Dual thread: professional pics and lowered rates?

[Jarrod_Uncut]

Considering there’s plenty of threads brimming right now, figured I’d try to multi-task and include a 2 in 1.

 

First is: Occasionally I’ll browse a city just to get an idea how many are listed in an area. I noticed today in a certain location, I was the only one who had professional (non selfie/camera phone) pics on the main RentMen page. Why does it seem like the industry has gone so far away from getting professional pics done? I recall at some point, it almost seemed like a requirement to have professional pics, if you were expecting to make some real numbers. I mean, it doesn’t bother me...but I don’t know if RentMen realizes it makes the site look sketchy and lowered in value than what it should be, when you have a bunch of guys taking out of focus selfie pics. Which leads me to the next...

 

2nd: is there a shift in rates happening? Or should it just happen anyway? It seems like $200 and $300 are still attainable, but there seems to be more “I can’t do that much, money is tight” going around. Which is understandable. But are we going to eventually be reverting back to $150-200 as being the dominant price range across the board? Versus $250-$300? I hear people say they get multiple clients per day, but I’d be curious to know what rates they are asking in order to get those numbers. Some guys will say they get 5 clients a day, but then will say they charge $80. Obviously that is a different structure versus someone getting 1 or 2 clients per week at $250.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

The times they are-a-changin'

 

Pro photos are nice, but with mobile phone cameras, you can get great results when you combine with what are now very powerful editing apps. It's quick, kills the middleman and allows an escort to put out a ton of content at the drop of a hat. Just because you use an iPhone to take shots, doesn't mean they have to look like shit- You've just got to learn how to photograph yourself.

 

As for a shift in rates, that's entirely up to the provider and always has been. If you won't accept $200 for an hour, then simply thank him for his communication and walk away from the negotiation. At some point, an escort has to stick to his guns if he wants people to recognize they're buying a premium product. As Hooboy once said to me, 'Benjamin, you don't go to a flea market when you're shopping for Prada.'

 

Far be it from me to tell you how to sell your personal product, but in order to acclimate clients to a higher rate, you can't waver in what you charge. Sure, you might have some initial fall-off, but ultimately you will find a group of guys who will understand why they're paying more. And for you, that means less wear & tear, more income and hopefully with repeat guys you truly enjoy spending time with.

 

 

From what I can see, you've got everything you need right now to be very successful

Edited September 11, 2020 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[+ 7829V]

1. I prefer candid pics vs professional pics when I’m deciding to hire a provider. I agree that the professional pics look better but if a provider only has pro pics I wouldn’t hire him. I need to see the real person. I prefer if they only have candid pictures. Where they show a little more about themselves.... their room, their day to day activities. With a professional picture everything is a setup. Lights. Wardrobe. Pose.

 

2. Regarding rates... if you are a good provider I think you can charge premium rates within a reasonable range. I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

Edited September 12, 2020 by 7829V

[Armann]

I have a mix of both professional and self taken photos with my iphone or profesional camera. When you take professional photos they are of great quality and shows to your clients that you are a person who invest in you and your marketing, also, having a few photos taken yourself with a cellphone is a plus since it reveals a more casual side of you. I travel with my pro camera everywhere i go since i love photography and there are some days when you just feel much sexier than others, thats when i take my casual photos, i also like to be updated so im constantly adding new photos, at least everytime i travel i upload two or three new photos, so clients expect the guy on the photos when they meet me.

[+ keroscenefire]

2. From a client's point of view, I'm happy to pay $250-$300 for my regulars that I know are great and I will have a wonderful time with. I am a little hesitant to go that high for someone new. I was just in NYC where $300 is pretty much standard. One guy I met absolutely was worth his rate and in fact gave him a bit extra because it was such a great session. The other guy was ok...he had a bit of a difficult time keeping himself up the whole time, which he said was because he had a long week and was a bit tired. He also had put on a "quarantine fifteen" and looked a bit different than his pictures though he was still handsome. I had a good time with him but definitely wouldn't have done a $300 donation for him again.

 

And some of the new guys I'm seeing in Denver are charging the higher rates and for the most part I've told them I'm not interested in paying that rate. I don't ever negotiate a new rate but some of them have come back with lower rates. We'll see how it works out. I kinda need to save up some money and not hire in the short-term anyway.

Edited September 12, 2020 by keroscenefire

[Jarrod_Uncut]

And some of the new guys I'm seeing in Denver are charging the higher rates and for the most part I've told them I'm not interested in paying that rate. I don't ever negotiate a new rate but some of them have come back with lower rates. We'll see how it works out. I kinda need to save up some money and not hire in the short-term anyway.

 

Well, that's the downside of Rentmen not allowing advertising of rates. I'm curious how you would know, considering you're not trying to hire? Are you just surfing ? the guys to see how much they charge, only to tell them it's too much? That's kinda cruel lol.

 

I ask because I have to explain to guys: don't tell me my rate is too much if you don't know the logistics behind it. Sure I can charge $150, but then what if that's the only session I get all day? People don't understand it's expensive to be a Rentman. I'm constantly hemorrhaging money throughout the month lol. Whether it's hotels or transportation, it adds up.

