Let's assume I know a big line of services which are going

>>3325133
who is that fluid druid?

>>3325133
I'm a beginner at this too. From what I've gathered, you put up X amount of collateral, then you sell SOMEONE ELSE'S stocks that they've allowed to be used for this purpose.
You sell their stock and when the price drops lower you buy the stock back plus extra, you give them their stock back plus X% interest or whatever and you get to keep the extra stock that you were able to buy at the cheaper price.

Again I'm a complete noob at shorting myself so I could be way off the mark.

>>3325168
but if the price of the stock doesn't go down allowing you to buy it more cheaply, and instead goes up, then you lose your X collateral.

>>3325172
So can you not make long term shorts because the fluctuation will erase the collateral? Or will you regain it if the market drops after going up?

>>3325216
if it fluctuates the wrong way enough to max out your collateral u get liquidated by the broker automatically selling your colalteral to make sure the loaner doesnt lose their money
even if you "know" the price is gonna drop off a cliff after the fluctuation, the broker doesnt care and wont risk the loaner's stocks

(turns out crypto is good for some things, eg learning how shorting works)

>>3325172
it depends on how much collateral/leverage you have

The more leveraged you are the thinner your margin is

look up 'margin calls' for examples of what happens