Ones track record speaks volumes of them.

This is a very subjective question. Personal production is usually a reliable indicator.

An Experience definition is a moveable feast. 

the more transactions, the more experienced....the number of years means nothing...there are folks who handle one or two deals a year and have been licensed for decades....that's useless...

The amount of years worked, the amount of homes sold are just a part of a total package. Knowing your area, what you are selling, being up to date on the economy, mortgages, real estate trends and having a work ethic to be willing and able to take care of clients. An agent who sells 100 homes a year may not have time to give personal attention to their clients. 

The key here is knowledge and common sense, not the number of years someone has had a license!

Go with the 30 years, an agent in business that long has seen a lot more and is most likely much more knowledgeable. That agent has the time to do a much better job with the clients.

This sounds like a RE examination school question? 

Please do not confuse experienced with great.  20 years in real estate does not necessarily make someone smarter.  There are some things people are born with and cannot necessarily be learned.

This is very good question.

Great answers you got. 

Which experience are you seeking?

Someone who can tell you what will happen before it does

Yes

Experience based on longevity means:

They know how to:

• Complete a short sale
• Create inventory
• Assume a mortgage
• Facilitate a reverse mortgage sale and purchase
• Investor experience
• 12 ways to sell a house
• 21 ways to finance a house
• Shepard a property through city and commission review requirements
• Apply agile solutions that a complex real estate environment requires.
• Resources to provide comprehensive help to buyer and seller
• Compassion
• Time
• Personal attention

The volume pumped agent doing 100 transactions a year (such a solo agent CAN NOT EXIST) would have a very narrow, replicable, market segment such as representing banks in selling foreclosed proprieties. The home depot of real estate.

In the most recent crash, new, although successful, agents were the first to activate their Plan B. They did not have the depth of knowledge or resources to adapt to a dramatic change in the real estate market place.

A buyer or seller always benefits from working with an real estate professional who is more than a one trick pony.

 IMHO, knowledge and applied knowledge are determining factors when one talks about experience.

Experience is in the practice of ones chosen field.  Someone can sit in the stands and watch football games for years.  Does not mean, in my opinion, that they have mastery of the game and all its nuances.  Mark

Number of recent transactions in my book.  30 years in and 5 in the last 5 years does not equal experienced.

I guess that they would both be experienced, having both sold over 300 homes. Experience, however, does not mean that either one cares about their clients, is skilled, or good at marketing and negotiations.