Independent agents flock to join Agents’ Mutual, claim

Almost all of the agents that belong to the Mayfair Office have signed up to Agents’ Mutual, it has been revealed.

Mayfair Office boss Nick Churton said that at the recent round of the organisation’s regional meetings, it was clear that the large majority of the 115 member firms had signed up as Gold or Silver members of Agents’ Mutual.

He said that it was also clear that those who had not signed up, were close to making a decision to do so.

Churton said: “It looks as if they are not alone. Clearly the independent and high-end corporate sectors across the UK are coming to believe that the planned portal is now the best chance they are ever likely to have to wrest back some meaningful control over the distribution of their own property data – now lost to the two big portals.

“To a lesser or greater degree, the portals are monitoring this momentum.

“But it seems possible that if Agents’ Mutual continues to grow, they may soon not just be fighting off another ambitious portal – but a movement.

“And if this movement takes hold through towns, counties and regions – supported and promoted with increasing confidence by disaffected, angry and motivated agents – this movement will become a rebellion.

“The big two portals may be able to counter another portal. But can they counter a movement? More seriously, can they counter a rebellion?”

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46 Comments

  1. GarySmith

    Here at LocalPropertyIndex we champion the determination of a new portal which has, at its heart the intent to break up the market Duopoly and give choice and power back to the agencies. Any market which lacks choice is broken. However, Agents Mutual seems to have a different strategy – Break-up one duopoly and replace it with another. One where AM is in control. Why is this needed? Why ask agents to drop one of the major portals? Surely, if AM becomes a credible and successful property portal able to offer re-value to agents then they wouldn’t need to be part of a forced Duopoly.

    Gary Smith – LocalPropertyIndex.com

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    1. PeeBee

      Mr Smith

      Sorry – but this post smacks of both poorly executed SEO and a dig at the competition.

      NEITHER of which score you any points with the audience you are playing to, I am afraid.

      "…we champion the determination of a new portal which has, at its heart the intent to break up the market Duopoly and give choice and power back to the agencies. Any market which lacks choice is broken."

      LACKS CHOICE?? I think you need to open your eyes and look again. There are THOUSANDS of available "choices", Sir.

      It just so happens that pretty much all Agents have plumped for only two – then spend countless hours bleating that they are being stiffed when the two in question take full advantage of their positions of strength.

      What is YOUR position of strength, Sir? You have failed so far to convince me of anything.

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      1. ampersat

        I think you might be taking him to task for congratulating AM on their success and their own claimed intentions of giving Rightmove and Zoopla something to think about.

        As for the SEO bit, do you really blame him? If I were in his shoes I would look PIE first up in the morning like any informed anyone would do and think to myself "AM is not the only solution for independent agents better keep my own hat in the ring.

        As you said in one of your other posts for everyone that is signed up there are still 8 that aren't it is only right that Mr Smith reminds people of his presence.

        I have assessed both propositions and what is best for the stereotypical independent agent. AM is great for those that want to portray themselves as something a bit better than the competition where as I think LPI will be better for agents that want to sell more property.

        I have spoken to Gary Smith, he is a good bloke with a good track record of success and with Agents help has a very strong tech team to deliver what agents want. If this was schoolboy playground football I know whose side I would like to be on.

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        1. Paul H

          "Am is great for someone who wants to portray themselves as being a little bit better than the competition"…..really how so?

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          1. ampersat

            Sorry Paul I was addressing Peebee's point but since you ask; adding 300 of the best regional offices and international estate Agents to the list of members is a great thing, along with the best in London there really is a formidable line up of High End Agents to make a very positive statement about the quality of AM agents. That is genuinely a very positive message and one likely to attract other top quality agents but it will also be attractive to those who want to be seen as part of the same set.

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        2. PeeBee

          ampersat
          "I think you might be taking him to task for congratulating AM on their success and their own claimed intentions of giving Rightmove and Zoopla something to think about."

