OneShare 101: An introduction to buying stock
June 13, 2008
Instead of another tie or pair of socks, why not buy Dad a share of Coca-Cola for Father’s Day? That’s the idea behind OneShare.com: the gift of real stock.
San Francisco-based OneShare allows people to buy a single share of a stock and register it to anyone they choose, selecting from dozens of companies, including Starbucks, Disney, Harley-Davidson and Tiffany & Co.
The idea of selling single shares of stock came from founder Lance Lee’s previous stint as a bond broker specializing in California municipal bonds.
“Most people who buy municipal bonds are pretty wealthy or living on a fixed income,” Lee explained. “I got a lot of requests from people who just wanted to buy one share, but I couldn’t fulfill those orders because it’s just really hard to buy one share.”
Lee wanted to find a way to help these customers, so he did a little research and found that there was no existing similar service. He started OneShare in 1996, and it has had nearly 500,000 customers since, according to Lee.
Gifts of stock are most popular amongst two segments of the population, according to Lee: those buying stock for their children to inspire them to learn more about stocks and those for whom single stock certificates act as a sort of memorabilia of their favorite company.
“These are people who love Harleys, drink Peet’s coffee every day, drink a lot of Budweiser, so that stock certificate means they actually own one share and have something to show for it,” Lee said.
Unlike your typical stock brokerage that charges a fee for each transaction, OneShare charges one transaction fee of $39 and the actual price of the stock. Each transaction takes less than three minutes.
OneShare issues a physical stock certificate printed on special paper, using the same printing presses that print paper money, so it has both a collectable and historical value. Lee estimates that the digital certificates currently make up about 98 percent of the entire market; only 2 percent are printed physically, and Lee claims his company makes up most of that.
And the days of the printed stock certificate may be numbered. “The stock registry has actually been trying to eliminate physical stock certificates this past decade since they waste a lot of resources,” Lee said. “So this will really be the last chance to buy a ‘real’ share.”
For Father’s Day, OneShare is featuring a special promotion, which discounts the transfer fee and frame cost by 20 percent. The code is “momdad2008” and expires on June 16.
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