Realtors can show ethical standards with BBBOnLine. (Technology: Update).

Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) make it fast and easy for realtors with web sites to prove they adhere to ethical business practices and privacy protection standards. By displaying one or both of the BBBOnLine's Reliability and Privacy seals on their Internet site, real estate companies instantly assure visitors that they have been reviewed by the Better Business Bureau, a not-for-profit organization, and the most trusted source of information about a business' reputation.

Since many prospective buyers use the Internet to gather facts before choosing a realtor, this endorsement is important.

For Buy/Self Realty, Inc., of Minneapolis, that offers flat fee realtor services and home selling tools for Minnesota home sellers, the BBBOnLine Reliability seal is key to increasing customers' comfort level with the business. "The BBBOnLine Reliability seal completely changes the mindset of our potential customers," said Albert Hepp, company president. "Potential customers used to be worried about Internet horror stories and now they simply ask what we can do for them. They now act as if a trusted friend has given them an endorsement, which has really helped our sales."

In Columbia, South Carolina, Jerry Fowler owner of Jerry Fowler and The Results Team Realtors, specializing in the sale of single-family homes, the seal also has helped attract new business. "There have been several occasions where a customer came to us rather than one of our competitors, and after the interview, I found it was because we had the BBBOnLine seal on our Web site. The Internet has become one of our major marketing tools and having the BBBOnLine designation is invaluable," said Fowler.

A Harris Interactive survey released in mid-February found that "customers want third-party reviews to case companies' security procedures....91% of the respondents said they would feel more comfortable doing business with companies that offer third-party verification." The study was sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and consulting firm Ernst & Young.

In another study, more than 80% of consumers cited the reliability of business as a major concern when shopping online, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which commissioned the Greenfield Online study in 2001. More than three-quarters of American adults responded that they decided against making an online purchase because of worries about how their personal data might be used. Almost nine out of every 10 shoppers said they would feel more confident buying from a site displaying a BBBOnLine Seal than from one that does not.