But I believe too there is honor in work, and that making something new is the best kind of work there is. It’s a topic I brood over plenty, and I’m sure we could spend all day debating whether capitalism forces its participants to act amorally. Right or wrong, I was only making the point that we do in fact believe in what we’re doing. I’m sure other startups, other businesses, other brokerages do too.

You seem to take issue with Redfin in particular because any sort of idealism doesn’t square with our pricing. But the savings we offer our customers come from technology-driven efficiencies (and, for now, the venture capital we’re spending to build that technology), not from squeezing our employees Wal-Mart style. Since you haven’t worked for Redfin, or for one of our partners, it seems hard to gauge how we treat our employees and partners.

Someone will come along soon enough who imitates our technology but pays less, and then we won’t be the least-expensive brokerage. This has already happened once with BuySide Realty, which seems to be going out of business, and it will happen again. E-Trade does just fine charging double what other online stock brokerages charge, and so perhaps will we. Our goal isn’t to be the cheapest online brokerage; it’s to be the best.

I can’t respond to comments on this post anymore because of other commitments at work, but please don’t take that as a sign of disrespect (or surrender!). Thanks for the lively exchange.

Glenn-Redfin is a real estate brokerage that has economics similar now to other companies that rely on squeezing the most out of their employee-resources.

I think the Wal-Mart analogy is fair. Where once there was fair pricing for labor; Redfin is moving in and making working folks work harder for less. Redfin is owned by non-working folks (such as Paul Allen) who utlimately profit from working folks doing more for less.

If you want to be a martyr or a Civil Rights leader, do something that actually helps people.

Perhaps you don’t even realize this reality of what you are doing yourself.

Again, not trying to start World War III, but guess I’m missing what it is you believe you are doing when you say “we also sincerely believe in what we’re doing.”

You are brokering real estate transactions just like everyone else. You are, however, in some cases probably (not necessarily) charging less than other real estate agents. Ultimately your goal is to make money just like those people that you mock.

Further–the whole business about the education level of real estate agents is funny because the Tech industry is full of titans that never finished college. But I guess if you didn’t finish college and you decided to program computers you are genius, but if you didn’t finish college and decided to sell real estate well, then you are an idiot.

Unless of course you are a person that didn’t finish college then went into programming and then went into real estate. Well then, you remain a genius.

Matt-quick quiz and please pay close attention to the question. What college did Bill Gates graduate from? (Hint: not Harvard which he attended). Paul Allen (hint: not Portland State).

Another hint: neither graduated from college. I didn’t either, but I’m only in real estate so what do I know. My mother wasn’t on the Board of Directors of IBM.