 

At the same time, I understand $200 is a lot of money. A person can buy a lot with $250 or even $150, so I'm eternally grateful for everyone who comes to see me. At the same time, if I suggest a certain price, it's not to be greedy: it's the value in my service and to offset my expenses involved in the biz. Because these companies constantly drain our finances.

 

Just this week: I paid $343 in car repairs. Then, I had to get a hotel to host today in another town, because Kansas city is slow as shit. Fortunately I had reward points. But I've only had 2 clients this week. So yeah, I try to get clients to understand that I really don't do appointments under $200. Thankfully, it does seem like the "can you do it for $100" crowd has evolved into understanding.

[Jarrod_Uncut]

If you won't accept $200 for an hour, then simply thank him for his communication and walk away from the negotiation. At some point, an escort has to stick to his guns if he wants people to recognize they're buying a premium product.

 

From what I can see, you've got everything you need right now to be very successful

 

thankyou! but as you said, that’s where it gets difficult. I find myself trying to “win” the sale regardless. I’m just not in a position to turn down clients if they can’t pay extra for some things. Like the other day: I did a session where the guy wanted to watch me do his hot husband ? Normally I ask for 300 for 3 way sessions, but he said he couldn’t do that much. I went ahead and offered a slightly lower donation, but it was still reasonable. It was fun and easy and I didn’t feel regret about it, but it was still not the amount I preferred. But it was okay considering it wasn’t an actual 3way.

 

I try to work with people to get an idea of their price point and budget, because never really know. At the same time, if it’s something ridiculous like $150 for two hours full service, I won’t eagerly accept that.

 

I have a mix of both professional and self taken photos with my iphone or profesional camera.

 

That’s a good way to do it. I do the same because it does say, “yes I’m professional, but here’s a little real life me”. But I lied when I said I am not bothered by the selfie pics. It is annoying because it makes Rentmen look like Grindr, and back when Rentboy was around, if you had a gold or platinum membership, you had some very talented photographers taking pics. That was and still is for me, one of the best parts of escorting: doing photo shoots and going to different cities and meeting big name photographers.

[+ keroscenefire]

Well, that's the downside of Rentmen not allowing advertising of rates. I'm curious how you would know, considering you're not trying to hire? Are you just surfing ? the guys to see how much they charge, only to tell them it's too much? That's kinda cruel lol.

 

 

I just got back from NYC three days ago so the hiring hiatus is pretty recent. But actually a lot of guys message me first after seeing I look at their ads. So I ask them what they want for a donation. And many of them are quoting $300 in Denver, which I think is a slightly high rate for the city, especially for a new guy without any reviews yet. One of the new guys I agreed to meet at that price just cause I liked his pictures but then he kinda backed out last minute said he was "nervous" about meeting. I don't know...I tried to be accommodating in a variety of ways but I think he ultimately wanted me to pay even more than $300 and I just wasn't willing to do that for a new guy (and would have a hard time going above that rate an hour for almost any escort).

 

But I hear you...I know that escorting is a tough game. One regular I always try to do a multi-hour appointment for $500 where we go out to dinner and stuff. I know that he is only making money through escorting and he has a lot of travel costs to cover, so that at least with our meeting he can have a dinner and also make a bit more and not worry about trying to hustle to find another client that day if he doesn't want to.

[+ Steve yabsley]

In general, I support the comments above. I am starting to get the sense there is increased pressure on ’business’ but in general think rates will not drop below 250 in most places and 300 in the major cities for established and first class providers. I would encourage considering decent discounts for multiple hours (300-500-700 or even 300-500-600) pricing models depending on location (and assuming you like/are good at longer dates).

 

it’s harder when your trying to get started and maybe there is more of a need to be a 200-250/hour when you have no reviews or are getting established, but for guys with solid reputations, I haven't seen meaningful erosion of pricing.

 

I do think 2020 and likely 2021 will take more effort to be successful. The market is soft (hopefully that’s all that soft ?).

[down_to_business]

Pictures: I agree that the key is having quality photos, whether that is professional or selfie or a mix.

 

Rates: Are a very personal decision. You definitely shouldn't charge any lower than you feel comfortable with. Unfortunately, you also have to take into consideration we are in a global pandemic and there are several hundreds of thousands (sometimes well over a million) new unemployment claims a week. The everybody charges $300 or more an hour model was never sustainable to begin with and definitely not now. That is not to say that there are individual escorts who can't sustain it (those who have a roster of regular clients and offer premier service for example) but even they will feel the effects over time as they lose existing clients (to things like death) and can't easily replace them). Escorts who chose not to adapt from this model are going to be increasingly fighting for market share in a shrinking pool of potential clients. The potential market of people able to hire escorts charging under $300 an hour is larger than the potential market of those charging $300 and over.

 

My individual perspective on rates is this (but realize everyone is different). If you charge $300+ an hour, we are never going to have that first meeting. If we never have the first meeting, then there is no chance of me ever becoming one of your regular clients.

