maninsoma

I would argue that anyone hiring escorts who isn't able to also save money shouldn't be hiring escorts (or should hire less or find escorts whose rates are lower). I think the argument that at least some escorts over-value themselves makes sense, but isn't that true of nearly everything one can buy/rent? Where I live I can go to several restaurants I like and get a meal I enjoy for $30 per person (or sometimes less), but if I want to indulge in a fine dining restaurant that cost can easily top $100 per person and can go many multiples beyond that. Does that mean that the more expensive restaurants are overcharging? Well, if they have enough customers who perceive what's on offer as worth the cost then the answer is no. It just means that some people who live near the restaurant -- maybe even the vast majority of people who live near the restaurant -- cannot afford to dine there. In a different product category, one can go to Best Buy and get a 65" TV for just a few hundred dollars or one can buy a set with better picture quality for $1,500 or more. I happened to notice on LG's site that they have a new 77" set that costs $60,000 (well, actually, $59,999). I doubt they sell many of those sets, but for the extremely wealthy they might find that set "worth it" because apparently you can see through it when it's off and also can be used wirelessly (except for power, I assume). Getting back to escorts, I think the issue is that 25 years ago the studio porn stars were the only ones charging rates near the top of the range in terms of men available to the larger client population (I'm sure there were even pricier guys who were only available to the truly wealthy). It was pretty easy to find guys on sites like Craigslist that charged half that. Now almost everyone seems to think they should command what would be today's equivalent of the former porn stars' rates, adjusted for inflation, and some guys who are top-tier charge three times as much as what their rates "should be" today adjusted for inflation. I guess I'm simply trying to say that the inflation in the escort market has been far greater than inflation in a lot of other sectors, so while a middle class income might have afforded someone the ability to hire regularly in 2000 that's no longer the case unless one is willing to spend a greater percentage of his income on this hobby.

I was one of those who was nearly financially illiterate in my twenties. I only had one major credit card (and a store card). I maxed it out (which I think was $2,000), my dad paid it off for me and then I proceeded to max it out again within a year. It didn't help that my salary was low and I was living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., but more than that it really was that I just didn't understand money beyond a superficial level. Example: I thought that buying a new pair of pants at 33% off was a great savings for me, not thinking about the fact that not only was I paying 18% interest on the purchase price but I was also paying 18% interest on everything else I put on the card. I really credit one of my exes with helping me understand that instead of saving money buying things on sale that I was actually paying 18% more for everything because all I could afford to pay most months was my minimum payment. With some basic math (I at least had math skills), he helped me see how much more I was spending because I was carrying credit card debt. Most enlightening was realizing that if I paid off my credit card I could actually afford to spend a little more every month because I wouldn't be paying interest charges. The only downside was that I had to stop some of my spending for a certain period of time so I could pay the outstanding balance. I think that took me just shy of a year. Once that year was over, I had learned to live within my budget so I never charged things I couldn't afford to pay for at the end of the statement period. This was all nearly 40 years ago, and I haven't carried a credit card balance since with a few exceptions (promotional offers for 0% interest for a specific time). To anyone reading this thread who carries credit card debt who has the ability to change their spending habits, I encourage you to do so. A period of foregoing nonessential expenses (eating out, buying things you don't really need but just want, etc) will pay off nicely for you going forward as long as you internalize the lesson of living within your means. I realize this isn't helpful for those who are carrying debt due to either some unfortunate circumstance such as illness or simply have so many obligations such as a family to support. I think a lot of people get into debt because they don't see the bigger picture, though, and they can dig themselves out if they choose.

If you can pay a regular monthly bill using a credit card with no fee, then doing so makes sense. Where I live, if I were to pay my monthly electric bill using a credit card I'd get charged a fee by the utility company that would outweigh any points benefits from the credit card. For nearly everything else, however, I pay using a credit card to rack up points/miles/cash back.

I assume so. Is there a different Jordan Starr who works in the adult entertainment industry?

I'm not sure what selective means. I assume most escorts are somewhat selective in that they would refuse an appointment from someone who isn't willing to pay their rate or seems problematic in another way. If "selective" in Jordan Starr's case means he will only accept bookings from clients he would otherwise have sex with for free, then no wonder he wouldn't keep a public profile as an escort.

Are we even sure that he placed that ad versus someone trying to scam clients based on his name? I'm only asking because the last name is spelled with one R versus two, and it seems strange to me that such a well known porn performer wouldn't spell his name the same way when running an escort ad.

