How I saved money and lost the sale of my home

This is a story that I think all can relate to. The home owner wants to sell the home. The home owner is tight on the appreciation against what they owe. The home owner decides to use a discount brokerage. The brokerage tells them you can get listed for X. Want a yard sign add 10 dollars. Want a lock box add 25 dollars. And so it goes. The seller lists for X

Enter me the Agent with a buyer. I see the house on the MLS. I call and the seller answers.( This is a positive as it usually does not happen) Me:" I would like to show your home tomorrow at 10 am OK?" Seller: "Oh I am sorry little Johnny has a Cub Scout outing and we will not be home." Me: "No problem, is the lock box on the front door?" Seller: "HUH? We do not have a lockbox. Can you show the house day after tomorrow?" Me: "Let me get back to you thanks".

No I am not going to show the house. My buyer cannot see it that day. Also the kiss of death is the seller being there. This was a really good home and could have worked for my buyer. But there are a bunch of other homes that are on the market and will work as well. So once again a seller has lost a sale. At the end of the day the answer is you get what you pay for . Or in this case you do not get what you have not paid for. We are Realtors for a reason. I feel really bad for this person. I have been in this situation 4 times and each time the home has either much later been listed by a Realtor or gone into foreclosure.