Costco is my happy place. Truly, shopping there is one of my favorite things to do. The wide aisles, all the fresh delicious food, and then the abundance of things you didn't know you couldn't live without.. like that inflatable canoe? How have I make it this far without one?
Can the Costco model apply to other industries.. offering quality products in bulk at a discounted price? Take Real Estate, for instance. This one agent I know thinks that listing as many homes as he can at a cut commission is the way to go. However, unlike Costco he does not offer a great product. There is virtually no service entailed.
It seems to me that the old model of "you get what you pay for" applies here. If you have an agent willing to discount a price, there are also services (like knowing the market in order to best offer advice) that have to be cut in order to maintain a profit.
Be warned that an agent looking to cut their commission is probably reaching deeper into your pockets to underprice your home (or even worse, overprice it and then beat you up to get a reduction) in order to sell than offering you the truth about what is takes to get a home sold in this market.
By: Karin Stocknoff November 2, 2010
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