Why Schwab sucks for Penny Stocks

So there were a couple of good plays today and I got in on none of them, why you ask? Well because they are what is called a hard to borrow stock (HTB). These stocks exist across all markets and are defined by Investopedia as: A list used by brokerages to indicate securities considered difficult or unavailable to borrow for short selling transactions.

Investopedia explains Hard-To-Borrow List
The hard-to-borrow list expedites short selling transactions. According to the SEC and NASD, securities not found on this list are assumed to be in sufficient quantity and available for short sales. Those stocks on the list are still available for short selling - however, brokerages and investors must take extra measures to search the stocks out and ensure their delivery before they are sold short.

Ok so hard to borrow stocks are out there and all brokers basically work from essentially the same list (though I have found that some brokers actually have stock and others don't), but Schwab sucks because they want you to spend a minimum of $100,000 to short sell a HTB stock. This puts a severe crimp in shorting penny stocks as most are HTB stocks and I as well as most individual investors don't have a $100k for a single transaction.

I funded my thinkorswim account and hopefully they are better about shorting HTB stocks (I have heard they are at least about minimums, even though they may not have them available). Plus they charge a flat 9.99 fee instead of Schwabs 12.95.