Buying Bank CD’s? – Online CD auctions could pay off
Buying Certificates of Deposit from your local bank without shopping around may be easy but could end up costing you, by providing lower yields. As Stock-Net reports, online CD auctions could be a useful way to boost CD yields.
A recently added service at Zionsdirect.com allows you to research and bid on many CD choices. The highest group of bidders will win and all winners will pay the price of the lowest successful bidder. This means you can end up purchasing CD’s for less than face value, giving a boost to your effective yield.
Results of recent auctions have typically produced CD yields very near or even above the highest CD rates posted on bankrate.com. To bid, you must register on the site, decide which CD’s you wish to bid on, place your bid, and wait for up to a week for the auction to finish. If you win, you must open an account at Zions Direct, but you may transfer your CD’s to another institution if you wish.
My initial review of their site was generally positive, although their website is somewhat difficult to navigate and insists on opening numerous new browser windows as you browse their site. If you can overlook these faults, it could pay off with higher yielding CD’s.
