re: Selling my house. Why do I have to pay the buyer's agent?

So why does the seller and his agent, decide how much the buyer’s agent is worth? What if the agent did a piss poor job and wasn’t worthy of the full 3% a seller’s agent agreed to as his split, long before that agent actually showed up?

This is my main issue with the business model. I’m all for paying people what their services are worth. But a seller is paying an agent he did not hire.

The seller pays the agent because he has the liquid cash at closing? What about closing costs? Or the actual mortgage the buyer is taking out? The buyer can just as easily pay his agent as the seller can split his end. This would allow each to be negotiated independently, and each to be paid or services retained based on value provided.