          To a degree, I am. More, though, that he is, in my opinion – and the inclusion of his own portal name twice in the post is my primary evidence – simply using another story to fluff up his own feathers… something that you have raised on this site and by your own admission complained to the site owners about when others have done exactly that.

          Sorry – but the fact that in your opinion Mr Smith is a good bloke doesn't cut ALOT OF mustard with me (that being said, despite not knowing who the H£11 you really are, I have come to respect your views and opinions so maybe a couple of 'kudos' points can be conceded… 😉 ). What WILL matter is what he makes of his offering. Like you, I respect his willingness to stand toe-to-toe with us all. Believe it or not, I even respect Mr Hendry (to a degree).

          You say he has 'what it takes' to deliver what Agents want. WHEN, though? Northampton maybe this year; maybe next. I am almost 250 miles north of Northampton – when will he deliver MY solution?

          In THAT respect, AM wins. Yet I'm still not signed up.

          WHAT I WANT, I already have. It's already there – it's just "expensive", if you subscribe to that theory.

          But, then, so am I… 😉

          There – blue touch-paper lit… stands back…

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          1. ampersat

            I think I might disappoint you on the fireworks Peebee, I am not one for a show.

            I can understand why everyone sighs and says yeah, yeah yeah when another unknown pops up with a cliche claim of taking on RM and Zoopla.

            Hopefully Ros won't tell you who I am and I genuinely hope that editorial independance means just that, but as she know who I am and my background she would probably have to confirm that I am well qualified to judge those who do and don't have the best interests of the industry as a core motivator. I am a bit of a one trick pony but this genuinely is my specialist subject.

            Hopefully you know enough about me to believe I understand this industry and the fact you think I might be you means we share a very similar understanding. I actually do not think Gary Smith should deliver a portal as such, the industry has far greater concerns to worry about than a net saving of not much.

            We are already off the main page, if you peebee want to find out who I am ask Ros to put you in touch and I will explain the last good grief how many years of posting by the @chap

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          2. PeeBee

            Sorry my comment appears above yours, ampersat. as it should obviously follow. Maybe EYE needs to look at the number/order of replies allowed per comment.

            I know EXACTLY who you are – and I don't need Ros to confirm. You are ampersat. No more explanation needed, mon ami.

            It's not who you ARE – it's what you SAY that matters. Although sometimes, you confuse me as much as I confuse me!

            I am absolutely certain that your true identity is as safe as houses with Ros and the team at EYE. Ros has long known the real 'me' (albeit from a distance) and has not only protected, but also I would suggest encouraged, the idea of anonymity.

            (Mind you, as I have said time and time again to a certain Mr Hendry, who desperately wants me to unveil my true identity, revealing who 'PeeBee' is with drum rolling in the background would be the ultimate damp squib – so this way for all he knows… and once actually suggested, if memory serves me correctly… I could be Peter Bolton King!!)

            Anonymity, I would suggest, is a great leveller on these sites. Junior Neg can be debating – and 'winning' the debate – with MD of a multi-branch Agency. We also have had the benefit of input from those who do not work within the industry – but whose views are often not taken into consideration by the ones whose very livelihoods are dependent upon those individuals' business.

            It also removes a person's ego from the proceedings.

            Without hopefully sounding (too) patronising, there are a number of personalities – you being one of them – that I would dearly welcome the opportunity, for want of a better phrase, to get to know better than on the confines of this forum in its' current form. I note from a comment made by Nick that some form of networking functionality is in the pipeline. I would welcome that – and of course you could use that functionality to explain all your '@chapping' to me whilst still remaining ampersat!

            And, as you suggest, if what we REALLY want is in the best interests of the industry – and its customers – then there is an urgent and compelling need for a 'meeting of minds' along the lines of one of your previous posts.

            Problem is, I think it's been tried before. It was called the NAEA if memory serves me correctly – and seemed to work for a while then went all Pete Tong.

            Maybe next time it can be done better. I would love to think so.

            And maybe EYE and its' readership can be instrumental in shaping the future of the industry.

