OneShare.com

Full review


Wall Street Tyke-oons Are Made At OneShare.com!

Have you ever wanted the ability to purchase a share of stock in a company but never knew how to go about doing it? Personally stockbrokers scare me to pieces since they often times resemble a crack addict looking for their next fix [shaking, sweating profusely and talking a mile a minute]. I came across OneShare.com when I was looking for a unique gift for my youngest son for his birthday. I ran some of the stock names past him to see which ones he liked and after five or six companies he finally said that he liked Disney the best. Since I already opened my big mouth about getting him a share of stock for his birthday I was sort of committed to purchasing it – in hindsight I should have done a little more research at the site before placing my order because I could have saved myself some cash but I’ll get into that later.

OneShare.com allows you the ability to purchase one single share of stock from one of about forty companies. Some of the companies that are available include Target, Disney, Starbucks, AT&T, Gap, Kellogg’s, AOL, McDonald’s and more. The prices of the shares change almost every day so if you are looking to save a few pennies you can try your luck checking the site to see when the stock price may drop. I haven’t really noticed any major changes in the prices of the stocks and when you look at what you are paying for the total package – a dollar or two shouldn’t really matter in the long run.

My Order

Well, I’d love to say that this was a great experience but I was in shock when I got to the final page of my order. I was under the impression that the total order would be less than half of what I ended up paying. What ever you do, if you are thinking about ordering from this site make sure you opt for the free frame. I didn’t look carefully at the site so I wasn’t aware of the “free frame” option. Poke around the site and see what is available and if you really want or need the expensive frame - if not you will be raked over the coals for $44.00 for a frame [and engraved plaque] that looks nice – but certainly isn’t worth $44.00. OK. Let’s start from the beginning. When you get to the site you have a drop down box that allows you to pick one of the many stocks listed at the site. Once you do this you can see what the price is as well as that of the frame that is preset to the $44.00 one [Black Lacquer]. You have to scroll to the bottom of the list to see the “free” frame. This free frame isn’t much to look at however if you want you can pick one up at Wal-Mart or Target and save yourself that $44.00.

Once you pick out your stock and frame you can add up to four lines of text [if you opt for the free frame you do not have this option] that will be added to a small plaque on the frame. There is no additional charge for this so you might as well take advantage of it and use up all four lines [come on – get your moneys worth]. You can opt to have the engraved plaque eliminated from your order, which will drop the price of the frame to $34.00 [a ten dollar savings]. Once you have picked out these items you proceed through he checkout process by providing the information of who is to receive the stock as well as their delivery information and social security number. If you choose not to supply this information, the company issuing the stock will contact them.

Filling out the rest of the order takes about five minutes. This is where you provide your information, pay for your order and confirm all the pages. The total order process can range from about ten to twenty minutes depending on how much time you spend filling out the information about engraving. Be sure to double check all the information as well as the gift announcement portion of the order. This will be the first thing that you or the recipient will receive so you will want everything to be in order. You can opt to have the gift announcement sent via email or regular postal mail [both for free] or for an additional fee you can have it sent via Express Mail.

My son received his announcement about a week after I placed the order with the actual stock certificate arriving about two weeks after that. All in all it was a good experience and extremely easy to complete the order – if only I would have seen the option for the free frame things would have been perfect. If you are looking for a unique gift for a friend, co-worker or child I highly recommend OneShare.com if this is the type of present you have in mind.

My First Stock Program

This is initially what I was going to order for my son but after looking at the frame I knew he’d turn his nose up at it since it – well – looks like its for a young child [which he is but he seems to think he’s about 20]. This is a really nice package in which you get to choose one piece of stock and have it framed with a plaque [your choice of inscription] with the words “My First Stock” in primary colors on the mat. Along with the stock you get the book Growing Money, A Complete Investing Guide for Kids , an explanation of your gift, online trading games to show how the stock market works and the ability to track the growth of your stock. All of this is available for the fee of $89.00 – postage, shipping and handling included. One little thing that forget to tell you while trying to sell this package is that you still have to pay for the price of the stock. Still, for those that are trying to get their children into managing their money at an early age, this might be a beneficial gift.

