Buy Stocks Online
When you buy stocks online, trading is not always instantaneous. Investors may find that technological "choke points" can slow or prevent their orders from reaching an online firm.
For example, problems can occur where: an investor´s modem, computer, or Internet Service Provider is slow or faulty; a broker-dealer has inadequate hardware or its Internet Service Provider is slow or delayed; or traffic on the Internet is heavy, slowing down overall usage. A capacity problem or limitation at any of these choke points can cause a delay or failure in an investor´s attempt to access an online firm´s automated trading system.
Know your options
for placing a trade if you are unable to access your account online. Most online trading firms offer alternatives for placing trades. These alternatives may include touch-tone telephone trades, faxing your order, or doing it the low-tech way--talking to a broker over the phone. Make sure you know whether using these different options may increase your costs. And remember, if you experience delays getting online, you may experience similar delays when you turn to one of these alternatives.
If you place an order, don´t assume it didn´t go through. Some investors buy stocks online, they have mistakenly assumed that their orders have not been executed and place another order. They end up either owning twice as much stock as they could afford or wanted, or with sell orders, selling stock they do not own. Talk with your firm about how you should handle a situation where you are unsure if your original order was executed.
If you cancel an order,
make sure the cancellation worked before placing another trade. When you cancel an online trade, it is important to make sure that your original transaction was not executed. Although you may receive an electronic receipt for the cancellation, don´t assume that that means the trade was canceled. Orders can only be canceled if they have not been executed. When you buy stocks online, ask your firm about how you should check to see if a cancellation order actually worked.
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