Comments on: Discount Broker Reviews: Scottrade, Zecco, TradeKing, ShareBuilder, E-Trade, Firstrade, and QQQDirect

By: becky

becky — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:33:33 +0000

When I search for discount online broker, I found Firstrade currently offers the 100 free trade promotion, and they offer this promotion to international account which is great for me.

By: Sun

Sun — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:24:28 +0000

@Josh: What Zecco did since its launch looks like a typical bait and switch scheme. They cited the current market conditions (low trading volume and low interest rates) as the reason to dump almost completely the free trades, but then swore they will never make any pricing change again. To me, it seems that they finally got the chance to get rid of it. I wonder how many small investors who went to Zecco for only reason of their free trades will stay after March 1.

By: Nick L

Nick L — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:52:26 +0000

Wow some unhappy Zecco folks. I have used them for a couple years and love it. Granted the customer service isn’t the same as my other online brokers that I have used and still use. The trades are as cheap as they get and executions have been great. I read the terms and conditions again and don’t see any abnormal hidden fees… would like to know exactly what Josh is talking about so that i can look into it. All of my ACH transfers have been smooth.. all online in a few days max. I am upset with how their price structure with the free trades has changed in that I was originally getting 40 free trades a month!! when I first started with them.. and that lasted for a year. Now they have reduced it to 10 if you have the 25k. Anyways I use them and Im happy and I also use Scottrade for their tools such as streaming quotes and such. But most of the trades are done on zecco. Also there is a site where you can rate and post unbiased opinions about online brokers you might be interested in.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:23:10 +0000

ZECCO SHOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS

I agree. Zecco is the pits and will rob you.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:22:13 +0000

Greetings.

My name is Josh, and I felt the need to warn traders about Zecco. It is the absolute worst online trading experience I have ever had. To start, their customer service reps and managers are woefully misinformed about SEC regulations and their responsibilities to their clients’ money. They take the longest time on ACH transfers (20-30 days). A few of mine were cancelled for no reason and I had to call the office to follow up numerous times. Many times the reps say that they will call back to resolve an issue, and they simply don’t.

Their online platform is mediocre to bad. Their trailing stops feature was down for a week during volatile market times, when my other brokerages were doing fine. Their charts lag relative to their competitors, and their executions are slow. Also, uninvited total screen refreshes put you behind the 8-ball when you have to wait, wait, wait, then make a quick move. Don’t even think about trading on 5 minute intervals.

Third, they have hidden fees on every transaction. The $4.95 is not accurate. It’s listed in their Terms and Conditions, but who reads that? (I did, and that’s how I found out.) Their accounting system is broken. I’m having my accountant look over their records because my buying power doesn’t even coincide with what their own account records say. As it is, I’m out about $500 because of a mistake they made, which I have yet to see fixed. I have complained to FINRA and the SEC. Yes, I believe it’s that bad.

Lastly, I know some people would be willing to put up with all this crap for commission free trades, but as of March 01, that competitive advantage is OUT THE WINDOW!! It now takes $25K to get the free trades, which makes their structure merely competitive, not a hands down advantage. Think about it: If you make 20 trades at $4.50 (+hidden fee) and 10 are free, it’s the same as making all 20 at a $2.50 commission. Plus you have to put up with all the above crap.

I hope you’ll find some of this info useful and will publish it to keep people from going through the same thing I did. Zecco should be out of business. Thanks. Email back with any other questions.