Low Commission Trading?

Hey, I've recently become interested in stock trading and would like to start as a hobby. I was looking to start with £50, and buy a few shares here and there, just to get used to the market a bit more. I'm only 18, studying A-levels (UK) and intend on going to University in September. I am not trying to make a career out of this (yet), but to just trade some stocks a hobby.

The problem I've discovered so far is commission. From what I've gathered, single trades have a flat rate of commission, whether we're talking 10,000 shares or 2. Obviously, for someone dealing small, this would make it difficult to break even, never mind expand my portfolio. The lowest I've discovered so far is $4.50, which equates to roughly £3

So my question is, are there websites which take commission as a % of the purchase, rather than a flat rate? Obviously, this would be much more beneficial for someone in my scenario. I've discovered websites with 'free' commission, but the sceptic in me says it's too good to be true. (and a simple 'Is website X a scam' Google search).

Thanks in advance!

There is lots of sites which take commission as a % of the purchase while some brokers charge flat rate for trading.

OK.... I have formulated a plan.

So at this point now, I've found out about Spread Betting, which seems to fit my criteria. No taxes, no commission (For me in the UK). The way the broker profits is from the spread , therefore a profit for myself requires me to wait until the price rises a fair amount.

The strategy that I have chosen is a swing strategy. Essentially, buy in a trough, sell at a peak. I also need to decide at what point I will cut my losses, or take my profits, and discipline myself to stick to this, stopping emotions getting involved.

I'll be practising my strategy and refine it on a demo account until I feel confident enough to use my real money (hopefully I'll be able to save some more towards my initial fund in this time, hopefully I'll have £100).

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice they can give me? Any glaring mistakes I've made?

Jack Harris said:

OK.... I have formulated a plan.

So at this point now, I've found out about Spread Betting, which seems to fit my criteria. No taxes, no commission (For me in the UK). The way the broker profits is from the spread , therefore a profit for myself requires me to wait until the price rises a fair amount.

The strategy that I have chosen is a swing strategy. Essentially, buy in a trough, sell at a peak. I also need to decide at what point I will cut my losses, or take my profits, and discipline myself to stick to this, stopping emotions getting involved.

I'll be practising my strategy and refine it on a demo account until I feel confident enough to use my real money (hopefully I'll be able to save some more towards my initial fund in this time, hopefully I'll have £100).

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice they can give me? Any glaring mistakes I've made?

Click to expand...

i have similar ideas to yourself from the uk, i've been using a practice account on share central. what websites do you use?