There seems to be a steady flow and steady discussion about online brokers so thought this might help us all. Please only rate the brokers you have experience with and be as honest as possible. Remember someones money may follow your advice.

Also if anyone is signing up with a new broker pick out someone here that uses that broker and use them for a reference and they will more than likely get a few free trades. To get their name or info needed please send a pm to that person and if they are comfortable with that they can provide their name. PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION.

If everyone would please use the following guide to rate your broker on a scale of 1-10.
1-2 = Terrible..
3-4 = Not happy but it could be worse
5-6 = Fair
7-8 = Good
9-10 = Great


Rate the following areas:

Online Broker Name:________________________________

Ease of setting up account: _______

Transfer money into account:_________

Transfer money out of account:________

Trading Listed Stocks:________

Trading of penny stocks:_______

Research tools:________

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service)_________

Customer service wait time:______

Customer service (willingness to help)______

Customer service hours: ______

Scottrade:


Ease of setting up account: 7

Transfer money into account: 8

Transfer money out of account: 8

Trading Listed Stocks: 7

Trading of penny stocks: 4

Research tools: 7

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service) 7

Customer service wait time: 8

Customer service (willingness to help) 7

Customer service hours: 5
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________

ETRADE:


Ease of setting up account: 9

Transfer money into account: 7

Transfer money out of account: N/A

Trading Listed Stocks: 10

Trading of penny stocks: 8

Research tools: 10

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service) 9

Customer service wait time: 7

Customer service (willingness to help) 7

Customer service hours: 10

Online Broker Name: TD Ameritrade

Ease of setting up account: 8

Transfer money into account: 8

Transfer money out of account: 8

Trading Listed Stocks: 9

Trading of penny stocks: 8

Research tools: 8

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service) 8.5

Customer service wait time: 9

Customer service (willingness to help) 9

Customer service hours: 10 (24-7)

My broker Martin Keating has done a wonderful job.He told me to invest in 3dicon because any day now you will be a millionaire.He always smiles and is very confident.

Scottrade;

Ease of setting up account: 8

Transfer money into account: 9

Transfer money out of account: Never have done that

Trading Listed Stocks: 7

Trading of penny stocks: 6 Volatile stocks are often restricted, have to phone in.

Research tools: 7

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service) 7

Customer service wait time: 9

Customer service (willingness to help) 9

Customer service hours: 7

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I'm not smart, I'm experienced.

Scottrade:
Ease of setting up account: 7 (I had to go to a local branch, show 2 pieces of ID, account was up and running next day)

Transfer money into account: 9.5 (able to link checking accounts online to Scottrade, confirms account in a matter of seconds, can transfer money from checking account to Scottrade after confirmation)

Transfer money out of account: 9.5 (call in the morning and ask for a check and it arrives next day...I have ordered 4 or 5 checks and they all arrive next day, pretty amazing......or if you have a checking account linked up then you can transfer in seconds)

Trading Listed Stocks: 7

Trading of penny stocks: 4

Research tools: 7

Trading tools (such as streamers and L2 service): 4 (Do they offer free L2? I'm not sure?)

Customer service wait time: 7 (there is an annoying beeping noise every 10 seconds during every phone call I ever made to them)

Customer service (willingness to help): 7 (they are willing to help with everything but one time the lady told me "I had to cover a margin call that day no matter what" and I found out later that if my stock would have closed above $5 I wouldn't have had to pay a dime. The entire 3 day margin call would have been reset (They have a rule where if your stock bought on margin falls below $5 and stays below by the third close, then you have to cover 90% of the call). I covered 90% of this call and my stock closed above $5 that third day. This ladies mistake ended up costing me a couple thousand dollars approximately

Customer service hours: 4

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Bank of America:

Trading of penny stocks: Flat rate of $10/trade.....No extra commission charges for trading stocks under $1

Trading of restricted stocks: 15/10 This is going to sound unreal, futuristic even. You login to your account and order a "Safepass" card. It arrives within a week. It is a card with your name on it and some numbers just like a credit card. On the lower right there is a small gray circle that says "Press for New SafePass Code". You take your index and thumb and squeeze this small circle. On the top right corner there is a green rectangle with a random 6-number sequence. After squeezing the small gray circle for a few seconds the 6-number sequence will disappear and a new 6-number sequence will appear. When you trade a restricted stock it will ask for the SafePass code and you just take the card out, do what I described above, and enter the 6-digit code and submit. Then you trade the stock as if it were unrestricted. This system permits you to trade any stock out there without phoning the order in. You NEVER will have to call in an order with this card. It is a beautiful thing!

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My Latest Creation: A Stock Alert Website

***Link posted with the SMC co-founder
stamp of approval from CaribbeanCat***

My Dow 30 Stock Charts List

Zecco Trading:

Zecco is a no-frills online broker. They charge a flat $4.50 per trade regardless of number of shares. But if you make more than 25 trades in a month or your account is worth $25,000, you instantly get 10 free trades.


Ease of setting up account: 7
When I signed up in 2007 I had to fill out an application online and then print it and mail it in. It took almost two weeks to get my account set up. I believe this process has now been streamlined. Check their website for the new procedure.

Transfer money into account: 8
I normally do a wire transfer, since my bank doesn't charge me for it. The money is available for trading the day after it gets to them. You can do an ACH, or mail a check. I'm giving it only an 8 because their "Funds Transfers" section sucks.

Transfer money out of account: 10
Easy as pie. I do it by ACH and the money is in my bank account the next day.

Trading Listed Stocks: 10

Trading of penny stocks: 10
Never a problem or restriction on any stock, and I only trade pennies - PinkSheets, OTC-BB. Never have to call to place a trade.

Research tools: 7

Trading tools: 6
What trading tools? LOL. You can only get streaming real-time quotes for an extra fee - they use QuoteMedia and the price of the different "packages" is very reasonable. Otherwise you'll need to keep refreshing the screen.

Customer service wait time: 9
I've both emailed and called. They also have an online chat-type system.

Customer service: 9
My experience has been very good. But if for some reason the person who answers the phone cannot answer your question or solve your problem, just ask for a supervisor

Customer service hours: 7
By phone Mon.-Fri. from 9am-6pm EDT, Not so convenient for those of us on the West coast. No weekends. By email 24/7

I will add that their execution is very fast. And I have often gotten a better price than what I set my buy/sell limit order to. Gotta love that!
Now if they would only re-do that darn "Funds Transfer" section...

Yes, they have a "Refer a Friend" program, so if you're interested in signing up with Zecco, please please pretty please, let me know so that I can refer you and earn some more free trades.

Hope this was helpful.

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It is my right and my duty to be rich.