Whether online or with an advisor, an investor needs to know the company name and stock symbol (either a few letters or numbers), the price wanting to sell at (ask price), the number of shares, and type of order. Stocks transactions settle three business days after the execution in most jurisdictions, and money will be free to withdraw from the account after the settlement period.
This type of order executes at the current bid/ask.
These can be a Good Til Cancelled (GTC) order, Day Order or All or None Order. The term limit indicates that the order will only be executed at the specified price, unlike a market order that will be executed at the market price.
This type of order will stay open until filled at the specified price unless it expires or is cancelled.
This type of order will only stay in the bid or ask list at the specified price for the day it was entered.
Sometimes referred to as Fill or Kill Order, this type of order will only execute if all the requested stock can be acquired or sold. Limit orders can be partially filled (not all is bought or sold at the price and may require a second commission), but All or None Orders cannot.
A Stop Buy Order will only execute a buy at or above a certain price (the limit price) or where a Stop Loss Order will execute a sell at or below a certain price. A Stop Buy can be used as a risk management tool for a short position, or when using a strategy based on break outs above a technical resistance level. Stop Loss Orders can be used as a risk management tool on long positions locking in a maximum loss in case of being wrong and in some jurisdictions to enter a short position when a stock breaks through a technical support level.
There are different strategies investors use to determine when and how to sell stocks. There are value investors who sell a stock when it reaches its intrinsic value. There are day traders who sell stocks based on their system. And there are swing traders who sell breakdowns and trade momentum as well as others. Each investor will choose the method (online or through a brokerage) in which to sell stocks that they prefer.