For the first time, investors have the pick of the litter You can purchase nearly any stock online.
Bonds are another story.
But unlike stocks and bond mutual funds, most individual bonds trade over the counter, meaning publicly available price data is scarce. So investors are at the mercy of brokers, who often charge fat trading spreads and commissions. Still, if you know where to shop, you can seal some great bond deals on the Net. Many brokers that claim to sell bonds online don't. You have to deal with them by phone and pay high markups.