Do you think escorts know how much business they lose by not listing rates?

[down_to_business]

Maybe its just me but is anyone else completely turned off when an escort won't even list their hourly rate? Do any of you actually call these guys to discuss rates or do you just move on? Do escorts really think we want to call them on the phone to discuss rates? Would you rather negotiate rates with an escort over the phone or go to the dentist ( I vote for dentist!).

 

In my opinion you mine as well not even place an ad if you are going to leave even your basic hourly rate blank or fill it in with the copout "ask", "call', "varies" etc.

[tsgarp]

Doesn't really bother me. Just ends up being one of many questions prior to a transaction!

[maxwellissmart]

Maybe its just me but is anyone else completely turned off when an escort won't even list their hourly rate? Do any of you actually call these guys to discuss rates or do you just move on? Do escorts really think we want to call them on the phone to discuss rates? Would you rather negotiate rates with an escort over the phone or go to the dentist ( I vote for dentist!).

 

In my opinion you mine as well not even place an ad if you are going to leave even your basic hourly rate blank or fill it in with the copout "ask", "call', "varies" etc.

 

Here's the flipside of that logic.

 

1) Serious clients tend to ask about rates almost immediately, whether it's by phone or email. It's a trip wire, you see. Guys who don't are almost never serious about booking time, just like guys who use words like "may" or "sometime soon" or "might be interested."

 

2) Escorts will change rates (up or down) depending on distance, time of the evening, demands of the client, and many other factors. Not posting rates gives them the flexibility to conduct a "sale" without alienating exisiting clients. It also allows them to charge more for someone who is being a jerk or a hassle or extremely far away, and it's yet another way to determine if someone is being serious or is just wasting the escort's time. If I throw out an obviously ridiculous amount and someone agrees to it without blinking an eye—they are trying to get me out the door for a fake appointment.

 

3) Even when I did have rates posted, clients asked what my rates were.

 

4) Even if I offer a variety of services, I can only post one rate.

 

5) I have yet to "negotiate" rates with a client. They ask me how much—I tell them, and they say "yes," or "no."

 

6) I don't do a number of things (porn, face pics, travel) that a number of escorts do—and yet I've still been incredibly successful at escorting, for a number of years now. I'm not too worried about clients who pass me by because my rates aren't posted. If they're that high-maintenance, I'm probably not the guy for them anyway.

[Electra 225]

I always look for an escort's or masseur's rates in their ads and postings. If they are not there, much more often than not, I move on to another provider. The ad and the accompanying photos (or the review here) must be extraordinarily special for me to contact someone who does not post their rates. So, yes, if there are no rates quoted, I almost always move along to someone who does post their rates. There is no need to waste either my time or the provider's time if the ultimate deal breaker, the rates, need to be discussed when the matter could so easily be resolved in the advertisement/post itself.

[bigvalboy]

I do actually agree with you Maxwell. Even if the rate is posted, I will out of habit always confirm there rate. I never thought of some of the things that escorts go through with difficult clients or with clients that are not serious. There appears to be alot of BS on both ends. I like hearing from an escort the exact rate he will charge. I am fairly easy going and mellow as clients go, and I think that I come across like that on the phone. I know for a fact that I have gotten lower rates because the escort knows that there will not be any drama. I will often volunteer that the evening will include a nice dinner. I am sure that escorts take all this into consideration.

 

I do have a question. You said that you do not do face pics. How would you handle a situation if you had a confirmed appointment and the client wanted a face pic first? I for one will always insist on at least that. Once we have settled all of the particulars, I will usually ask nicely for a face pic via e-mail. I was only turned down once that I can remember and I graciously declined the appointment. Is that a deal breaker for you?

[down_to_business]

Here's the flipside of that logic.

 

1) Serious clients tend to ask about rates almost immediately, whether it's by phone or email. It's a trip wire, you see. Guys who don't are almost never serious about booking time, just like guys who use words like "may" or "sometime soon" or "might be interested."

 

2) Escorts will change rates (up or down) depending on distance, time of the evening, demands of the client, and many other factors. Not posting rates gives them the flexibility to conduct a "sale" without alienating exisiting clients. It also allows them to charge more for someone who is being a jerk or a hassle or extremely far away, and it's yet another way to determine if someone is being serious or is just wasting the escort's time. If I throw out an obviously ridiculous amount and someone agrees to it without blinking an eye—they are trying to get me out the door for a fake appointment.