 

My very first regular escort was hired for one hour. I was willing to take the chance because his rate was reasonable. I had such a great time with him, that we converted our very first meeting from 1 hour to an overnight. We wound up having an escort/client relationship for many years and would meet for several weekends each year (including my first ever 2-week engagement!). It is very likely we would still have some sort of relationship today if circumstances hadn't made that impossible (his passing).

 

My current regular escort also started with a 1 hour appointment. I can't stress enough how the only reason we even had that first encounter was because he had a reasonable rate. I am NOT willing to take a chance on someone I have never met for $300+ and I don't really care if that escort has 10,000 reviews saying how wonderful he is. The next time we met, it was for an overnight. Now me and this escort meet for several weekends in a year.

 

Finally, reasonable rate to me does not have to mean $100 or $150 an hour. My personal feeling is the sweet spot lies somewhere in the $200-$250 range. I would not exclude an escort because he charged less than $200 as price and quality have no correlation at all in my several decades of experience as a client.

Edited September 12, 2020 by down_to_business

[+ Pensant]

In general, I support the comments above. I am starting to get the sense there is increased pressure on ’business’ but in general think rates will not drop below 250 in most places and 300 in the major cities for established and first class providers. I would encourage considering decent discounts for multiple hours (300-500-700 or even 300-500-600) pricing models depending on location (and assuming you like/are good at longer dates).

 

it’s harder when your trying to get started and maybe there is more of a need to be a 200-250/hour when you have no reviews or are getting established, but for guys with solid reputations, I haven't seen meaningful erosion of pricing.

 

I do think 2020 and likely 2021 will take more effort to be successful. The market is soft (hopefully that’s all that soft ?).

95% of providers who ask for $300/hour will eagerly accept $500 for two, at least in my experience.

[Jarrod_Uncut]

it’s harder when your trying to get started and maybe there is more of a need to be a 200-250/hour when you have no reviews or are getting established, but for guys with solid reputations, I haven't seen meaningful erosion of pricing.

 

Well I should mention, even though my handle on here is new, I’ve been around quite awhile lol. Review wise, I have a good number on rentmasseur and rentmen. It certainly does help.

 

But I should also probably take into perspective that I am not located in a big city market, and actually haven’t since I left Florida back in April (and even then, I still don’t consider any of the Florida locations “big city market” except Miami/Ft Lauderdale which doesn’t count because the providers out number the hiring pool in both locations. For every client, there’s like 10 escorts to choose from). I’ve been based in medium sized Midwest towns all summer and haven’t done any big trips to the coasts yet.

 

But I’m sure places like San Fran, DC and...some other cities probably still have the 250-300 range. So it’s not to say it’s not going to be workable across the board. But it bears taking into consideration that it could go both ways: maybe guys in cities are needing to charge less, maybe guys in the small cities are needing to charge less. Take a place like Omaha Nebraska. Rates across the board are fairly nonexistent or perceivably low. But I do have clients there who have given 250-350. So it’s not out of the question. But for sustainability efforts, I’ve also offered sessions as low as 150 if I was in the mood to do so and that’s what was on the table.

[+ Steve yabsley]

@down_to_business - agreed that price and quality have no correlation and I second the sweet spot is the 200-250 range.

And ditto, I am generally unwilling to go above 300 for an hour with someone I’ve never met (Unless they are my perfect fantasy date ?).

I‘m always a little skeptical when the rate is less than 200 and would do extra diligence (maybe if I was in Omaha or KC I would have a different perspective).

[mike carey]

I have a mix of both professional and self taken photos with my iphone or professional camera.

And an engaging set of photos they are.

[+ MakeMeCowboy]

I'm skeptical of professional photos i.e. 'how old are they?' I prefer a more candid photo. In my mind, they are more likely to be recent (albeit, I still ask.)

 

I've decided to take a new approach to hiring... I'll contact the provider and let him know that I'm willing to pay $250/hr. and tip up to $300 if he lives up to his description of services in RM. I'd also mention that I pay at the end of the session.

 

I'll lay out my terms and see how it goes.

[Jarrod_Uncut]

I'm skeptical of professional photos i.e. 'how old are they?'

 

True. I won’t lie and say I’ve seen some guys with the same pics as their avatar for the past 5 years. Even if they look better than the pics, it’s still not going to justice.

 

I’m all about candid photos...in the ad. But as a front page, especially how rentmen has it laid out with multiple guys on the front page...it looks cheap and tacky. And I have felt RentMen clients have treated us far less seriously than RentBoy clients used to. Back when I got a call from rentboy, I would feel a heartthrob, knowing I’d have to get ready to meet an important client.

 

With RentMen, I’m just like: I hope it’s not another Timewaster AGAIN, for the 5th time this week. That’s why I’ve just let my ad temporarily expire. Once I get ready to head to a bigger market I’ll sign back up, but as of yesterday: I found a new client just sitting at a gay bar having a drink and passing out my business card. So, I’m willing to wean myself off of RentMen if push comes to shove.

 

At this point, I’m prepared if the internet escort game slows any further than it already is. I’ve got a stack of 500 business cards, and already be having gay and “questionable” married guys hitting on me left and right ??‍♂️

[Storm4U]

My candid pics work best.??‍♂️