            Word count – JEEZ – have I REALLY rambled on that much?

            Apologies. Nighty night 😉

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  2. London Agent

    A very good point Gary and when push comes to shove, it will take a brave agent to ditch one of the 'big two' in the hope that AM will produce the goods. The increased competition is to be applauded but the insistence that member agents take a leap into the dark in the attempt to create another duopoly makes good business sense for AM but perhaps not for the member agents?

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  3. wilko

    Ignoring the first two badly scripted adverts;
    This is quite a big coup for AM. "The Mayfair Office" have always dealt with a significant ammount of property from the suburbs and the member agents are proffessional, established agents.
    The previous post is old hat talking about "will they take a leap in the dark and drop a portal?" We have moved on in our discussions and it seems that all the proffessional high street agents are now signing up with AM and CAN'T WAIT to drop one of the big 2 in order to allign themselves with other proffessional agents on their own website. It seems there is absolutely no fear from the main body of AM member agents in dropping a portal.
    Perhaps we should move the discussion onto when AM members will drop BOTH RM and Zoopla…….2 years max is my guess.

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    1. ampersat

      Wilko I am going to call you out on that one. It isn't reasonable to knock Gary Smith for stating what others are also saying. If you don't think that 3 portals choose two is a duopoly then you ought to explain what it is. I admire the fact he is not shying away from discussion as all the others do. He might well be the latest ask the homesearch, scott creasy or Faisal but but at least if you look at that info Ros posted he has quietly put together a portal and raised 80% of the finance required to launch a portal for Agents like you to help you control Rightmove and Zooplas dominance. Isn't that what everyone has been asking for?

      At present there is Rightmove and Zoopla and everyone is free to come up with something better, under the new scheme there will be AM plus 1 and all the other AM competition is stiffled, is that even legal and is it really what everyone wants or needs?

      If some bonkers philanthropist offered to pay your Rightmove and Zoopla fees in perpetuity for all your offices would you drop 1, both or none?

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      1. wilko

        When gary smiths site works and has something to search for on it instead of "page not found" "click on this little button to go home" etc then I would be in a position to comment. Each time I have tried to see what it is about I have found it to be extremely poor in layout, content and useability (I have yet to see 1 property from using their search)
        With regard to "3 portals choose 2 is a duopoly"
        It would be…. if AM was a PLC that had the interests of it's shareholders way above that of its customers!
        Having 1 out of 2 as a mutually (industry) owned portal means the PLC duopoly is broken.
        Yes everyone else has been entitled to try a new portal…..the fact is they have all failed…..except AM that is. Like I've said loads today we are way past;
        "Will agents join AM"
        "Doomed to failure if a major portal gets dropped"
        "Won't work at launch"
        " Public wont be interested"
        At the beginning of next year when AM starts some 2300 + branches will advertise some half a MILLION properties p/a that WONT be on both Zoopla and Rightmove.
        The site has MILLIONS of pounds to advertise it and circa 10,000 individual agents will be promoting it to millions of customers.
        The discussion has moved on.AM will be a success at the expense of Zoopla first and Rightmove second. When they have a minority of the property people will look at the site they have migrated to….AM

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        1. wilko

          Oh and if someone offered to pay for my sites then I would still drop Zoopla at the turn of the year as I believe AM will be the site of the proffessional agents over the next year or so…..I do not want to stay on sites that will be pandering to the online models or private listing models…..wether someone is paying my fees or not…..as it will be counter productive in the long run.

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          1. ampersat

            You know I say it as I see it, Gary Smith has a site that you want to try. With you being in his neck of the woods (from what I have gathered over the posts) why don't you lend him some data and then feedback to him what is wrong with his site. At kleast that way your criticisms can be both fair and constructive.

            If you AM boys are genuinely just after controlling the PLC duopoly shouldn't you be willing to give a fair crack to ALL those who want to help agents do the same as you. It actually seems a tad churlish to knock someones efforts before they have even been given a chance.