 

3) Even when I did have rates posted, clients asked what my rates were.

 

4) Even if I offer a variety of services, I can only post one rate.

 

5) I have yet to "negotiate" rates with a client. They ask me how much—I tell them, and they say "yes," or "no."

 

6) I don't do a number of things (porn, face pics, travel) that a number of escorts do—and yet I've still been incredibly successful at escorting, for a number of years now. I'm not too worried about clients who pass me by because my rates aren't posted. If they're that high-maintenance, I'm probably not the guy for them anyway.

 

Wow- I never knew that because I don't want to discuss rates over the telephone that I was high maitenance. I guess I kind of feel that by not posting your rates, you are trying to waste my time. Many even go a step further by insisting on a telephone call to discuss rates. For my protection, I do not discuss rates or activities for rates over the telephone with anyone I have never met before. It's frustrating, because there are a lot of guys I might be interested in otherwise. Besides, the idea of paying by the activity etc is a huge turn off for me-- lets see $49.99 for a blow job + $29.99 to add the fuck package + $.75 per thrust + $1.25 per kiss = ???

 

But thanks for your reply. While I don't agree with your methods or reasoning, I appreciate your participation and respect your opinion!

[maxwellissmart]

I know for a fact that I have gotten lower rates because the escort knows that there will not be any drama. I will often volunteer that the evening will include a nice dinner. I am sure that escorts take all this into consideration.

 

And I know that I have seen one client over another because he was nice enough to take me to dinner. As far as the face pic is concerned, if I lose business—I lose business. Honestly, it rarely happens, and it's all about how you handle yourself in writing and on the phone that will appease a client's doubts. I used to post face pics, until I had an ex who sent them to my boss. Fortunately, I'm a good liar who can spin a story about a stolen computer and turn a disaster into a joke on the fly.

 

 

I guess I kind of feel that by not posting your rates, you are trying to waste my time. Many even go a step further by insisting on a telephone call to discuss rates. For my protection, I do not discuss rates or activities for rates over the telephone with anyone I have never met before. It's frustrating, because there are a lot of guys I might be interested in otherwise. Besides, the idea of paying by the activity etc is a huge turn off for me-- lets see $49.99 for a blow job + $29.99 to add the fuck package + $.75 per thrust + $1.25 per kiss = ???

 

Seriously dude? Why on earth would I want to spend a bazillion hours at the gym, deny myself things I love to eat, lead some secretive lifestyle that at times alienates friends and family, and spend $50/mo on a M4RN membership, if it's not to make you happy enough to 1) call me, and 2) call me again? And as far as the a la carte menu you've described—there may be escorts who are stupid enough to try something like that, but I'm not one of them.

[bigvalboy]

[quote=maxwellissmart;753355, and it's all about how you handle yourself in writing and on the phone that will appease a client's doubts.

 

Actually Maxwell that is well said...in the end it is how you handle yourself in text and on the phone...I will very often make a thumbs up or thumbs down decision based on those very things. I have received some surprisingly cold responses from potential escorts and I will very often just pass. If an escort explains his concerns regarding pics and offered some sort of guarantee then I would probably be ok with that.

[+ Travis69]

Listing the rate is helpful but not a deal breaker for me. I would still call the escort. As far as the face photo requirement, that also is helpful but I have learned to deal without it also. Years ago an escort would not send out a face photo but guaranteed on the phone he would leave if I didn't like him. He was STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS but a student who wanted discretion. In all the escort experiences I have had he stands out as one of the top 5 so am glad I risked it.

[hornytwells]

Never mind listing their rates, how about never answering their emails or texts? I have been trying to book Ben Andrews forever-he lists on rentboy as only wanting emails or texts, prefer oral only, all of which I am cool with, but he has yet to respond to several message I have left> What is it with guys bothering to take out an ad on rentboy but then never responding to it?

[Lookin]

Don't remember ever calling an escort with unlisted rates. I don't enjoy the 'business end' of hooking up with a guy. I might confirm the rate, or maybe ask a question or two, but I like to keep the call short and sweet, mostly about scheduling. Calling up to talk about money isn't my idea of a good time.

 

For those escorts who vary rates by the services provided, may I immodestly call attention to a suggestion at the bottom of the first page on this old thread.

[JT Brooklyn]

Doesn't really bother me. Just ends up being one of many questions prior to a transaction!

 

Exactly.. IF your that interested in what you see in an AD you will definitely just ASK .. as one of the First Questions when you make Contact!

