DanLC, here is a suggestion: open up an account at Zecco. I haven't received any of those messages yet for trading in small, OTC:BB stocks. Fidelity is another one that has been pretty good about allowing on-line trades in these types of stocks, but they kill you on commissions for stocks < $1.00/share.
Zecco has no scaled commission structure based upon an arbitrary price cut-off. First 40 trades per month are free.