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There are three basic ways to trade stocks.

The first is investor-to-investor. I have a thousand shares of Coca-Cola and you want to buy 200 of those shares. Assuming I have certificates broken into 100-share lots, I will first figure out what the shares are worth (or what I would like to sell them for--there is NO law stating I can't take a stock that sells for $50 per share and sell it for $25), then give you a price. If you like it, you give me a check, I give you the certificate and we're good. The primary advantage is there's no brokerage fees. The primary disadvantage is I might not (and probably don't) have the shares you want.

The second is to buy stock directly from the company who issued it. Here the major problem is, you already need to be a shareholder to do this and not all companies do it.

The advantage of a stock exchange is it's got shares in many companies and it's easy to get the stock you want from them. The disadvantage is you have to be a brokerage to buy from a stock exchange; I can't just walk into the New York Stock Exchange and ask for a hundred shares of Pepsi. (Well, I COULD, but they'd tell me to go to my broker because it's not legal for an individual to buy directly from the exchange.)

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14y ago

What else can I help you with?