 

Seriously doubt any "Genuine Biz" loss due to a Working Guy requiring those interested to ASK! "IF they like what they see they will be asking"

[maxwellissmart]

Listing the rate is helpful but not a deal breaker for me. I would still call the escort. As far as the face photo requirement, that also is helpful but I have learned to deal without it also. Years ago an escort would not send out a face photo but guaranteed on the phone he would leave if I didn't like him. He was STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS but a student who wanted discretion. In all the escort experiences I have had he stands out as one of the top 5 so am glad I risked it.

 

I used to be friends with two of the most talked about and well-reviewed escorts on this board—neither of them ever sent out a single face shot. In fact, it was one of them who warned me that posting face shots would be something I might one day regret.

[Decatur Guy]

I don't think I've ever contacted an escort who put "ask me" for the hourly rate. I like to see an hourly rate in there.

 

I tend to often be a 90-minute man. I will ask how much for 90 minutes, but that's after I see what the one-hour rate is.

[bigvalboy]

Never mind listing their rates, how about never answering their emails or texts? I have been trying to book Ben Andrews forever-he lists on rentboy as only wanting emails or texts, prefer oral only, all of which I am cool with, but he has yet to respond to several message I have left> What is it with guys bothering to take out an ad on rentboy but then never responding to it?

 

He could be traveling in a non-professional capacity or even maybe with a client. I know a couple of escorts and masseurs who will not answer text or e-mails or return calls when they are away. If they are with a client, it is out of respect to them, and when they travel for themselves, they have told me that sometimes they just want the down time without being bothered. I most certainly respect that. I don't think that we should expect these guys to be avail 24/7. All of us just need to 'chill' sometimes. IMHO

[jimboivyo]

back to topic. it's as easy as asking what his rate is. what's the deal with people who make a big deal about a guy who wants to keep his rates quiet. if he's got reviews, you can see them there. if not, you can email and ask. case closed.

[kevininsa]

I don't know. I see a lot of lost business in these comments. I won't call if a rate isn't listed. I did email one escort one time and asked the question. Someone with high notoriety here. I got back 2 paragraphs of him trying to bond with me... but never answered the question.

 

I always look for an escort's or masseur's rates in their ads and postings. If they are not there, much more often than not, I move on to another provider. The ad and the accompanying photos (or the review here) must be extraordinarily special for me to contact someone who does not post their rates. So, yes, if there are no rates quoted, I almost always move along to someone who does post their rates. There is no need to waste either my time or the provider's time if the ultimate deal breaker, the rates, need to be discussed when the matter could so easily be resolved in the advertisement/post itself.

 

Wow- I never knew that because I don't want to discuss rates over the telephone that I was high maitenance. I guess I kind of feel that by not posting your rates, you are trying to waste my time. Many even go a step further by insisting on a telephone call to discuss rates.

 

I don't think I've ever contacted an escort who put "ask me" for the hourly rate.

 

Don't remember ever calling an escort with unlisted rates.

[kevininsa]

He's wasting MY time. I email and ask. I have to wait till he responds which could be a day later. He's over my hiring limit. Go to the next guy... repeat. Don't tell me to call. Calling isn't an option for everyone. And those are my ONLY high maintence items: advertise your rates and let me contact you by email.

 

... it's as easy as asking what his rate is. what's the deal with people who make a big deal about a guy who wants to keep his rates quiet...

[Kevin Slater]

He could be traveling in a non-professional capacity or even maybe with a client. I know a couple of escorts and masseurs who will not answer text or e-mails or return calls when they are away. If they are with a client, it is out of respect to them, and when they travel for themselves, they have told me that sometimes they just want the down time without being bothered.

 

Fair enough, but if I know I'm going to be unreachable for a day or more I am sure to either hide my ad or change the header to explain this and thus avoid the ill will of seeming unresponsive to potential clients. Otherwise how can I be sure they'll know to contact me once I'm back?

 

Kevin Slater

[bigvalboy]

Fair enough, but if I know I'm going to be unreachable for a day or more I am sure to either hide my ad or change the header to explain this and thus avoid the ill will of seeming unresponsive to potential clients. Otherwise how can I be sure they'll know to contact me once I'm back?

