A really detailed response would be a book, and I'm not sure this is HN-worthy material...so I'll try to be somewhat brief. I realize that your mind is made up

A really detailed response would be a book, and I'm not sure this is HN-worthy material...so I'll try to be somewhat brief. I realize that your mind is made up, and since I'm (finally) starting to learn how hard it is to change a mindset, I'm not even going to try to change yours. I actually agree with much of what you're saying, and we can agree to disagree on the few other parts. As I said before, I invested in this industry because I hated it and because I thought the incentives were misaligned. I definitely have a different background than any other agents or brokers I know, which puts me at odds with most of them. That being said, I think there IS a role for a (much smaller number) of good, honest real estate agents if the incentives are realigned and consumers can be made to understand more of the process and what they're actually paying for. As with any industry, SOME intermediaries do create value. To think that no intermediaries create value is, in many ways, just as ignorant as trusting agents too much and paying the 6% "like everyone else does." I just want consumers to be able to separate those that do create value from those that don't, and to pay a fair price for the value they receive. Those seemingly small goals will probably not happen industry-wide in my lifetime the way things are going, but I'm slowly working on it... I initially tried a more revolutionary attack on the real estate industry (and MLS), and was severely beaten by the experience just like so many that came before me. One of the main obstacles is the entrenched players in the industry and their power over the regulations, etc. Even more powerful and disturbing, for me anyway, is that most consumers simply don't care if the industry changes because they don't even understand financial basics. Most alternatives to the status quo fail because of consumer inertia, not competitors. I think the industry WILL change, but not die. I've looked at where I think the industry is going, and right now I'm satisfied to educate consumers and to save them a substantial amount of money. A website can't replace an agent in all cases, on either the buy-side or the sell-side. Of course, in some cases, it can. I believe my company is doing better work by operating in the customer's interest on the leading edge of the industry, versus working on an idealized version of where we or others might WANT it to go. This is probably the least lucrative company I'm involved with, but it is very satisfying when some people do get it and we can help them out.