Motley Fool Money The Pitfalls of Selling Stocks (and How to Avoid Them)
Nov 25, 2025
Join Fool analysts Jason Hall and Jeff Santoro as they dive into the emotional pitfalls of selling stocks too soon. Jason highlights how biases like fear and greed lead to mistakes, while Jeff examines personal anecdotes, including a regrettable Netflix sale. They explore the power of a single big winner to offset losses, offer strategies for patience, and stress the importance of building a selling framework. Discover how to avoid common errors and make better investment decisions with real-world examples and practical tips!
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Emotional Selling Undermines Long-Term Gains
- Humans are wired to sell for emotional reasons like fear and greed rather than rational long-term goals.
- Selling to stop pain or to lock gains often leads to missing outsized future returns.
David Gardner's Netflix Regret
- David Gardner sold Netflix in 2003 for valuation reasons and locked short-term gains before a large subsequent fall and massive long-term upside.
- Had he held, that initial sale would have turned into roughly 26,000% gains over time.
Selling C-Limited Before A Turnaround
- Jeff Santoro sold C-Limited (SE) in Nov 2023 after a loss and missed 223% gains while S&P returned 44%.
- The company's net income then surged, showing patience could have paid off.