Trouble with Scottrade

[xboilermaker]

Stopped responding at the open, so closed and tried to log back in. No go. Anyone else?

[nefrologocatracho]

Stopped responding at the open, so closed and tried to log back in. No go. Anyone else?

No problem with Scottrade for me this morning.

[GDFLS]

I am using the streaming quotes from Scottrade (not the Elite) and it seems to be working ok.

[xboilermaker]

I have it now. I don't know what happened, all other sites were working good. At least rep was on the line giving me quotes in case i wanted to trade.

[englishman26]

I have this funny image of this guy on the end of the line just reading prices to you over and over again! What a great job!

I have been having issues with scottrade the last 2 days. It seems to be losing orders I try to put in or be very slow. Then suddenly back to being lightening fast. It hasn't lost me money yet so it's ok! :?

[Bullish Homing Pigeon]

Only problem I have is they don't give you the 3 free trades after you waste time emailing friends to join. I had one join but neither of us got the three free trades so don't waste your time on that. :x

[MrWilson]

Hey Bullish,
I had to call my Scottrade branch to get the 3 free trades added to my account. The rep said it's not automated and when ever I refer someone and they open the account to call and get the credit. The free trades were added the same day.

[church mouse]

Glad to hear that, BHP. I just called as I was also waiting on free trades and they added them in for me.
Thanks!
Beth Ann

[Illuminati]

I have had that problem before, however it cleared up in a few minutes.

But I do have a question regarding scottrade

How come it doesn't let me purchase stocks that are under a dollar?

[madcowdisease]

I've noticed this sh!t too the past few weeks. The streaming quotes will freeze. What gives?

[Luc1Grunt]

I continually buy and sell stocks under a dollar with Scottrade and have not had any problems.

With the stream "freezing", close the interim window and restart the "SCottrader Streaming Quotes" from the home page. If I get additional traffic through e-mail etc., it can slow the stream. Same with any "streaming" program.

[Gonz]

How come it doesn't let me purchase stocks that are under a dollar?

It'll let you buy them, but when you place the order, there's one extra step...you'll see a "do not enter" sign and a warning telling you that you'll be charged the higher commission. Just click on "place order" again once you get to that screen.

Another possibility is that you're trying to buy the pink sheet stocks as a market order, and you can't do that. Only limit orders.

[meth]

this sucks, right now, it is not letting me sell!

saying i have to call the local office. :twisted:

[stockviper]

Had some Scottrade problems today.

My cash balance vanished (went to 0.00) so I decided to modify/cancel a sell order to keep some cash in the account and the system wouldn't let me. Trade didn't go through and expired at the end of the day so that money went back to my balance.

May have been my fault with the cash but still wierd.

[meth]

Had some Scottrade problems today.

My cash balance vanished (went to 0.00) so I decided to modify/cancel a sell order to keep some cash in the account and the system wouldn't let me. Trade didn't go through and expired at the end of the day so that money went back to my balance.

May have been my fault with the cash but still wierd.

i don't think it was your fault. i have also had that problem where it show my balance as being $0.00. fortunately for me, i didn't need to make any trades those days. it has happened more than once before.
makes me want to consider other trading sites. but damn, $7 per trade is hard to pass up. why can't that be the standard. some are even double that amount.

[xboilermaker]

I have noticed lately that many times my positions balance will also show 0, but I just click again and it corrects.

[englishman26]

They are clearly having some issues today!!

[meth]

what are other good options.

[meth]

ok, here is the deal.

i truly hate the unsettled period that scottrade imposes. i am considering e*trade and willing to pay the extra $$ if they don't have an unsettled funds period.

does anyone know this for fact. is e*trade a viable option. good/bad? do they also unsettle your funds?

meaning when i sell a stock i can buy another immediately, however, i cannot sell the stock i just bought for approximately 3 days when my funds clear. :roll:

[stockviper]

Meth...ot sure if you are asking about Scottrade but that's how Scottrade works. They don't freeze your funds as they are available after the sale, but if you buy something new you can't sell it until the original sell trade clears. 3-4 days.

[meth]

Meth...ot sure if you are asking about Scottrade but that's how Scottrade works. They don't freeze your funds as they are available after the sale, but if you buy something new you can't sell it until the original sell trade clears. 3-4 days.

yeah, i hear you. but is there any way to clear this feature, it is kind of annoying :lol: . if etrade doesn't have this "unsettled" period i might be willing to give them a shot. i thought of applying for the margin, but that looks to me like one borrows money, point is i don't clearly understand the margin yet, and thats why i have been hesitant to sign up for it.

thanks for your input!

