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Secret #1: You may never see that deeply discounted advertised commission.

Online brokers that advertise commissions of $12.99, $7 or even zero, typically reserve those commissions for certain types of trades (online), certain types of securities (stocks) and certain types of investors (active traders or those whose accounts are above a certain asset value).

Want to trade by phone? You’ll pay $34.99 for automated telephone trading at TD Ameritrade. That’s far higher than the $9.99 commission TD Ameritrade advertises. To qualify for that commission, you’ll have to trade online.

Like to hear a voice on the phone when you give your buy or sell orders? Broker-assisted trades will set you back $27 per trade at Scottrade, not the $7 commission Scottrade advertises.

Prefer trading options? You won’t get those 10 free trades per month offered by Zecco. To get that deal, you’d have to trade stocks. For options, you'll pay $4.50 plus 50 cents per options contract.

And some brokers make the hurdles even higher.

To qualify for the best commissions at Fidelity, you have to have $1 million in assets.

At E*trade, you’ll have to make at least 1,500 trades per quarter — far more than many investment experts suggest is wise.

Click here to compare brokers online now.

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