Prices have crept up, what does this mean for our rates?

[Mocha]

Anyone noticed rentboy rates have gone up since the new year, my rent has went up $25 (which I'm planning to relocate soon to a new city with more home for less). The grocery store has recently raised their deli rates I found out today.

 

The natural response would be to raise rates, but will there be any difference? And how might it affect existing clients? For me, I change my rates fairly often anyway...but with these new increases, I'm going to have to find ways to cut back on things like rent and phone bills. doing the math, an extra 25 here and extra 5 bucks there will amount to lots of money that I no longer have over the course of a year.

[marylander1940]

Anyone noticed rentboy rates have gone up since the new year, my rent has went up $25 (which I'm planning to relocate soon to a new city with more home for less). The grocery store has recently raised their deli rates I found out today.

 

The natural response would be to raise rates, but will there be any difference? And how might it affect existing clients? For me, I change my rates fairly often anyway...but with these new increases, I'm going to have to find ways to cut back on things like rent and phone bills. doing the math, an extra 25 here and extra 5 bucks there will amount to lots of money that I no longer have over the course of a year.

 

Are you an escort or a client?

 

Where do you live?

[+ quoththeraven]

He's an escort, which the question itself implies. See this: http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?102336-orlando&p=946579#post946579

 

Dunno if you'll get an answer to your other question.

[corndog]

I think that escort rates are dictated by supply-and-demand more than inflationary factors. I've noticed that in several mid-sized markets, with lots of escorts advertising, rates have been sliding down toward $200/hr, with some outliers offering $150/hr.

 

There are various approaches to pricing, but if your primary goal is to maximize your income, it may make sense to lower your price until you are nearly fully booked most of the time. I think that a guy who offers services at $150/hr (perhaps just for erotic massage) is likely to get a lot more bookings than a narcissistic porn star who demands $400/hr. It's entirely possible that the $400/hr guy only wants a couple of appointments per week, and has set his price accordingly, but I bet the $150/hr guy is doing better paying the bills.

 

Every client's price sensitivity is going to be different, but speaking for myself, I'll say that burning $150 on an unknown, unreviewed and slightly questionable provider is not too painful. For $150, I'm willing to take a gamble. But, if I'm going to pay $400, I need to be 100% certain that I'm hiring a solid, top-quality performer for a once-in-a-lifetime fantasy experience.

 

I think this subject is one that periodically comes up here and gets discussed to death with no consensus. As such, I'm sure that there are many opinions that will contradict my own, and that's great. Opinions are like assholes... everybody's got one.

[marylander1940]

He's an escort, which the question itself implies. See this: http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?102336-orlando&p=946579#post946579

 

Dunno if you'll get an answer to your other question.

 

Wow, you didn't write a whole essay about the subject.

 

Does $25 per month makes a difference in an escort's budget?

[+ quoththeraven]

Wow, you didn't write a whole essay about the subject.

 

Does $25 per month makes a difference in an escort's budget?

 

How to set rates is a subject I don't know (or frankly care) enough about to write an essay. My concern is how affordable they are. If $25/mo makes that much difference, an escort is probably not attracting enough or the right clients. I'm not sure the forum is of help in this matter, which is probably better addressed in Ask An Escort.

[marylander1940]

How to set rates is a subject I don't know (or frankly care) enough about to write an essay. My concern is how affordable they are. If $25/mo makes that much difference, an escort is probably not attracting enough or the right clients. I'm not sure the forum is of help in this matter, which is probably better addressed in Ask An Escort.

 

The average escorts charges between 200 or 240 for incalls, pornstars charged between 300 to 400, a few like Zeb Atlas even more. I don't think $25 makes a big difference, is just 1/8 of the minimum charge in a city like Orlando.

 

let's sit and wait what escorts say about it.

 

I remember contacting Colby Keller on adam4adam, he said he was thinking about moving from Baltimore to Albuquerque because rent was cheaper there. I told him about escorting over and over again, he could make a fortune, but he told me just doesn't do it, he's doesn't have the "stomach to do it".

 

[Mocha]

Wow, you didn't write a whole essay about the subject.

 

Does $25 per month makes a difference in an escort's budget?

 

Well, the point of view I was looking at was the fact that the same place I've lived in has actually increased in total by $50. It's recently become $25. A rentboy classic ad is now $39.95 instead of 34.95 (up from $29.95).

 

I understand prices change and why, and I don't mean to go tit for tat on (seemingly) small differences. i do have an issue with an apartment that's done no major renovations but raises rent. Or an escort advertising company charging more for their ads when I can meet more clients, and faster; on a site like adam4adam which charges a flat $30. In smaller markets, it can take days or even weeks just to get a client from rentboy. They're good when you get them, but it takes so long unless you're in one of rentboys markets.

 

But like you suggest, I may not notice it right off the bat. Doing the math over the course of 12 months that's where it's more noticeable.

[+ quoththeraven]

Mocha - Talking about your specific expenses here in the context of setting rates is counterproductive. Figure out an economic model that works for you and stick to it. It's not anything anyone here can help you with.

 

If you posted in Ask an Escort and asked other escorts how, when, and why they raised rates and how it relates to increases in living expenses, you might get some helpful responses. But looking at your specific issues is something that this board is not set up for. Hire an accountant to advise you.

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

Anyone noticed rentboy rates have gone up since the new year, my rent has went up $25 (which I'm planning to relocate soon to a new city with more home for less). The grocery store has recently raised their deli rates I found out today.

 

The natural response would be to raise rates, but will there be any difference? And how might it affect existing clients? For me, I change my rates fairly often anyway...but with these new increases, I'm going to have to find ways to cut back on things like rent and phone bills. doing the math, an extra 25 here and extra 5 bucks there will amount to lots of money that I no longer have over the course of a year.

 

It doesn't matter if Rentboy (or M4RN) rates have gone up. They could double or even triple, but my guess is that it's still the primary way that clients contact you. Dump your ad and you dump potential clients. Look at it as a necessary cost of doing business, or look at it as a service that pays for itself with one client (and actually just a fraction of that one meeting).

 

Every other client you meet in that month through your online ad through Rentboy or M4RN is pure profit.

 

As far as reducing expenses, that's a great idea. About moving... keep in mind that it's a minimum of $500 to move from one place to another, and that's if friends help you. There's the cost of transferring utilities, paying deposits, renting a truck, paying movers, and so on. So unless you're living somewhere that's affecting your ability to see clients for incalls, or you find a great deal, or the amenities are just too much to pass up, moving here and there is not a particularly good idea.

 

It's also important to set rates and leave them there. Clients take umbrage at the idea of paying more than what you've advertised previously (I'm assuming you're not adjusting downwards), and what's listed in your reviews.