Yes, I also used AOL in the early days, too, and had a lot of success with it.

One of the reasons why I think the golden age of hiring (at least in the U.S.) was 25 years ago. Craigslist facilitated exactly the kind meetings you describe. As a client, when I was actively looking for someone I'd just refresh their men looking for men page (and I think they had another, more explicitly professional category) until I found someone I liked. Send an email through Craigslist servers and, if the guy was still available, I'd hear back quickly. A lot of guys who were doing this more as side-work would only keep their post up until they got a client, and then repost their ad the next time they were available. I hired off Craigslist more than Rentboy for a variety of reasons, but the main one was that I liked the immediacy of it. I don't know why, but a lot of times when providers with ads on mainstream sites have their "available now" indicator on they don't actually seem to even be monitoring their texts or inboxes because they take hours to reply to inquiries (if they reply at all). I don't know of a site where you can advertise like this today. I guess you could try Adam4Adam and just have your most of your photos private, only unlocking them only when you get a serious inquiry.

I appreciate Simon Suraci's post since he sees the big picture, not just a one sided "why don't other people do what I want?" point of view. I get how irritating it can be for providers. Customers who flake. Customers who expect more than is reasonable for the rate charged (i.e., want a full service escort at an erotic massage rate). Customers who lack basic social skills. On the flip side, it isn't like clients are always treated fairly or with respect. I "read between the lines" once on a Rentmasseur ad. The ad was so over-the-top in its wording, things along the lines of "I will give you a hard and deep massage with every part of my body." One would have had to be completely naive or stupid to not "read between the lines" of that ad to assume that the massage would be very erotic indeed, and his rate was at the top end of masseurs in my area at the time. Guess what happened during my appointment? Nothing erotic at all. The guy never even took off his tank top, did not allow me to touch him, and avoided touching any area near my genitals. Had I wanted a strictly therapeutic massage I would have looked for that and paid half his rate. I definitely felt ripped off, and I know this guy knew what he was doing -- being overly suggestive in ad text and photos in order to lure clients into paying his high rate, and then under-delivering at least for some people. It bothered me so much that the next guy I reached out to I basically wrote a summary of my previous disappointment and indicated I was looking for something more erotic than that. I still didn't ask the guy to be explicit about what he would do, but he replied with an assurance that he was more engaging than that and that I wouldn't be disappointed. He lived up to his word. In summary, most guys have offered service consistent with how they presented themselves in their ads but there have been a few here and there whom I viewed as outright con men. So, if you're a provider, try not to be too upset when someone is trying to clarify in advance more about what they can expect if they hire you. I get that starting an exchange with "do you provide a happy ending" is tacky and I'm not suggesting that you should even bother to reply to someone like that. But if someone knows how to have a more nuanced conversation, don't be mad just because they want a bit more clarity about what you are offering.

If you look at the text of his reviews, the most recent one uses the name Alex and an older one calls him BeefyMeatball.

Maybe it's just me, but if I were a provider I don't even think I'd take that Mr Number "review" seriously just like I never took seriously negative reviews about providers that seemed more about just annihilating someone rather than giving specific information about transpired (good or bad).

I'm not necessarily saying the concern is legitimate. I think the odds of getting busted as a "john" are very low after simply sending a deposit to an escort. But don't you think some people just don't want any concrete evidence that they paid for the service of an escort? What if the escort gets busted and then the police look through that escort's records to see who has been sending them money, and then the cops try to go after those people as well? I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility, which is why I think some clients just want to pay cash in person so there's no concrete evidence that they paid the escort. There is no comparison to the other items in your list. It isn't illegal to go to a concert, engage in psychotherapy or personal training, or to take a vacation. Almost everywhere in the USA it is illegal to pay someone for sexual services. I do agree that the bigger concern some people may have is their activity being discovered by a sexual partner, but I don't think clients' concerns about legal problems is non-existent.

One of the issues involved that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is that if you're talking about a deposit for an escort service, a lot of clients don't want there to be a "paper trail" (well, it would actually be an electronic trail) of them sending money to someone for a service that isn't legal where they live.

