Argyll, Ameritrade is a lot more than 10.99 per trade for Canadian stocks.
They take your electronic entry of the pink sheet symbol and send it directly to their Canadian broker, Canaccord. Canaccord gets their full commission of .01 to .015/share. Ameritrade gets their full commission of 10.99. Where do all these commissions come from? The share price!
Let's say you bid for 5,000 shares of a cheapie at .25. C$ price is.28bid/.295 ask. Canaccord will probably execute at .25, if there is a seller willing to sell for .285 or .29 Canadian.
5,000 X .25 = $1,250
5,000 X C$.285=C$1425 X .85 exchange rate = 1211.25
The difference between what the Canadian seller got and what you paid is $38.75 plus your 10.99 Ameritrade commission. So theoretically, you paid $49.74 for a one way trade on a total of $1250. Almost 4%.
At first, I was just happy to get some of these stocks at what looks like very undervalued amounts. However the round trip costs can be significant. I am trying to pay one commission rather than two. I would also like to limit my commission expense rather than have it unlimited by share count. I have built some pretty big positions in some of these cheap stocks. I have already paid my front end commissions but am trying to avoid overpaying in the future. I see the Canadian market as kind of like the otc. Underfollowed by Americans and having undervaluations that I can exploit. So far it has been a hassle but hope springs eternal for the Cheapie in me. Bobwins
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