Avoiding difference in advertised share price v the purchase price

First Time Investing 🐣
1

Hi All,

I’m new to investing and noticed that the price at which I purchase shares is different from what is originally shown. Is it due to the time of day I am purchasing shares? How can I avoid this as it is really frustrating.

Thanks
D

2

The price in app is quite delayed, this is because companies sell real-time data for a lot of money, and no companies just give it away for free.

I use Google Finance which is also delayed, but a lot more useful.

If I’m buying UK stocks, I’ve started using the limit buy even for the current price because then I can be sure it won’t suddenly jump up. But you’ll need Plus for this.

If I’m buying US stocks, it’ll be fractional and all the stocks I’m interested in have tend not to change too quickly, so I just buy £10 at a time and see if the price / exchange rate has improved, and if so I buy a bit more. Doing this also gives you a better idea of the current actual price too before committing to more money.

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3

Price shown in the app is delayed a bit as real time prices cost a lot of money. Check the bottom of the stock page on the app to see when the price was last updated. Just use another website if you want the exact price, like Tradingview, investing. com or yahoo finance (only for Nasdaq and NYSE stocks). Try not to get frustrated, if you are a long term investor you’ll find out that the stock price doesn’t really matter, sometimes you’ll get it a slightly higher sometimes slightly lower.

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I use investing.com they are very close to live prices and give a lot of advice on current stocks that you should buy or sell.

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Hi Ralf, thank you for your response. It’s very helpful and luckily I do have Plus, so I will utilise the limit buy more often. Also, buying £10 at a time is a very good idea!

Thanks again.
D

6

Also, don’t forget to research the bid-ask spread. The price you see is actually the midpoint.

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Thank you David, this is very helpful and I totally agree. I do aim to invest for the long term so I will strive to control my emotions. :slight_smile:

Thanks again!
D

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Thanks Ralf, I’ll do this going forward. :slight_smile:

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Hi Greg, thank you for your suggestion, I will take a look and bookmark the website! :slight_smile:
D

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