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Secret #3: Online brokers make it difficult for you to comparison shop based on price.

Rare is the online broker with a simple, straightforward fee structure.

Not only do online brokers often charge more for broker-assisted trades, mutual fund trades and options trades, but some also charge more when you buy a large block of shares (typically 1,000 or more).

Fidelity, for example, offers its best customers commissions of $8 to $10.95. But if you don’t make at least 36 trades per year and have $25,000 in assets with Fidelity, you’ll have to pay $19.95 plus 1.5 cents for every share over 1,000.

That means purchasing 5,000 shares of stock will cost you $79.95 in commissions at Fidelity — not the advertised $8 to $10.95.

Click here to compare brokers online now.

Next: Secret #4