Payment Options

Currently OneShare.com accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and JCB*. You can also pay by money order or personal check by printing a copy of the order form from the site and mailing it in with all the information needed to fill the order. I’ve used my MasterCard at the site and haven’t had any problems with double billing, additional fees or being billed for more than was shown at the time of my online checkout.

The Exceptions

If you live in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington you can not purchase stock through the site. I am not sure if this means that they can’t ship to those states or they can’t sell to someone that lives in the state – or both. If you live in one of these four states and want to make a purchase from OneShare.com please call the customer service number and speak with a representative that will be able to answer your questions and offer you a possible solution.

Stock Prices

To give you an idea of what some of the stocks cost – here are a few examples:

K-Mart - $ 1.00
EBay - $ 68.00
Martha Stewart - $ 11.00
IBM - $ 85.00
Vermont Teddy Bear Company - $ 3.00
Pfizer - $ 32.00
Trump Hotel & Casino - $ 2.00
XM Satellite Radio - $ 6.00
Krispie Kreme - $ 36.00
Merck - $ 59.00

These prices are simply guidelines to show the range of stocks that are available at the site. These prices were taken from the site December 1, 2002 and should only be used as a comparison, not a firm quote.


Shipping Fees

The total cost of shipping the stock out depends on the type of frame you choose [free or custom], how fast you want it delivered and how you choose to have your gift announcement sent. If you choose the free frame option you are charged a $5.00 delivery fee, custom frames cost $10.00 within the United Stated and $20.00 for delivery to Alaska and Hawaii. If you need to make special arrangements for the delivery of your stock call the toll free number or send the customer service team an email. All packages are delivered via UPS so make sure you have a physical address listed for the point of delivery [no post office boxes]. Once your order is processed you’ll be supplied with a tracking number so you can see when your item will be delivered. Be sure to hold on to your confirmation email in case you need to contact OneShare.com about getting or using your tracking number.


Contact Information

OneShare.com
85 Bluxome Street
Suite 101
San Francisco, CA 94107
[415] 777-1777


[888] 777-6919 - Customer Service
For help with your order, questions about a certificate or frame please call between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday Pacific Standard Time.

You can also fax your orders to OneShare.com by using the form at the site and faxing it to [415] 777-1677

questions@oneshare.com

The Bottom Line

This is a great website to deal with, has great customer service and provides you with a wide variety of stocks to choose from. If you are looking to save a few dollars or want to keep abreast of the promotions they may be running you might want to sign up for their newsletter. You will also be entered into a drawing to win a free share of stock!

So far my son has had a great time displaying his Disney stock on his bedroom wall and never fails to remind me of one thing Mummy, when you buy Disney products you are increasing the value of my stock. This is usually said outside the Disney store at the mall when he sees a new Buzz Lightyear toy or game. My son has taken a real interest in the stock market and is really looking forward to receiving his reports from the company.

The rest of my boys are also interested in purchasing their own stocks in other companies and since this is a rather expensive endeavourer for them I have agreed to pay for half of the cost of the stock and OneFee providing that they treat this as a very serious investment and use it as a learning tool. The rest of the orders will be processed without the expensive frame so for the price of the stock [$1.00 - $85.00] and the OneFee [$39.00] the rest of the boys will be able to walk around acting like big shots saying they own a piece of a company. I planned o picking up a WWE share for myself but have opted to go through a broker to purchase a larger quantity.


As always, thanks for the visit!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2002 Freak369


* JCB = The JCB credit card is issued by JCB Co. Ltd based in Tokyo, Japan. It’s an international type of credit card that has recently broken into the US market. For more information please visit the website at www.jcbusa.com