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Pro tip: That "new account bonus" on trading apps is not free money
I signed up for WeBull last month after seeing an ad promising $50 in free stock. Three weeks later I realized you have to deposit $500 first and keep it there for 90 days. The stock they gave me was worth $3.47. My buddy joined Robinhood in 2021 and got a free share worth $200, but those days are long gone. These referral bonuses are a fad designed to get your data and trading fees, not give you a real payout. Has anyone actually gotten more than $10 from one of these deals after all the fine print kicked in?
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annas871mo ago
Biggest thing people miss is that these "free stocks" are basically just advertising expenses for the company. They count it as a marketing cost and write it off on taxes, so they aren't actually losing much money. The real trap is that once you deposit that $500, you start getting emails about margin trading and options, which is where they make their real profit off rookies. My sister got a $15 credit from Webull and immediately bought a risky penny stock with it, and she ended up losing the bonus plus $40 more. Did you ever notice how these apps push you toward the riskier features right after you claim the bonus?
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