[brianchu]

Shorting a stock is not a basic feature, it's an advanced feature for power users.

You can buy put options on Robinhood already.

[steven2012]

It's absolutely a basic feature. It's the opposite of buying a share, and your profit/loss is easy to calculate. With options, you need to worry about premium, time decay, spreads and lower liquidity, etc.

[smileysteve]

Shorting is very arguably more complicated than put options; Key factors are dividends, float, and short interest.

From a brokerage house perspective, it's a whole other marketplace to set up (brokers willing to back your interest)

[webninja]

Fair points but at least you don’t have to worry about changes in implied volatility (Vega) when shorting. You can buy a put option right before an earnings report and watch it’s implied volatility drop like a rock after the earnings report is released. This can remove any profit you would’ve made pretty straightforwardly with a short. Not to mention you also have to pay Theta (time-decay value) all while holding the put option.

[AznHisoka]

It's a feature available if you request it for most brokerages. That's what I consider a basic feature.