With all due respect Mr. Miller, you have fallen for the "hype" perpetrated by the real estate industry. If you listen to the hype long enough, you begin to believe. Real estate agents having been espousing for years on why they are worth their high fees. How is it possible that their services are worth twice as much to sell a $300,000 home as a $150,000 home? It is not - they just can. Want us to show you a discount firm that dominates a local market? Check out Assist-2-Sell. Our Reno, Nevada office is consistently in the top five out of 240 plus offices in our market area. We have 130 franchise offices in 33 states, many having significant impact in their local markets. A few worth mentioning include Allentown PA, West Babylon, NY, Newnan, GA, Carson City, NV, Palmdale, CA, Jackson, NJ, Denver, CO, Boston, MA, Atlanta, GA, Colorado Springs, CO, and Stockton, CA. The list goes on. For more go to: www.assist2sell.com . You are correct that people will pay $2 a pound for $1 a pound steak when they are fooled into believing "they get what they pay for." Our competitors try to discredit what we do in the eyes of the consumer, not by fairly comparing our services against theirs, but by using scare tactics. The unethical and illegal practices used against our offices is sorry commentary on the industry. Your description, "in general terms," of low cost brokerage services available misses the mark. You left out the biggest and most successful category - full service at a discounted commission. Our offices offer home sellers and buyers all of the same services as the traditional "full commission" firms, including showing the property and inclusion in MLS. We do allow MLS to be an option. After all, it is just a marketing tool, just like the Internet and newspapers or real estate magazines. We offer a competitive low flat fee if we sell the home, even if it is in MLS. While traditional agents scramble to "unbundle" their services as a response to demand by consumers for lower fees, we work to come up with better and more effective ways to operate and offer more services at lower fees. We may charge less, but we don't do less. The best part is articles like yours reinforce the perception that "all is well." No need for traditional brokers to worry about these dot com companies or discount brokers. Just leave them alone and they are sure to disappear eventually. Such an attitude has allowed us to grow bigger and stronger every year. We have doubled in size almost every year since starting 14 years ago, practicing what others have labeled the "real estate wave of the future." Yes, "one must consider the relevant basis of competition" in real estate. The control of the inventory (listings) through the proprietary MLS system has protected the inflated fee structure, not competency and trust. Check with consumers. They are not shouting from the mountaintops about agent competency and trustworthiness. Lyle Martin Co-founder Assist-2-Sell www.assist2sell.com Lyle@assist2sell.com