[InvestingMoron]

Sharebuilder allows you to use funds immediately following a sale. I have used them for several years and am in the process of switching to Scottrade. I didn't know about this "unsettled funds" period.....

Sharebuilder charges 16 bucks for a real-time trade (20 for limit order) and you are pretty much limited to 1000 shares, anything above that costs .015 per share.

[meth]

Sharebuilder allows you to use funds immediately following a sale. I have used them for several years and am in the process of switching to Scottrade. I didn't know about this "unsettled funds" period.....

Sharebuilder charges 16 bucks for a real-time trade (20 for limit order) and you are pretty much limited to 1000 shares, anything above that costs .015 per share.

that also sounds like a lame deal too. if all these guys could get their flaws corrected and rebuild their site/protocol, that would make one hell of a site. i like scottrade quite honestly, i just don't like that unsettled period. oh wellz.

[GDFLS]

I have noticed lately that many times my positions balance will also show 0, but I just click again and it corrects.

I have been running into this as well!!

I was like...holy sh**! Then I just refreshed :D

I have only sold a couple times, but as far as I remember, the funds showed up as available right after the sell went thru.

[Luc1Grunt]

Unsettled mean you can not buy and SELL with unsettled funds during the unsettled period and I was told by Scottrade it is an SEC law. You can use the funds immediately after the sale, but you cannot turn around and sell the allocated money within 3 days. SO......you need to manage the money to keep unsettled funds free'd up for short term trades. Make sense? I believe it is a law and all brokers handle it the same way. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think so. I just learned to manage the flows of the trades I want to do and the duration. 8)

[meth]

I have noticed lately that many times my positions balance will also show 0, but I just click again and it corrects.

I have been running into this as well!!

I was like...holy sh**! Then I just refreshed :D

I have only sold a couple times, but as far as I remember, the funds showed up as available right after the sell went thru.

it does show as available, did you try buying something immediately after the sale?
next time you sell something, it will show as available in total available funds, BUT there will be a little --------

should look like this:

Total Funds Avail. for Trading: =(whatever you just sold)
Settled Funds Avail. for Trading: = (this number will not equal your total funds available until 3 business days have passed.) it will be a smaller number

[GDFLS]

OK,I got it now I think.

So if I didn't have any money in the account, sold my SIRI I couldn't then turn right around and use that money to buy more SLW. Did I get that right? :D

[meth]

OK,I got it now I think.

So if I didn't have any money in the account, sold my SIRI I couldn't then turn right around and use that money to buy more SLW. Did I get that right? :D

i understand what you are saying. BUT this is the LAME!!!! part :roll: .

you can just turnaround and just buy SLW, BUT you cannot sell the SLW until 3 days. lame huh? so if it starts to tank 2 days later after a good run, you will be put in a hairy situation.

[GDFLS]

OK,I got it now I think.

So if I didn't have any money in the account, sold my SIRI I couldn't then turn right around and use that money to buy more SLW. Did I get that right? :D

i understand what you are saying. BUT this is the LAME!!!! part :roll: .

you can just turnaround and just buy SLW, BUT you cannot sell the SLW until 3 days. lame huh? so if it starts to tank 2 days later after a good run, you will be put in a hairy situation.

I see what you are saying now, yeah that is lame and I guess you really need to think your trades all thru on all levels!

What would happen if part of your position was paid for with settled money and part un-settled? I guess you could only sell a portion of your position?

[Luc1Grunt]

That is correct. Money management a must!!

[meth]

ok, i think it is clearing up for me too. i know what unsettled funds are and how they work, but there is an area i am slightly unclear with.

if i wanted to sell a stock worth $4,000(and this was the only stock i owned at the moment) that i had bought on unsettled funds, i would need $8000 in total account value to cover my sale?

does that sound correct. $4k tied up in a stock bought using unsettled funds could be sold if i had an extra $4k in the account. but if i had a TOTAL account value of $4k, i could not make this sale?

this is the last thing i was unclear on.

thanks guys for your help, i feel i get more help here than the scottrade reps, nah, they are kind of helpful too sometimes. :lol:

[nefrologocatracho]

ok, i think it is clearing up for me too. i know what unsettled funds are and how they work, but there is an area i am slightly unclear with.

if i wanted to sell a stock worth $4,000(and this was the only stock i owned at the moment) that i had bought on unsettled funds, i would need $8000 in total account value to cover my sale?

does that sound correct. $4k tied up in a stock bought using unsettled funds could be sold if i had an extra $4k in the account. but if i had a TOTAL account value of $4k, i could not make this sale?

this is the last thing i was unclear on.

thanks guys for your help, i feel i get more help here than the scottrade reps, nah, they are kind of helpful too sometimes. :lol:

yes. From the Scottrade education center:

"Unsettled proceeds from existing long positions can be used to purchase additional securities as long as the new purchase is not sold prior to the settlement date of the original sale that generated the proceeds used to finance the purchase.