Thank you for linking that article. Here's the paragraph that would attempt to explain how she rationalized her passing out repeatedly: "Pelicot acknowledged that he had put powerful tranquilisers into his wife's food and coffee that put her to sleep for hours. Gisele said she was worried she was developing Alzheimer's or had a brain tumour because of the memory gaps." I am not trying to blame her at all; I'm just expressing surprise that she could be drugged so many times that she wouldn't have demanded medical care to try to determine what was happening.

I haven't read about this story until now. The one thing that puzzles me (and perhaps this has been addressed by her) is how she was drugged so often without suspecting something was wrong long before the police found the videos.

Unless he's changed his ad again in the past 4 minutes, I don't see any expanded services. He doesn't list anything sexual in his ad other than erotic massage. As to the original question, who knows why he chose Rentmen versus Rentmasseur. A way to charge more for a massage? Maybe. Because he's not really focusing on massage but more of a rub and tug kind of experience? Maybe. Because he actually offers escort services but doesn't want to specify that in his ad? Maybe. Only he knows. He's certainly not the first guy to place an erotic massage ad on Rentmen.

Some of the photos look familiar to me as well, but I cannot remember any previous name.

The solution is for the client to have the exact amount for the session in one pocket, and then what one wants to give as a tip in another. That way it's easy to hand over just the contents of the first pocket if the session wasn't very good, and hand over both if it was. I would never think of asking an escort or masseur to make change. ATMs typically dispense twenties, so at most one would be "over tipping" $10 if one bothered to go to an ATM before the session.

Despite me liking Benjamin Nicholas' post because I share his skepticism as to whether this engagement would be worthwhile for you, I will offer the following since it sounds like you are inclined to accept the gig: Make sure the host/your client has communicated the same boundaries to both you and the guests who will be in attendance. I can only imagine how difficult it would be for you if the clients think they have been invited to a party where they are free to engage with you sexually but you think you are just there as a waiter who's also eye candy, collecting numbers for later business engagements. I can see many party guests trying to go farther with you than you wish, particularly after they get drunk, and if the host has been ambiguous about what is and isn't allowed then you could find yourself feeling taking advantage of.

From my perspective, requiring a body photo is even worse. At least I can rationalize someone wanting to see your face before meeting if you've seen theirs since it may be less about looks and more about security -- they want to be able to identify a client if something goes wrong. If someone wants to see my body before allowing me to hire him, I might as well just be looking for a free hook-up.

Talk about making assumptions.

Is it just me, or is anyone else put off by the name? When I think of a musty dick, I think of something that's going to smell bad so I won't want it near my face, much less in my mouth.

I worked for UHC subsidiary United Behavioral Health 25 years ago. I guess UHC had acquired UBH not long before I started working there, and the "old timers" told me how much better UBH was before the UHC buyout. I only lasted a couple of years because it was a horrible place to work. Low pay for the qualifications required and a grueling workload. No financial incentives to do a great job because everyone lower on the totem pole got rewarded similarly (which meant minuscule raises and a paltry year end bonus). I resigned shortly after an annual report was released that showed my salary was about .13% of the CEO's, and I wasn't even at the bottom of the totem pole.

I don't think wondering how his murder will affect your insurance is a "normal person's reaction." Why would the death of the CEO of a huge company affect individual customers? This isn't a small business where the principal's death might result in the business closing. UHC will go on.

Unless you've been blocked by him, I think the best way to get your questions answered is to ask him directly. I think coriolis888 hit the nail on the head, though, and it's best to remember that unless you've actually developed a friendship with an escort then the wonderful time you have while you're together is simply the guy being a good paid companion. That doesn't mean that he actively dislikes you because he doesn't want to engage in friendly pleasantries in between appointments; it just means he's setting boundaries so that clients keep their expectations in check. I've only ever befriended one man out of the hundreds I've hired. It was clear almost from the beginning that we had a lot in common, and the friendship has continued even after I stopped hiring him. Beyond a simple follow up text to an appointment saying that I enjoyed someone's company, I would never think of contacting an escort I liked just to chit chat. It's like any other professional relationship. I appreciate my primary care physician and tell him that when I see him or have a need to message him about a medical issue, but I would never contact him for social reasons. I think this boundary between escort and client can just be more confusing due to the intimacy of the service provided. It's sort of like a psychotherapist with the main exception being that a psychotherapist has laws and ethics regarding boundaries. A smart escort is going to set similar boundaries, though: enough friendliness to encourage repeat business but not so much that he encourages a client to misinterpret the escort's intentions.