Buying penny stocks online can be very profitable, but you will need a very reliable stockbroker to get the most from these penny shares.

However, before you get started trading penny stocks, you will need to open a trading account. You can do this in one of two ways: you can open an offline account, which will require a full service or discount broker; or you can buy and sell penny stocks online, which will still require a deeply discounted broker. If you find the perfect discount broker, then you will get competitive commission rates and trading facilities online, which is an excellent incentive for signing up with an online broker.

Buying or trading penny stocks online is a good way to get in on the ground floor with a company, especially if you know that this company is going to be big.

Penny stocks are shares that are not trading on the NASDAQ or on any other stock exchange. They are shares that are priced below $5.00 and they trade on the pink sheets. These penny stocks are low priced, of course, but they have a high-risk attached to them because these stocks usually have a short and also erratic history of earnings and revenues.

If you know the risks and still want to go for some penny shares, then you are welcome to as you like a risk. But a lot of people will prefer to stay with their shares that are riding high in the NASDAQ, as that is safer for them and they prefer that rather than taking a risk with penny shares.

The risk when buying penny shares is the chance of a high price rise or fall every time that there is the slightest rumor floating around about the company. If there is a rumor about a fall in the company's quarterly profits, then that could create a big drop in their prices, so proceed with caution.