newbie: how do I buy a stock?

Well you can purchase stock with a fairly low commission. What the first step would be is to find the brokerage firm that is right for you. I suggest an online broker if you are looking for low commissions. Sharebuilder (www.sharebuilder.org) is $4 a trade and Scottrade (www.scottrade.com) is $7 a trade. After you have created your account with the broker you then need to transfer in money to your account. There should be fairly vivid instructions on the broker's web site as to how to do that. Next you have to find a stock that you want to purchase (most of this website relates to that aspect). On the brokerage website there will be a page that says "Trade" or something along those lines. Simply input the ticker symbol and # of shares and click execute. You will then own the shares.

i would recommend ameritrade

Ameritrade has always worked well for me, also. And its surprising just how easy it really is to buy a stock.

Limit order question. I purchased stock a sharebuilder, for arguement sake I set my limit purchase price at 3.50 well the stock never went down to 3.50 but they still bought the stock, How is that possible?

what happens is someone was selling it at that price and since u were buying at that price they matched the seller with the buyer... don't forget that its electronic so everything is done in fraction of seconds... even sometimes u don't see the price fall below a certain range for human sense but the computer barely misses anything... chahine

Good point. Even with limit orders fast trading action can trigger the orders.

hey thanks! so on average you should attempt to shoot your limit a bit lower when buying.

[quote:1644daa85c="nj"]hey thanks! so on average you should attempt to shoot your limit a bit lower when buying.[/quote:1644daa85c] u got it... i tend to get my prices depending on volatility of stocks from 50c to 5$ below my entry price... chahine

hey everyone... don't know if you are looking to really get into the market but if so then go to www.stockmarket.net.au chat to you soon