HOW TO BUY STOCKS ONLINE IN REAL TIME
One of the frustrating things about the stock market online is that it is hard to get real time quotes. It is easy to get free stock quotes on your computer whenever the market is open but they are always delayed 20 minutes. This might make you wonder how to buy stocks online if you don’t have a real time price?
All the top 10 online discount stockbrokers will display market quotes throughout the day for free but they will always be delayed. The reason for this is that they are hoping to get you to open an account and also sign you up for some additional services. All the online stockbrokers are in business to make money and showing delayed quotes with the promise of real time stock quotes is one of the carrots they have to dangle in front of you.
Is it necessary to have real time quotes when you are buying stocks? Most people would say,“yes” to that question and it is certainly advisable. The market is hard enough to beat on it’s own and to do it while buying and selling without even knowing the real price is too hard. Day traders and short term traders especially, need to know the exact prices all the time so they can make intelligent decisions. Day trading is though, one of the riskier ways to try to make money online.
On the other hand, if you are a long term investor who plans on buying and keeping stocks for years, the small fluctuations in price from minute to minute shouldn’t have any bearing on your results or expectations years down the road. For instance, if you like a stock at a price of $65.00 and think it is going to go to $90.00 in a year or two, it is doubtful that a price of $66.80 or $64.40 would alter your decision. If the real price is slightly different than it was on the 20 minute delayed quote, your decision to buy or sell will most likely be the same.
When learning how to buy stocks online, it is smart to get the most and best information you can about a stock and that includes getting real time prices. Once you sign up for one of the online stock brokers, you will either have access to real time quotes or have the option to upgrade the service to include it. It really should be that anyone who has an account with a broker would automatically get real time quotes, but some brokers insist on squeezing that last dime out of you for the upgrade. Whether real time quotes automatically come with a paid account would be something you might consider when trying to make a decision on which online broker to choose.
