I want to buy one share of a company for a present, how do I do this?

Question

Steak and Shake is the company.

Answer 1

Steak n Shake trades under the symbol SNS. Last I saw it was trading at $13.65 per share. The easiest way to do something like this is to contact the companies Investor's Relations department and inquire into whether or not they have a direct purchase plan. You're going to get responses from people telling you to go to sharebuilder or open a brokerage account to do it. That is possible but you'll find that companies are not going to jump at the opportunity to do this kind of service for you because they won't make any money on the deal. The other problem with this is that if you do buy the stock at a broker and request the certificate they will charge you more in fee's than the stock is worth. At Schwab where I work it would cost you $40 to have the certificate sent out to you. Not to mention there would be a commission of at least $29.95 to purchase the share. So this would cost you $69.95 to buy a $13 dollar stock. Big companies like Disney have a direct purchase plan where they issue a nice certificate suitable for framing. (Minimum of 100 shares) I looked on Steak n Shake's website and didn't see where they offer a direct purchase plan but you should call them if you really want to do it. Good luck.

Answer 2

The only way to buy a single share of stock is to do so directly through the company itself. On http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=119817&p=irol-irhome, you'll find the contact info for investor relation's office. They'll be able to help you.