If you could sell your home while paying a smaller commission to your real estate agent, would you?

A new website hoping so has gone live – but while its promise might sound good on the surface, real estate agents say it could be a case of buyer, or seller, beware.

FeeDuck launched an Ontario-wide service last week.

Its premise is simple: Once a homeowner lists their home with the site, registered real estate agents bid for the right to sell it.

After 72 hours, contact info for whichever agent has promised the lowest commission is sent to the seller.

“We leave it to the two of you to meet and see if you want to pursue a professional relationship,” said Sharn Kandola, FeeDuck’s vice-president of marketing.

“If there’s a synergy there, we hope that you can work together. If not, no harm done.”

The entire process is free for the homeowner, while the agent who “wins” the right to meet with the client has to pay a fee of $170 – still less than they would for traditional direct marketing, Kandola said.

The idea for FeeDuck came after Kandola moved to a new home.

Talking with three neighbours who had also recently moved to the area, they brainstormed a way to avoid the hassles of self-selling – which often results in the hiring of a real estate agent anyhow – with a bit of cost-savings.

“We’re really here to help the people who do want an agent, but don’t want to pay so much,” she said.

Real estate agents say they’re willing to take a look at the service, but aren’t so sure it will benefit consumers.

Cambridge-based broker Antonio Nogueira says expenses in the real estate agency are higher than many people realize – up to $15,000 a month, in his case – and there isn’t much room to drive profits downward.

“A lot of Realtors aren’t going to want to work for below (the) standard commission,” he told CTV News.

He also questions why someone would decide to list with an agent based on fee alone, without taking into account the other strengths or weaknesses of a particular agent.

“Why would you be trust it to be sold to somebody who might not have the ability or connections to get you the maximum dollar (amount)?” he said.

“You get what you pay for.”