RE Commissions on TOB

I was interested & watching a thread re: commissions on the other board and WHOA it's now gone. Surprised? NO.  Anyway the gist was: after the price fixing ruling of a few years ago, has anything changed?
What are sellers now agreeing to pay in commission?  Only one person (of the 5 or so posts) volunteered having been quoted 7% .  Wasn't that the going rate before the lawsuit?  How is that commission rate (+ 16%IVA) even possible in this place?  Standard in US is a negotiable 6%, where agents must pay dearly for licenses-fees/continuing education/desk space and expensive promotion/advertising/taxes etc. VS minimal costs here.  
Can anybody share what they have paid in the last 1+ year and whether there was any negotiating that %. And, who has listed with a REcompany and actually had showings by OTHER company's agents?

Nothing much has changed in either commission percentages or offices.

The usual rate here appears to be a straight 7%. I have seen in other locals - 7% on the first 100,000 then 5% on the second 100,000, and even 3% on any amount over that. If it was me I would wait for an offer to come in and then make a condition of the sale that the RE accept a lower rate. If they do not accept it the deal falls through because of their greed and not likely they will want to say no thanks to a pretty large commission sitting right in front of them, even if it is less then their usual cut. The choice is between accepting a lower then usual rate or nothing at all, my bet is they will accept the terms rather then say no to a for sure sale.

otrocanuck - that's a pretty clever plan.  The only problem I can see is if you received a full price offer w/no contingencies.  I realize that is not likely here BUT could happen.  I believe in the US, should that happen, and you did not accept it, you could be sued for not accepting exactly what you originally said you wanted - and then received. ???

You can get a lower commission rate with Justus Hauser ("All-in=1" realty.

Balance of my original post deleted after thinking better about it.

Better not to express my opinions.

If you sign a listing contract and it spells out the rate of commission that you agree to then I would sue you if, after I advertised your home, showed it and promoted the sale...then it is you that has violated the agreement and caused damages

That condition is usually part of the contract and the seller will have to pay the commission, even if he backs out of the sale. The realtor has done his job and fulfilled his contractual obligations. As such, the commission rate must be established before signing the listing contract. Only offers that could be refused would be those at lower prices and/or with contingencies.

As Vandre pointed out, unless it is an offer for full asking price then everything (including the RE commission) is on the table. Having the realtor drop their commission to close a deal happens all the time.

Just signed a listing contract in February. We were quoted 7% for a house, and 10% commission on lots. Decided to proceed with this because the realtor in question has delivered some excellent marketing for our properties (and spent their own money in the process).