So if I am understanding this the problem may lie in different interpretations of "paying a seller for a listing". It seems that we have what most real estate people would call a rebate/guarantee program offered here. That if the home doesn't sell within a certain period that X is knocked off the commission. Of course, in order to get the guarantee the seller must do certain things like price right, do certain touchups, etc. In "selling" this program I could see the value in claiming to sellers that you were going to pay them to list. This is something that would catch their attention. But in reality it seems that he is willing to lower the final fees for a seller that does more to make a property saleable. Most real estate people would not refer to that as paying for listings, however. Am I close?