A very interesting article, especially to a broker who operates a flat fee company, like myself. The battle between "traditional" and "non-traditional" (as it relates to fee structure) is heating up and I agree with the author that 2000 will be a huge year for us "non-traditional" companies. There is one fact that is so glaring that authors of articles such as this cannot or choose not to see is this: Buyers will buy a home that they like and meets their needs, period. Will they care if their agent ends up with 3%, 2%, or 0%? Most will not. As a agent or broker in a traditional system, imagine yourself doing business in a market where 20, 30, 50% of the sellable listings are in the hands of 1 or 2 companies that do not share commissions. Now, keep in mind that you are free to show those listings, but you have been informed beforehand that you will not be getting paid by the seller or listing agent. Has your buyer all of a sudden lost interest in that home because you will not get paid? I doubt it. We are certain that some buyers will not buy one of our listings unless their agent gets paid by the seller. That's fine, there are other homes for sale. We also know, from three years experience, that most buyers will not care and will buy our listing anyway. We have been in business 3 years in our market and doubled in size each year. Our competitors continue to bad mouth us, but there argument is getting thinner by the day. We are not going away, it does work, and sellers definitley save money.

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