Many "Buyers" often use a Real Estate Agent to save money. Those who know how the Buyer's agency works in most cases are aware that the agent will normallly work for them to help them get the best deal at no cost to them. That is how most of the MLS systems operate, the selling agent pays the buyer's agent for representing them so that both sides of the purchase are represented by a qualified agent. This prevents people from being sold a property through illegal and devious practices that take advantage of an unrepresented buyer. This keeps the sellers and their agents out of lawsuits and protects their reputations. This way the buyers get a professional protecting them from such practices as well as the market knowledge that will enable them to negotiate for the best price and terms possible.
These are just a few of the things most people who "use" agents do not know when they "use" agents to save money. The difference between those who use agents and those who "use" agents is simply the knowledge of what the agents really do for the buyer. Those who "use" agents go to their websites and other methods of advertised listings information to find out about what is available in the area, then go around the agent to buy directly from the sellers. They often then find out that the seller has an agent representing them already and are then pitted against a professional with themselves as their representative. The thinks going around the agent they used to get the information was a money saving step but all they have done is avoid being represented by an agent who will protect and negotiate for them. They believe they will save money doing this but the exact opposite is almost always true. Good people are waiting to help buyers save money and get the best deal possible in their property purchases, if we could only get the word out that to save money, use and agent rather than "using" agents in your next search.