Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#1

Post by mschaecher » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:19 AM UTC

I signed up for sharebuilder a long time ago and it pretty much sucks. I've only been using it because of inertia while waiting for Robinhood to finally launch. My personal needs aren't huge, but I'm just sick of dealing with Sharebuilder.

What do you use and what do you like most about it?

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#2

Post by andymoe » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:29 AM UTC

Meh. What sucks about it? I just use Schwab and their web interface and sometimes their mobile app. It's fine. If you are an active trader (but why?) you can get desktop software from them. If you have issues you can always get someone on the phone and you can file paperwork via their sites messaging system. I like them better than e-trade and have been a customer for a long time.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#3

Post by t0 » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:42 AM UTC

Interactivebrokers is the cheapest at about $1/trade. Thinkorswim has the best software.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#4

Post by mschaecher » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:46 AM UTC

andymoe wrote: post #2

Meh. What sucks about it? I just use Schwab and their web interface and sometimes their mobile app. It's fine. If you are an active trader (but why?) you can get desktop software from them. If you have issues you can always get someone on the phone and you can file paperwork via their sites messaging system. I like them better than e-trade and have been a customer for a long time.

Not super active. Few trades a month. Mostly for fun and to get skin in companies I believe in.

Sharebuilder is horrible. Will check out Schwab thanks!

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#5

Post by mschaecher » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:46 AM UTC

t0 wrote: post #3

Interactivebrokers is the cheapest at about $1/trade. Thinkorswim has the best software.

Thanks never checked out either but will now!

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#6

Post by byoung2 » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:50 AM UTC

mschaecher wrote: post #4

andymoe wrote: post #2

Meh. What sucks about it? I just use Schwab and their web interface and sometimes their mobile app. It's fine. If you are an active trader (but why?) you can get desktop software from them. If you have issues you can always get someone on the phone and you can file paperwork via their sites messaging system. I like them better than e-trade and have been a customer for a long time.

Not super active. Few trades a month. Mostly for fun and to get skin in companies I believe in. Sharebuilder is horrible. Will check out Schwab thanks!

I have sharebuilder and it is great for automatic investing. What don't you like about it?

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#7

Post by dave1619 » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 4:58 AM UTC

OptionsHouse has a decent platform and decent fees if you're not trading that much.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#8

Post by mschaecher » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 5:26 AM UTC

byoung2 wrote: post #6

mschaecher wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not super active. Few trades a month. Mostly for fun and to get skin in companies I believe in. Sharebuilder is horrible. Will check out Schwab thanks!

I have sharebuilder and it is great for automatic investing. What don't you like about it?

Everything. Researching is horrible. Purchase flows suck. Fees suck.

Portfolio analysis terrible – For example on a stocks page there isn't even an easy way to see existing positions, let alone my historical purchases like when, how much and what price. It's just "here's this stocks history" not "here's this stocks history including YOU'RE history with this stock.

And on and on like that.

I'm just sick of using software that feels like it stopped improving 5-10 years ago....and figured that has to be more out there.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#9

Post by cyberjunkie » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 5:34 AM UTC

Slightly off-topic.

I quite like Google Finance for monitoring stocks and the portfolios, but god, what an awful, completely ignored mobile app! It won't even sync data. The desktop version is so simplistic and nicer in comparison.

Anyone know of third-party apps that read Google Finance data?

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to buy and sell stocks?

#10

Post by kolev » Tue, Sep 09, 2014, 5:45 AM UTC

Robinhood, of course! Just kidding. What's going on with that? It's been months and I haven't heard of them. It really doesn't make sense to make all that noise and then go offline for months so that people totally forget about you.