Not recommended for active trades.
Written: Sep 04 '03 (Updated Jan 16 '04)
| Site Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
|
| Full Review |
Recently I opened account with Scottrader.com as my brokerage for buying and selling stocks. It initiated my entry into the stock market.
How to Open an Account
For opening an account click the “Apply Now” button and you are directed to a window that asks you to fill you Name , email address , Phone Number and Street address.
After you fill the forms online, it sends you the pdf forms required to open the account. You need to fill the required form , attach a check in the name of “Scottrader” and send it to the required broker. About 170 cities in US has a scottrade office. I am not sure what will happen if the broker is not in your city. But there is one in my city in Austin, so I just sent it there.
Three days after I sent the forms, I called the Scottrade Office and they gave me the Account Number and the password. These Account number and password are used for Online transaction. It is possible to do transaction by calling the broker office. But charges are higher for broker assisted transactions.
Funding The Account
After I had the Account Number and password , just log on to scottrade.com. But I found that there was no money in my account. I had sent a check of $3000. I called back the office. They told that the money will become available in few hours. So I had to wait till evening to see it in my account. You can also send some paperwork that will authorize them to withdraw money from your bank when you so desire. You need to fill a form and a check. The check will be used only to note down the routing number and the account number. I have yet to do it.
How much it Costs scottrade.com charges $7 for one transaction done at market rate. It charges $12 for the limit transaction. Now in many cases it is always better to do transaction by inserting a limit ,so that you do not need to always keep looking at the streaming quotes. So I feel that the $7 advertisement is a gimmick. I believe that a lot of transactions happen at limit transaction. I think Ameritrade’s $10.99 is better, since this price is for all kinds of transaction – limit transactions or market transactions. Still $7 is good for those who want to buy shares for long term appreciation and trade something like once a year.
What I like
The price for the market transaction - $7 – Probably you can not beat.
Customer Service – That is very helpful. I have the assurance that I can walk down to their office.
Streaming Quote – It is provided even if you do not have a Account.
Low Limit for opening account – You need only $500 to open an account.
What I dislike
Limit Transaction Price - $12 for the limit transaction is not realized when you see its advertisement showing $7 a transaction.
There is no promotion for doing higher number of transactions .
Conclusion
I have done very limited transaction. I have just bought two shares till now. One of them was a limit transaction and the other was a market transaction. Both transaction happened as expected. No selling transactions has been done till now. It is too early for me to draw any rigid conclusion at this point of time.
I have not seen there screen hanging for few moments. But again, my experience is not for a big time. I believe that they have upgraded their system and the hangover is less frequently that reported by others.
But I believe that scottrader.com is good for persons who are not active traders and who would like to buy or sell few shares each year. The commission is reasonable. There is sense of security as it has offices in most cities. But I do not recommend it for active traders. Ameritrade.com is better for the active traders.
For the active traders follow, the following link for review of freetrade from Ameritrade
http://www.epinions.com/content_123471302276
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Member: Vikas Shukla
Location: Attleboro, MA , USA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 16 members
About Me: I am a hardware design engineer. I also provide SEO, Social media marketing consultancy.
|
