This is more about math than about words, but I am wordy so I will try to be as concise and clear as possible in making my point. Follow along with the bouncing (ok not bouncing) bullet points.
- Per Victor Lund of WAV Group, the cost of providing an IDX Feed from an MLS: $6.00 [edit 6/7/2012]
- What a member pays bi-annually to TrendMLS: $126.00
- What Trend pays the member for providing Trend with the data they then resell: $0.00
- What Trend Charges for an IDX feed to it’s member: $35.00 PER feed
- Profit, if all of the above is true, for each member IDX feed: $29.00 (from me alone- $87.00 per month profit on my feeds) [added 6/7/2012]
As a logic problem, the member provides the data that the MLS uses to sell to vendors for display. The also sell it back to the membership. Wait a minute, suddenly Edina is making sense.
As a former web developer I am REALLY familiar with data feeds, so setting up an IDX feed when a member requests it, merely takes someone going into a data base, changing a field, then adding the IP addresses and then there is no future maintenance required, other than server space and redundancy.
Logically, of course they should charge that Agent $35.00 but when asked a Trend employee claimed the goal was not to profit.
I have 3 IDX sites, I pay $110.00 a month. Why am I buying back my own data and others? Shouldn’t I be charging (via my broker) Trend for providing my listings? Perhaps I will.
How about $35.00 per listing per month… my cost, let’s say $15.00 as my time is more valuable, or so I am told,
I spoke to TrendMLS in early May when my last IDX bill arrived and they proposed the threat of suspending my MLS service if I didn’t pay it.
- Despite their draconian tactics, I have not paid and I ask (since another Trend employee was supposed to meet with me at NAR meetings but it never happened) the court of public opinion, am I missing something?
- Trend charges me $35/month per IDX feed which costs them $6.
- Trend uses the listings that myself and other agents provide to build a bigger more profitable machine.
- A member agent like myself pays Trend $256.00 a year for the privilege of uploading and data access.
- I give them the listing that they then sell for profit.
- If each of the 30,000 + members had a feed the monthly profit would be $180,000.00 (I want an MLS)
I guess I just don’t think it makes sense, nor is it fair.
I have had an IDX for at least 18 months, so 18 x 35 = $630 and that is assuming only one feed, but I have three different feeds.. I pay WAY too much to an organization rhetorically that I pay to be a member of.
I am then required to GIVE my listings to build profit from.
Maybe it’s time to stop TrendMLS from getting richer while many agents suffer in the current environment.
Personally, I would love to see the same courage as Edina and have the TrendMLS membership stand up to them.
Oh, and I have stated I think $35 for a single feed and perhaps $15 for each additional is reasonable, but they won’t do anything about it.
Shame on you TrendMLS for taking advantage of your membership.
Apologies to American Express.