If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

So it depends on what kind of funds you used to make the purchase. If you have $4000 total account value, and it was all in a stock that you just sold for $4000, you can then use that $4000 to purchase another stock. However, these are unsettled funds, so you cannot sell that stock until the funds are settled (3 days). If you deposited another $4000 after the stock purchase, you could make the sale because the original purchase would then be considered a cash purchase instead of purchase with unsettled funds. Not sure how that works, but that's what the rules say.

[meth]

ok, i think it is clearing up for me too. i know what unsettled funds are and how they work, but there is an area i am slightly unclear with.

if i wanted to sell a stock worth $4,000(and this was the only stock i owned at the moment) that i had bought on unsettled funds, i would need $8000 in total account value to cover my sale?

does that sound correct. $4k tied up in a stock bought using unsettled funds could be sold if i had an extra $4k in the account. but if i had a TOTAL account value of $4k, i could not make this sale?

this is the last thing i was unclear on.

thanks guys for your help, i feel i get more help here than the scottrade reps, nah, they are kind of helpful too sometimes. :lol:

yes. From the Scottrade education center:

"Unsettled proceeds from existing long positions can be used to purchase additional securities as long as the new purchase is not sold prior to the settlement date of the original sale that generated the proceeds used to finance the purchase.

If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

So it depends on what kind of funds you used to make the purchase. If you have $4000 total account value, and it was all in a stock that you just sold for $4000, you can then use that $4000 to purchase another stock. However, these are unsettled funds, so you cannot sell that stock until the funds are settled (3 days). If you deposited another $4000 after the stock purchase, you could make the sale because the original purchase would then be considered a cash purchase instead of purchase with unsettled funds. Not sure how that works, but that's what the rules say.

see, yes, i understand that part of it, but what if i had $8k when i was in that scenario. sounds almost like a stupid question, but would i still have to deposit funds, or is the extra $4k covering me.

see, the scottrade message should be reworded if the above is true from:
"If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

to:

If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited OR EQUAL OR EXTRA FUNDS IN YOUR TOTAL ACCOUNT VALUE CAN OFFSET YOUR SALE , it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

i guess one can assume this is true, but i am not sure, is it?

can you see how that original statement can be a little misleading?
if someone can clear this up for me, that would be awesome.

thanks all

[meth]

bump!

[nefrologocatracho]

ok, i think it is clearing up for me too. i know what unsettled funds are and how they work, but there is an area i am slightly unclear with.

if i wanted to sell a stock worth $4,000(and this was the only stock i owned at the moment) that i had bought on unsettled funds, i would need $8000 in total account value to cover my sale?

does that sound correct. $4k tied up in a stock bought using unsettled funds could be sold if i had an extra $4k in the account. but if i had a TOTAL account value of $4k, i could not make this sale?

this is the last thing i was unclear on.

thanks guys for your help, i feel i get more help here than the scottrade reps, nah, they are kind of helpful too sometimes. :lol:

yes. From the Scottrade education center:

"Unsettled proceeds from existing long positions can be used to purchase additional securities as long as the new purchase is not sold prior to the settlement date of the original sale that generated the proceeds used to finance the purchase.

If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

So it depends on what kind of funds you used to make the purchase. If you have $4000 total account value, and it was all in a stock that you just sold for $4000, you can then use that $4000 to purchase another stock. However, these are unsettled funds, so you cannot sell that stock until the funds are settled (3 days). If you deposited another $4000 after the stock purchase, you could make the sale because the original purchase would then be considered a cash purchase instead of purchase with unsettled funds. Not sure how that works, but that's what the rules say.

see, yes, i understand that part of it, but what if i had $8k when i was in that scenario. sounds almost like a stupid question, but would i still have to deposit funds, or is the extra $4k covering me.

see, the scottrade message should be reworded if the above is true from:
"If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

to:

If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited OR EQUAL OR EXTRA FUNDS IN YOUR TOTAL ACCOUNT VALUE CAN OFFSET YOUR SALE , it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T"

i guess one can assume this is true, but i am not sure, is it?

can you see how that original statement can be a little misleading?
if someone can clear this up for me, that would be awesome.

thanks all

Your right, the whole thing is misleading. But I called Scottrade early on to clarify this. In the case where you have $8000, you can make that sale because your 2nd purchase would have been funded with the cash by default, not with the unsettled funds.

