Q: When/how should I close out positions that I elect to play?

With regard to following our suggestions for the model portfolio, buying stocks is pretty straight forward. We provide clear cut suggestions on entry prices; so as long as a reasonable number of shares trade at those levels and/or the stock prints [trades] below our entry price, then the position is added into our model portfolio and tracked.

When exactly to sell the position tends to be a little less exact. As you'll notice in the body of our market report, we suggest members take profits at 2.5% "or higher". This means that when a stock trades into the money by 2.5% or more, we are prone to take profits. However, that's not to say that we always close each position at exactly 2.5 percent. This 2.5% level is simply a threshold level which we use (and we hope members will use) in order to start thinking in terms of taking money off the table. Yes, some members 'always' sell at 2.5%, and that's fine. However, if you notice in the model portfolio, we also provide a longer term price target. This price target is usually above the 2.5% level by a few percentage points. This is the ultimate level we believe the stock can reach based on our analysis - although holding a position open longer is usually more risky in most cases.

Generally speaking, what happens most is that we attempt to close positions out some place between the 2.5% level and the slightly longer term price targets we have listed. A lot has to do with how the stock is trading, as well as the overall back drop of the market on a given day. Certainly there are cases when we close a position out at exactly 2.5%. However, there are also many times when we allow the positions to trade in an effort to bring in slightly more robust gains. As far as when/how each member closes out their own positions, that is completely up to each member based on their trading style and individual goals. Our feeling is that we help members take up what we believe are quality trades at reasonable levels. Then it is up to each member to decide exactly when to sell for themselves. We provide the model portfolio as a guide as to when to sell (in other words, if you see us sell at 2.5% or 3% and you are sitting on similar gains yourself, then it might not be a bad idea to consider taking your own profits). Often times we also suggest taking profits at 2.5% or higher on specific open positions when we see them moving higher. But again, ultimately the selling of positions is the duty of each trader using our service.

Q: What is cost-averaging?

Q: How do I buy/sell a stock?

Q: How are stocks added and subtracted from your model portfolio?

In our morning stock market report, we provide entry points for trades which we believe stand a reasonable chance at producing a short to medium term profit of 2.5% or higher. In order for a trade to be entered into the portfolio, it must print at the price we have listed. If the stock prints at our entry price, then moves away from that price, it's up to members to make a decision whether or not to wait for the stock to return or pay a little more. Additionally, keep in mind that some low quality brokerage firms may not fill your order until the ask price dips to your entry price (as opposed to just the bid). In those cases, we suggest you seek out a better brokerage firm. Again, if the entry price we show in the report prints on the tape, it's considered a valid trade and is entered into the model portfolio.

When it comes to taking profits, we close out any position(s) which meet or exceed our price targets listed in the portfolio. As outlined above, if the stock prints at the exit price listed, it's considered a valid, closed trade. If the stock then reverses from that level, it's up to members to manage the trade and decide whether or not to take profits or hold, etc. In cases where a stock gaps open (above our exit price), we will use the open price when listing the position as sold.

Additionally, when it comes to the model portfolio, we do not take into consideration pre-market or after hours trading levels or prices. While it's possible members may benefit from trading during these times (due to news releases, etc.), we record prices into and out of the model portfolio based solely on the general market session (from the opening bell to the closing bell).

Q: What time are the stock market reports sent to members?

Q: What can be done if I continue to have problems getting the report on time?

Q: Why don't columns line up in report?

Q: Do you have performance figures on line for your morning report?

Q: I'm having problems accessing the Trading Desk with my verification code?

The reason you can't access the Trading Desk with your verification code is because the verification code is not used for this purpose. The vericication code we send you is part of the sign-up process at our site and nothing more. Near the end of the application process (both for the two week trial as well as the paid membership), we send a code in an e-mail message to the address you enter. This code should then be entered during the application processes in order to verify that your e-mail address is valid and working. Once this has been accomplished, then we will send you a confirmation e-mail containing your username & password which can be used to access the Trading Desk. Keep in mind, if you have accidently aborted the application before entering this code, all you need to do is go back to the sign-up page and start over again.

Q: I've forgotten my username & password, can you send it?

Q: Do you trade the stocks recommended by your service?

Generally speaking, we do not trade the stocks we recommend. Staff in the trading desk specifically cannot recommend stocks they own, given the short time frame of the recommendations. With regard to the morning report sent via e-mail, occasionally we may recommend a stock and/or option which we own or vice versa, depending on whether we feel the trade is worthwhile. The only reason we recommend a stock in our service is because we feel it has a chance of being a profitable trade for our members. At the same time, this service is run by traders, so often times we are covering stocks which we like and trade ourselves from time to time. When any overlap does occur, we disclose it in the recommendation section of the report, so that members using our service are fully aware of the situation and so that members understand that we are trading along side them in the stock/options as well.

Q: Why does it say you may own stocks or options recommended?