 

Kevin Slater

I agree with you kevin, however the comment that I get when I ask where they have been or sometimes I will say "I have been trying to reach you, I was worried" they just say to me "Oh I was on vacation and I was out of town" or "I was with a client and I don't do call backs when I am with clients and traveling" I do not feel it is my place to then tell them how to conduct there business, or to pry into there personal life, I am not that kind of a guy and things like that just do not stress me. I think that it is more professional to do it your way, but each to his own.

[jimboivyo]

He's wasting MY time. I email and ask. I have to wait till he responds which could be a day later. He's over my hiring limit. Go to the next guy... repeat. Don't tell me to call. Calling isn't an option for everyone. And those are my ONLY high maintence items: advertise your rates and let me contact you by email.

 

it's only time dear. we have lots of it.

[adriano46]

Interesting and thought-provoking thread.

 

I generally DO scroll down an ad to see the posted rate (I prefer someone in the $200-$250/hr range, shy away from the $300/hr guys in 95% of the cases, and anything over that, I skip entirely. When I read, "ASK ME" -- I go to the reviews here and on other sites and see if I can get a ballpark figure from the review. If no light is shed on what the reviewer paid, I move on. The same too when reviews hint at a pay-as-you-go rate (price changes for what is done). I refuse to negotiate a fee once the action has started, but say this because I always tell a guy up front what I expect and what I require. Confirmation of the date is to me like a contract.

 

I generally shy away from hiring a guy who has no face photos, again unless he has supurb reviews by other clients - generally clients who I know and trust.

 

With so many guys available in many of the major cities I frequent, it is just as easy also to pass on when an escort does not get back to me within a reasonable amount of time. As Kevin Slater said, it is easy enough to post a simple "away" note in an ad or "unavailable" -- while I like to plan in advance for a date and book it at least 72 hrs in advance, there are times I find myself in a hotel in a city on a night suddenly free of commitments and I want to hire on a moment's notice, so if I do not get a quick response, I move on to another (downside is when I am so randy I send out 3 or 4 invitations, and all of a sudden have 3 or 4 guys responding and then I have to make some very quick decisions).

 

To me this is simply the result of hiring going so far to one side of the internet. 15 or 20 years ago, I generally hired ONLY through an agency (or in Europe, frequeted the famous and sorely missed now "Houses of Boys" where it was purely a game of chance. I walk in off the street, see what is available right then and there, and hire -- or have a drink and move on to the next bar or house of boys or sauna until I found something I liked. Ah, those days were so much fun, but now... just a fond memory in most cities. How easy it was over a decade ago hanging out in NYC at Stella's (or even better, just hanging out outside of Stella's and getting trade as they left the place -- often dejected they had not scored yet and so prices were more reasonable). And of the many XXX video stores that I frequented around Times Square 20 years ago, where you could hook up with some really amazing guys and either do it in a booth anonymously, or -- as occasionally happened -- hook up so well you went back to one or the other's place (whichever was nearer) and continued the games. I was amazed by an amazingly handsome, tall, muscular black businessman I once serviced through a hole in a video place -- we ended up back in his hotel room for 5 hours going at it -- and I was at least a decade older than him. Or the Turkish grad student at Columbia out for a quickie who ended up being a voracious bottom in a rent-by-the-hour place on 9th Avenue for me for a long afternoon; or those really sexy almost forbidden Latinos plying their trade at the Port Authority... Sorry -- got carried away with nostalgia.

 

Since most here no longer hire from those ads at the back of magazines, and agencies are few and far between in most cities (at least reputable ones), hiring on the net in some ways limits wat we can do in the hiring process. I do set a limit on what I am willing to spend per hr, and really appreciate an escort who admits openly rates will be adjusted for multiple hour encounters.

[jjkrkwood]

To me, unlisted rates is like shopping at a Flea market. You always feel as if the escort will try to get as much out of you as possible. Start high and leave room for negotiation. I am NOT a negotiator. Name your price. If I really like and want you, I will pay it. But dont play the guessing game with me or try to gouge me. That wont get my business..... Every business puts a base price on their services. Obviously there are circumstances which necessitate adjustments to a base price. I get that, but you gotta start somewhere...

[+ newatthis]

... Sorry -- got carried away with nostalgia...

And thanks very much for that! Sometimes going off topic is more fun than the topic.

[Steven_Draker]

I think that some are afraid of "varies" or "ask" because of possible hidden charges or 'à la carte' type of pricing,

 

others interpret it in a way that the escort is willing to negotiate/bring the price down (for whatever reason).

 

Often it's none of the above.

______________

 

I vote for posted rates.