BE A BULL
Written: May 27 '00 (Updated May 17 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: none anymore!
Cons: They want your money ~ read update 5/17/02.
The Bottom Line: I once thought they were great ~ but read my update and see why I now despise them.
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| auldbawl1's Full Review: Ameritrade |
I’m new to investing in the stock market. However, I have researched a few companies and followed their growth (or lack of) for about the last two years. When I was picking an online broker, I checked many throughout Epinions and decided to apply with Datek. Once my application was approved, I tried to fund my account. Datek would not take the money easily or efficiently enough for me so I canceled. They said to expect a 10-day delay. I found no broker was willing to start me up that day ~ so I took the next best thing ~ within 48 hours via an electronic check at Ameritrade. No broker wanted a credit card or even a Visa covered check guarantee card I suppose for both their and your financial protection.
PROS
The cost of a trade can be as low as $8. At times, using this “market order” option can be a con however ~ I will explain later. Limit, stop and stop-limit options are available for only $5 more. Depending on amount of shares and its market price ~ this may be the best option. Trades are almost immediate ~ at least they have been for me. Unless I pick a price (limit) or I miss calculated how much cash I have available ~ all trades have gone through in less than a minute.
Customer Service has been excellent. They are available around the clock and go out of their way to give you all available relevant information. I didn’t get that from Datek. There is a vast variety of ways to invest at Ameritrade including Stock, Mutual Fund, Bond, and IRA. Their website is very easy to understand and navigate and I never have problems getting into or out of the site. You get 100 real time quotes for each transaction ~ it’s important you have up to the minute information.
CONS
Using the $8 market order option seems to always give you the least for you trade. When you buy, you get the ask price (or worse) and when you sell you get the bid price. They claim market conditions dictate the actual price because it can change so quickly ~ but I’ve noticed on a regular basis you get the short end of the stick with that. If you buy something where 1/8 of a point will mean more than $5 in your purchase, I strongly suggest a limit order where you pick the price. You do run the risk of not getting the stock ~ so stay near the last trade price.
My only other complaint would be the research area. Many other market related websites leave this in the dust. I did find that they show up-coming splits and up/downgrades and are slowly improving in that area. But I pretty much only use them for trades because there are so many better-formatted and more informative sites to go for stock and money market news, statistics and tips.
CONCLUSIONS
A great place for the new investor to get started. You still have to do your homework and I suggest you minimize Ameritrade and get that research done elsewhere (like MSN Money Central). Datek, at $9.99 a trade looks better if you always want a limit, stop or stop-limit because they charge the same whether you do a market order or those usually better options. I have heard some mixed reviews on Datek as well as Ameritrade. But I am happy with my pick and only hope the market (especially tech stocks) will start to pick it up again soon.
UPDATE 5/17/02
I closed my account this week. I hadn't been very active for over a year and received an e-mail from Ameritrade last March. It stated that I had a "debit" account which was not allowed on a cash account and I owed them $30.80.
I called the phone number provided to find out what happened. They said a "quarterly maintenance fee" was assessed for 3 quarters and I had until the end of May before another one would occur.
Assuming this was a part of their long contract, I decided I would liqidate what little I had left sometime before 5/31/02.
Earlier this week I received a transaction report from Ameritrade saying my positions were sold. I called and complained. They said they had record of my previous call but since nothing was done ~ they took it upon themselves to sell my stocks. I asked when these "quarterly fees" started and learned it was long after I opened my account. They said this information was both in my monthly statements (which I hadn't received in over 6 months) and clearly stated on their website (which I hadn't visited in over 6 months).
Needless to say I was very unhappy with this development, especially since my primary stock had risen over 20% since they sold it as it was an online horse racing site that would peak during the Triple Crown.
My new opinion is a major THUMBS DOWN to Ameritrade and may they go down in flames!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
auldbawl1
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Location: Port Hueneme, CA
Reviews written: 90
Trusted by: 145 members
About Me:
Epinhead? Seldom seen vet ~ reason obvious btw: ~ = mine!
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