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          2. PeeBee

            Hi wilko

            "I do not want to stay on sites that will be pandering to the online models or private listing models…"

            Matey – reducing the amount of competition these models have on a particular website by boycotting it yourself isn't going to make them disappear. Here 'oop North, that's referred to as 'cutting your nose off to spite your face' – I'm sure you have your own phrase (or maybe even the same one – I dunno….) . They are here – and here to stay – in some way, shape or form. The only way to 'defeat' them is to stand toe-to-toe. They are just competition at the end of the day.

            Borrowing a previous comment from someone else, car Main Dealers don't ignore AutoTrader because private listings feature strongly in both the paper and online publications.

            As to whether AM will become "the site of the professional Agents" – that is yet to be seen.

            But, in the meantime, the way I see it (living in the past/being behind the times/old hat talking and whatever euphemisms you have to chuck my way… 😉 ) the sites which VENDORS PERCEIVE as 'needing' to be listed on in order to secure that successful sale is AM and it's Member Agents' problem.

            Because, with 2750 or whatever Members, there are roughly five times more (and growing, apparently…) out there that will give them what they want, with a smile.

            INCLUDING the onlines and FSBOs…

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  4. Fencesitter

    Surely, the biggest question mark over this issue still remains: just how will firms who opt for AM explain why it is in their vendors' best interests to ditch one or other of the two biggest portals in the country, in favour of something new, smaller and untried? After all, leaving aside the whole question of agents' legal obligation to do the best possible job for their clients, I wouldn't mind betting that the general public would much prefer to have all properties for sale or rent advertised in the same place.

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    1. wilko

      You are living in the past dear friend.
      I cant remember the last time a potential vendor asked if we were on Zoopla and Rightmove….the occasional appologetic mumble of "you are on the internetare you" is about the most I have experienced in recent months. ….Do you fear that if you were not on Zoopla and only Rightmove you would not get any instructions?
      "Is your duopoly comfort blanket the most important instruction tool in your box?"
      A good agent will get more on the launch of AM by having the exclusivety factor and the allignment with professional agency.

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      1. Hound

        I suspect the reason your potential vendors have not asked the question is that it is expected to be a given these days.

        I'm fairly confident though, that if I told a potential vendor I was NOT going to put their property on rightmove, I would not get the instruction!

        Walk out into the street and ask the first person you meet to name a property website, I'm not a gambling man, but I would be prepared to have a bet with you that their answer would be rightmove. It's all about public awareness.

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        1. wilko

          I'll ask you the same question; "Do you think YOU would lose instructions if you came off Zoopla"? You mention RM and most agree that they are too well known (at the moment) to drop but I really think that agents like you that believe you only need to be on both to take instructions off agents that are only on , say RM and AM are living in cloud cuckoo land, in my opinion.
          If any agent thinks that by saying on a val, negatives like " did you realise so and so aren't on both portals – so dont use them" will be any more a decision maker than "did you realise that so and so are still on Zoopla, would you believe?" Zoopla have lost nearly half a million properties this year from professional agents that have moved to AM like us"…. Agreed?

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          1. Hound

            With respect, it's those that think that agents mutual will fare any better than other well funded portals that have tried to muscle in and failed who are living in cloud cuckoo land.

            You can be sure that if rightmove and zoopla perceive agents mutual as a serious player, they will throw even more money at a marketing campaign agents mutual will only be able to dream about. It really is all about public awareness!

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    2. MF

      So long as you produce results, why should the customer care how you go about it? It's not for them to tell you where to advertise, it's for them to expect results!!!

      Sell yourself, not Rightmove or Zoopla.

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      1. wilko

        Hound, with respect, can you tell me how AM will fail.
        2300 (will be nearer 3000 at launch) branches on board.
        2015 will see circa half a MILLION properties brought to the market by proffessional AM agents that will not be on BOTH Zoopla and Rightmove. Circa 10-15,000 individuals telling millions of customers about it at all times and thats without the multi million pound advertising campaign.
        If you were planning to move in 2015…..would you look at AM in case your dream property was one of the c500,000 properties that would not be on both RM and Zoopla?

