$3,000 for One Share??

Q Shares of Amazon.com seem to cost more than $3,000 apiece. Is that right? It seems weirdly high. — R.Y., Bend, Oregon

A It’s true. The same would be true of many other stocks, if they’d never split their shares. Amazon has split its shares three times, in 1998 and 1999, after going public in 1997 — first 2-for-1, then 3-for-1, then 2-for-1 again. But it hasn’t split them since then, though the shares have continued to rise.

If you bought 100 shares of Amazon at the outset, you’d have ended up with 200, then 600, then 1,200 shares after the splits, with the stock price being reduced by 50%, 67% and 50%, in turn. That means a single share of Amazon would have traded for over $36,000 at this writing, had there been no splits. And by the way — a mere $500 invested in Amazon when it debuted would leave you with a stake worth about $1 million by mid-August of this year.

Stock splits can make shares of stocks more affordable to the masses. Even a $3,200 price tag might not exclude you, though — if you had $3,200 to invest, you could buy a single share.

Q Where can I learn more about real estate investment trusts (REITs) and investing in real estate? — H.W., Evanston, Illinois

A Try reading “Real Estate Investing for Dummies,” by Eric Tyson and Robert S. Griswold (For Dummies, $25). Or visit REIT.com or our sister website, Millionacres.com.

Before sinking many dollars into actual properties, talk to and learn from experienced real estate investors. You might find you prefer REITs, as their shares trade like stocks and you can invest (and risk) very little.