It's been quite a while since I shorted shares but from memory -...

It's been quite a while since I shorted shares but from memory -

You don't have to own shares that you want to short. In fact you don't have to own any shares in any company to short a stock.

You simply go to your broker. He will borrow the amount of shares in that stock that you want to short from an owner of those shares.

You then sell the shares ( Short them ). It is usual to buy them back within 1 year, hopefully making a profit if the shares go down. Then the shares are returned to the original owner.

There is a fee. I also found out from experience that if a dividend is paid by this shorted company during the time you have borrowed this company's shares you have to pay this amount to the shares original owner, because he will not receive the divy due to lending the shares to you and you shorting them ( selling them ).

Clear as mud ?