. You will be charged when you buy the stock and you are charged again when you sell it. Each separate stock bought or sold is considered one transaction, even if you put the orders in at the same time. For example, you submit an order to purchase ten shares of each, of three different stocks, you will be charged the trade cost, times three. When you sell those three company's stocks, you are charged again, whether you made money or not.