re: How do realtors get paid?

Real Estate agents aren't a "waste" of money but there is a ton wrong with the system.

1) They use to control the information, now comps are readily available to the general public. They lord this over you, if you are moving to a different state, I get it, but if you've lived their 5 years it's not as big a deal.
2) Paying a straight percentage of the sale value is absurd. They should get paid on the value they add. Their incentives aren't line up with yours, they are incentivized to sell quickly.
Say you have a 300k house and they would make 2%, that's 6k. You get an offer for 280k, they think you should take it. You think your house is priced fair. You would lose 20k in the deal she loses 400 bucks.

Your dog could get 250k for the house, I think their commission should be a flat fee, plus some sort of bonus for speed of sell and price in excess of what anyone could get.