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  5. Paul H

    That's London sown up, done and dusted. Already many of London's high Streets have more than 50% of the agents on AM. Meridian, Wales, Tyne Tees have a big sign up and the other regions now gaining momentum.

    The critical mass has been obtained, it is now a matter of when as opposed to if AM will be the No 1 property portal.

    Wilko said…."Perhaps we should move the discussion onto when AM members will drop BOTH RM and Zoopla…….2 years max is my guess."

    most agents will drop bot RM and Zoopla by January 2016.

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  6. nigellewis67

    I applaud AM for its attempt to help agents cuts costs by setting up an equally successful but ultimately, one would hope, less expensive alternative to RM and Zoopla. But despite the enthusiasm of many for AM I would be urge everyone to be realistic about the mountain it has to climb – RM and Zoopla have spend hundreds of millions of pounds between them to ensure the public use theirs, and not the now defunct competitors (remember FindaProperty and Propertyfinder, anyone?) when searching online. The costs of marketing on Google nationally, and lodging the AM brand in consumers' minds online is not as easy as some may think – many have tried before and failed.

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    1. Paul H

      "RM and Zoopla have spend hundreds of millions of pounds"…That's all well and good but means nothing if there are no properties advertised on their portal.

      "The costs of marketing on Google nationally, and lodging the AM brand in consumers' minds online is not as easy as some may think – many have tried before and failed."…..All AM agents will be pushing the new site with all their might, in magazines, newspapers, on their website, email signatures, twitter, valuations when speaking to tenants and buyers and in may other ways. The smartest part of the AM model is the fact that they have asked for 5 year commitments and for gold members to commit their own money to the venture, and this is precisely why it WILL work, currently RM & Z have one month commitments?!

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      1. wilko

        I have to agree…the discussions of "will it work" have well and truly moved on now. It now appears that even more are signing up and it is now being looked upon as the real altenative. Those proffessional agents that are still saying they are not not sure about joining really run the rist of being left behind now with out dated opinions that hold no water.
        Now around 2350 on board. say average of 15 to 20 instructions a month means that between 423,000 and 564,000 p/a initially WILL NOT be on both the main portals…..Really….can any agent continue to say this isn't going to work?

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        1. Hound

          '"RM and Zoopla have spend hundreds of millions of pounds"…That's all well and good but means nothing if there are no properties advertised on their portal.'

          Considering that estate agency is in part a marketing operation, it seems to me that people are approaching this from the wrong angle. Where is the best place to spend your advertising budget? Simple answer is where you can absolutely guarantee that your advertising will be seen.

          I don't doubt for one minute that the agents that have signed up will do everything they can to promote agents mutual, but ask yourself if the fact that you advertise in the local paper and doubtless tell everyone that you do so, increases sales of that publication? It is up to the advertising medium to promote themselves, we can only have a very limited impact on that.

          I suspect it will be Zoopla that suffer most, but you can expect them to come out fighting. If agents mutual survives long enough and has a sufficient budget for prolonged TV advertising, they may win the hearts and minds of the public, (although I suspect that is a very big if) we may find a similar situation as now, with two big players, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Rightmove will be one!

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          1. wilko

            "we may find a similar situation as now, with two big players, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Rightmove will be one!"
            I disagree…once AM has proved itself then the remaining agents will come on board and it will be a natural progression to drop RM in, say, 2 years.
            If there is harldly any property on RM and next to nothing on Zoopla then the public will cease looking on them.

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  7. Hound

    You are making huge assumptions there Wilko, the corporate boys will still list their stuff on rightmove, as will the shrewd independent, you seem totally oblivious to the fact that rightmove is the site people know, and their marketing people will do everything they can to make sure that remains the case.

