What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

[Guest]

I was looking through escort websites and was surprised at the number of escorts who put "Varies" or something of that sort under the rates section. I usually just pass this up. Are there any clients who find this lack of commitment on price somehow intriguing? And, escorts, what do you think you have to gain by putting "varies"? Do you change your rates based upon the grammar of the potential client contacting you? Why would an escort think it's in his interest not to post a rate?

[+ ArVaGuy]

I find it aggravating for sure and makes me less likely to consider the guy. However, with so many guys following the practice that makes my frustration a moot point these days. The guys will claim they tailor their rates based on what you are asking, some charge more for anal if they bottom for example.

 

When I don't see a rate published or see the "varies" it makes me more inclined to negotiate when he quotes his price. This has frustrated a few guys but my reply back is they said their rate was variable, therefore it is inconstant with no fixed quantitative value and/or fickle based on the definition of the word. Amazingly more than a few requote or accept the price I offered. Others get snippy and I just move on to the next guy on my list. Which becomes his finanical loss and the gain of someone else.

 

The whole refusal to publish a rate is just silly to me. What's the harm in letting the client know the rate so he can decide if the guy is in his budget range? By not publishing a rate the escort sets himself up for some of the back and forth exchanges that they find frustrating. Maybe some guys don't want the competition to know their rates but that's absurd IMO since most guys in the same market float their rates in the same ranges.

 

Rates are always a touchy subject around here and the lines will certainly be drawn into obvious camps on this one. :-)

[Guest EuropTravl]

Probably a good idea if you're reserved at a Ritz Carlton to say "probably Holiday Inn" until the price is agreed upon.

[alanalt]

>The guys will claim they tailor their rates based on what you

>are asking, some charge more for anal if they bottom for

>example.

>

Which kind of renders the whole 'charging for companionship or 'time only' and not sex' routine kind of irrelevant, doesn't it?

[+ ArVaGuy]

>Probably a good idea if you're reserved at a Ritz Carlton to

>say "probably Holiday Inn" until the price is agreed upon.

 

Oh, you've dealt with Dario in DC? LOL }(

[Guest countryboywny]

I'm wondering if by posting "varies" for a rate, the escort is trying to maximize his earning potential. If it's a slow time for him he can quote lower rates to get the date. If he's really busy he can up his rate.. supply and demand. I don't like this scenario because I don't like to negotiate. I'm straight forward and prefer the escort to be also. "Just give me the price. If I think you're worth it and I can afford it then we have a deal. If not, I apologize for wasting your time."

[doctordoctor]

I like countryboy's response....

 

I don't think we have to look for any sinister plot in the "varies" rate statement...it may simply mean they have rates that vary by how many hours you meet or whether it's in or out, etc...

 

but, yes, it may also mean they have a menu and that gets into the "money for sex" thing, so tread carefully in that area if you get to that point...

 

I also don't like haggling, but, since rates are usually announced by the hour, will ask a guy if he offers multi-hour discounts...I never mention specific "acts" anywhere near the money talk...some guys will offer an average hourly rate a good bit lower than the one-hour rate when I say something like, "I'd like a three-hour meet"....

[JT Brooklyn]

I'm sure with some of the "Requests" made by some "Clients".. Varies does make alot of sense! LOL

 

There's definitely a "Big Gap" between Vanilla and Kink! LOL ;-)

[Guest josephga]

i have a friend that puts varies in his ads he says its because he offers 2 stages of massage followed by escorting and he gives you the price depending on which stage of massage you request or escorting..

[Lookin]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

With all the different types of clients out there, it may be nearly impossible to quote a rate that covers everything. When you stop and think about it, how would you like to have to quote rates for your personal gentlemen’s services? It can’t be easy. It’s not like rolling off a log, unless of course that’s one of the services you choose to offer.

 

It wasn’t easy but, just for grins, I tried throwing together a rate card of things an escort might do, and what he might charge to do them. (Please keep in mind that I wrote this from the point of view of an in-demand twenty-something escort, and not a rapidly desiccating sixty-something slattern like me. My own rates would be considerably lower for everything listed, except for multiple come shots across the room, in which case my rates would be considerably higher.)

 

So here’s a sample escort rate card that would let clients know up front exactly what they’d be paying, yet still give a service-oriented escort the chance to deliver a custom-tailored suite of services for a custom-tailored price. I’ve divided it into general sections, making it easy to find and price just the whoopee the client craves. So, clients, never fear the dreaded "rate varies" box again! Just grab your crotch and your calculator. You’re minutes away from the session of your dreams, with none of those pesky extra trips to the ATM!

