Options Trading Tutorial

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do I do with a stock certificate?

Ok, I was recently laid off from my job. As a result I had to close my employee stock option account with the company that was holding the stocks. I was hoping they would simply mail me a check but instead the only option was to get a stock certificate, it's in my name along with my minor son as joint tenant. So, do I just call a broker to sell them? Will there be a problem selling them as my son as joint tenant? Also anyone have any idea on what the fee might be? This is the only stock that I have ever purchased and it was a direct debit from my pay check, and have never had to sell stock, so I am completely clueless as to how to go about it. I've visited a few sites such as Scott Trade, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade and have looked at their fees. I have no idea where this falls, it's not an electronic trade, so it won't be the advertised $9.99 per trade fee. Then there's the commission.... So am I looking at $9.99 + whatever fee to handle paper stock (perhaps that would fall under the broker assisted trade? Which was an additional $25) + a % commission on top of that? And how is this calculated? Per share or by value? So some guidance would be appreciated, some sort of an idea of what fees I might be looking at and any recommendations as to a good broker, I am looking for the lowest fees, this will probably be my only trade. Lord I feel like an idiot, but this is something I have absolutely no experience in. Thanks in advance. Not sure I know what you mean by what kind it is or if it's listed. But it's NASDAQ Global Select, whatever that means and it's common stock if that helps.

Public Comments

1. Since we don't know what kind of stock it is or if it is even listed you need to call someone like E-Trade or Charles Schwab. Assuming it can be sold the quickest way is to listen to their instructions, get a quote and go down there and open an account [no charge]. After the stock is deposited go to your account and sell it online yourself - they might look over your shoulder and help you if you do it in the office. It will not be a broker assisted trade.
2. You will need to open a brokerage account with the identical registration to that on the stock certificate (i.e. your account will need to be registered with your son as a joint tenet.) You can then deposit the stock certificate into the account and then you can make your decisions for trading there. Most firms like the ones you mention charge a flat fee for trading and do not charge a commission fee on top of the trading fee. I don't believe it would be considered a broker assisted trade, unless you went into one of there investor centers and asked for one of their brokers to place the trade for you. The deposit of a stock certificate is treated in the same manner as any deposit of funds, and there is no extra fee typically associated with it.