    Let me use a newspaper analogy again, we have two local papers, there are one or two agents advertise in one of those papers, because it is the cheap freesheet, every other agent in town uses the other, far more expensive paper. If you apply the same logic, where is your best advertising spend? Rightmove or agents mutual? And before anyone tells me, I fully realise we waste an awful lot of money on newspaper advertising, but the reason we do it is because our competitors are, and of course we don't want to give them the edge and be able to say that we're not doing it. Apply the same logic to the portals.

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  8. hammondlee

    When will we learn? We've had monopolies before with printed media, we tried to break them up by grouping together, only for an agent to be weakened by a sweetener! Unless we are united, the duopoly will win!

    I believe and have invested in AM, for the sole reason of control of my stock, budget and marketing. Agents who are afraid to come of one site, really need a kick up the backside! Reliant on Rightmove to sell their houses, rather than employing a formidable team, offering customers an attractive proposition with a local presence that is revered by others!

    I believe the founder of Zoopla has already shown his true colours, by investing in the development of an online fees free agency. In competition with the hand the feeds you… or used to!

    We need to stand united for once, take back the online power, use the money we save by investing in digitising an archaic industry, and then turn our focus to streamlining the conveyance process, which would ultimately benefit everyone!

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  9. Paul H

    "Agents who are afraid to come off of one site need a kick up the back side"….well said sir….at least you stated your vested interest from the outset as I and a few other Agents Mutual members have done. Perhaps it might bring some balance to the debate if we were all transparent and laid their cards on the table…I'm sure there's a few LSL & Connells posters that would prefer to keep it quiet.

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  10. marcH

    Well, having trawled through all this good stuff above, an old truism comes to mind, "if you think it will fail, it will." If we were all (barring LSL, Connells and Countrywide of course) to support AM, why should it not succeed ?

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  11. Fencesitter

    Simple question. How many agents will tell their clients the real reason why they're switching to AM? Thought not…

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    1. Paul H

      "How many agents will tell their clients the real reason why they're switching to AM?"….I think most agents will have to say that their not on Zoopla anymore as agents are not advertising on it and our clients are getting a better level of service from AM.

      Another simple question…Who will continue advertising on Zoopla instead of AM at the detriment to their clients interests when hardly anyone else is on Zoopla, meaning hardly any listings and therefore the consumer looking elsewhere for properties?

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      1. PeeBee

        "I think most agents will have to say that their not on Zoopla anymore as agents are not advertising on it…"

        …and when vendors see for themselves that, actually, there are still over half a million properties being advertised by other Agents – including some in your patch – then what?

        "…and our clients are getting a better level of service from AM…"

        Exactly WHAT "better level of service" will they be getting, Paul H?

        RM, Zoop et al – and AM, WHEN it actually comes 'live' – DON'T PROVIDE A SERVICE to clients. They provide exposure, and, theoretically, from that exposure come leads that convert into buyers/tenants.

        WE provide the service.

        And, sorry – but we already provide them with this service using HOUSEHOLD NAME brands which all of a sudden we are going to stop using for what is, plain and simple, a cheaper alternative to US, not THEM.

        Babble on about "control" all you like – it is purely control over COST that is the driving force here…

        And for that reason alone, ironic though it is, the internet is going to be the biggest hurdle to the success of AM in my humble opinion.

        I'll leave you to figure that one.

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  12. Paul H

    “and when vendors see for themselves that, actually, there are still over half a million properties being advertised by other Agents – including some in your patch – then what?”….
    Perhaps those half a million you are referring to are listings from LSH holdings, Connells and Countrywide, and a few other stubborn agents;-), that will be nothing in comparison to what will be on AM.

    “Exactly WHAT "better level of service" will they be getting, Paul H?”…More enquiries, more leads as opposed to Zoopla that has a website only containing half a million listings per year (as you said!).

    “RM, Zoop et al – and AM, WHEN it actually comes 'live' – DON'T PROVIDE A SERVICE to clients. They provide exposure, and, theoretically, from that exposure come leads that convert into buyers/tenants. WE provide the service.”….Ok I meant better quality of leads, my bad.