 

(I originally posted this on the MER site in another thread to help give clients some small idea of all that’s involved in quoting an accurate rate, and hope it may be useful here too. If any escorts are reading this, please feel free to use anything that’s helpful. )

 




Sample Escort Service and Rate Card

 

Showing up services:

1. Arriving on time - $25

2. Arriving up to fifteen minutes late - $15

3. Arriving up to thirty minutes late - $10

4. Arriving up to an hour late - $5

5. Not showing up - no charge

 

Preparation services:

1. Binaca - $3 per spritz

2. Tan line - $75

3. Colon cleansing - $50

4. Flavored colon cleansing - $65

5. Gym smell - $55

6. Stubble - $35 per day

7. Shaved chest - $25

8. Manicure - $50

9. Pedicure - $50 (no polish)

 

Greeting services:

1. Knock - no charge for first three raps

2. Smile - $5

3. Friendly smile - $15

4. Handshake - $10

5. Hug - private - $25

6. Hug - public - $45

7. Kiss - closed mouth - $35

8. Kiss - open mouth - $55

9. Kiss - with tongue (3 inches max) - $75

 

Disrobing services:

1. I take my clothes off - $25

2. You take my clothes off - $45

3. I take your clothes off - $55

4. You take your clothes off - no charge

5. No one takes their clothes off - rebate of $25

 

Touching services:

1. I touch you/you touch me - except groin/butt - $5 per touch

2. I touch you/you touch me - groin/butt - $15 per touch

3. Frottage - $10 per minute

4. Playing footsie in restaurant/theater - $25 per foot

 

Social/companionship services:

1. You take me somewhere nice - $200 per hour

2. You take me somewhere tacky - $400 per hour

3. You introduce me as your boyfriend - $150 per person

4. I introduce you as my boyfriend - $350 per person

5. I laugh at your jokes - $10 per chuckle, $15 if I slap my knee

6. I cut your food for you - $150 per meal

7. We attend your high school reunion/company retirement party - $1500

8. I meet your parents - $2000

9. You meet my parents - BMW 7-series, plus three years of family therapy

 

Ego services:

1. I tell you how great you are - $10 per compliment

2. You tell me how great you are, and I agree with you - see above

3. You tell me how great I am - no charge

4. I tell you how great I am, and you agree with me - see above

 

Fellatio services:

1. You fellate me - $5 per minute - 10 minute minimum

2. I fellate you - $10 per minute - 10 minute maximum

3. We fellate each other - $20 per minute

(add five dollars per minute to above rates if I keep my eyes open)

 

Rimming services:

1. You rim me - $5 per minute - 10 minute minimum

2. I rim you - feh!


 

Fornication services:

1. I top you - $15 per minute, plus supplies

2. You top me - $25 per minute, plus supplies

(add five dollars per minute to above rates if either one of us grunts)

 

Ejaculation services:

1. I come - $200 per load

2. I come across the room - $200 per load, plus $10 per foot

3. You come - $150 per load

4. You come across the room - ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!

 

Fetish services:

1. I piss on you - natural - $10 per fluid ounce

2. I piss on you - flavored - $15 per fluid ounce

3. You piss on me - in your dreams!

4. I degrade you - $5 per minute - no charge for first hour

5. You degrade me - you gotta be kidding!

6. Wrestling - sorry, it musses my hair

7. Farting - $10 per poot - free on Thanksgiving and Cinco de Mayo

8. Role playing - dominant - no charge

9. Role playing - submissive - yeah, right!

 

note: Other personal gentlemen’s services may be requested and considered; however, in the event that you suggest something that grosses me out, there will be a $50 fee for each such occurrence.

[Guest]

>The guys will claim they tailor their rates based on what you

>are asking, some charge more for anal if they bottom for

>example.

>

 

I would be very careful (both for the escort and the client) to discuss "I will charge X to bottom and Y to top." I suppose that as a client, I don't mind doing it with someone who's a well-established escort here, or who's a porn star, since I can feel pretty sure he's not a cop. Otherwise, the site better tell me his preferences and rate, since I feel no need to put myself in legal jeopardy. For the escort, I would have to say that he can probably never tell when a new client might be a cop, so why not put on the website or ad "I'm 5'10", 165#, Br/Bl, versatile, blah, blah.... I charge $X for one hour."

[JT Brooklyn]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

Lookin...L O L I Personally don't know whether to Laugh or Cry?

 

At $250-300 an hour ALOT of these Services are definitely Paid For, especially I know in the case of The Prep Rates! LOL ;-)

[Guest n2colour]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

I'm laughing. Enjoyed it. I always thought "varies" meant price depends on the attitude of the client and the mood of the escort and their respective negotiating skills. As we have seen here more than once, asking and getting are often two different things. (And then there's that guy in a class by himself @ $1 mil a night.)

[Louis]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

"And then there's that guy in a class by himself @ $1 mil a night.)"

And that varies too if someone from another country hired him. Lets see the US dollar is worth 95 cents Canadian...I guess now might be a a good time to hire him, much better of a deal than when the US dollar was worth $1.45 Canadian. I'd be saving my self a half a million dollars...:-)

[JOHNNY44]

Hi to all,

 

There will always be potential clients out there who conveniently forget that escorts are participants in an industry: In other words, business is ultimately just that essentially: business, that is.

 

Personally, I would prefer to know what the escort's rates are exactly, even if the figures provided are given as estimates.

 

I think, however, that "varies", as a practical matter, is here to stay at least for now. Hopefully though it will be a trend, a fad, that is short-lived.

