Agent Will

Most of you know me as a techy Realtor.  The world of real estate is not that cutting edge, however.  One of the old standards by which realtors market homes is to print out a lot of individual flyers and communications.  I am going to stop doing that and I hope you agree with me.  Let me know if I’m just crazy, though, please.  If this kind of practice would stop you from working with me, let me know.  But please, follow my logic here first, here.

There is no doubt in my mind that the world wastes a lot of paper.  So much of what is printed is short lived and then forgotten.  Thankfully it is easily recycled.  We’ve had in the past week calls for Telus (local phone monopoly) to stop publishing phone books (when was the last time you were thankful to have a phonebook?) and in the past year many realtors quitting the paper printing business. What business is that?  I’ve written on the paper used in a transaction before (see: The Paperless Transaction) but not really touched on the even bigger waste from marketing.

And though it costs up to five cents to produce a single sided listing sheet (double that for a two sided marketing masterpiece) that does not take into account the true cost of producing, printing, delivering, picking up, mulching, and then renewing that piece of paper.  The way it works is that I have a listing, spend an hour or so making a beautiful layout (I use Publisher because it’s quick, easy, and if you have any sense of style, beautiful) to promote the home with the reverse side getting details on me.  Then over 1000 soon to be tossed out pages get printed out and machine folded (electricity, ink, paper), delivered to Canada Post who sorts them (man hours), placed on trucks and delivered to the postal walk areas (gas, man hours), picked up by the local post man and delivered to your mailbox (man hours), where you promptly scan it and toss it (hopefully you scanned it and hopefully you tossed it into the recycling bin and not the trash).  Out of over 1000 pieces of paper and all that work to get it to you I get maybe three calls.  That is a terrible return on our, mine and the Earth’s, investment.  I wonder what the true cost actually is.

Still, it gets done regularly and repeatedly.  Just Listed, Just Sold, Keeping in Touch, Monthly Updates, and so on and so on… and that’s not counting the paper you, the consumer, do not see.  For excellent break down and the inspiration for this post see: AgentGenius - Paper isn’t “Green”

Now, I am no maverick in taking this anti-paper stand.  Ian Watt, a prominent realtor in Vancouver, took the “no paper” stand earlier this year.  But I am saying that I will be one of the first to follow.  Right after today.  I have an open house and the likely-to-be-discarded listing sheets are already printed up.  In the future, I will not have any listing sheets at my opens.  All the info is in my head and can be accessed online at this site.  As AgentGenius says:  If they really want to know they will go to the website or call me up.  The only paper which will be given out is my business card.

Oh, and how did the most serious buyers end up at the open houses or call me up for a private showing?  They found it on the internet, MLS/realtylink or realtor generated email.  Thy pretty much already knew everything about the property.

Am I wrong in this line of thinking?  Do you think the end of printing marketing materials and listing sheets will hurt sales?