xyz48B

@Cliff– I’ve been burnt. Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. I won’t have it happen again. And it’s worked just for me to find alternative ways to satisfy the deposit need. And if that’s a no-go, then just like he won’t meet me without a deposit, I won’t meet him if it’s required. Business is business. I don’t owe him anything anymore than be owes me anything.

1000000% this.
 I am hesitant to hire a guy who has a robust online presence. Not only is his time “valuable,” but his whole air about him changes. I’m not hiring him to make him happy but the other way around.
There once was a day when service providers saw providing a service as something honorable because they SERVED people with their work (service). It seems a lot of these providers who have online outlets don’t see it that way. They’re doing us a favor by coming down among us hoi-poi.
There once was a day when the working mentality of service providers was “the customer is always right.” In escorting, it seems the escort sets the terms of satisfaction, and if you don’t like it, move on.
There’s also no recourse for refund if you’re unsatisfied. Imagine refunding a client…Escorts want a deposit. What do I get if he didn’t live up to his ad? I get to leave a bad review on RM that’ll get taken down if he appeals. Ohhhhhh. Scary. He still has my money. And I still had a shit experience. And he still wasted my time and money, which I could’ve potentially used on a more fitting escort.

Can’t honestly say I ever thought about it til this moment…I guess that means it hasn’t bothered me.
What does bother me are the extremes: pictures that are clearly such poor quality I want to ask, “Why’d you bother?” and pictures that are so professional or photoshopped that when you meet in person it’s a disappointment.

Baking and cooking?
Any good beef rubs?* Like true roasts, not braising…
*I mean that culinarily, not sexually 😂 

This is what most people like too. When you ask people to change how they’ve thought about categories they thought they’ve understood, it’s often not so much they don’t like the new way of thinking as much as it’s they don’t like being challenged on what they thought they knew. People don’t like predictably and categories and labels help with that.
Problems of course arise when labels are used to limit people, not just describe and distinguish them.

Exactly my point.
Too many people hide behind this weak argument and are afraid to take ownership of their life's choices.
 

Sooooo…
Straight folks who live a life of sex, drugs, and rock and rule are living the gay lifestyle? To me, that is misaligned. That’s not the gay lifestyle. Too many straight people live it to be so.

It seems that is where some of the confusion is coming from in this thread, (and thus also outside of it): Life style being a different thing than orientation and in addition, innate potential of attraction acted on and nurtured over time… ie. If left alone without current cultural norms and preconceptions: would human beings have any particular preference on and individual to individual bases… and if so, would it remain constant or variable through life~?

Exactly my thought.
Even simple observations such as the commonality of homosexual activity by formerly heterosexual men while incarcerated or the history of homosexual relationships in the Navy (when sailships spent many months at sea) ..should dismiss any argument for "born this way". Clearly social influences and environment have a strong affect in your choices of sexual partner(s).
 

When guys can make 100s per day by having a Fans page, it changes the economics of escorting.   It makes their time more valuable.  Instead of doing all that work for one meeting, they can do the same work to film with another HOT guy (or guys) and get a recurring revenue stream worth 100X that single meeting.   And frankly, the more they promote themselves on platforms like Fans it increases the value of their brand. 
Every experience is not worth the same.  I've paid $400 for a dud, and my current psudo-regular charges $250 and is the hottest sex I have ever had.   I've paid $1000 (twice) for an overnight (also worth every penny).
So, the right price is "it depends".  Obviously, the higher the rate, the higher your expectations, the more vetting you might do, and the better chemistry you should have leading up to the meeting. 
Believe me I'm a thrift shopper and love a bargain, but this hobby is not one where I try to apply those principles....you get what you pay for.  Occasionally you might get lucky, but you should not go into this expecting that.
As others have noted, some bargains can be had on Grindr, if you are willing to do the work and spend the time.  I have neither the time or patience for that, I want to schedule my meeting and boom.  But I know others who have a lot of success at this.
Have fun guys!

Perhaps a reformulation? “What factors contribute to a person’s understanding of their sexuality?”

I think extrapolating to the whole from individual incidents is a bit…dangerous. I totally accept bisexuality as a legitimate thing. In fact, I’d say people are born that way!
So some gay folks think bisexuality isn’t real? Okay. Some straight people think that homosexuality isn’t real. It even sounds like some bi folks in this very forum are saying that neither heterosexuality or homosexuality is real. Guess what – saying it’s not real doesn’t make it less real. It just makes the person saying it sound ignorant and close-minded…

Baking and cooking?
Any good beef rubs?* Like true roasts, not braising…
*I mean that culinarily, not sexually 😂 

I’ve gone days/weeks without seeing clients. If I’m traveling is def more common for me to get booked and that be my focused, but in my spare time I’m def into baking and cooking.

What do escorts do with their spare time? Time that’s not a) setting up appointments or b) with clients?
How many hours a day do escorts spend on escorting between a) setting up appointments or b) with clients?

@nycboi– If you’re poor, popular opinion here is that you shouldn’t be here. This is a rich man’s sport! Now take your things (if you have them) and go eat your gruel…It’s life.

Very nice explanation Tygerscent.
Unfortunately a lot of gay men live in denial of their subconscious decisions made throughout life in who they find attractive . Somehow the "guilt" of homosexuality goes away when you can claim it wasn't your fault ...you were born that way.
 

@nycboi– If you’re poor, popular opinion here is that you shouldn’t be here. This is a rich man’s sport! Now take your things (if you have them) and go eat your gruel…It’s life.

I don’t like the negative assumption out the gate.
We’re supposed to, as clients, assume providers want to please us and not simply ca$h in on horny men.
Providers should approach us as real potential clients who are actually interested in hiring.
Maybe if instead of skepticism out the gate we approached things with a bit more magnanimity, it would make the whole experience less bileful.  

@KeepItReal, here you go. 

You’ve got members in this forum who act like unless you make seven digits, you shouldn’t be involved in this hobby. Not my view, but the provincial, myopic view of some here. 

I thank God for my pets. Always faithful and always there. After some long days, they’ve been a huge support. Maybe better than a boyfriend 😂 

You can always entertain yourself with some sticks in the backyard. 

For some, there is greed….
I saw a newbie back in January that only wanted $200 for the hour.  When I asked him what he wanted for an overnight, he said “How about $600?”  Of course I took him up on his offer, and he was great, and saw him multiple times already. God forbid I put him in touch with some of the “economists” on here and have them tell him he is selling himself short.  They’d probably tell him, “You could get three times that amount kid!”

It’s implied if you feel it’s unreasonable you’re an asshole and should shut up. Hell. Sometimes it’s said…not even implied.
And the question is if it’s the new “normal,” asking if it’s the new relative reasonable expectation. I’ve read little here to suggest that guys don’t think it’s not at least tending that way.
The problem isn’t so much that clients here have a problem with $400/hr. Those of us here are probably over-informed. But the guy who’s just dabbling can be taken advantage of. And that’s unfair. And it says a lot about the escorts here who would defend that unfairness as legit just because the escort can dupe some schmuck. Instead of calling out bad practice of their “coworkers,” they let it fly,  shrug it off, or even will attempt to justify it somehow.