# trading stocks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440 "2015-07-17T18:57:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/1 "2015-07-17T18:57:50Z")
Is there a way that I can buy stocks in a company without paying a commission? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/2 "2015-07-17T19:12:00Z")
Get a job there and negotiate for stock options. ---
**Author:** ![Construct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Construct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Construct)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/3 "2015-07-17T19:16:28Z")
No, not unless you can obtain a job at a financial institution. Even then, you can’t trade personal stocks without paying commission. Also, some internet brokers have agreements with colleges wherein stocks can be traded without commission. The brokers do this because they want to get bright young finance students invested in their stock trading platforms. If you are a university student, this may be an option for you. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/4 "2015-07-17T19:16:49Z")
Yes, a lot of companies have direct purchase plans. Most require you to own at least one share to start with and let you purchase stock or reinvest dividends after that either without a commission or with a flat (and low) fee. [Here is a list of companies with direct purchase plans.](https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/3x/Plans/PlansList.asp?bhjs=1&fla=0&stype=dspp) ---
**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/5 "2015-07-17T19:26:58Z")
You can get 500 commission-free trades for a year if you open an account at Schwab…with $50,000. I think TDameritrade offers commission-free trades for two months after opening an account with just $3000. Interactive Brokers offers a regular commission of $2 for trades up to 200 shares. Not free, but close. Frankly, regular commissions at online brokers are almost all under $10 for any number of shares. It is costly if you are buying only a handful of shares, but if you are buying 100 shares or more at a time, a round trip trade is going to cost less than 20 cents per share. ---
**Author:** ![FasterThanMeerkats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/6 "2015-07-17T20:14:27Z")
Doubtful as there are always transaction costs that have to be covered through some type of volumetric fee or annual fee. For personal trading, pretty sure Scottrade is still $7 a trade or thereabouts. If you can’t afford that you probably shouldn’t be trading. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/7 "2015-07-17T20:15:04Z")
[Yes](https://www.robinhood.com/). But you still have to pay the exchange fee and you can only buy US stocks, or do anything much beyond simple market-price purchases and sales. ETA: for once, opening a duplicate thread made sense because the answers in the first thread were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/8 "2015-07-17T20:22:21Z")
**Moderator Note** I merged two duplicate threads, which probably makes **Really Not All That Bright** ’s comment about duplicate threads (written before the merge) a bit confusing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/9 "2015-07-17T20:23:32Z")
If you work for a stockbroker, you get free trades. The perk is a practical one: they want to keep track of your trading (you may be using inside information) so the free trades are usually part of the package. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/10 "2015-07-17T20:24:39Z")
I worked for two broker-dealers and didn’t get free trades from either (though I didn’t work on the securities side of the business). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/11 "2015-07-17T20:29:46Z")
> [@FasterThanMeerkats](#): > > Doubtful as there are always transaction costs that have to be covered through some type of volumetric fee or annual fee. > > For personal trading, pretty sure Scottrade is still $7 a trade or thereabouts. If you can’t afford that you probably shouldn’t be trading. Yep, seven bucks on each end. If you can’t make that back in the short term, you shouldn’t be in the market. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/12 "2015-07-17T21:27:26Z")
The answer to this question is of course you can trade without paying a commission – just like you can sell your house without paying a realtor’s fee. You just don’t use a realtor or a broker. But that means you have to find a buyer yourself (or seller if you wish to buy). As some have pointed out, some companies might let you buy stock directly from them. But it’s probably harder to find someone who wants to buy your stock without a broker than it is to find a house buyer without a real estate agent. I’ve never seen any “for sale by owner” signs attached to stock certificates. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/13 "2015-07-18T14:01:45Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yep, seven bucks on each end. If you can’t make that back in the short term, you shouldn’t be in the market. If you’re focused on the short term, you’re gambling, not investing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-stocks/725440/14 "2015-07-18T15:38:32Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > If you’re focused on the short term, you’re gambling, not investing. You’re right, but fourteen dollars isn’t ‘focused’, it’s pocket change.