Comments on: Zecco: Still the Best Online Broker?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:16:50 +0000

I’ve used Zecco for about two years now (ever since they had the initial offer of 40 free trades/month with a $2500 balance), and I’ve been happy with their trading platform. Trades are quick to execute, and I’m happy with the execution price. I do mostly options trading anyways, and their prices are pretty competitive there – $4.50/leg and $0.50/contract, and your account balance doesn’t give you any discounts here.

As far as their customer service, I’ve found their phone service to be solid, but the website resources and email support are a little lacking. They have a good user community, which helps, but I’d appriciate quicker response to my emails (are better official answers to my questions without having to ask support for help).

All considered, I’ve been happy. They’re still pretty new, so their trading platform gets better every month as they make improvements.

By: NoMoreShareBuilder

NoMoreShareBuilder — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:03:39 +0000

I have two accounts..Zecco and Sharebuilder..The difference between the two..Zecco..4.50 per trade Sharebuilder…9.95 per trade plus a monthly fee $20 because I choose not to trade only on Tuesdays for 4.00 a trade….I am choosing to use Zecco as of now until I can find a reason not to use them.

By: Mickey

Mickey — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:46:47 +0000

I switched from Zecco to Sharebuilder last month. They offer $4 trades on Tuesdays and the dividend reinvestment program is better than anyone elses. So I switched so that with my higher dividend stocks I can start to accumulate partial extra shares.

By: JC

JC — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:20:14 +0000

I wonder how the customer support is though. I’ve used Ameritrade and Etrade before. Etrade support takes forever to get through to while Ameritrade is so much after.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:24:28 +0000

If you have 25,000 the difference between $5 and $10/ trade shouldn’t be a big deal. Just look for the best service. If you have a smaller amount (like I do) then it is a bigger deal. I have found Zecco to be clunky and not very customer service friendly. It didn’t bother me because I was getting free trades. About a month ago I made the switch to Tradeking and have been very pleased. It is far superior in terms of customer service and ease of use. IMO Tradeking was well worth the switch. I think Zecco really shot themselves in the foot with this one.

By: Baker @ ManVsDebt

Baker @ ManVsDebt — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:20:26 +0000

Ouch, I just read the article over at Wise Bread about ING’s new online store… and now this! I know it’s a tough market out there but going from 2,500 to 25,000 minimums for free trades sounds like a drastic change to me.

You think they might test the water with 5k or 10k minimums. I don’t actively trade so this isn’t the end of the world for me personal. It’s always interesting to see how companies react to a down market. Keep up the honest reporting!

By: Nate @ Debt-free Scholar

Nate @ Debt-free Scholar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:44:24 +0000

As I was reading this, I was disappointed because I do not $25,000 to put into an investment account. Then I realized, that I do not have $2,500 to put into an investment account either! So maybe I should not feel too bad.

Great post!

Thanks,
Nate