Short-selling allows investors to profit from stocks or other securities when they go down in value. In order to do a short sale, an investor has to borrow the stock or security through their brokerage company from someone who owns it. The investor then sells the stock, retaining the cash proceeds. Assume the trader entered a market short-sell order for 100 shares when the stock is trading at $50. If the order is filled at that price and the stock declined to $40, the trader would realize a $1,000 profit ($10 per share gain times 100 shares) less commissions, interest, and other charges. To sell a stock short, you follow four steps: Borrow the stock you want to bet against. Contact your broker to find shares of the stock you think will go down and request to borrow the shares. The broker then locates another investor who owns the shares and borrows them with a promise to return