It is possible a stock we recommend could be owned by a Mutual Fund, IRA's, 401k's, etc. which is owned by our staff and thus indirectly we may own a stock we recommend without being directly aware of it, or staff may briefly trade options related to stocks covered in the report. The paragraph in the newsletter saying we may own stocks or options that we recommend in the report is largely a blanket legal statement to cover us in this situation. We don't mind if our staff invests or does some trading, however we try to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with what we recommend. The recommendations we make are made because we feel they have a strong chance of helping you profit. Our goal is to provide a good service at a fair price. As long as we do that, and as long as you are happy with our performance, we hope you will continue to subscribe to our services. As noted above, in cases where our own personal trading may overlap with any recommendations in the morning report, we try to specifically disclose it, even though the blanket statement makes members aware of the possibility.

Q: Are you compensated by the companies you recommend in your service?

No. We have never received, and never will receive, any compensation of any sort from any company we cover in the newsletter or our service. All stocks we cover in our service are selected because we feel they stand a chance at making a profit for our members and for no other reason. In fact, if a company ever did approach us with such a proposal, we would likely black list them from ever being covered by our service. The only compensation we receive is from membership fees, flat fee advertising and a very small commission from Amazon.com on any books sold via the links on our book list.

Q: Why are my stock market reports not showing up via e-mail?

When stock market reports do not show up at a customer's e-mail account, the question is usually "is the problem on your end or on my end?". The answer to that question (99.999% of the time) is that the problem is on the customer's end. The reason we say that is because we send out thousands of e-mails per day; so if there was a problem affecting our mail servers, it would most likely impact our entire customer base. In the rare cases that this does occur, we hear about it in short order and are able to correct the issue very rapidly.

Generally speaking, problems in receiving e-mail break down into several categories. The first, and most common, is that you have a mail and/or spam filter of some type installed either at your end or by your ISP. In this case, you may need to make adjustments to your mail filters in order to allow mail from daytraders.com (you may also want to check your junk mail box to see if our report has mistakenly been sent there). If the filtering is occurring at your ISP, you will most likely need to contact them for further assistance (if needed, we are happy to provide logs showing that mail is reaching your ISP).

The second, although not as common, reason for e-mail problems relates to DNS errors. Without going into great technical detail, DNS controls converting the domain name used in your e-mail address into an Internet IP number. As you can imagine, when this type of problem occurs, e-mail does not function properly. This is usually a problem at your service provider, so again, the best course of action is to contact your ISP for further assistance.

If you are having e-mail problems, keep in mind that we have a resend link on our main page (lower left hand corner). You can use this link to send the report to the address you have on file with us, which may be helpful if you need to confirm that mail is arriving correctly after changes have been made to filters, etc.

Q: Why is my first charge larger than expected?

Q: How can I update my credit card information?

Q: Why do you no longer provide a customer service telephone number?

For years DayTraders.com did provide live representatives who helped handle customer service related issues over the telephone. However, as the Internet and the use of e-mail grew, what we found was that a very high percentage of customers [in fact almost everyone using our service] feel more comfortable handle their service needs via e-mail. For us, this works well because not only is it more cost effective (a savings we can pass along to members), but by its very nature it produces a hard copy of all customer services related contact and communications. In addition, it tends to reduce the number of individuals who call seeking specific advice on stocks and/or the market - something we cannot provide on an individualized basis in any event.

Q: Why can't you give me advice on XYZ stock?

We do not provide individual answers to investment questions, nor do we provide individual investment advice of any nature. All information regarding the stock market and/or stocks highlighted by our service is provided either through our morning stock market report or via our real-time Trading Desk during market hours.

The reason we cannot provide "individualized" investment advice, is because it would be a violation of SEC rules and regulations. Stock Brokers, Financial Planners, Registered Investment Advisors and the like play an important role in helping the public and individuals to plan their financial futures. These financial consultants are specially trained, tested and regulated so that they may better help individuals and/or families plan their investments and handle their assets. An important aspect of this is "knowing their customer" on a personal basis. This allows the person taking the advisory role to help ensure any recommendations he or she may make fall within the parameters acceptable for the individual client based on their net worth, risk tolerances, age, etc.

Because we are unable to take these elements into consideration for customers who contact us via e-mail with questions regarding specific stocks, we must avoid providing any information which may be construed as investment advice. If you have questions regarding specific stocks, we recommend you seek out the advice of a qualified investment advisor who is familiar with your trading style and investment objectives on a personal, first hand basis.

Q: Can I send you advice on which stocks I think you should look at?

We ask that you do not do this. All research we do on stocks and all decisions to cover a stock in our service stem from our own internal, in-house research. In fact, if you e-mail us asking us to recommend specific stocks, there is a good chance we will block future incoming e-mail from you and/or your domain. We appreciate the desire to help, but feel it's more unbiased if we select stocks based on our private research. This policy extends to the overall market as well as individual stocks.

Q: Why am I receiving faxes with the words daytraders and/or marketreport on them?