What a shame that some "Traditional" agents have a fear of Online agents. This is the second article that I have read where someone from Prudential California Realty made disparaging remarks about the online real estate industry. Most remarks made by those who have no first hand knowledge stems from fear. Fear (F-E-A-R) stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. I have worked as a Traditional agent for more than 8 years before joining zipRealty.com in July of 1999. What I have seen is totally contradictory to the remarks made by the Prudential people. All of our online agents have more than 7 years of experience. Because we are on a salary and bonus (the bonus being based on customer satisfaction), we can spend 100% of our efforts on the clients needs. The "Traditional" agent spends about 70% of their time prospecting for new clients. The online agent is paid to take care of their clients at all times. I have seen too many situations in the traditional world where the client is forgotten by the agent once the commission checks are disbursed. Now, don't get me wrong. There are many excellent traditional agents out there, many of whom I have had the privilege of working with. However, an industry that brings in thousands of new agents every month with little or no training is a major cause of the negative opinion that the consumers have about real estate agents. Rather than point fingers at the online real estate agents, who, as pioneers, are going to have a few bumps in the road as they improve their systems, I would suggest that the nay sayers look in their own back yards to improve the level of service that they provide to their clients. Ken Koenen