Comments on: Zecco Review: Free Online Stock Trading

By: About This Whole Zecco Scam Accusation

About This Whole Zecco Scam Accusation — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:26:36 +0000

Zecco is not a scam. Those of you calling Zecco Trading a scam obviously have not opened an account and actually used Zecco

There are many more things out there are scammy than this company. Just because a discount brokerage firm tacks on certain stipulations to get access to free online trades does not necessarily make it a full blown scam operation. The same probably can be said for online promotions such as the free credit score deals that sites like FreeCreditReport.com offer. They have fine print that the consumer ought to read carefully before engaging in. Use your head people and look before you leap.

By: SoCal

SoCal — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:27:24 +0000

I have used Zecco for over a year, so I was there for the transition from completely free trades to the requirement of an account balance.

First off, it’s a discount broker. I don’t understand the argument of selecting, say, TDAmeritrade over Zecco. I have accounts at both. Zecco offers the same service as TDAmeritrade, but at a lower price. I haven’t moved all my assets to Zecco, nor will I. I just don’t trade that much.

For what it offers, Zecco is good. I was actually glad that the company started charging for trades with those having a balance of under $25k; it gives me confidence for the future.

The website can be a bit klunky; however, I have no problem in recommdending Zecco. Try it; you’ll like it!

By: No2Zecco

No2Zecco — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:13:15 +0000

I would just like to share my latest experience with zecco when I tried to withdrawal money…Here we go! First I have in my ‘Available Balance’ $32.00…I liquidated one of my stocks totaling about $200.00 on Friday…I made a request for ***Available Funds*** on Saturday. Of course the $200.00 unsettled funds were not part of that request because it was unsettled. Well come Monday they submitted my request for **Available Funds** but I recieved an email saying they were denying my request. I made a call and they informed me I had unsettled trades out there….I said I know but I made a request for **Available Balance**…They told me “That is not how our accounting dept sees it” At this time they also informed me I was going to be charged $20 for my request because I checked a box when requesting my money to waive the waiting period of unsettled trades to receive my money. I said when I made the request for withdrawal of funds, there was no check box that gave me that option. They informed me that it may be my computer because it my have ‘Blocked’ the pop-up for security purposes…I chuckled needless to say. Anyhow, they then informed me, I needed to call in to verify “I” checked a box that I didn’t know was checked because of a pop-up that never came up because of sercurity on my pc…Otherwise, they would have and did deny my request. I said so what your telling me is…Although I made a request for **Available Balance** (no matter how much I had in there) they were going to deny my request because my trade the previous week that had nothing to do with my requested withdrawal was not available…. And….I never called in on something I didn’t know was **Automatically** checked regardeless if I knew about it or not, you were going to deny my request. Futhermore, the $20 that I was being charged for no waiting period of unsettled funds obviously was still not going to get the withdrawal settled. I am still confused.******* I then made a request while on the phone with customer service…There was no option to choose to add $20 to waive the waiting period and….I did not even see a pop-up blocker message to give me the option to view the so called pop-up….Hmmmm!!! Sounds like a Madoff spin-off to me…But what do I know. I just requested my ***Available Balance**…Honestly, I only did it to see how long it would take to recieve my money. Now, this has led me to defect back to ing sharebuilder…I guess in this case you really do get what you pay for….You make the call on this one!!!!

By: Daryan

Daryan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:24:30 +0000

If you are seriously trading, why would you need customer service anyway? CS has improved greatly over the last year. Just a couple days ago I sent an order to exercise a call option and sell at the market sue to the B/A spread and it was completed 10 minutes after my e-mail. I haven’t had any problems at all on that end.

The research stinks, S&P only, but analysts are worthless for the most part anyway, so why bother.

My only gripe is lack of trigger orders, trailing options stops, etc, but this is only a minor issue and requires just a bit more effort on my part which is probably good anyway. Execution is first rate.

Paying 20 bucks per trade for absolutely nothing is ridiculous unless you need the software with schwab etc. I use metastock, so not a big issue in my world.

By: Dirk

Dirk — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:38:22 +0000

Haha..the Zecco ladies are my favorite part! Yeah probably doesn’t do much for Zecco’s credibility but they are nice on the eye and makes the broker different from the rest. What else can you do for a broker that insists on using bright pink as its primary color!

By: April

April — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:31:19 +0000

Zecco is a scam!! Don’t fall for the free trades and discount terms. Go with TradeKing instead. It’s better rated, has better customer service, and has won more awards. Why else would a company increase the minimum balance requirement of its free trading deal unless it was having financial issues??

By: Broker Blogger Reader

Broker Blogger Reader — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:17:25 +0000

Yeah it’s best to stick with the oldies and goodies when it comes to the top brokerages. The established brokerages like Schwab, Vanguard, Etrade, Muriel Siebert, & Fidelity require more fees and trading charges, but they’ve got great customer service and established reps. They’ve also got the impressive research tools and fancy real time charting etc. But I wouldn’t discount the little online brokerages out. They have their place in almost niche cost trading. Like Zecco isn’t the best overall in terms of features, but their low cost structure and free monthly trading offer is good for individual stock traders and those who trade ETF’s. Maybe not mutual funds but for individual stocks they are great. Tradeking is also decent for individual traders too

By: AMH

AMH — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:48:44 +0000

Why not just use a well known online broker and worry less about potential scams. Some of these site are truly penny wise and pound foolish.

By: Zecco Share Member

Zecco Share Member — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:16:27 +0000

Zecco is not the best discount broker or the top online broker overall, but at a mere $4.50 per broker trade and 10 free monthly equity transactions a month, you can’t beat that type of deal. They offer all the stuff you’d expect from a basic trading setup. $0 Stock Trades at Zecco-Up to 10 free trades per month for qualified investors. Yah it is indeed a marketing gimmick, but it’s otherwise legitimate. But Yes, get your research material elsewhere and easily pocket the savings IMO.

By: NYC_Stock_Trader

NYC_Stock_Trader — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:57:15 +0000

Zecco offers free stock trades-yes. But they are not the most complete or all-in-one online broker for all of my investing needs. I’m a big investor (assets in excess of $100,000+). I would rather go with a more established and long standing brokerage firm with more mutual funds tools and selections, and enhanced customer service support than Zecco Trading, which I believe only started up sometime in the early 2000’s. Yeah Zecco charges only $4.50 per trade and the premium brokers charge something like $15-25 per trade, but the service and online features you get with the bigger stock broker companies are worth it.

I recommend brokers like Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, and even more discount ones like TD Ameritrade and Etrade. TradeKing and Sharebuilder are decent as well. Zecco is probably the most stripped down version of them all. Yes it’s super cheap in terms of individual stock purchases, but like you said, you get what you pay for.

For more information and editorial reviews/ratings, I suggest checking out the annual reviews given by Smart Money, Barron’s Kiplinger’s, JD Power and Associates, and Consumer Reports.Org. They’ve been reviewing for years and you’ll notice that the professional surveys tend to wind up with the same top brokers. They’ll offer you a more credible review and picture than some of the pf bloggers out there

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:15:15 +0000

So does using these Zecco Siren girls help or hurt your brand I wonder? I’m sure there will be a few new brokerage customers curious about watching the attractive Zecco girl videos, but do they really promote the brand image in any positive way? Is their marketing assumption that most potential stock market traders and investors are male or interested in looking at attractive ladies talk about complex subjects they likely know nothing about? It’s just rather sexist in my opinion…but what do i know? After all….. I signed up with Zecco originally after one of those videos caught my eye. Lol