Sorry to jump in here so late...
Since this is one of the "reference" threads, I assume that people may want to check it out in future months even though it is currently stale.
AR&E is not in any way a "scam" (and frankly, looking at how they are set up, it is hard to see how it could be a scam--it's either free or a pretty simple fee-for-service arrangement). Whether their services are worth the price they charge is something only the writer can decide for themselves.
I think there may be some confusion between two different classes of services AR&E offers. Their "Agent Verification" service, which is free, is (as far as I can tell) very similar to the P&E "$" rating--that is, when AR&E says that someone is "legit," it means that they have publically reported sales to valid publishing houses. I don't think, however, that AR&E tracks complaints about agent's business practices.
The fact that an agent doesn't show up on the AR&E Verification service doesn't mean that they aren't legitimate (not all sales are reported in places like PW; there are legitimate newbie agents at powerhouse firms who don't have sales records; and sometimes AR&E overlooks a publically reported sale).
Similarly, the fact that an agent has verifiable sales that AR&E has recorded means that the agent has legitimately sold books--but it doesn't mean that they aren't sleazy, and doesn't mean that they are members of, or in compliance with, AAR. (Some AAR members have been out of compliance with AAR ethics guidelines for long periods of time before the Association has reasons to question their practices.)
Some postings here have suggested that a better place to go would be P&E or the Writers Beware sites. These are invaluable services and IMHO should ALWAYS be visited to check out an agent or publisher. But why not check out AR&E while you're at it?--it's free. I'd advise checking every indepedent source you can find.
The second class of services offered by AR&E are various paid profiles. These run from $25 up to some quite expensive services.
Before deciding on an agent, out of possible offers, I paid for the AR&E info on the agents (didn't have one--she was a newbie, but at a respected, long-established firm). At $25 a pop, I found it very worthwhile--info on the agency, some opinions, lists of deals made by the agent with details of prices where available, and some opinions from AR&E about the agent and agency (all of which are often very much just opinion and need to be taken with considerable colume of salt). These reports run anywhere from 4 to 10 pages.
Now, very little of this is information that couldn't be gathered from public sources--most of it seems to be picked up from PW and similar trade press news. But they have accumulated a considerable database and can give this info to you quickly. It depends on the value of your time and your degree of interest, I suppose. I don't know of anywhere else you can pick up this information in such detail nicely packaged.
Incidentally, on two occasions I e-mailed AR&E about agents who didn't show on their Verification service. In both cases, I recieved back courteous (and in one case, cautioning) e-mails based on what AR&E could find. No charge. You may or may not find their paid services to be valuable, but I put these guys on the side of the good guys.
