I think it's the stupidest thing a Realtor can do. It only feeds the beast that is already robbing us Wayne and Jean Marie Zuhl 

There are all kinds of strategies with many success stories.  You can likely find some dismal failures as well.  My opinion really doesn't matter as much as what works for you, your situation and your business model.  

I recommend generation of your own leads.

I wouldn't do it but I did once a trial with Trulia back in the day. The majority of the leads were either fake or spam and I only got one actual legitimate lead the whole time. If it's not a long term committment and you are prepared to lose the money if it doesn't pan out, go for it. But use a throwaway credit card for your protection.

If you wish to throw your money away, please send it to me. I'll at least send you a  thank you note!

don't do it!!!!  if you want buyers, blog posts are what they read....buyers start online....sellers are offline with print marketing and open house events...

THAT'S MORE REALISTIC FOR ANYONE.... do open house events and YOU market online to spread the word.... most listing agents are lazy and don't want to spend the time.... we do and we get business.... tammy had one saturday for 1.5 hours and there were 3 buyers....one is without an agent...  they want to work with her in the $800-$900k range..... good buyers...nothing to sell... but have a two family home.

I tried Realtor.com listing enhancements when that was still a thing, years ago.  I also paid for buyer leads from Zillow in the more recent past.  None of the leads I ever got online were woth the money I spent.

The real power in this business is the power to generate your own leads.  Being a baby bird, relying on someone else to feed you is not a good business model.

5-8% return is an excellent return ... IF... they're truly getting that return.  In my experience, agents who are buying leads, when talking to their colleagues tend to "exaggerate" (read that as "lie") their success.

But $50 isn't much of a risk if you wanna take a shot.  My guess, most of the leads you will get will be rentals, and very low quality.

Best of luck.

At $50/month doesn't sound scary... they cost hundreds of dollars a month here in my area and the leads are not worth it.

RUN, FORREST, RUN!!! 

I've only been a Realtor for 8 years with my husband, but it appears that Realtor.com is not what it used to be. He is going on his 17th year, and had let his account lapse. We signed up in May 2018 at a Jared James Advance Conference, for a 12 year term where all of our listings would only go to us, but we received "0" ZERO leads or inquires for that whole 12 month contract... only to find out that because we didn't cancel before the 12 month term, it auto-renewed. Once we realized we were still being billed, they stuck us with another 6 months. Absolute waste of money! 

It is not the cost of buying leads...which our Team does...that is the problem. It is not having a well constructed plan to follow and convert those leads that is the prohibitive cost of buying leads.

Lead follow up must be swift and repetitive. Those who do it should have  measureable goals and hold themselves strictly accountable or it is likely that money will be wasted without beneficial results.

OK, the prevailing sentiment around here as you know is 'no buying leads' but if you decide to proceed, I would STRONGLY suggest that you review any contract carefully, and as Alan mentioned, use a 'disposable CC' in case they try to hold you hostage.

In the past, I tried this once and was excited when Jennifer Lopez wanted to buy a home here...got a lot of spam and fake email addresses! I will pass.

Sounds like a good amount of leads for the money. I don't buy leads from them but everyone has their own business plan & what works for one person may not work for another. The key is, have a good plan & stick with it. 

I don't recommend buying leads - why do you want to "pay" someone to remain in between you and the public. Spend the money on marketing yourself. Have a drawing for $50 cash or a free $50 gift card at your local hardware store or whatever.

I do not buy leads from anywhere.  I believe doing so is an enormous waste of time and money. I generate m my own leads from y website. It works for me. 

Many believe buying leads in any way shape or form is the worst of decisions.

I do not agree.

An agents needs to spread seeds somewhere and start filling the pipeline somehow. 
It has been my observation that when I am in need of a gasoline, I must go to a gas station. If an agent needs leads they need to go where the leads are until they are able to create and open their own station.

Wayne and Jean have been in business for a long time. I would suggest opening your own station. But, $50 a month is pretty close to the price of shiny things. REALTOR.com has never been an ally of the real estate agent. Who owns them? In whose favor will the bias go?

I have had no luck. Most of them send to the list agent first before you.

My knee jerk response is "Don't feed the bear" HOWEVER, the reality is that the majority of consumers use Realtor.com, Zillow etc...   If it's "only" $50 per month, even if you get one closed deal a year, you're good (I'm assuming your closing check would be well above $600!!).  As another potential pillar of leads, it would make sense to consider it.  Just my humble opinion. 

No experience, but not sure it works in all markets.  We have a lot of vacationers  here just looking.

Find what works and where it works and how.....Then put legs on it

If you run your business on buying leads , the cost usually outweighs the benefits 

I do not pay for leads.

Let me get this right, he does about one closing per month for $50?
That's an incredible deal if it's true.

5% - 8% sounds pretty decent.  If you sign up then do you get the same leads as the other agent in your office (and who knows how many other agents)?  That wouldn't be good. 

Personally, I was never one to buy leads. My blog & website, repeat business and referrals generated all the leads I could handle.

List some homes, advertise these and you will have plenty of buyers to sell to these other people.

Worth to try

I don't leads from anyone,.

I haven't.  And the most I ever converted from on line ads is 2 to 2.5 %, but that was a good ROI for my spend.  I am still using Google ads to drive traffic to my site.  NOT all the leads that land there are from the ads, but the traffic from there isn't something I can sort by the person so I can't say how many come from the ad convert now vs. the total that converts.

$50 worth 

It is always good to try and see.

Not a fan of buying leads.  Prefer to get them for free.

Read the comments of Alan May. Just saying!

And I can sell you the Empire State Building...A

Not a fan, try Truia and never got a deal!