 

A problem with "varies" is that it sort of implies that the actual rate may be inflated at the whim of the escort; and sort of leaves it to the prospective client to inquire about rates over the phone or such, something that some are certainly not always comfortable with.

 

Some of the sites that escorts advertise on are partially responsible for the "varies" trend, in that they provide advertising escorts with the option of putting "varies" rather than just leaving a rate category blank.

 

The other matter related to the "varies" thing is that some escorts are on multiple sites; and their multiple ads have at times different rates for the same services. While "varies" is not necessarily the ideal solution for confusion caused by the above situation, it is sometimes an escort's way of saying this: I am somewhat flexible as to what I actually charge; and I will likely honor the rate I give in the ad you identify to me as the source for my ad.

 

Of course, I do expect that opinions as to "varies" will...well, vary. :-)

 

JOHNNY

[Lookin]

Rather than finding it intriguing, I find the variable rate concept kind of awkward and funny, because of the emphasis it puts on the financial end of things. For me, getting together with an escort is usually on impulse, and the first meeting is just for an hour or two. So I like to get through the money part in a really short time, and concentrate on just having a good time. I don’t usually have a specific list of activities, and usually get into different things with different guys.

 

I’m in my sixties, and no Brad Pitt, and say so up front, so there may be some escorts that would want to charge me extra because of that. But I wouldn’t enjoy myself in that kind of situation, so I limit my choices to the guys who publish their rates.

 

As far as special requirements, I’ve always had a good time just doing what comes naturally, and have never asked an escort to do something really unusual that would require a special rate.

 

Although, there is this one fantasy I’ve been having . . .

[twinkboylover28]

>>Fetish services:

1. I piss on you - natural - $10 per fluid ounce

2. I piss on you - flavored - $15 per fluid ounce>>

 

 

I know I live a sheltered life, but what exactly is "flavored piss"?

[+ Charlie]

Asparagus?

[+ Charlie]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

ROLFMAO!

[Guest DickHo]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

I think it's simpler: $50 for sex and the remaining is for the escort to leave immediately after I cum.

[Louis]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

Your on the ball today Dickho...:-) Kind of like a one time alimony payment..:-)

[Damascene]

or other illicit flavors.

[buckguy]

"Varies" does seem to have become more popular of late...There are some semi-predictable meanings, tho. Traveling escorts often vary their rate a little by city, depending on the going rate. It means they don't have to change their ad when they go to a new place. It seems lazy, but they might figure that charging $25 more in DC than in Philly would create customer resistance in Philly (a made-up example).

 

In LA, where this practice seemed to start, "varies" often means varies by travel time/distance. A lot of LA guys live in WeHo and stick close to home. That neighborhood is a place where you don't need a car and even the offer of taxi fare (and a non-rush hour appt.) may not entice them to places like Downtown (an easy distance after rush hour) or Santa Monica (not as close as it looks). WeHo also is close to Beverly Hills and Hollywood and not too terribly far from Westwood--all areas with hotels. Some LA escorts require a 2 hour appointment if you're more than an hour's drive away. I can't blame them--I used to be a frequent visitor to LA and have traveled all over W LA and the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley areas in all kinds of traffic.

 

Some guys vary their rate by the number of hours and use it for that meaning and, as I learned recently, those multi-hour rates can be fluid with the same guy.

[Guest]

>"Varies" does seem to have become more popular of

>late...There are some semi-predictable meanings, tho.

>Traveling escorts often vary their rate a little by city,

>depending on the going rate. It means they don't have to

>change their ad when they go to a new place. It seems lazy,

>but they might figure that charging $25 more in DC than in

>Philly would create customer resistance in Philly (a made-up

>example).

>

>In LA, where this practice seemed to start, "varies" often

>means varies by travel time/distance. A lot of LA guys live in

>WeHo and stick close to home. That neighborhood is a place

>where you don't need a car and even the offer of taxi fare

>(and a non-rush hour appt.) may not entice them to places like

>Downtown (an easy distance after rush hour) or Santa Monica

>(not as close as it looks). WeHo also is close to Beverly

>Hills and Hollywood and not too terribly far from

>Westwood--all areas with hotels. Some LA escorts require a 2

>hour appointment if you're more than an hour's drive away. I

>can't blame them--I used to be a frequent visitor to LA and

>have traveled all over W LA and the Pasadena/San Gabriel

>Valley areas in all kinds of traffic.

>

>Some guys vary their rate by the number of hours and use it

>for that meaning and, as I learned recently, those multi-hour

>rates can be fluid with the same guy.

 

Well, I think that the fact that the rate on the websites is for standard one-hour appointment should be obvious. While I can understand someone putting $250+ under the "Out-calls" section, I can't understand why someone would put "varies" in the "In-call" section. Most clients can understand that increased travel time would involve a higher fee, and that subsequent hours will be charged at a lower rate than the first...

[Louis]

RE: What is it with "Varies" on escort rates?

 

"I can't understand why someone would put "varies" in the "In-call" section."

 

Oh that's easy to answer...if its an incall, then the escort can do special things like fill the bathtub full of wine, beer or chocolate....things like that would warrant an extra charge..:-)