What brokerage allows you too short stocks under $5 with low trading cost? Is there a broker that just happens to have more of these stocks available to short? I was ready to short yesterday but got discouraged after becoming aware of HTB fees ranging 30 - 40%. How can you tell which brokers/clearing houses tend to have a certain stock and have it available without a fee? Or with lower HTB charges. Otherwise I'm depending on my online broker for these stocks? I'm skeptical about the reasoning for charging such a high fee. Why is the price tag so high? Who makes this decision too charge 30 - 40%? Are online brokers involved in stepping up the price tag? Do they anything to gain from this? I'm interested in trading in the 200K & up range. When I was with Zecco it was cool to pay nothing for a trade regardless of the amount of shares. Now I just opened a bank of america account because they allow shorting stocks under $5. The HTB fees however are directing me to seek cheaper, better access options. I've looked into Direct access brokers. The charge of .005 per share price tag for the amount I'd like to trade makes it a bit expensive also. Well it's expensive when compared to my Zecco experience. (free) I may be missing on opportunities but I might find better options. If Direct Access Brokers can provide me with lower HTB costs then the .005 per share fee wouldn't seem like alot. Direct Access may be the way to go. Review Direct Access Have you had any good experiences with Interactive Brokers or Equitrade Financial Prices are better with Equitrade. Any other suggestions? Thanks for the helpful advice.