I'd like to say a few things since I ran my mouth already and I may as well keep running with it.
About rates: they're personal, and there are many factors that go into the decision. Personally, I want to limit my volume, and like *anything* for sale on this planet, the more you charge for it, the less often weirdos will come around asking for it, and the better it is treated by the people who *do* follow through on the purchase. I want *nice* clients who treat me like a whole, sentient human, and I've gotten that every single time, as far as I could tell. My rate, I am sure, is a huge factor in my success at that particular goal. It is also, I am sure, why I still enjoy this job. I've been at this a long time, with multiple breaks in between, but I don't think more than a year has gone by where I have not done phone sex, web cam, toy shows, nude modeling, sugaring, driving, what have you. I like this industry, and I choose it as freely as any person can choose to labor.
Regarding rates and time... I charged 250 when I started when I was 18 (in San Francisco Bay Area, early-mid 2000s) and limited to outcalls, and then 280 when I used a shared incall and the woman who owned it insisted we needed to leave with 200 for an hour because she took 80 (I fucking know, right?!). I'm much older now, but now I actually have the physical ability to orgasm (which I've noticed is quite popular), I speak a third language, I have three degrees, I've traveled more, and I've grown in my empathy skills. I also think I'm a hell of lot better looking now, too. I'm sure that's subjective, and not everyone wants a wise woman; I understand that, too. I still play my original personality for other endeavors, but "Bianca" is definitely the more grown-up version of me and rent has gone up in that same time frame.
So, specific responses...
Ms Bianca sweetie, it has nothing to do with the fees or fee structure. From what I can tell you are worth every penny. There will be cheap bastards that are always pissing and moaning about something. Here in lies the main issues I see and why I only see about 1 Provider every 3-4 months..( having a few sex friends out of the hobby helps too)
This big reason I see is VALUE, again VALUE...
Many of these girls who come aboard charging $300 an hour for $150 an hour worth of lame ass Service and shitty TCB. I know this is old hat. but back in 2000-2008, gals really seemed to enjoy what they did and it showed in every session. Yes we can all have a bad day.
For me I expect GFE to be GFE.. not just bbbj... I want to feel like she is enjoying me as person not just an ATM... I know, I know it is a game we play but many of these newer girls are just lazy and frankly seem to be the 'hurry up and come for me baby' types.
I dont mind paying for a $39.00 Sizzling Flemings Steak, but I sure as hell better not get chopped Steak!
Originally Posted by RALPHEY BOY
I think there are a number of factors at play. Yes, there will always be someone complaining, but I do subscribe to the thought that "if no one's complaining, you're not charging enough." I've sold luxury goods in the past too, and like I mentioned above, the people who buy the nice stuff are, on average, easier to work with (this is related more to confidence than actual financial standing, but for another discussion), but knowing that some people are complaining means you're probably on the right track (so long, of course, you're selling something to someone, in whatever amount you've determined is successful for your own business). A little bit of flack is a good, healthy sign.
When I came to eccie last year, I offered a rate of $280/hr in my first month, and that rate would have been grandfathered for the next year. Now, I know that doesn't sound like a great deal around here, but I'd say 75% of my clients repeat with me, or at least try (timing, I decide not to for whatever reason, etc). Had a value-minded hobbyist taken advantage of it at the time they'd have saved easily $240-1200 by now, given the frequency my regular clients tend to display (some did see me at that rate, but most were from out of town). I'm fairly generous with my time and attention when not "on the clock," I send my clients videos and pictures if they're okay with receiving them, I've been known to throw in a dinner here and there... but value means different things to different people, it's true. So no one bit last year, and now I pretty much only do outcalls for 90 minute minimums at $400. I don't *not* do hour appointments, but the clients I attract simply want more time. I hate to say it, but I actually think it was because so many people refused to see me at 300/hr that I've been able to do that. How ironic.
The pea underneath my mattress, however, is that a lot of the guys here approach the providers with the attitude that we're here to just fake our way through the hour and take as much money as possible. That's the default attitude "hobbyists" have about us. I'm not sure when it got that way, but I can tell you that now, it makes a provider wary and I think many of us might assume eccie members do not wish to treat us with any respect. That disrespect takes many forms, but I used the rate example as it is probably the clearest.