    “And, sorry – but we already provide them with this service using HOUSEHOLD NAME brands which all of a sudden we are going to stop using for what is, plain and simple, a cheaper alternative to US, not THEM.”…Yep

    “Babble on about "control" all you like – it is purely control over COST that is the driving force here… “For many it is, what is your point?”

    “And for that reason alone, ironic though it is, the internet is going to be the biggest hurdle to the success of AM in my humble opinion.”…..I’m not sure how you correlate COST to the internet. We will have to wait and see, however in my humble opinion you’re wrong.

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    1. PeeBee

      Hello again, Paul H. Thanks for the response. Here's mine to yours…

      "…More enquiries, more leads as opposed to Zoopla that has a website only containing half a million listings per year (as you said!)." Sorry – you simply can't truthfully state that to your clients.

      WHY or HOW will AM provide "more" enquiries or leads?

      You won't be on both to compare, so you cannot back up your claim. Your potential customers will therefore have to make their own minds up which portal would serve them better – one with a proven track record spanning a decade plus, or one which opened for business yesterday/last month/whenever.

      "For many it is, what is your point?” My point is, and has been, my point from day#1. Vendors/Landlords simply want RESULTS. They don't care how much it costs their Agent on portal subscriptions, as long as they get a result – and, like it or not, the "duopoly" get results.

      As I see it, certainly at the outset, 'Savvy Agent & Co' will capitalise on this. By offering exposure on the KNOWN portals, and preaching to all and sundry that AM subscribing Agents are effectively doing so simply to save cash – AND THEY WILL DO THAT, I have NO doubt whatsoever (I would, in a heartbeat!) – will get more instructions as a result. The revenue from those instructions will more than 'pay' the tiny difference in portal charges – simple as that.

      ”..I’m not sure how you correlate COST to the internet. We will have to wait and see, however in my humble opinion you’re wrong."

      I DON'T correlate "cost" and "internet". But you just have, by posting. I said I'd leave it to you to figure – simply because typing the answer puts it in the public domain.

      IF EYE introduce a functionality to their site for Members to 'talk' privately, then I would suggest THAT would be how this discussion would need to be advanced.

      As it is, all we are doing is adding fuel to someone's fire, mon ami.

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      1. Paul H

        Peebee…I am happy to take up your offer of a private discussion as and when in the future, at which point I'm sure we will cover all issues raised above in future threads. Tonight. however, I'll let you put your feet up with that glass of red in hand, whilst thinking about how your going to slag off the comp on Val's….and that is a joke mon ami 😉

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  13. Paul H

    Peebee…May I ask if you have been to an Agents Mutual meeting or presentation and if not then why not, if so then what were your thoughts?

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    1. PeeBee

      Nope. But I attended an AmWay meeting once.

      THAT event filled my "presentations" cup for time immemorial. 😉

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      1. Paul H

        You owe it to you , your business and your staff to attend one don't worry it's not a timeshare;-)

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        1. PeeBee

          Hmmm… you're certainly "selling" it to me like it was one… 😉

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          1. Paul H

            The amount of time you have spent on knocking online agencies as well as all those "doomed to fail, high risk" portals, i'm surprised your not "selling" it more then me 😉

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          2. PeeBee

            Paul H

            I don't knock online Agents – I knock their lies (sorry, claims). There are good in all types of Agent.

            I don't knock the portals – I query what am WE and, far more relevant, OUR CLIENTS, will gain from using them as opposed to what is already there.

            And, to date, I'm not being convinced by either camp that my queries are unjust or unwarranted.

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  14. Paul H

    That is precisely why you should attend on of AM' meetings old boy;-)

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  15. SCRJOE

    We dropped rightmove about 2 years ago because of the arrogance of their sales people. Zoopla will be getting the boot too once this comes online as they must have hired some of the RM cast offs for sales people. We have better success with Gumtree.

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