Originally posted by lasersailor184 
Forgive me, but what is "Short Selling."  I never really understood what it was. 
 It is a way to bet on a stock going down rather than up.
Basically you are selling stock that you don't own.  Later you "cover" the short order by buying the stock you previously sold.
Example:
I sell short on stock "X" trading at a price of $5.
When (if) the stock goes down you "buy to cover" at the lower price...say $4.50.
By doing so you made 50 cents on each share.