Honestly, does anyone here know anything about TradeKing? They seem appealing with their low prices and no minimums... this appeals to a beginner like me. However, can they be trusted? They are not a big name like TD Ameritrade or Scottrade, etc.

I have read about some issues with TradeKing, but does the low price outweigh these? Any thoughts/ideas about them?

Thanks!

I have used them for a year and have had no problems, as another poster said their education portal is excellent. There is a small but growing message board where you can bounce ideas off of other traders as well. My only complaint thus far would be the hold time on transfers. If you want to deposit money electronically you can use an ACH which takes 5 days to clear, mailing a check has the exact same hold. The only way to instantly transfer funds is by bank wire which your bank will charge you for. Additionally, the only way to withdraw funds and avoid a fee is to request a check, which will take about 2 weeks to arrive. The only other option requires you to have $10,000 in your account, in this case they will issue you a PNC Bank debit card.

If you are going to be regularly transferring money in and out, these will be huge issues, but if you are using this to save for your retirement its not necessarily a big deal.

That said, their equity commissions are the cheapest (with the exception of Zecco or Sogotrade I believe), and their options commissions are the absolute cheapest (for brokers without a minimum). Also no hidden/maintenance fees or things of that nature. On top of all of this, if you ever do have a problem/question, their customer service is great and wait times on the phone are short or non-existent.

Source(s):
TradeKing customer for a year.