It's not enough for some around here to say, "that's not a good value to me, I'll continue to search for a provider who is."
I understand that there are providers who don't deliver good service, there always have been, and there always will be, forever, like any industry. However, I think complaining about rates pretty much negates the entire need for hobby boards. If a client is fundamentally opposed to paying over a certain amount because of some kind of perceived self-sacrificing moral stance for all clientkind, then I don't see why those people need a place where they can describe exact details beyond: was she there on time, did she look like her pics, does she smoke, a few acronyms, a yes/no recommendation, and MAYBE up to 500 characters to clarify anything with a toggle button. No one needs more than that, especially if they come to it with an attitude, like many eccie hobbyists do, that they won't pay over a certain amount. If you insist on painting us all with the same brush, then you don't deserve the ones who really are "worth every penny."
I think I've been to a total of THREE appointments with chipped nail polish in an entire year, you know? I'm horrified by this, but I know my horror at this neglected detail is a good sign, which is why I mention it.
Let's all forget I ever had chipped nails, thanks.
Yew ain't tha furst gal Ah heardt say sum'pin laik thet. A lotta perviders have tried ta do thet o'er tha years, but it's a purdy difficult thang to change a culture o' laik-minded in-div-id-yew-ulls. Yew gotta convert a critickal mass o' tha unwillin', both tha ol' farts an' tha cornstant inflow o' newbie fellers. It's kinda laik ol' Hercules an' tha Hydra; cut off one haid an' two mo' pops up. 'R mebbe it's mo' laik a Sissyphean task, laik when yew roll thet rock purt near ta tha top an' then it rolls back down. Ah drinck a lot inna mornin' an Ah gita tha two mixed up. 
Originally Posted by David.Douchehurst
You don't know me or what I can do.
Granted, I've known for about the last year that I'll be leaving the state in another 1-3 years, but I don't plan to stop fighting for this. I simply assume I won't have to fight so hard once I move. I will still have to fight, I am quite certain, but the national consensus among escorts is that Austin is the worst place to work, in terms of client appreciation.
I do not think I will change Austin, specifically, or enough. What's going to matter most in the attitude change is time, as the pattern has already been seen elsewhere. Compare Austin hobbyists to the men who ran the pornography business for essentially its entirety, and you'll see quite the similarity. I referenced it earlier in this thread, I was hoping someone would have noticed by now, but it's a quote from Susie Bright: "They were jaded, and yet naive about how much their world was changing."
That's Austin Eccie, in a nutshell. I refuse to let them die out on their own terms, but they are a dying breed, so I feel a lot of hope.
Just curious, is this Austin or just Austin eccie? I've definitely seen eccie become more hostile to providers over the years, but I figured there were other outlets for providers as well (p411, TER, etc).
Originally Posted by Frissionary
I'm so glad you asked.
It's a hobby board thing, in general, but Austin is fairly well known outside of Austin for being terrible. I was "around" in the ASPD days, and I've been watching eccie for a long time, but I never joined before because I had heard that you had to fuck a mod for free to get verified status, and I didn't know how fucking for free proved anything. I didn't have to do that, but I was definitely hassled about it and received more than a few phone calls where I was forced to stand up for myself. I know it's happened to other providers since me, as well. It's Austin eccie, not just hobby boards, but boards in general foster that kind of thing, and there but for the grace of god go them all.
As you know, I stopped doing incalls a while back. I was asked at the time by a client seeking a repeat incall session why I made that decision (he asked me literally the day after I decided, and it broke my heart to turn him down, but it's what I had to do, because no one lasts in this business with permeable boundaries), if it had anything to do with the guys here who are constant flakes and always looking for a bargain. He suggested it, not me.
Of course I agreed.
Outcalls cater to gentlemen who either do not live here and are therefore not familiar with the garbage on the Austin boards, *or* they are single and inviting me to their homes, in which case they will typically be providing a lot of personal information, which leads to mutual trust. If I know your name and where you live, I can probably trust you won't rob or kill me, which is really what's at the top of my list. Again, I love this work, but in order to maintain my sanity, I need to weed out as much of the bullshit as I can.
So, high-priced outcalls they've demanded, and high-priced outcalls they shall receive.
