5/2/2008: SogoTrade now has only a $500 account minimum, and you still receive 25 free trades.

UPDATE: go here to see some issues I have had with SogoTrade

If you're having trouble deciding on a broker, this article of things to think about when choosing a discount broker can give you some food for thought.

Although I have been trading for only a couple months, I have opened up two separate brokerage accounts. One is with Zecco, and the more recently opened account is with SogoTrade.

SogoTrade is a very basic broker. They have an excellent pricing structure, but there are only two basic things you can do - buy stock or short stock.

The platform in general caters to the investor that is not particularly active, even though they offer a $1.50/trade with $10 subscription plan for more active traders (versus the $3 trades, you break even after 7 trades in a 30 day period). They currently do not (although they say they will soon) offer stops, stop limits, or trailing stops. (UPDATE - SogoTrade now offers stop and stop limit orders as of 4/11/2008) This is very important, especially when you have a position that you want to manage while you are away from the markets. Also, SogoTrade does not offer IRAs. One perk for long-term investors is that SogoTrade offers free DRIP for most major issues. This could potentially be a great place to store all your dividend-producing ADRs so you can harvest foreign tax deductions.

There is a $2500 minimum opening deposit, and currently they are running a promotion where they give you 25 free trades to use up within 90 days. This is the main reason I decided to open an account. Another reason is that after I use up the 10 free Zecco trades each month, I'd rather pay $3 a trade than $4.50 a trade, and conceivably could pay as low as $1.50-$2.50 a trade. Unfortunately, the limited choice of orders makes using the account somewhat frustrating for my purposes.

I do like their flash watchlist, even if it could be quite better and a bit less delayed. It's interesting, because now that I have 2 brokerage accounts, I have two sources of quotes, and sometimes they don't match up with each other. Sometimes volume numbers will take quite a while to sync up.

one thing to note if you like the penny stocks

For SogoTrade trades of stocks priced less than $1.00, an additional fee of ½ of 1% of principal value applies.

OUCH! At least the limit is $1. TradeKing has its lower limit at $2 for extra commission charges on cheap stocks.

Also, no Pink sheets or OTC BB stocks

one thing that does really bug me about SogoTrade

Their marketing photographs. Am I supposed to identify with these d-bags?

ranked in order of awfulness
• 
  WHY ARE YOU SO HAPPY YOU'RE BUYING STOCK?!

  INVESTING/TRADING IS NOT A FREAKING BEACH PARTY

  take your nice, clean, matching white collared shirts and go home

  and learn how to shave

• 
  If SogoTrade actually has any customers that could have stepped right out of this photograph, please direct me to their residence so I can thieve the valuables that their wealthy parents have provided them with.

  Also, grow some balls dude. Your woman's teats have more testosterone.

• 
  Am I supposed to take it that opening a SogoTrade account will allow me to frolic in the park and on the beach all day? Hope always sells I suppose.

  Also, there is NO WAY that kid came squirting out of these two.

shameless plug

If anyone wants to sign up for a SogoTrade account let me know... I can get 25 free trades for referring you! And you will receive my, uh, eternal gratitude! You gotta meet the account minimum of 2500 and make at least one trade for me to get my 25 free trades. Of course, you also get 25 free trades. think about it! :)

Just click on this link to get 25 free trades when you sign up with SogoTrade, and I'll get 25 free trades too! Best of all it's only $500 account minimum now - it was $2500 minimum when I signed up.

Also, if you want something awfully similar to SogoTrade, but with a few more bells and whistles, check out SogoElite. Many of the terms are similar, however the most important point for me is that if you wish to withdraw assets to the point that your account value drops below $2500, you have to submit an ACAT form or close your account. SogoTrade simply requires a 2500 minimum opening deposit, and you have to keep the money in there for a bit (10 days maybe?) if you want to go and take most of it out later.

However, SogoElite has real charts (it's a software-based account) unlike the garbage that the web-based SogoTrade platform spits at you. That and the stop orders I want is a pretty good deal for just not being able to withdraw your account below $2500.

SogoElite is also for active traders - you can receive free real-time data on the basic plan if you make at least 10 trades per month.