[meth]

Your right, the whole thing is misleading. But I called Scottrade early on to clarify this. In the case where you have $8000, you can make that sale because your 2nd purchase would have been funded with the cash by default, not with the unsettled funds.

thank you!!! i guess i should have called them. nah, don't want the people at work hearing my conversation.
see, i kind of figured that, i just needed to make sure.

[InvestingMoron]

ShareBuilder allows you to buy and sell with unsettled funds, no waiting period. I know because I've done it hundreds of times.

[Luc1Grunt]

But with sharebuilder, are you limited to buy/sell days of Tuesdays only? If so, no need for the 3 day wait on unstelled funds. Have you bought with unsettled AND sold those same funds within 3 days :?:

[InvestingMoron]

For example, I can buy 2000 worth of GOOG, sell it 10 minutes later, and buy 2000 worth of MSFT, sell it 10 minutes later, and buy 2000 worth of YHOO.

And no need to wait til Tuesday; only if you want to escape paying 16 bucks for a market order or 20 for a limit order. The whole Tuesday thing is a way to reel people in.

[meth]

funny how they do this as it thought it was an SEC rule?

[InvestingMoron]

Beats me, all I know is that I'm able to do it. All the time, I thought I could do it and that no such rule existed. I really think that the whole "three days to execute" thing is bogus, everything these days is electronic and could be done in a few seconds. Would put more money available to invest, that's for sure.

[Gonz]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't switching over to a margin account eliminate the "problem" with unsettled funds? I've been thinking about doing this, but I've yet to call them to see if it'll work out that way.

[nefrologocatracho]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't switching over to a margin account eliminate the "problem" with unsettled funds? I've been thinking about doing this, but I've yet to call them to see if it'll work out that way.

Yes, if you opened a margin account you could do this. My question is, do you pay interest on that money since it is "borrowed".

Regarding Sharebuilder, I don't know how you can do that. Maybe Scottrade is being conservative in their reading of the SEC rule, but they say it falls into the "Free Ride" category and is therefore not legal. If you think about it, you're basically making a purchase with borrowed money, because those funds are unsettled and therefore not available to you by definition. Anyone else know about this?

[zyzzyva57]

Even after 4-months, I am finding I am learning how to use its services. e.g., Gaineskeeper, and even here next week I am going to call the local office to see how to get TaxAct to import it. I still have not mastered how to get my data into Money. I would have to rate its web site a "C" on clarity. It has a jumbled feel! What I want is there once I find it and use it often. Going back on something I use once and a while means I have to re-learn or call the local office to talk me through it.

[jacobnbr1]

i will go ahead and add to this thread my happenings.

i had a limit order in to sell 50% of my position in loud at .81 and did it sell? no!! why not? maybe tomorrow i guess.

[xboilermaker]

Yes, if you opened a margin account you could do this. My question is, do you pay interest on that money since it is "borrowed".

Yes, which in Jan was 9 1/2%, but they pay you a whopping 1 1/4% if you have a positive balance. They average out the balance over the total number of debit days and charge you the 9 1/2%. Same with the credit days.
Your Jan. statement might read:
1/31/2006 credit interest 14 days @ 1 1/4% average credit balance $4,548.19 $2.21
1/31/2006 margin interest 17 days @ 9 1/2% average debit balance $7,111.04 ($31.90)

[KDLooHoo]

I've been using Scottrade for a while and I really like their live ticker and trading system.

Use this code: SLHN6967 for 7 FREE TRADES when you sign up for Scottrade! Only 3 free trades after 10/31/2008.

[shulink]

Only problem I have is they don't give you the 3 free trades after you waste time emailing friends to join. I had one join but neither of us got the three free trades so don't waste your time on that. :x

Well,that is weird,because I got 3 free trades when I refered my friend to open a new account with scottrade, you should Email them to ask for that,there maybe some mistake.

[JV_Picker]

Even after 4-months, I am finding I am learning how to use its services. e.g., Gaineskeeper, and even here next week I am going to call the local office to see how to get TaxAct to import it. I still have not mastered how to get my data into Money. I would have to rate its web site a "C" on clarity. It has a jumbled feel! What I want is there once I find it and use it often. Going back on something I use once and a while means I have to re-learn or call the local office to talk me through it.


Can TaxAct deal with comma-delimited files? If so, the import function should present no problem to you.

I have an old version of MSMoney on another computer. I'll test and let you know if I have any difficulties later. I think that MSMoney can also deal with comma-delimited files also.

[JV_Picker]

Can TaxAct deal with comma-delimited files? If so, the import function should present no problem to you.

I have an old version of MSMoney on another computer. I'll test and let you know if I have any difficulties later. I think that MSMoney can also deal with comma-delimited files also.

Whoops: I have Quicken 99. It can import the information, however.

[avmood]

It happens to me sometimes. you need to wait and the server will back up.