I submitted to several hundred agents and publishers several months back, for a short story I wrote. Several accepted my inquiry and took a look at the story. One of them was the Abacus Group.
Yesterday G.T. Dawson, their director, sent a reply, saying they felt they could sell my story for a short story compilation book. They felt the story was strong, but the writing needed to be tweaked. AT NO COST, they'd do a re-write of the first page, to make it more commercially marketable.
However, they also required a $750 administrative fee for "(1) preparing sends to publishers (cover letters, packaging, phone calls), (2) printing duplication copies, and (3) following up on review status at booksellers, including (if necessary) in-house visits requiring unscheduled air travel in the eventuality the manuscript is sold. Point: Selling a manuscript to NYC-based publishing houses is more than just pushing paper around for free (try the freebies and see what happens). This is the only charge to you over the duration of the Representation Agreement contract, regardless of the number of bookseller submissions and, prior to galley, line edit changes to the manuscript (author approved)."
Their e-mail included a one-year agency contract at the standard 10%.
I'm a relatively new author, but I know that agents only get paid AFTER the sale. I've been told to be wary of any up-front fees, no matter how they were justified. So I quickly googled the agent and company name, and arrived at this page.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Too bad though...I was excited about the possibility of getting an agent. But when I get an agent, I want it to be because I earned one, not because I bought one.
Thanks. Good luck to all.