Confusion on purchase price of stocks on Sharebuilder.?

Question:

I bought stock recently for the first time on Sharebuilder. I planned on investing 100.00 on the first purchase. I looked at the 52 week price range of the stock I was interested in and saw that I was purchasing at a decent time for the stocks price. Anyway, on the next Tuesday the stock was purchased. I noticed the price I paid was pretty high! When I was on the next day the stock price was at what it had been when I was watching it and it has been in that range since. My question is why did I pay so much for my stock? I didn't look at the stocks price on that day it was purchased but it hasn't been at that high of a price and it hasn't since!! Now it's down for me. I just set up another buy for this coming Tues. I hope it's not the same situation. Any clues?? I really don't want to pay 15.95 to buy stocks just so I can get the set price but I may have to. Has this happened to anyone else?

Answer:
Without knowing more of the specifics such as exactly which stock it was that you purchased, it is somewhat difficult to help you with an answer. There could be a good explanation, but there might also be as one responder mentioned an error.

When you are investing only $100, you are buying an odd lot. An odd lot differential applied to the trade. That means you pay a little more than the going rate. Also if you are buying a somewhat inactively traded stock, there can be a significant difference between the bid and ask price. You pay ask when buying. You get paid bid when selling. Just the way the market works.

I do have a suggestion for you to consider. Check out American Funds. The cost of purchasing their funds will be very much competative with Sharebuilder and you will get instant diversification. They also have an excellent track record. And you can invest as little as $25 at a crack once you have taken an initial position which requires an investment of $250. They are on the internet.

You need to call them and have it explained to you. There could have been a trade error or a number of other problems.

This is one of the reasons why I don't like this model. Trading on their schedule (Tuesdays) really doesn't make the $4 commission worth it huh? For regular trades $15.95 is very high for online. You can get much more service at a cheaper price with Schwab or Ameritrade

$7 at Scottrade..anytime! and with only $500 to open an account....easy way to go!

Confusion on purchase price of stocks on Sharebuilder.?

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